KHR: Neighbor Before Home 3/4.
So this is the second exchange fic I made with lady_androgene, it's kind of... strange.
Title: Neighbor Before Home.
Rating: T.
Pairing: 6927.
Timeline: AU TYL.
Summary: They say that before you look for a place to live in, you should check for who lives next door.
---
Now Sai, the bartender of the neighborhood's small bar, wasn't the nosiest of people. He saw people drinking around and acting all kinds of crazy and he didn't lift a single finger to stop them, it wasn't his job to do so.
But there were two certain customers who he looked forward to see every Saturday, mainly because watching them interact was very amusing.
And speak about the devils, they entered.
One was Sawada Tsunayoshi, an over-worked office manager who always complained about his co-workers' lack of sanity (though when Sai asked to him about why he didn't switch jobs if they were that hard to deal with, Tsunayoshi answered him with a small yet utterly fond smile and Sai just knew...)
The other was Rokudo Mukuro, a weird-ass Italian man (why did he have a Japanese name again?) who worked as a freelance artist, he frequented here to make fun of people, Sai suspected, seeing that he rarely ordered anything and just settled for sitting there and observing.
These two always came to him separately, but then they notice each other and hilarity ensues.
At first, they ask what the other was doing here.
And then they accuse each other of stalking.
And then somehow they get into a drinking contest, a contest that Mukuro fails miserably at by the way.
When they get drunk out of their minds, they turn into best friends. It was absolutely priceless to hear their vows of friendship, really, really priceless (if he ever needed to blackmail one of them, he had a lifetime worth of material).
Finally, they make out.
Now for two people who claim to get annoyed with each other, they sure are passionate about sticking their tongues in each other's throat.
Next Saturday, they come here again, and it's the same story all over.
Sometimes, he thinks that they're doing this on purpose.
These past few days had been relatively quiet, Mukuro mused.
And by 'quiet' he means the fact that he didn't have an argument with his neighbor for days.
Now you can call him crazy but he kind of... missed that, what's the fun in living here if he couldn't annoy Tsunayoshi?
Maybe I'm drunk?
Nonetheless, five minutes later, he found himself in front of Tsunayoshi's doorstep. He was about to ring the doorbell when he noticed that the door was open, frowning in confusion and slight worry (not that he would ever admit it), he entered.
Mukuro then noticed that all the lights in the apartment were turned off, which was strange because Tsunayoshi didn't look like someone who liked the dark.
Could it be that he's...
Before he continued that train of thought, he heard a faint noise coming from a closed room, probably Tsunayoshi's bedroom.
Wary, he slowly walked towards it, preparing himself for any outcome. He saw a figure lying in bed upon entering, a figure that was sneezing rapidly.
And just when I thought that you got murdered or something, finding the switch, he turned on the lights and Tsunayoshi hissed in pain.
"Oh God, why are you even here? Turn the lights off," his neighbor groaned irritably, but Mukuro didn't pay him any heed and just went to pick up a chair with Natsu, who was lazily sprawled on the floor before now circling around him excitedly.
"Bad case of flu?" his answer was a coughing fit. "Thought so..."
"Just leave me here to di- what are you doing?" Tsunayoshi asked when he stood up from his chair and fluffed his pillow.
"Playing nurse," Mukuro answered simply. "Where do you keep your pots?"
"In the drawer next to the ove- wait, why are you even doing this?" the brunet was looking thoroughly confused right now, much to Mukuro's amusement.
"I'm bored and I don't have anything to do, now rest until I make something warm for you." The look of absolute disbelief on Tsunayoshi's face really made his day.
For a week, Mukuro kept coming over (the door couldn't be locked for some reason, now that he thought about it, changing its locks was a really bad idea). Always making chicken soup and making sure that he ate all of it (he told him that his experience on how to take care of sick people came from Fran, a brat he used to babysit once upon a time).
By the third day, Tsuna stopped questioning him and just took whatever he did silently, somewhat glad that someone was taking care of him (he told his friends not to come over, in fear that they would catch whatever he got and for the fact that they kind of over-did things with their constant worry, he still remembered the time when his foot got broken, half of his former apartment got destroyed after all).
