It's three AM and Tim hasn't slept in four days. He stares at the clock while he mouths the words of the music blaring. It's not his music, understand, noooo. It's his new upstairs neighbor's. Who plays it non-stop. The same song. Over and over again. So Tim knows the words. And mouths them as he stares at the clock. A mug steams in his hand, filled with a nice amount of coffee. Tim takes a deep breath and then the pounding and squeaking starts again.
Tim glares at his ceiling. It was like the guy upstairs had no concept of sleep. This is his fifth time since he got home at nine.
Tim has had enough.
Tim sets down his mug and grabs his slippers. He pulls them on and closes his door behind him. He walks upstairs, anger boiling in him until he reaches his new neighbor's door and bangs as loudly as possible on it.
For a second, Tim wonders if his neighbor hasn't heard. He wouldn't be surprised since the music is probably going to put out one of Tim's eardrums. Tim knocks again and still, nothing. Angrily, Tim tugs at the knob, and to his surprise, it opens. And there, staring at him, is his neighbor in nothing but his boxers.
Tim has never seen his neighbor in boxers before. He kind of likes it.
"The-the door was open." Tim says.
The apartment is a studio apartment, and his bed is in view of the door. His neighbor stares at him. His neighbor, a man about Tim's age, black hair, blue eyes, dark skin, and pretty well muscled is staring at him. He stands on his bed alone in his boxers (with the logo of the Olympic Archer Cissie King-Jones, not a bad brand to buy), his sheets are pushed to the side, clearing room so he can… Wait a second, there's no one else in here, there's only him! He was jumping on the bed! Tim wonders what else he does on that bed… Tim shakes his head, clearing it.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" The neighbor shouts over his music.
Tim blinks at him. Oh, his neighbor hadn't heard him. The man jumps off of his bed and walks over to his speakers and turns the music off. He walks over to the room, cheeks flushed from the activity.
"What did you say?" He asks.
"The door was open." Tim repeats, suddenly not able to remember why he came up here.
"Oh. Yeah, guess I forgot to lock it." He says. He stares at Tim for a minute before saying, "well, bye now-" And begins to close the door.
"Wait!" Tim shouts, stopping the neighbor in his tracks. "I-I came up here to ask you to turn down you music, change the song, and to stop having loud se..."
"Loud 'sehhh'?" The neighbor asks.
Sex. Tim stares at the man though, who clearly is not having sex. "Uhhh… nothing, it doesn't matter." Tim stares at him.
"Okay. I'll turn down the music. But I'm still hooked on this song." The man says. Tim was too busy noticing how a breeze wafted by and how the man's nipples harden from the cold to care about what he was saying.
"Uh huh. Okay." Tim says. The man nods closes the door in his face. Tim walks downstairs, still stunned by the interaction he just went through. Tim's sure that this is all some very odd dream that he'll wake up from and still hear that incessant music, which he notices has stopped. He reaches out to open up his door and smacks himself running into it. Oh… no.
No. No. No. No. No-
Tim walks back up to his neighbor (the only person he know is awake in his building) and knocks on the door. It opens on the first knock. He's still wearing his underwear. "I turned it down." He says, arms crossed.
"Yeah. I locked myself out." Tim says.
"Oh." The guy looks at him for a long time before he says, "um, my name's Kon. C'mon in."
Tim raises an eyebrow. "I'm Tim. Your downstairs neighbor."
Kon looks down, only seemingly slightly embarrassed. He motions inside is apartment.
Tim walks in and Kon pulls on some pants and a sweatshirt.
"So." Tim says. "Jumping up and down on your bed?"
Kon frowns. "Zumba." He says.
"Zumba." Tim repeats incredulously.
Kon grins, "I don't look this good effortlessly, though I make it believable."
"At three in the morning." Tim says.
Kon shrugs. "I'm awake at this time."
"So am I, partly because of you."
Kon winces. "Sorry about that. Why didn't you tell me?"
"I… didn't want to interrupt."
"Interrupt what?"
"Nothing." Tim says hastily. "Uh, can I use your phone? To call the super, he won't answer tonight, of course. But so he knows in the morning… Mine's in my apartment."
"Yeah, sure." Kon says. He hands the phone to Tim who makes a quick call to the superintendent (the super has the only other copies of his keys) and then hands it back.
"Thanks."
