Work Text:
Akaashi downed his second cup of coffee before heading to the front door. He was exhausted from the previous night of restlessness. He had just moved into a new apartment complex to begin working with a prestigious manga publisher, but he hadn’t realized that his upstairs neighbor was so noisy.
It started at about 4:00 am, and it sounded like someone was jumping rope or doing some kind of weird exercise. Then he could hear the sound of the blender whirring. At about 6:00 am, he could have sworn he heard a treadmill. Did he live underneath a gym? Akaashi had turned over several times, trying to fall back to sleep, but each time he felt his eyes shut, a new noise would disturb him.
“Good morning, Akaashi-san,” his neighbor from across the hall called to him.
“Good morning… um… Forgive me, I didn’t get enough sleep,” he responded, slightly embarrassed for not remembering the man’s name. He was handsome, tall, and had the most interesting hair.
“No worries, I’m Kuroo Tetsuroo. Rough night?” he asked.
“You can say that. It sounded like the person in 4C was running a marathon above me early this morning and I couldn’t fall back to sleep. I was at the office pretty late so I’m pretty tired.”
“Ah, I see. Yeah, I’ve noticed a few people move out of that apartment in the past few months. Bokuto can be pretty loud in the morning. I guess that’s what’s been driving them away.”
“Bokuto? What’s he doing?”
“Well, he’s an athlete so I think he just exercises in the morning,” Kuroo replied.
“Isn't there a gym for that?” Kuroo shrugged his shoulders in response.
“I’m sorry you didn’t sleep well. Maybe go up and chat with him. I’m sure he could keep the noise down if you asked.”
“Maybe. Are you heading to the train station? I could walk with you if you don’t mind the company.”
“Sure am.”
That night, Akaashi heard more noise, but it sounded like a party as opposed to someone working out. Around ten at night, the sounds of voices began to resonate in his bedroom, from upstairs. It sounded like a celebration of sorts. Akaashi remembered what Kuroo had said about his upstairs neighbor being an athlete and guess that maybe he had won a game or something.
But it was a Tuesday night. Did they need to be throwing a party? Akaashi pulled the covers off and adjusted his glasses before taking the stairs to 4C. Outside the door, he could hear shouting, celebrating, and bottles clinking. He knocked on the door and waited.
After a few minutes, he figured that no one could hear him inside the room. He pounded on the door with his fist. The door opened and a large man with blonde hair appeared.
“What can I do fer ya?” he asked, his words slightly slurred.
“The noise in this apartment is very loud, I’m trying to sleep but-”
“Oh… I’m sure sorry about that. But I don’t even live here.”
“Then where is the guy who does live here?” Akaashi asked, growing annoyed.
“I think he’s in the bedroom in the back. He might’a fell asleep. Bo-kun isn’t the best with parties.” The blonde man stepped away from the door, leaving it open. Akaashi walked through and took in the space. The apartment was set up the same as his in terms of layout, but it was adorned in sports memorabilia such as jerseys and trophies. It appeared that the tenant played volleyball and thought very highly of himself.
Akaashi figured that the back bedroom was most likely referring to the master bedroom, especially if their apartments had the same setup. He approached the door and turned the knob. When he opened the door, he did not see a sleeping man.
Two men sat on the bed, one straddling the other, both shirtless, but luckily they both had underwear on. The man on the bottom, the one Akaashi did not recognize and decided was Bokuto, had his hands in the back of the other man’s underwear, gripping his ass. The other man, sat with his arms around Bokuto’s neck as the two were connected at the mouth… tongue? That man he recognized as his hall neighbor, Kuroo.
When the noise in the room elevated, both men took noticed and turned toad Akaashi. Kuroo’s eyes went wide and he immediately put some distance between himself and Bokuto. On the other hand, Bokuto maintained contact with Kuroo, his hands remaining in place as he smirked at Akaashi, his golden eyes smug.
“Is there something I can help you with?” he asked. Even his voice sounded annoying to Akaashi.
“Um… I…” Akaashi wasn’t sure how to respond.
“I’m sorry, I guess I’m being impolite,” Bokuto said. “Would you like to join?” Akaashi felt a white heat surge through his body.
“No. I don’t. I would like you and your friends to shut the fuck up. It’s Tuesday and some people have to work in the morning.”
“Ah… I see. Sorry about that, cutie. I’ll make sure we wrap it up soon.” He turned back to Kuroo. “Now, where were we?” Bokuto began to close the distance between him and Kuroo. Akaashi shut the door quickly and stalked out of the apartment.
He returned to his apartment and flopped onto his bed, knowing he was bound for another night of no sleep. He pulled the covers over his hand and brought the pillow close to his ears to try and block out the sound. But he could still hear the sounds of music above him.
