Work Text:
aleatory:
1. of or pertaining to accidental causes; of luck or chance; unpredictable: an aleatory element.
"You did what?!"
"It's not like it's that much of a big deal!" Mizuki laughed, "You've been so tense lately, and I can't stand how little you go outside nowadays."
"You can't sign someone up for a dating website without telling them first!" Aoba protested as he punched Mizuki lightly on the arm.
Both men were on their way home from work, the pair of them worked in an antique shop everyone seemed to ignore, with the occasional person coming in to ask if they knew the directions to the mall or if they had a toilet for use.
Aoba sighed, it was getting dark and he really didn't want to deal with Mizuki's antiques.
"Well, it's not like I'm going to use that website, even less remember you made it for me."
"Oh c'mon!" Mizuki cried out, "Did you know there is a 70% chance you will get to know someone who you'll have a long-term relationship with, even perhaps marry?"
Aoba choked on his spit, "I'm really not looking for anything like that."
"Then what are you looking for?" Mizuki eyed him sideways.
"I don't know... I'm not looking for anything at the moment."
Aoba entered his apartment complex and breathed out. He made his way to the kitchen where he got a can of beer and went directly to turn on his macbook.
After the computer was ready for use he clicked his way online and selected some music to listen to. It calmed his nerves and helped him go to sleep afterwards.
After a few hours of browsing online, he found himself nearly bored to death.
Not that he could blame anyone but himself, he never went outside, stayed on the computer until hours past midnight (right now it was 1 am), and even online he didn't know how to chat with people.
At times he'd go to websites where you can chat with a complete stranger, but the users on the other end of the line were normally perverts who wanted to see pictures of naked 16-year-olds.
Normally he'd then pretend he was a girl for some minutes until he got sick of the guys, told them he actually was a man, and went to chat with another (horny) stranger.
He wondered if he perhaps shut off his computer and went to sleep there might be a chance he wouldn't be too tired the next morning, but as always, his inner internet geek got the better of him, and he decided to browse through random websites.
That was when he remembered that Mizuki had signed him up on a dating website, and without thinking, Aoba typed the url on the search bar and clicked enter.
He was embarrassed to admit he still remembered the username and password Mizuki had selected for him, so within only seconds he had entered his own profile.
He read through the information Mizuki had entered about him, and was grateful he hadn't selected his location to be public.
Although rather unlikely, he didn't want any stalkers.
He kept on browsing through the page, and found out that Mizuki had for once not messed anything up, every fact was correct, and not too much was revealed.
"I do seem kind of boring, though." Aoba muttered under his breath, not quite able to understand how Mizuki had done this so well.
The website suddenly made a ping sound, and Aoba's eyes widened in surprise when he saw it was a friend request.
He entered the profile of the one who had sent the request and, to his surprise, found out the user didn't have any profile picture. "Just like me, huh?"
He skimmed through the rest of the profile and shrugged. All it said was that it was a male and he was 26. Couldn't hurt, right?
Aoba added him (the user was under the screen name benishigure), closed down the computer and went to sleep.
"So?" Mizuki leaned across the counter, "What did you do yesterday?"
"I know where you're getting at, and just for your information, I only checked out that stupid dating website of yours only because I wanted to know if you had given out personal information out."
"But I didn't, did I? Did you get any messages?"
"Not really, I did get a friend request, though."
"I knew I should've entered a profile picture of you." Mizuki swore under his breath before smiling brightly, "But you had a friend request! It may not have been 10, but something's something, right?"
That evening Aoba turned his computer on, and the first thing he did (simply out of curiosity he told himself repeatedly) was check if he had any friend requests.
To his disappointment, he had 0 new requests, but he did have a message on his inbox. He gulped hard as he clicked on it.
7:37 pm, benishigure says:
Hi
Aoba gulped once again. He normally didn't talk with people unless they were Mizuki, their boss or a customer (which was a rare thing to get), and he only felt comfortable talking with them because he had his definite roles around them.
But with this complete stranger, he was at loss. He didn't know if this person was looking for someone to mess around with or if he perhaps wanted a long-term relationship (which might lead to marriage), or what if it was just another creeper who also wanted to deflower 16-year-old girls (or in this case: 23-year-old Aoba who suddenly had very sweaty palms).
His hands shook as he typed and sent a reply (praying to whatever Higher Power that he didn't make a typo).
9:11 pm, aboa says:
Good evening.
Aoba, looking at the screen with huge eyes, breathed in and out repeatedly, one part of him hoping the stranger would never reply, another part of him hoping he would reply.
He stood up abruptly and walked in circles around his bedroom until he heard the ping and walked towards the computer.
