"You're not Satsuki."
When the stranger lying on Daiki's couch failed to make any sudden movements or, indeed, move at all, he figured it'd be okay to toe off his basketball shoes and grab a glass of water before continuing the conversation. He did, however, have the common sense to continue it from the other side of the partition that separated kitchen and living room.
"Who are you," he tried again, "And how did you get in here?"
From his new angle, Daiki could see the laptop in the other man's lap; before he could make out what was on the screen though, his attention was diverted. The stranger looked up and Daiki was met with an unremarkable and ultimately unfamiliar face.
The stranger inclined his head a bit and answered, "I'm Kuroko Tetsuya. I'll be Momoi-san's babysitting double."
"And by 'double' you mean...?"
"Have you heard of a ghostwriter?" Daiki made a noise of vague assent, eyes still trained on this sudden intrusion to what should have been a normal Sunday. "It's like that," Kuroko said. "I take care of you and Momoi-san still gets the credit."
Leaving aside his apparent need of a babysitter, Daiki focused on the more pressing issue. "Did Satsuki go somewhere?"
"As I understand it, she'll be busy for the next few weeks so she's commissioned me to check up on you in her place," Kuroko informed him. Daiki tensed as he reached into the pocket of his hoodie, relaxing when he saw that the item Kuroko pulled out was not visibly dangerous. It was a key. "Momoi-san gave it to me," he supplied, although Daiki hadn't asked anything out loud.
"So why are you here now?"
"Just for an introduction. I figured you'd want to meet me before I started stocking your fridge with food. Or should I just slip grocery money under the door?" Daiki wanted to protest that he wasn't that hopeless but something in Kuroko's eyes stopped him. Without really knowing where it came from, he got the feeling that he was being teased.
He remained silent as Kuroko closed his laptop and slid it into a backpack that had appeared from beneath the coffee table. As the other got up and walked to the door, Daiki realized that he was leaving and could only think to blurt out, "If you're not lying and you're not actually a really smooth-talking burglar, you can come back for dinner if you want."
The last thing he saw was a small smile as the answering "okay" was blocked out by the sound of the door closing.
Dinner went okay, as far as a meal between complete strangers could be "okay".
Daiki had worked up the energy to make mac and cheese (the most intricate thing he'd cooked in weeks) and even cleared off the coffee table, stacking the various takeout menus he'd amassed neatly on the counter, next to a week's buildup of mail.
Kuroko had shown up promptly at six, still wearing the hoodie, minus the backpack. He hadn't seemed bothered by having to sit at the coffee table and had watched Daiki bring out the food with little comment.
It was after they'd eaten in silence for the first few minutes of the meal that Kuroko spoke. "I'm impressed," he said. "Momoi-san didn't mention you were able to cook for yourself."
"Don't sound so surprised," Daiki grumbled. "Satsuki just doesn't like talking about things she's not good at."
"I was praising you."
"Didn't sound like it." And there it was, that feeling he was being teased. Deciding to change the subject, he asked, "How do you know Satsuki again?"
"I never told you the first time," Kuroko said. "We met through work. Momoi-san was writing a story on the local kids basketball team and I happened to be one of the coaches."
"Not anymore?"
"I was only filling in while the assistant coach was on vacation."
Noticing that Kuroko's plate had been empty for a while, Daiki got up and began to clear the table. It was easy enough; what was left of the food fit easily in his mini fridge and the dishes were left stacked in the sink. "You sure fill in for a lot of people, don't you," Daiki asked.
"It's a hobby." Following him into the kitchen, Kuroko began ran the faucet for a bit before starting to wash the dishes himself. "Full points for the meal but that doesn't mean you don't have to clean up afterwards," he said. "And here I thought you might be making an effort for me."
A few more pointed comments made to what seemed like the world at large were sufficient enough for Daiki to help with the rest. When they were finished, Kuroko declined the beer Daiki offered, saying, "I have the early shift tomorrow. One of my coworkers-"
"Let me guess," Daiki interrupted, grinning slightly. "Needs someone to fill in for them?"
Kuroko nodded. "That's right." He began to head for the door.
Before he could let himself out, Daiki called out, "How often did you Satsuki ask you to check up on me?"
Kuroko glanced back before looking upwards, as if considering his options. "I'll be back on Wednesday," he finally said. "And I'll bring dinner. Consider it my gratitude for tonight."
Daiki took that to mean the mac and cheese had been especially delicious.
Wednesday night found Daiki lounging on his couch, surfing the channels for a game to watch when the knocking on his door reminded him that he was expecting company. Snagging a shirt from the back of a chair on the way, Daiki opened the door to find Kuroko stood holding what looked like enough Chinese takeout to comfortably feed a family.
Kuroko didn't seem too surprised by the state of his apartment, although it was noticeably messier than when he'd last come over. Instead, it seemed like he took it as par for the course. Depositing the takeout on the kitchen counter, he said, "Momoi-san mentioned it but you really do have a talent for accumulating a mess. Shall I count it a victory that the shirt you're wearing looks passably clean?"
