Fic for jadeswallow!
Intergroup Gold for jadeswallow
from jerainbowbridge
Title: This Round’s On Me
Pairings/Groups: Mabo/Aiba/Yoko, with several others popping in for the grand finale.
Rating: PG
Warnings: gen, unspecified mentions of het relationships?
Summary: A drummer, superhero, and zookeeper walk into a bar...
Word Count/Notes: Dear jadeswallow your prompt gave me so many ideas that it took me a while to whittle it down to just one fic. Like you asked, BFFery is the focus rather than romance, and somehow it all wound up het, but no names are named. I hope you like it!
"Matsu-nii, come drink with us~!!" the mail reads. Mabo isn't sure who the rest of the 'us' is, but he'd know who sent it even without checking the return name. Who else but Aiba would use a dancing beer mug emote, after all?
The bar is one he's very familiar with, having introduced a number of Johnny's, kouhai and senpai alike, to it over the years. (The fact that a junior high friend runs it might have a slight influence on that number as well.) He waves at said friend as he walks through the bar, heading automatically to the large corner booth in the back. Some years ago a sign, temporary at first, but permanently not long after, had appeared on the wall above the booth. It reads "Reserved for Matsuoka and Associates", and it makes him smile every time he sees it.
"Aiba-chan!" he greets as the lanky man straightens up in the booth from an uncharacteristic slump.
"Matsu-nii, you made it!" Aiba replies, brightening. "We were starting to get worried that you were lost~" he laughs, glancing back at the other figure in the middle of in the booth.
"I'd never get lost on my way to my second home," Mabo replies, sliding into the booth. "Yoko-kun, I haven't seen you in a while," he says with a mock frown. "Ever since you and that group of yours decided you're too good for the Tokyo Countdown," he adds.
"That's not true," Yoko protests. "I saw you just a couple weeks ago in the office," he points out.
Mabo gave a noncommittal hum at that; he did remember the encounter Yoko brought up, but as he'd been on his way to a meeting and Yoko just coming out of one there hadn't been time for them to exchange more than a few short pleasantries.
"And besides, why shouldn't we do our Countdown show in Osaka?" Yoko adds with a pout. "Arashi wasn't at Countdown this year either but you aren't picking at Aiba for that."
Mabo waves a hand at that. "Arashi doesn't count. I'm stuck seeing them all the time," he says with a nod.
"You say that like you don't like us anymore," Aiba says, adding his own pout to Yoko's. "I thought we were your favorite kouhai."
"There are far too many of you for me to possibly pick favorites from," Mabo laughs. The waitress interrupts them then, setting down three glasses of beer and sliding them across the table for everyone. Mabo grabs his, gulping down about half of it in one go before setting the glass back down. "Ahhhhh I see Kenji's got the good stuff on tap as usual," he says with a satisfied sigh.
"Hey, this isn't what we got before," Aiba protests as Yoko nods in agreement with both of them.
"That's because this is the stuff Kenji keeps just for me," Mabo explains, finishing off his first glass and waving for another.
"Must be nice, having it in with the owner," Yoko muses, looking at his own glass, still half full.
"It has it's pluses," Mabo grins. He takes the fresh glass from the waitress when she brings it over, smiling up at her. "So, what brought about this invitation?" Mabo asks. "Or did you just miss me?"
"Matsu-nii, it's horrible," Aiba groans, head dropping to the table. "I'm a failure as both a man and the oldest son."
"What now?" Mabo asks, raising an eyebrow at his sudden view of the top of Aiba's head.
"Me and Yokoccho had dinner with Yusuke earlier, right?" Aiba starts, rolling his head to one side so he can watch Mabo out of one eye. "Not only did he get married before me, he's gonna be a dad before me too," he says with a deepening frown.
"Ahh, so his wife is pregnant now? When is she due?" Mabo asks. "Do they know what they'll have yet?"
"She's due around New Years, Yusuke said. And they've decided to be surprised by the baby's sex," Aiba says, sitting up again.
Mabo nods. "Pass on my congratulations next time you talk to him, hmm?" he says. "As for you saying you're failing at things, didn't you tell me they'd been together for a few years before getting married?" he asks, and waits for Aiba's nod before continuing. "You're not seeing anyone right now are you, seriously or otherwise?" he asks. "Unless there's something you haven't told me?" he adds, fixing a stern look on Aiba.
"Well, not for lack of trying," Aiba grumbles, looking down at the table. "But it's hard to convince a girl to date me when I have no time to actually take her out on dates anyway."
"You won't be this busy forever, you know," Mabo says gently. "Does this girl at least know how you feel?"
"I.... I don't know," Aiba admits softly, playing with his fingers rather than look up. "I've... hinted and stuff, you know, but I don't know if she realized I meant it when I said it."
"Well then that's your first step," Mabo declares. "Tell her how you feel, and that she's important to you, even if it might take a while before your schedule slows down enough for you to have a proper go at things."
"Do you think that will work?" Aiba asks, eyes hopeful.
"It can't hurt?" Mabo replies. "And you never know, she might just be waiting for you to step up and say something."
"I think... I think I'll try that next time I see her," Aiba says with a decisive nod, gulping down the rest of his beer after.
"Now what about you?" Mabo says, turning to look at Yoko after that. "Need any love advise from Matsu-nii yourself?"
Yoko just laughs and shakes his head. "Nah. The right pair of boobs haven't walked into my life yet," he says with a smirk. "Nor has the right person been attached to them yet."
Mabo just rolls his eyes and the waitress appears again, bringing them a fresh round.
"What about you, "Matsu-nii?" Aiba asks once she's left. "You have someone, don't you? Ever gonna make an honest women out of her?" he teases.
"Maybe someday~" Mabo replies with an airy wave of his hand. "But first she'll have to say yes," he adds lightly.
"You mean you proposed already?" Aiba asks, leaning forward to look closer at Mabo.
He nods slowly. "Well, we were both a little drunk at the time, so I don't think she thought I was serious about it. So I figured, since our anniversary is coming up next month, I might try again and do it full out," he says.
"Do you have a ring?" Aiba asks eagerly.
"I got one ages ago, actually," Mabo admits with a laugh. "It's been hidden under the foam layer in my cuff-link box for over a month."
"Needed someplace she definitely wouldn't find?" Yoko asks with a knowing nod.
"I thought about hiding it somewhere in the kitchen, but I don't do all the cooking for us, just most of it, so she'd probably have found it by now if that's where I stashed it," Mabo says. "She goes on cleaning binges every once and a while, you know, even though we keep the place fairly neat anyway. I come home every couple of months to a completely rearranged apartment," he says with a loud laugh.
"Must be nice, having a live-in girlfriend like that," Aiba says, resting his chin on his hand and looking off into space.
"Oi, she's not like that," Mabo cuts in, kicking Aiba lightly on the shin. "She's got her own job and life that she takes care of as well. She doesn't just sit alone all day waiting for me to come home, nor do I expect her to," he says with a frown at Aiba.
"I was just joking," Aiba grumbles, leaning down to rub at the spot Mabo kicked. "But hey," he says, brightening suddenly. "When you do get married, can I be your best man? I'll throw you an awesome party~" he says with an ingratiating grin.
"I don't know who I'd ask yet," Mabo says, rolling his eyes. "But I'd probably pick Anii or Innochi before you," he adds after a moment's thought.
Aiba pouts again and grabs his beer as Yoko laughs at him. "You can be my best man if I ever get married," Yoko tells him, patting