It was a reply.
He sat down and exhaled and inhaled deeply before reading the message.
9:13 pm, benishigure says:
how are you
9:13 pm, aboa says:
Good, what about you?
9:14 pm, benishigure says:
same
"Wow, this guy is really boring." Aoba said, ignoring the fact that he hadn't been so entertaining, himself.
9:14 pm, benishigure says:
soooo..... what you up to
9:14 pm, aboa says:
I'm just listening to some music.
And chatting with you, obviously.
9:15 pm, benishigure says:
right
what you listening to
9:15 pm, aboa says:
Dubstep.
9:15 pm, benishigure says:
i've been interested in that lately, care to recommend some songs??
Aoba giggled involuntarily, it wasn't everyday he had the chance to recommend his favourite music to a total stranger.
"So you actually chatted with him? I never thought you'd get that far!"
"Be quiet," Aoba gritted his teeth, "It's not like I don't like socialising."
"Really? I thought you chose this job because you can socialise with the 0 customers we get here every day."
Aoba laughed, "Hey, I actually like this shop. You've seen me buy some of the items, haven't you?"
"I know, I know," Mizuki held his hands up in the air, "I know you feel at place here."
7:04 pm, benishigure says:
i can't stop listening to the songs you recommended me!! they're so good!
Aoba stared at the screen. This stranger had chatted with Aoba throughout the entire last night, and he hadn't gotten much sleep because of it.
Oddly enough, he hadn't felt very tired when he had woken up, and his mood had been good.
After work he had gone to the supermarket to get instant noodles and beer, which he was consuming as he read the messages this "benishigure" had left.
7:04 pm, benishigure says:
anything else you like i might like too?
Aoba thought about this for a second.
7:26 pm, aboa says:
I like antique items.
7:28 pm, benishigure says:
what
does
that
even
mean
7:29 pm, aboa says:
Old artefacts which hold a piece of history?
7:30 pm, benishigure says:
how old are you? 60???
7:30 pm, aboa says:
Yes, that's why I type so fast.
No really, you should find a shop near you and buy something
It'll be good for you.
"Is it just me or have you been smiling a lot lately?" Mizuki said as he eyed Aoba up and down.
"Well, is it just me or is the only thing we do at work talk?"
"You know what I mean, Aoba."
"I really d-" The bell above the door made a squeaky old sound Aoba wasn't very fond of, but he was surprised because that sound could only mean one thing - a customer.
The man who stepped inside was a familiar sight. A tall guy with curious eyes and a ponytail. Aoba grunted.
"Good evening!" It was Mizuki who spoke up, "Are you looking for a specific item?"
"I'm looking for something old..." The man hesitated, "Something with a bit of history attached to it?"
"Well, everything we've got here is "old" so just knock yourself out!"
The man walked straight to the last shelves of the corridor, looking at old books which were falling apart page by page and souvenirs from ancient cultures.
"Mizuki," Aoba whispered when the man was out of sight, "I can't stand this guy."
"Aoba, this is the first time we've gotten a customer this week, and it's friday. What has the poor guy done to you?"
"You don't understand. He's my neighbour."
"Oh? Why didn't he greet you? Wait, don't answer that you're never outside."
Aoba hissed, "The guy always comes home late, he wakes me up because of the stupid songs he sings when he's drunk, and women are constantly going in and out of his apartment."
Mizuki opened his mouth but shut it again once he saw the neighbour approaching the counter.
"I'll just buy these."
He put a pair of copper-cupids on the counter, and Aoba screamed internally. They had arrived first thing in the morning, and he had carefully put them in the last shelf so he could buy them at the end of the day.
"Y-you can't have them!" He stuttered.
The neighbour looked slightly shocked at Aoba's outburst and Mizuki looked at him with a look which said "sure he can".
"I mean," Aoba smiled, trying to fix his mess, "They are meant for couples. One for each."
"What makes you think I'm not buying this for a lover?"
Once the neighbour was out the door, Mizuki laughed. "I can't believe you actually said he couldn't have them!"
"It's not funny! I'll never see them again."
"It's not like you had anyone to buy them to. Or where you thinking of sending them to that loverboy you've got online?"
"You know damn well I never even thought of him!"
5:09 pm, benishigure says:
i went to an antique shop today!!
6:53 pm, aboa says:
Did you find anything you liked?
6:53 pm, benishigure says:
honestly it wasn't THAT interesting
6:53 pm, aboa says:
I can't believe you just said that.
6:53 pm, benishigure says:
haha i take that back!! how was your day?
6:54 pm, aboa says:
Could've been better. Wanted to buy something but someone got it before me.
