Work Text:
His latest hook up had just kicked him out for somehow forgetting her name. Like it was his fault it was totally forgettable and that he regretted even asking to go home with her now just because he was a little drunk and she looked like she would be a good lay.
You live and you learn.
He'd looked around at the unfamiliar street. Brows furrowed as he fumbled for his phone in his pockets and automatically rifled through his contacts for Satsuki's number. She'll find him. Wherever the hell this is.
He looked around to try and look for anything, street names, a map, a plague, some giant signage to tell him what corner of Tokyo he had dragged himself to. He squinted as he read the name of a convenience store to her as well as what appeared to be a small honky-tonk in the corner.
" Ah. Shit. " He looked up at the first drop of raining.
"What's wrong? " Satsuki's worried voice came from the other end.
" It's raining. I'll wait for you at the bar. "
He pulled up his collar and ran through the first burst of rain immediately after, just getting soaked enough to hate himself as he walked into the moody establishment. It wasn't as depressing as he thought it would be. Small and cozy, dim light all around, and some red-haired guy playing some random moody tune on the guitar.
He took off his coat before the rain could soak him all the way through and found a chair by the bar. What more could a few drinks do for an already shitty night?
The bartender, some guy with cropped hair and a pair of glasses, walked over to where he'd sat then. He got himself a beer and just looked around as he drank it down before glancing back the door only to find the heavy rain still going.
The delicate ambience shifting as if by the sudden change in tune. The soft melody transitioning to a soft but slightly faster paced tempo of strumming . And there it was: his voice, dancing, gliding around the room, permeating into his very skin.
I wanna call you on the telephone
I made a thousand people love me
Now I'm all alone
And my resolve is sinking like a stone
Daiki's eyes grow wide. It seems like every word is piercing him from neck to spine. Digging into every nerve ending and bringing back memories they've all had to bury for the last 5 years when Kuroko Tetsuya dropped the news on them with a resignation letter and just disappeared into a plane never to be heard of again.
Until now that is.
What would I even say
I guess it's something that just never goes away
A crowd of thousands came to see me
And you couldn't reply for three days
He held his breath, uncertain if he was suddenly trapped in a dream or a nightmare. More to that, that his surprise was so effortlessly telegraphed onto his face that the bartender noticed.
" He's good isn't he? " Junpei asked, casually, cleaning out a glass as he bobbed his head slightly to the rest of the song.
Aomine can't say he heard it clearly. Or if he even processed what the other man had said, still stuck in the aftermath of knowing and hearing him sing like that again.
Cos I'm stupid and I'm damaged and you're a disaster
When you walk into the room
Oh none of it matters
Oh baby I just buckle
My resolution in tatters
His heart was drumming. Louder than the rest of the crowd that seemed to have settled into a quiet awe to listen to the lyrics. His voice melting with the red head in a pleasant symphony. And that somehow causes a stabbing in his chest he can't even begin to process.
Cos I know it won't work but make it ache, make it hurt
Keep me a secret
Choose someone else
I'm still hanging off the buckle on your belt
The buckle on your belt
The buckle on your belt
The buckle on your belt
Body turns against his will. His eyes land on the smaller of the pair. Those blue eyes closed as he sung the chorus empathically. The ache and the longing latching onto the notes as it wrapped around his neck like a tightening noose. Inevitably it opens, Tetsu's grip on the mic loosening as he seemed to step back, falling back on the base. Eyes slip away. Limelight lost to his partner.
And you close the door and leave me screaming on the floor
Oh baby I just buckle
I can't take it anymore
I let you walk all over me honey
You make me think my therapy is a waste of money
His new light's voice is raspier, more heavy. A stark contrast to his own. It catches everyone's attention as it seems to bounce smoothly from wall to wall. Like he could break the moment if you let him stop but Aomine knows its because Tetsu's plucking the right strings. He's building up the bass so the other's voice carries through. And no one notices.
No one except him.
Drinking it down
Haunting your city
Falling for anyone awful who tells me I'm pretty
I blocked your number but you didn't notice
They turned towards each other. Singing the next part together. Voices and movements in perfect harmony to a half empty bar and Aomine. His eyes glued to their synchronicity.
Oh god I thought I was too old for this
I should be over it
I'm much too old for this
But I'm not over it
And the other steps back again, bringing in the higher notes with his guitar. Tetsu jumping back in to croon with that voice that wraps around his thoughts, digging itself into the very roots, denying him of anything but just Tetsu, Tetsu, Tetsu, for a few more seconds.
Cos I'm stupid and I'm damaged and you're a disaster
When you walk into the room
Oh none of it matters
Oh baby I just buckle
My resolution in tatters
Light blue eyes sweep the crowd that's barely lit. He can feel it look around the room and then land on him. And he can delude himself for a moment that Tetsu could see him but he knows better. He knows how these small stages used to work. You barely see the crowd. You can just sing. You can just perform.
Something twisted in his chest at that and he thought about just waiting outside in the rain.
But that would require moving.
And he was frozen where he was, listening to them as they faced each other again and sang the rest of the song in perfect melody together.
Cos I know it won't work but make it ache, make it hurt
I'm not better than this, show me what I'm worth
Tetsu whispered the words.
Keep me a secret
Kagami carried the rest.
Choose someone else
And they joined again together as if singing it to each other.