Akaashi slunk out of his apartment the next morning, very aware of the bags under his eyes. No amount of coffee was going to help him get rid of them. As he opened his door, he noticed Kuroo, walking out of his apartment at the same time. As Kuroo looked up and noticed Akaashi, he took a step back to retreat into his apartment.
“Oh no, you don’t. Come out here, Kuroo-san,” Akaashi called. Kuroo walked out into the hallway, a sheepish smile on his face.
“Good morning, Akaashi-san. I didn’t see you there.”
“Shut up. When were you going to tell me that you were dating that gorilla upstairs?” Kuroo remained silent, just looking at Akaashi. “Well?”
“You told me to shut up.”
“You can speak now.”
“Oh okay, good,” he responded, sarcastically. “We’re not dating.”
“But I saw you… you know…”
“You saw us… what? Come on Akaashi, are you a little flustered?”
“Shut up. Normally when someone is thigh riding an obnoxiously hot, half-naked man, they tend to have some kind of relationship with one another.”
“Akaashi, have you ever heard of the term ‘fuck buddies?’ That’s all we are. We like to hook up now and then… ‘Obnoxiously hot?’ You think Bo is hot?”
“I’m going to punch you. Whatever your relationship is, can you kindly tell him to shut the fuck up? Who has a party on a Tuesday night?”
“They just won a really big game so they were celebrating. That’s not typical, to be honest. Normally, he goes to bed pretty early because of his workout schedule and then gets up way too early.”
“Yeah, I’ve grasped that part. Whatever, can you please ask him to keep it down?”
Kuroo sighed. “I’ll see what I can do. Are you heading to the train?”
“Yeah, I need to grab some more coffee on the way to work, though.”
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
Akaashi woke up to the sound of… jumping? the next morning. He couldn’t quite make out what exactly was happening above him, but it sounded like Bokuto was possibly hitting the floor. Akaashi stood on his bed to try to get a better listen. He put his ear up as close as he could to the ceiling until he heard a thwack right before the thumps.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. He’s skipping rope. It’s four in the morning and he’s skipping rope. What is wrong with this man?” Akaashi climbed off his bed and walked out of the apartment up to 4C. He banged on the door and waited for Bokuto to appear.
A few minutes went by until the door opened, revealing a shirtless Bokuto, his hair down unlike the other night, a sheen of sweat across his torso, and a jump rope in one hand. “Good morning, neighbor,” he beamed. “What brings you up here this early?”
“Don’t act so innocent, you know why I’m here. Can you please knock it off with the jump rope? I didn’t get to bed until one this morning and I have to be at work by nine. I would love to get some sleep.”
“Why did you go to bed so late? You should be more responsible with your sleep schedule. Studies show that a poorly maintained sleep cycle can lead to greater health risks. I would say it’s more important than eating healthy… you know, I never got your name.”
Akaashi glowered at Bokuto who returned the look with a smile. “And you never will. It’s none of your business why I stay up late, but some of us have real jobs. Now, kindly shut up .” Akaashi turned to leave and head back to his apartment.
“By the way, if you think I’m obnoxiously hot, you can just tell me. You don’t have to try to sneak a peek by coming to my early morning workouts or walking in on me about to have sex.”
Akaashi spun on his heel and marched to Bokuto. “You’re infuriating, you know that?”
“Am I now?”
“I just want to get one night of sleep, uninterrupted, but I have to listen to you hop around like a hippo up here. It sounds like you’re about to crash through the ceiling and land in my bed.”
“But you’d like that, right?” Akaashi felt like screaming, nothing he was going to say would get through to Bokuto, it was a lost cause. “You know, I meant what I said when I asked if you wanted to join. You’re pretty hot yourself. And when you’re yelling, it kind of turns me on.”
“I’m leaving now. Please keep the volume down, Bokuto-san.” Akaashi turned quickly and walked down the stairs before Bokuto could say anything else to fluster him. His face felt hot and he was more exhausted than when he began the conversation. But as he laid in bed, he noticed that no more sounds came from above.
The next morning, nothing.
The next, nothing.
Akaashi woke up, each morning for the next week around 4:30 am, expecting to hear the sounds of thumping, anything, as if his body were programmed to react. But there was nothing. It was just silent. So why was he upset? He rolled over and tried to fall back to sleep, but to no avail. He tossed and turned, threw the covers off, and pulled them back on, but by 5:20 am, he decided to give up. He wasn’t hungry, he wasn’t even that tired. He grabbed a sweater and decided to go upstairs, for curiosity’s sake - or at least that’s what he told himself.