"It is clean," Daiki protested. "Didn't you know? As long as you lay them out flat, your clothes won't get wrinkled after you take them out of the dryer."
"I didn't." Bent over the coffee table, Kuroko admitted that, to Daiki's surprise. He took a few steps forward, away from the door, in order to catch a glimpse of his face. He seemed sincere. "I guess slobs have their own ways of being innovative."
"You're kind of an asshole, aren't you?" Nevertheless, Daiki found himself chuckling. He had already realized that although Kuroko could be mean, he wasn't malicious.
The only answer he got was a pile of clothes stuffed into his arms. "Here," Kuroko told him. "Take your clothes and go be clever in your room."
By the time they were able to actually sit down and eat, the food had gone cold and had to be reheated. When they had finished, Kuroko once again managed to guilt Daiki into doing the dishes before getting ready to leave.
"I don't want to miss my train," he explained, slipping on his shoes.
"Ah, I guess it is pretty late," Daiki replied. The last trains would be departing from the station nearest his home soon. In fact, glancing at the clock, he doubted Kuroko would be able to make it. (This was already under the assumption that he would be running.) "Then," he said, grinning, "You can just stay over."
"I don't think-"
"I'll even lend you a shirt to sleep in," Daiki said, before offering up his trump card. "Besides, I heard there'll be a rerun of today's game." It wasn't a guarantee but he already knew that Kuroko had coached basketball and he'd noticed the wristbands peeking out of his bag the first time they'd met so Daiki was also sure it wasn't quite a shot in the dark.
It worked.
True to his word, Daiki lent Kuroko a shirt and even let him have the bath first. Sat outside in the living room, it occurred to him that he hadn't aired out his spare futon in a while, then decided that Kuroko could make do with the couch. He confirmed it when the other came out, hair still damp and looking swamped in Daiki's shirt.
"The couch will be fine but please take the effort to pull out some blankets for me. Or tell me where you keep them," Kuroko said.
"Fine, fine." He started out into the hallway before pulling back, nearly knocking Kuroko down in the process. "Hey, Kuroko," he said. "What did you say your first name was?"
"Tetsuya," he answered, eyebrows drawing together slightly, whether in irritation or confusion, it was hard to tell.
"Tetsu then," Daiki decided. "I'll just call you Tetsu."
To be honest, he'd been expecting at least a bit of protest but all Kuroko said was, "I guess that's fine. It'd be weird hearing you call my name formally anyway."
"Shut up," Daiki said. He gave Tetsu a light shove on the shoulder but still found himself laughing again anyway.
Over the next few weeks, Daiki noticed various things:
Tetsu started coming over for dinner every few days and it was the longest period of time Daiki had found himself eating regularly in months. It also consisted of the most proper meals he'd had, once he'd rediscovered the art of simple cooking after they got tired of mac and cheese. He also realized that the Chinese that one time had been a fluke; Tetsu wasn't too fond of takeout in general, although he seemed to make an exception for this one place's shakes.
He'd taken to checking his mail regularly, once he realized that Tetsu was not above tossing whatever wasn't a bill and was over a week old, open or not, still in the mailbox or not. It was still a mystery how he'd gotten hold of the key, or at least a copy of the key, that opened the box at all.
Despite all of Tetsu's snarking, he was hopeless when it came to his own laundry. This lead to several expeditions around both their neighbourhoods, which eventually resulted in complete failure to locate a decent laundromat and instead convinced Tetsu to start bringing his laundry to Daiki's instead. It had made sense at the time, although at the time, they had also been hot and tired and extremely fed up. At least it resulted in both their clothes getting folded and Daiki's getting stashed in his room instead of cluttering up the seats.
Tetsu hadn't been kidding when he said filling in for people was a hobby. Playing basketball together was just as enjoyable as watching games was. Tetsu's taste in movies leaned toward the mystery genre; combined with Daiki's love of action, they managed to compromise at crime and suspense. Once you got past the curiously unremarkable features, Tetsu wasn't so bad looking. He was also good at magic tricks. He still hadn't aired out his spare futon and it was probably time he thought about replacing the curtains in his living room with something that would let a little more light in.
Satsuki hadn't called him once.
The last fact he didn't realize until his phone lit up with her name around noon, the customized ringtone she'd picked out for herself emanating from the fridge, where he'd put it down and forgotten that morning.
"Dai-chan?"
Satsuki was back. He also hadn't seen Tetsu in about a week. During that time he'd found himself curiously lost, with no idea how to pass the day, although he was sure he'd spent just as much time alone as he had before meeting Tetsu.
"Dai-chan, we need to talk."
They'd never even bothered exchanging contact information. Plans had always been made a few days ahead of time and in person; if not, they could expect to see each other when Tetsu dropped by his place to check for signs of life anyway.
"So I've decided to take on a position as a war correspondent."
Daiki wondered if Tetsu found himself with the same, sudden gaps in his schedule.
"I have a new girlfriend too. She's cute."
It was just so weird for him, to care this much. He'd known Tetsu for a month and already it was as if his childhood friend (well, other childhood friend) had moved away.