6:54 pm, benishigure says:
sorry about that
6:54 pm, aboa says:
The worst part is that I really despise this guy, and I don't think he even knows how valuable those items are.
They'll probably end up in the trash.
It was early, too early for Aoba to know exactly what time it was. He assumed it was getting close to 8 am, and after taking a peak at the alarm clock standing on his bedside table, he rolled over in bed because he was right and it'd be great if just could sleep a little more since he didn't have to go to work today.
Since he and Mizuki were the only ones (apart from the owner - but he was nearly never there) who worked on the shop, he was grateful they had two days off, Saturday and Sunday.
Not that he did much else than being online and listening to music, but he wondered if he perhaps should (for once) go to the gym or go party later on.
He grabbed his phone and texted Mizuki "Wanna hang out w/ me today?" and sent it, doubting Mizuki would see it until a few hours had passed. It wouldn't surprise Aoba if Mizuki had been out partying last night, "living life" as he liked to call it.
His neighbour had gone outside too, and he had come home drunk and had struggled opening the door, slurring swear words and profanities.
Aoba was just happy he hadn't brought home any women, an occurrence which sometimes led to sleepless nights for him. The women (yes, sometimes he'd bring home more than 1) would laugh out loud as they cried out drunk and empty words, and then they'd leave first thing in the morning.
Sometimes they'd walk past Aoba, smiling at him, and he wondered if they perhaps smiled because they knew he had stayed awake listening to all of their moans and screams.
It drove him crazy.
After a lot of rolling around in bed, Aoba decided to turn on his computer and send a message to "benishigure", thinking that he had never taken the initiative to commence a chat session.
8:03 am, aboa says:
Good morning! :)
After sending the message, he wondered if he should get something to eat, but he heard the ping which meant he had a new message.
His heart skipped a beat.
8:04 am, benishigure says:
morning!! :D how are you today?
8:04 am, aboa says:
Sleepy, but I'm not going back to bed hehe
8:05 am, benishigure says:
i will entertain you then
Aoba's squealed.
8:05 am, aboa says:
Hey, I was wondering... what should I call you?
8:05 am, benishigure says:
call me beni ;)
u?
8:06 am, aboa says:
Seragaki.
One, two, three minutes passed before "benishigure" (Aoba made a mental note to try referring to him as "Beni" now) sent a reply.
"Were you really that busy this weekend?" Mizuki questioned, "Or were you actually chatting with your boyfriend?"
"Don't call him that."
"It's not like you two don't know every single detail about each other. C'mon Aoba, you tell him everything, don't you? It's the kind of relationship were you feel so special that you pour everything off of you, trust me - I've been there."
"What do you take me for?" Aoba sighed, "Do you really think I'm dumb enough to tell him everything there is to know about me? It's not like I know his real name..."
"Oh?"
"I don't know, he... He told me I should call him Beni, but something tells me that's not his real name."
"Real name or not, don't get too attached, and..." Mizuki cleared his throat, "Your favourite neighbour is coming this way."
Aoba spotted said man making his way through the crowd of people, and a silent grunt escaped his lips once he had stepped inside the shop.
"Yo, Seragaki!" He called out (to both Mizuki's and Aoba's surprise) and proceeded to walk over to the very same shelves he had been looking at last time.
"He knows your name..." Mizuki said slowly, "So what's his name?"
Aoba looked at the neighbour, his (uncovered) eye shone with brilliance as he stared at the new items, "Koujaku," He said finally.
8:21 pm, aboa says:
I can't believe you've never watched it.
8:22 pm, benishigure says:
so what i've never watched avatar it's not that much of a big deal is it??
8:22 pm, aboa says:
It is a big deal!! You've missed out on one of the best movies of this century!!
8:22 pm, benishigure says:
it can't be that good can it
8:23 pm, aboa says:
ARE YOU KIDDING ME IT'S THE BEST MOVIE I'VE EVER SEEN.
8:23 pm, benishigure says:
i guess i'm just not that into blue aliens that's all
but hey if our paths ever cross i won't complain if you want to watch it ;)
It had been weeks since Aoba first started chatting with him. When at first it had been awkward and he hadn't known what to chat with him about, he had now grown attached to him, and Aoba could safely say not one day had passed without them chatting.
Mizuki had stopped complaining about this, although Aoba could sense he was annoyed at what had been his own doing.
Aoba couldn't help it, though, he was completely in awe when it came to Beni.
"Should I get tomato soup or noodles again?" Aoba muttered to himself. He looked at the can of tomato soup he was holding with his left hand, examining the picture of what looked more like red blood and chose to buy noodles instead.
He pushed his cart with him as he found the section where the noodles were, and froze when he saw his neighbour standing right in front of the ones he wanted.