"I think I can go to work tomorrow," Tsuna said after he finished his bowl of chicken soup. "You don't need to take care of me anymore."
Mukuro nodded in acceptance as he took the bowl from him, standing up to wash it in the kitchen.
"Mukuro," he called out before the other left the room.
"I don't know why you did this, maybe you wanted to see me at my weakest state and laugh or something, maybe it was for your own amusement?" Now Mukuro looked at him, eyebrows raised in question about what was his point of this.
"I... I guess I'm saying thank you." Tsuna smiled hesitantly. "I'll take care of you if you got sick in exchange."
As a response, Mukuro snorted and then, for Tsuna's utter shock, smiled back at him. "You're welcome."
When he said that he'll take care of him whenever he got sick...
"You're one minute late."
He didn't mean it as a slave.
Sick Mukuro was as demanding as a five year old, and sometimes, his demands seemed highly suspicious.
"Cook me some filet mignon."
"Carry me to the living room."
"Massage my back."
"Bathe me."
"Undress me."
"Tell me a bedtime story."
He was regretting ever feeling grateful to the guy.
Tsuna slowly opened his eyes after a deep slumber, only to see a pretty lady wearing an eye-patch sitting next to him.
The pretty lady looked happy when she saw that he was awake. "You're okay, thank God..."
Confused, he looked around only to see himself on a hospital bed, huh?
"You've been unconscious for three days," the pretty lady explained, as if she felt his confusion. "A fire broke out in the apartment building you were living in, don't worry though, everyone is okay," she added when she saw his features twist in worry.
"You have a very nice cat." She smiled kindly, pointing towards her lap where Natsu was sleeping.
Sighing in relief, Tsuna asked, "Did you live there? I don't believe that I saw you before..."
"No, I don't live here at all. I was living in Tokyo until two days ago."
Her answer only got him more confused. "I don't want to be rude but... who are you?"
"I guess an introduction is in order, huh?" Tsuna nodded. "My name is Chrome," the pretty lady answered, "I'm one of Mukuro's friends."
Mukuro? "Is he okay? The fire didn't get to him, right?"
Chrome chuckled softly. "He's alright thanks to you."
And now he's confused again. "What?"
"You see, Mukuro can be stubborn when he is passionate about something, in this case, his artwork. When the fire broke out, he refused to let any of his works go destroyed. You knocked him out and carried him outside along with Natsu, at least that's what your other neighbors had told me."
"Oh..." Tsuna said only, not sure about how he could reply to that.
"When I learned that it was you who saved him, I had to pay my gratitude to you." The grateful smile Chrome had on her lips was really embarrassing him. "Mukuro is someone important to me, important to us, and we'll be forever thankful for what you did."
Tsuna only smiled at her in return, and asked her to tell him more.
Chrome told him that she, along with others, befriended Mukuro when they were all in Kokuyo middle. In fact, he was the one who got them all together. He helped them through tough times and so they kind of looked up to him in a way.
And now that they were all adults, they wanted to prove themselves to him and work to achieve their goals and dreams. She told him that she worked as a fashion designer in Tokyo while the others worked in other countries like Italy and France, that's why she was the first one to get here after the fire broke out.
"He talks about you, you know?" Chrome said, looking amused. "Ever since he moved into your apartment building, I felt that he wasn't as bored and lonely as he was when we all left. I think he likes you even."
"I'm not too sure about that." Tsuna laughed sheepishly.
"Take care of him," Chrome requested, eyes looking hopeful. "I know that he can be difficult sometimes but take care of him, until we all return."
Tsuna really wanted to say that he and Mukuro didn't get along, that he wasn't the right person to request that favor from, but he found himself saying, "Alright."
Chrome smiled a pretty smile then.
"Where do you even get these books?" Tsuna asked immediately when Mukuro opened the door. They somehow found themselves neighbors when they moved to a different apartment building.
Mukuro looked at the book in his hold that was titled: "Not A Virgin (you totally are) At 24: How To Hook Up With Your Sexy Neighbor In 3 Days" before he smirked. "I thought that I could be at help."
"The mail-man gave me a thumbs up, and I'm not a virgin by the way."
"Prove it," Mukuro simply replied.
And then Tsuna sighed and, surprisingly, stepped into his apartment and did.