"I've also decided to swear off basketball. I can't stand the sport anymore."
Daiki sat up and turned to face her. "What? You love basketball. How can you hate basketball?"
Satsuki huffed, prompting Daiki to wonder what he'd done wrong this time. "Glad to know I've finally got your attention."
Daiki leaned back against the couch once more. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you don't hate the sport. What were you trying to tell me?"
"So, what did you think of Tetsu-kun? Isn't he great? Ahh, I love him! He's the best," Satsuki said. She managed to knock Daiki in the head with the pillow she pulled over to squeeze.
He shrugged. "He's okay, once you get used to him. You should invite him to hang out more," he said, aiming for casual and failing halfway.
"Ooh, I know what that means. You've made a friend, haven't you?" Daiki swatted her hand away as she attempted to ruffle his hair. "That's good. You could use more friends."
"I have all the friends I need," he mumbled. Who really needed a lot of friends anyway? He didn't, not when he already had one awesome one.
"Are you sulking?"
No matter how irritating she usually was.
Satsuki sighed. "I was going to see if you'd figure it out on your own but a moping Dai-chan is no good after all. Do you want me to call Tetsu-kun?"
So she had her uses after all. "Sure," he said, succeeding a bit more with the nonchalance. "Tell him to come over for dinner."
Shooting him a lazy "victory" sign, Satsuki headed towards the kitchen to make her call.
Tetsu was at the door an hour later.
Satsuki's first words were, "Don't tell me you missed him too."
"I did," Kuroko said and it both pleased and embarrassed Daiki that he didn't even joke about it. "I was starting to consider asking you to pass along messages."
"You're telling me you didn't even exchange phone numbers?!"
"Why would we," Daiki said, "When we were seeing each other anyway?"
Throwing her hands up exaggerated exasperation, Satsuki attempted to stalk into the kitchen. Daiki headed her off before she could, just to make sure she didn't get any ideas about messing with the pot on the stove because she was "sure you had to add more seasoning than that."
"Have things settled down at work?" Tetsu stepped in to distract her.
While Daiki went to check up on dinner, Satsuki and Tetsu settled in to speak on the couch. He could still hear them through the opening in the wall.
"You know," she remarked, "This is probably the first time I've seen him cook in months. Usually it's all takeout or convenience store food. I'm impressed!"
"He does laundry now too," Tetsu confided.
"No!"
"He does."
"You must've been a really good influence on him, Tetsu-kun."
"Nothing you couldn't have managed yourself."
"That," Daiki said, entering into the conversation once again, "Is where you're wrong." He walked out of the kitchen balancing all three of their plates. Leaning down, he let Satsuki take one from him before handing the other to Tetsu. "She's been nagging me for years to do all that crap and I haven't listened once."
"So why did you listen to me?" Tetsu leaned forward to look down at him as he took a seat on the floor in front of the couch.
"You complimented me?"
"I recall no such thing," Tetsu said, grinning slightly.
"Please," Daiki scoffed. "Sarcasm must be your favorite form of flattery."
Between the three of them, they ended up laughing so much that the apartment super called up about the noise they'd been making.
Daiki preempted Tetsu before he could even think about leaving. This time, he made sure to ask for his number.
As Tetsu entered it into his phone, Satsuki chimed in, "He really has missed you. I can tell. Without anyone to fool around with, he's been lonely."
"I suppose I've been lonely too," Tetsu admitted, once again causing a weird mix of happiness and embarrassment in Daiki.
"I wasn't that lonely," he still protested. "I've spent my days doing exactly what I was doing before we met."
"Lying around?"
"Doing nothing?"
"Shut up!" Daiki feigned a punch towards both of them; Satsuki dodged with ease while Tetsu took the hit and moved with it, ending up collapsing back into a chair. The three sat in companionable silence for a while.
Eventually it was broken by Satsuki who said, "You two should just do it already." She looked at both of them. "Move in together, that is."
Maybe it was late but it seemed that the idea was met with less logic and more speculative interest than it would have been at any other time.
"I guess," Daiki said and glanced Tetsu for a reaction. He couldn't distinguish anything too against the idea, although it also looked like there wasn't much that was for it either. "I wouldn't mind," he finally said. "As long as this guy helps clean."
Both Satsuki and Daiki turned to look at Tetsu. "Well," he said. "I guess it's a good thing I've already begun moving my things in."
"What?"
"It was supposed to be a prank but things have worked out rather nicely, haven't they? I've left a box under your bed and have also taken the liberty of claiming a drawer in the bathroom. It's right under Momoi-san's."
Tetsu stood up and Daiki stood with him. From the couch, Satsuki grinned at the two of them.
Holding out his hand, Tetsu said, "Let's get along, roommate."
"Yeah," Daiki said, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you, roommate."
(Later on, Daiki checked under the bed for the box. It really was there and already held several of Tetsu's novels, his laptop and a change of clothes. The bastard had even stashed the shirt he'd lent him the first night he stayed over in there.)
AN: A belated birthday present to jarofclay42. I hope you had a lovely day dearie!