"Uhm... excuse me." He said as he tried to reach for the packet, but (unexpectedly enough), his neighbour reached out for the same packet and handed it to him.
"This is the one you like, right?" He smiled. Aoba looked at him and could feel a tingling sensation all over his body. There was something about that gesture which was so familiar, so well-known, but he just couldn't place it.
"Thank you." Aoba replied, and for the first time ever, he smiled to his neighbour.
"No problem at all," Koujaku smiled again, "Hey, do you want to come over tonight?"
Aoba didn't know how he had ended up here, because normally he wouldn't voluntarily agree to be anywhere near his neighbour if he could avoid it.
Now, though, he was sitting in Koujaku's living room, the smell of cigarettes lingered in the air and Aoba couldn't help but wonder if it'd be weird if he jumped out the window.
The neighbour stepped inside the living room and sat beside Aoba, the latter noticing he was holding something, but it was unclear what it could be.
"It's nice here." Aoba said, attempting to do something, anything, to break the ice.
"Thanks," Koujaku answered, and Aoba thought jumping out the window couldn't be that bad anyway, "Look, I invited you here because I think there's something you may want back."
And before Aoba could question him any further, Koujaku handed him the cupids.
He was speechless for a second. The cupids he had wanted so badly a few weeks ago, the cupids he never thought he would see again and had given up on, they were being handed over to him by the neighbour he used to hate so much.
He took them with both of his hands before looking back at Koujaku. "Thank you." He whispered, and cleared his throat before trying to speak again, "I mean, you bought these, and they are far too valuable to be given away just like that... Why are you giving them to me?"
"I guess I didn't know just how valuable they really were."
"Don't you think he's just trying to get you in bed?"
"I don't know, I mean, I got my cupids back!"
"It's not like they were yours at some point."
Ignoring Mizuki's last comment, Aoba continued, "I spent a long time at his place after he gave them to me yesterday, y'know, and he didn't seem to want to do anything weird. And I honestly had fun, I went home past midnight and fell asleep right away. It's actually the first time I let a day pass by without chatting with Beni."
"Wow, that's... shocking, to say the least."
Aoba looked at Mizuki with a troubled expression, and the latter confessed, "I know you're very attached to that Beni-guy now, but spending time with people you actually can touch is important. When I signed you up on that website, I never thought you'd fall in love with someone there. I'm sorry."
After Mizuki's words, they had for the first time in years spent the day in silence.
Mizuki had cleaned the windows while Aoba rearranged some of the items to new shelves. They had muttered their "goodbyes" and Aoba was more than grateful he could escape human contact at home.
He sat in front of the computer with a loud thump, his fingers craving to chat with Beni.
8:03 pm, aboa says:
YOU WILL NOT GUESS WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY
I GOT THE CUPIDS BACK
After sending the overly excited message, he walked to the kitchen and prepared his instant noodles. He had just set the water to boil when he heard the familiar ping and skipped to the bedroom.
He hadn't even taken a seat before he read what Beni had replied.
8:07 pm, benishigure says:
i know
His stomach dropped.
8:08 pm, aboa says:
You know what?
8:08 pm, benishigure says:
you were at my place yesterday
i gave you the cupids
Aoba blinked in confusion.
He stood there, dumbfounded, in confusion. Then a feeling of sickness washed over him, and then rage.
Without wasting a second, he stormed out of his apartment turned to the left, knocking furiously on his neighbour's door.
"Who is it?" He heard through the door.
"You know who it is!"
"Are you mad at me?"
The fact that Koujaku's voice sounded sympathetic and slightly afraid, made him even angrier.
"What do you think!?"
"Why are you angry at me?"
"Because-," Aoba cut himself off, "- Because I trusted you and yet you didn't tell me anything! You made me look like a fool!"
"If I open the door, will you please not punch me?"
"Open the door!"
He heard a clicking sound, and then the door was opened. Koujaku stood there, compassionate eyes and pretty hair.
"How could you?" Was the only thing Aoba could say.
"Listen, I... I was shocked too when I realised, but I didn't know how to tell you."
"A-and you think telling me like how you did back there was okay?"
"I panicked, okay, I wanted you to know so badly!" Koujaku held his hands in the air, "Please forgive me."
"I-... It's okay, I guess," Aoba sighed, "I'm sorry for saying that I hated you, I just can't stand the way you live like a bird. Women and booze is all I ever relate you with."
"And cupids?"
Aoba giggled, "Yeah, and cupids."
"Do you want to watch Avatar with me tonight?"
"Sure," Aoba said before adding, "I still can't believe you haven't watched that movie, y'know."