"Where the hell did you learn that from?"
"You really don't want to know."
Part Four.
Title: Neighbor Before Home.
Rating: T.
Pairing: 6927.
Timeline: AU TYL.
Summary: They say that before you look for a place to live in, you should check for who lives next door.
---
Now Sai, the bartender of the neighborhood's small bar, wasn't the nosiest of people. He saw people drinking around and acting all kinds of crazy and he didn't lift a single finger to stop them, it wasn't his job to do so.
But there were two certain customers who he looked forward to see every Saturday, mainly because watching them interact was very amusing.
And speak about the devils, they entered.
One was Sawada Tsunayoshi, an over-worked office manager who always complained about his co-workers' lack of sanity (though when Sai asked to him about why he didn't switch jobs if they were that hard to deal with, Tsunayoshi answered him with a small yet utterly fond smile and Sai just knew...)
The other was Rokudo Mukuro, a weird-ass Italian man (why did he have a Japanese name again?) who worked as a freelance artist, he frequented here to make fun of people, Sai suspected, seeing that he rarely ordered anything and just settled for sitting there and observing.
These two always came to him separately, but then they notice each other and hilarity ensues.
At first, they ask what the other was doing here.
And then they accuse each other of stalking.
And then somehow they get into a drinking contest, a contest that Mukuro fails miserably at by the way.
When they get drunk out of their minds, they turn into best friends. It was absolutely priceless to hear their vows of friendship, really, really priceless (if he ever needed to blackmail one of them, he had a lifetime worth of material).
Finally, they make out.
Now for two people who claim to get annoyed with each other, they sure are passionate about sticking their tongues in each other's throat.
Next Saturday, they come here again, and it's the same story all over.
Sometimes, he thinks that they're doing this on purpose.
These past few days had been relatively quiet, Mukuro mused.
And by 'quiet' he means the fact that he didn't have an argument with his neighbor for days.
Now you can call him crazy but he kind of... missed that, what's the fun in living here if he couldn't annoy Tsunayoshi?
Maybe I'm drunk?
Nonetheless, five minutes later, he found himself in front of Tsunayoshi's doorstep. He was about to ring the doorbell when he noticed that the door was open, frowning in confusion and slight worry (not that he would ever admit it), he entered.
Mukuro then noticed that all the lights in the apartment were turned off, which was strange because Tsunayoshi didn't look like someone who liked the dark.
Could it be that he's...
Before he continued that train of thought, he heard a faint noise coming from a closed room, probably Tsunayoshi's bedroom.
Wary, he slowly walked towards it, preparing himself for any outcome. He saw a figure lying in bed upon entering, a figure that was sneezing rapidly.
And just when I thought that you got murdered or something, finding the switch, he turned on the lights and Tsunayoshi hissed in pain.
"Oh God, why are you even here? Turn the lights off," his neighbor groaned irritably, but Mukuro didn't pay him any heed and just went to pick up a chair with Natsu, who was lazily sprawled on the floor before now circling around him excitedly.
"Bad case of flu?" his answer was a coughing fit. "Thought so..."
"Just leave me here to di- what are you doing?" Tsunayoshi asked when he stood up from his chair and fluffed his pillow.
"Playing nurse," Mukuro answered simply. "Where do you keep your pots?"
"In the drawer next to the ove- wait, why are you even doing this?" the brunet was looking thoroughly confused right now, much to Mukuro's amusement.
"I'm bored and I don't have anything to do, now rest until I make something warm for you." The look of absolute disbelief on Tsunayoshi's face really made his day.
For a week, Mukuro kept coming over (the door couldn't be locked for some reason, now that he thought about it, changing its locks was a really bad idea). Always making chicken soup and making sure that he ate all of it (he told him that his experience on how to take care of sick people came from Fran, a brat he used to babysit once upon a time).
By the third day, Tsuna stopped questioning him and just took whatever he did silently, somewhat glad that someone was taking care of him (he told his friends not to come over, in fear that they would catch whatever he got and for the fact that they kind of over-did things with their constant worry, he still remembered the time when his foot got broken, half of his former apartment got destroyed after all).
"I think I can go to work tomorrow," Tsuna said after he finished his bowl of chicken soup. "You don't need to take care of me anymore."