"Coffee?"
"Sure, thanks."
Kon goes over to his kitchenette and makes a pot.
"I work in the late evening, early night, so nighttime tends to be like, afternoon for me." Kon explains. "Sorry if I've been keeping you up."
Tim shakes his head. "I tend to work best at night too, so I get it."
"Oh really?" Kon asks. "What do you do?"
"I'm a department head of a company, but a lot of my work I can do at home, so I generally do."
"Oh really? Any company I'd know?"
"Maybe. You know electronics?"
"Yeah."
"Own any?"
"Yeah."
"You're welcome." Tim says.
"You mean… you work for Kord?"
"No, I work for Wayne Enterprises, but we have a business deal with them."
"You're a department head of Wayne Enterprises?" Kon asks, astonished.
Tim shrugs. "Yeah, nepotism, you know."
"Nepotism?"
"Old family friends with the Waynes, and Bruce is sort of my adoptive father."
Kon's eyes widens. "No way!"
Tim flushes. "Yeah… you know," he says as he takes a deep sip, "I usually don't tell anyone this until at least the fourth date." He jokes.
"Fourth date?" Kon snorts. "If I was a Wayne, I'd tell everyone about it before I got the first one."
Tim shrugs and sips from his mug. "So what do you do?"
"I'm a part-time model, part-time secretary. I do a lot of filing and stuff after five. Plus, believe it or not, our busiest work time is during the evening time bracket."
Model, Tim could understand. "Secretary? Where do you work?"
Kon mumbles something and Tim raises an eyebrow. "Where?" Tim asks.
"Bird of Prey Fashion and Design."
"You're a fashion designer?" Tim asks, enthused.
Kon blushes. "Yeah."
"That's so cool!"
"Really? You think so?"
"Yeah! You look the part, too." Tim adds. As soon as he says it he blushes furiously, it was the fault of the late time and the caffeine overload.
"I… look the part?"
"You know..." Tim says softly, trying his hardest to be invisible. "Hot."
"You… think I'm hot?"
"Well..." Tim stares at Kon for a very long time. He sees Kon's undercut, the hole in his ear where an earring probably usually was. The sweatshirt Kon had pulled on had a popular arrow design on it (explains why Kon has the Cissie King-Jones boxers, if he works at a fashion company). The pants Kon is wearing are lounge pants with the stylized 's' symbol made popular by Clark Kent's expose on hope. Kon is still waiting for an answer. "Yeah."
Kon smiles. It's a nice smile. "Well that's a lucky thing then,"
"What? That you're hot?"
"No. That you find me hot." Kon lounges on his bed, manicured fingernails tap against the ceramic of his mug. "So, you only tell people you're a Wayne on the fourth date, huh? So what does that make this for us?"
"Wha-Oh no. I'm. I mean, you're hot Neighbor Of Mine Whom I Just Met, but we're not going to go out."
"No?"
"I-I mean-"
"Hey, say no and it's a no. I won't push. But, if this factors into your decision, I think you're hot too."
Tim's heart flutters. "So, um, what's your favorite type of food?" Tim asks. Kon smiles.
They talk all night, continuing to refill their mugs. Finally six in the morning arrives, and the superintendent calls up to Kon's room to tell Tim he's got Tim's key ready.
Kon walks him down, and they wait together. The super gets his apartment unlocked and Tim thanks him. "So, tomorrow at seven? I'll pick you up." Kon says, cementing their date while he waggles his eyebrows.
Tim blushes. They've decided that since they both work later than most people that their first date will be an order-in into Kon's apartment while they work and then, some time to themselves afterwards.
Tim smiles back. "Sure thing." He's about to close the door when Kon stops him.
"Hey, Tim?"
"Yeah?"
"What was that other thing that bothered you?" Kon asks.
"Oh nothing." Tim says dismissively.
"No really, I want to be a good neighbor. Tell me."
"Oh..." Tim's flushing becomes more serious. "I-I um, I always heard your bed squeaking, and it-it was really annoying. So I just assumed that you were… you know..."
"You thought I was having sex?" Kon says, laughter in his tone.
Tim only blushes in response.
"Well," Kon says with a wink, "good thing you're busy tomorrow."
"Why?"
Kon leans in and whispers, "because if you're up for it, my bed's gonna do a lot of squeaking. Wouldn't want to be a bother."