When Akaashi passed 4C, he heard nothing. He wondered if Bokuto decided to use the gym on the sixth floor. He walked up the stairs to take a look, but the gym was empty with the lights off. As Akaashi headed back into the stairwell, he noticed the sign that read ‘roof access’ and began to ascend the stairs. He figured he was not going to fall asleep any time soon, so why not watch the sun come up?
As Akaashi opened the door, he heard the familiar sound of thwack, thump in repetition. He walked into the chilly morning air, the sun already beginning to rise, and saw the athletic figure of Bokuto. He was a sight to see in the glow of the morning sun, his sweat shining in the rays, the muscles on his chest bouncing along with his movements, hair rising and falling in the air as he swung the rope around himself.
He was completely concentrated, staring forward out into the city below them, his wrists moving the jump rope and his calf thrusting him upward as if he were on autopilot. Akaashi watched for a bit, a little mesmerized by Bokuto’s form and his body. He was truly an athlete, he was beautiful.
The door closed behind Akaashi with a loud bang, alerting Bokuto to his presence. He stopped his motions and turned to the sound. When he saw who was standing on the roof with him, he shot Akaashi a smirk, reminding him of why he disliked him so much, to begin with.
“You’re up early. Did you come to join me?” he asked. Akaashi could see his breath, the morning air still cool.
“You’re going to catch a cold, you know, if you work out in the cold air without a shirt on.”
“Why do you care?”
“I don’t. But you provided me a lesson on a proper sleep schedule, I figured you would know about the dangers of being exposed to colder temperatures while exercising.”
“Thank you for your concern, ‘man who shall not be named.’”
“Akaashi Keiji. And you’re Bokuto?”
“Bokuto Koutarou, often imitated, never duplicated.”
Akaashi sighed. “I really prefer when you’re quiet.”
“I know. That’s why I moved up here. I figured no one would hear me on the roof. Unless that’s why you came up, to tell me that I’m still too loud?”
“No. I couldn’t sleep. I decided to go on a walk,” Akaashi replied.
“Interesting…” Bokuto replied, placing his hand on his chin.
“What?”
“Well, you couldn’t sleep before because you claimed I was being too loud. Now you can’t sleep because… why? Did you miss me?”
“No.”
“Come on, you’ve gotten used to the sound and now you can’t sleep without it.” He took a few steps forward.
“Nope.”
“Admit it, Akaashi.” A few more steps.
“I will not.”
“Then why can’t you sleep?” Bokuto asked. He was close. Akaashi could smell the fragrance of his deodorant, or maybe that was his natural musk, but it smelled faintly of the woods during the rain. It was comforting, in a way.
“I work a lot, I have a lot on my mind. Maybe sometimes I just can’t get my brain to shut off. It’s very pretentious to think that you’re on my mind at all,” Akaashi replied, taking a step forward, asserting himself.
Bokuto smiled. “I didn’t say anything about me being on your mind. Just the fact that the sounds are comforting. But it’s good to know you think about me, too.”
“‘Too?’”
“I mean what I say when I say it. You’re hot. And you’re pretty sexy when you’re mad. You have this vein on the side of your neck that pops out a little when you yell. Have you ever noticed that? And your eyes get really big, but when they do, you can see how blue they are.”
Akaashi stood tight-lipped, at a loss for words. He took a step away and raised and raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to try to get a little bit of sleep before I have to head to work. Maybe I’ll be able to get an hour or so in. Make sure you take a proper shower, Bokuto-san. You wouldn’t want to catch a cold.”
He turned and headed back toward the stairs and to his apartment.
Thwack, thump. Thwack, thump. Thwack, thump.
The sounds became familiar, welcomed even, each morning as Akaashi would roll over in bed and count the number of jumps until his eyes closed again. The sounds stopped, signaling the end of the workout. Akaashi laid in bed for the next hour, contemplating if he should get up, but decided against it. He instead, waited for the inevitable.
The door opened slowly, quietly, trying to not be disturbing, but Akaashi was awake. He kept his eyes closed as strong arms circled him, and a pair of lips pressed against the back of his neck. “You haven’t showered,” Akaashi remarked, taking in the scent of rainy woods and stale perspiration.
“I was hungry, so I ate first.”
“But you smell, and you’re going to get my bed dirty.” Akaashi rolled over and looked into Bokuto’s big golden eyes and wide smile.
“Fine, I’ll go take a shower.” Akaashi heard the sound of the shower turn on. He rolled out of bed and headed into the bathroom, disrobing in the process. He pulled back the curtain and stepped in, placing his hands on Bokuto’s broad shoulders.
Bokuto turned and smiled before placing a kiss on Akaashi’s lips. “You weren’t very loud this morning, Bokuto-san.”
“No?” Bokuto asked, moving to Akaashi’s collarbone. “Why don’t we fix that now?”