Mukuro nodded in acceptance as he took the bowl from him, standing up to wash it in the kitchen.
"Mukuro," he called out before the other left the room.
"I don't know why you did this, maybe you wanted to see me at my weakest state and laugh or something, maybe it was for your own amusement?" Now Mukuro looked at him, eyebrows raised in question about what was his point of this.
"I... I guess I'm saying thank you." Tsuna smiled hesitantly. "I'll take care of you if you got sick in exchange."
As a response, Mukuro snorted and then, for Tsuna's utter shock, smiled back at him. "You're welcome."
When he said that he'll take care of him whenever he got sick...
"You're one minute late."
He didn't mean it as a slave.
Sick Mukuro was as demanding as a five year old, and sometimes, his demands seemed highly suspicious.
"Cook me some filet mignon."
"Carry me to the living room."
"Massage my back."
"Bathe me."
"Undress me."
"Tell me a bedtime story."
He was regretting ever feeling grateful to the guy.
Tsuna slowly opened his eyes after a deep slumber, only to see a pretty lady wearing an eye-patch sitting next to him.
The pretty lady looked happy when she saw that he was awake. "You're okay, thank God..."
Confused, he looked around only to see himself on a hospital bed, huh?
"You've been unconscious for three days," the pretty lady explained, as if she felt his confusion. "A fire broke out in the apartment building you were living in, don't worry though, everyone is okay," she added when she saw his features twist in worry.
"You have a very nice cat." She smiled kindly, pointing towards her lap where Natsu was sleeping.
Sighing in relief, Tsuna asked, "Did you live there? I don't believe that I saw you before..."
"No, I don't live here at all. I was living in Tokyo until two days ago."
Her answer only got him more confused. "I don't want to be rude but... who are you?"
"I guess an introduction is in order, huh?" Tsuna nodded. "My name is Chrome," the pretty lady answered, "I'm one of Mukuro's friends."
Mukuro? "Is he okay? The fire didn't get to him, right?"
Chrome chuckled softly. "He's alright thanks to you."
And now he's confused again. "What?"
"You see, Mukuro can be stubborn when he is passionate about something, in this case, his artwork. When the fire broke out, he refused to let any of his works go destroyed. You knocked him out and carried him outside along with Natsu, at least that's what your other neighbors had told me."
"Oh..." Tsuna said only, not sure about how he could reply to that.
"When I learned that it was you who saved him, I had to pay my gratitude to you." The grateful smile Chrome had on her lips was really embarrassing him. "Mukuro is someone important to me, important to us, and we'll be forever thankful for what you did."
Tsuna only smiled at her in return, and asked her to tell him more.
Chrome told him that she, along with others, befriended Mukuro when they were all in Kokuyo middle. In fact, he was the one who got them all together. He helped them through tough times and so they kind of looked up to him in a way.
And now that they were all adults, they wanted to prove themselves to him and work to achieve their goals and dreams. She told him that she worked as a fashion designer in Tokyo while the others worked in other countries like Italy and France, that's why she was the first one to get here after the fire broke out.
"He talks about you, you know?" Chrome said, looking amused. "Ever since he moved into your apartment building, I felt that he wasn't as bored and lonely as he was when we all left. I think he likes you even."
"I'm not too sure about that." Tsuna laughed sheepishly.
"Take care of him," Chrome requested, eyes looking hopeful. "I know that he can be difficult sometimes but take care of him, until we all return."
Tsuna really wanted to say that he and Mukuro didn't get along, that he wasn't the right person to request that favor from, but he found himself saying, "Alright."
Chrome smiled a pretty smile then.
"Where do you even get these books?" Tsuna asked immediately when Mukuro opened the door. They somehow found themselves neighbors when they moved to a different apartment building.
Mukuro looked at the book in his hold that was titled: "Not A Virgin (you totally are) At 24: How To Hook Up With Your Sexy Neighbor In 3 Days" before he smirked. "I thought that I could be at help."
"The mail-man gave me a thumbs up, and I'm not a virgin by the way."
"Prove it," Mukuro simply replied.
And then Tsuna sighed and, surprisingly, stepped into his apartment and did.
"Where the hell did you learn that from?"
"You really don't want to know."
Part Four.