I'll still be here, hanging off
I'm hanging off the buckle on your belt
Buckle on your belt
Buckle on your belt
Buckle on your belt
Until the last string was strung and the room filled with an echo of an applause.
Aomine turned away and exhaled the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Ordering himself another beer and checking his phone if Satsuki has finally found him. God, as if this night couldn't get any worse.
Some tall guy got on the stage after, making some pun about the Mic as the duo got off the stage.
" That was Kagami and Kuroko of Night and Day, everybody! They'll be back again in an hour. In the meantime, we've got Koganei on the piano for your requests. "
He was downing his beer like his life depended on it, trying to get Satsuki to pick up his phone when he felt it. His breath might as well have been right to his ear when he sat down on the chair next to his. Aomine gripping the phone desperately as a shield before the call inevitably ended without Satsuki picking up.
" Two beers and eight burgers, Junpei-kun. " Kagami ordered from the other side. " You want anything, Kuroko?"
" No, thank you. I'm just here for my friend. " He answered, smiling at the larger man who nodded and walked away after making sure his order was taken down.
Daiki watched him sit down in one of the booths only to give Aomine a glare. He glared back before he heard a cough from his side. And he's caught off guard by those bright blue eyes staring up at him expectantly. Even five years later, he's still not sure what he'd expected to find but probably not…this.
" Tetsu. " His name breathed out loud for the first time in years.
" Aomine-kun. I'm surprised to find you here. " He smiled.
Fuck, Tetsu.
" Shouldn't I be saying that? " He wondered, a slight furrow falling to his brows as Tetsu's smile slowly disappeared from his face as he looked down sadly.
Scratch that. Fuck him. He's an idiot.
" I just meant…I thought you quit the scene altogether. " He explained, looking away too o get another gulp down of his drink.
"I did. " And he feels him turn to take a look at Kagami. " I got inspired again. "
He hides the scowl on his face with another mouthful of the cheap beer. Clenching it tightly as he sets it down with a little more force than he means to. And he has to swallow the rest of his words for fear of inciting a riot or worse, for trying to kill a guy he'd just met. He exhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose and letting go of the bottle to look back at the door to check on the rain.
" What did you think of the song? "
His head swivels back at that. Eyes digging into the others trying to read his intention. Holding his breath again until he thinks some semblance of…need…that he remembers in perfect clarity compared to the last few weeks of that year. His tongue sweeps over his lips. His thoughts insufferably quiet as he leaned a little closer.
" Did you write it? "
It doesn't answer Tetsu's question but he still smiles up at him like he should have expected it. He nodded, stealing his bottle then to take a sip of his own. Daiki doesn't even question it. Nor does he think to get mad.
" I did. I wrote it five years ago. Couldn't figure out the melody until recently. "
His heart drops.
Of course.
He looked away, around, anywhere but him. And he wonders if he should pull the knives out of his chest and hand it back to him.
" I'm guessing…shit's different now. Time and distance and all that bullshit." He remarked with half a chuckle in his throat, not really meaning it. Not really wanting to address the elephant in the room either.
" Some things are harder to change than you think. " And there it is again, the flicker of a frown on his lips.
He's being such a shit—friend, whatever he is.
" Five years is a lot of time for bullshit to happen. " He looked down, taking his bottle back to drink it empty. Trying not to think about how it had just touched Tetsu's lips. " Maybe you'd want to catch up and tell an old friend about it. "
" Hm. Maybe. " Tetsu answered, looking up at him again, with those expectant eyes that could undo him if he really wanted to.
" Tetsu, about last time I — "
Whatever he had to say got interrupted by the bartender calling Kuroko over with a tray full of Kagami's orders. As if he couldn't hate the guy he'd barely even said two words to for even more. Kuroko nodded and moved to pick up the tray but stops to get one of the napkins instead. With a pen from his pocket, he wrote down his number and handed it to him.
" I have to go. " He shoved the napkin into the pocket of his shirt and smiled up at him. " Kagami-kun gets very angry when he doesn't get to eat before our next set. " He explained.
"Are you two— ?" He asks, brazen. Brave at the sudden proximity and perhaps because he's suddenly fearing the loss of it all over again when it's barely been a few minutes. The question seems to spark something in Tetsu's eyes. He's not sure and it's too dark to really notice.
" We're just friends. " And he thinks he hears it in the tone of like how they used to be just friends.
Aomine simply nodded dumbly and watched him pick the tray back up to walk away from him.
" I'll call you. "
" I know. "
And he smiled that smile again for him that makes Daiki want to kill Kagami before turning around and leaving him to his own miserable company. He sighed and stared at the number on the napkin, committing it already to memory. His phone ringing after. It was Satsuki. She was right outside.
He contemplated briefly telling her about Tetsu but changed his mind.
" You okay? " She asked, putting the umbrella over their heads as they walked to the car.
" Yeah. " He nodded, thoughtfully, looking over his shoulder again. " Can we stop by the Studio? I wanna pick up my guitar. "
A small beat of silence.
Satsuki was staring at him with a smile he thinks he hasn't seen on her in a while either.
" Of course, Dai-chan."
And the doors closed with the heavy rain dulled behind it and Tetsu's voice swimming in his head.
I should be over it
I'm much too old for this
But I'm not over it