Chapter Text
Taiga screwed up. Big time. He thought he was finally used to the fame that came with being a semi-successful NBA player. He rarely got involved in scandals and was an expert in avoiding the paparazzi despite his size. However, all it took was one slip of the tongue for the American media to cause a huge scandal.
A fan had asked him for an autograph, which he had no issues with. However, she kept asking for hugs and then his number, which he politely declined. She didn't stop until he said, "Listen, I have someone waiting for me at home, I don't have time for this."
The fan immediately dropped it and apologized. However, unbeknownst to him, this interaction was recorded, and everyone wanted to know who the "mystery lady" was.
He sighed as he made his way to meet with his agent who was not happy in the slightest at all of the extra work that was sure to come, and that was without the stress Taiga was sure to add when he told his agent exactly who he was now... married to.
"First thing is first," his agent said the second he walked in the door.
"Please tell me it is not who I think it is," she glared at him. Taiga avoided her glaze.
"How long?"
"Eh," he wasn't sure how to answer that. High school is when he fell in love and they had been skirting around each other ever since, doing everything but putting a label on their relationship even when they were separated by an ocean, until a few years ago. However, it had only been six months since they got married.
"We got married six months ago," he answered knowing that it was best to avoid all of the other details.
"In VEGAS? Seriously Taiga, did you think of anything?" she scolded. He shrugged, getting married in a cheap Vegas casino by a Marlin Monroe impersonator felt very right at the time.
"So, what are we going to do?" he asked. They had to do something he was getting tired of seeing his name everywhere he looked with a million speculations of who his secret wife could be. Ranging from Alex (he would rather die) to Lady Gaga (he had no idea how that happened) to even the cashier of the burger place he frequented.
"That all depends. One positive to all of this is that you have gotten a lot of offers from talk shows and even reality tv shows, as you know all press is good press," she paused waiting for some reaction that he was listening to her. He nodded.
"I just need to know, do you need a beard, or are you coming out?"
That's what he liked about his agent. She always went straight to the point.
"Beard as in a woman to pretend to be my wife?" the basketball player asked for clarification. His agent nodded. He thought about it, he was sure that she already had someone in mind, she was meticulous if nothing else, something that reminded him of Momoi.
"No, I don't want that. I talked to him, he doesn't want that," Taiga answered. His husband's actual words were I don't want to see a big tit bimbo parading around with something that is mine. But he thought it would be best to not repeat it.
"Well, that does make things more difficult, however, not impossible, I will have to meet with him to see just what you both are comfortable with," she stopped, he knew his agent did that when she didn't want to ramble. "Does your team know?"
That question probably would have bothered him six months ago. Taiga didn't exactly get homophobic vibes from his teammates; he even signed the contract he made sure to emphasize the nondiscrimination clause and told the coach his sexuality before he was officially drafted. However, despite all of those precautions, it's still unnerving to know people who he considered close could turn on him.
All of that was shattered when the team decided to celebrate their championship win and Aomine Daiki, the love of his life and bane of his existence (yes, he was both), crashed the celebration. It took his team exactly five minutes for them to ask, "yo Tiger, that your boyfriend or something?"
To which the bastard that is now his husband replied, "do I look like a boy to you?" with a smirk. "I'm his future husband," the dark-haired basketball junkie had declared with no hesitation.
A few hours later, his drunk teammates were all heading to the chapel in the casino after Aomine had successfully convinced the entire team, managers, and all, that Taiga was lucky to have him and should marry him immediately.
"They know," Kagami finally said after smiling like an idiot thinking of his disastrous 'wedding' night. "They were all there when it happened?" he added for clarification.
That was not the response his agent was expecting. "Let me get this straight. Six months ago, while celebrating your first championship win, you got married in Vegas, to the same man I saw naked in my office because he wanted to "surprise" you, in front of your entire team?" He blushed and nodded; his husband was really- the worst.
"The asshole that didn't talk to you for a year when I first became your agent 5 years ago? That had you wanting to drop everything and move to Japan?" He frowned, that was a long story and probably the worst bump their relationship had suffered.
"I wasn't going to quit." Taiga really wasn't, he was just going to visit, in the middle of the draft. He could feel the judgment coming from her eyes.
"Bring him here, now."
Aomine Daiki was an arrogant asshole, and he knew it. Though he liked to think he was a lovable arrogant asshole. What was so wrong about knowing he was the best and getting the last word in arguments? Kagami didn't seem to agree with him, but Kagami still had only beaten him one-on-one a couple of times, so as far as he was considered his opinion only mattered sometimes. Sitting in this boring office (boring because Kagami didn't agree to have sex with him there) with his agent was one of those times.
Daiki still lived in a constant state of boredom. Despite loving Basketball again, thanks to the light of his life and now husband, but not enough to dedicate himself to the grueling house of team practice and well teamwork. He would much rather play in random street courts crushing random bystanders by showing them what real talent looked like and playing one-on-one games with his husband to keep him in top shape. What a doting husband he was.
They spoke too fast for him to follow the conversation, but he heard a few names he recognized Ellen, one of the Jimmys, and a few others. Also, something about a press conference or "Basketball Wives." He smirked at the irony. All of the headlines this past week had been annoying. Everyone wanted to know who Tiger's secret wifey was.
Wife, he laughed if anyone here acted like the wifey it was Taiga with his cooking and obsession with cleaning, and nagging him, saying thinking like that was sexist. These people had no idea who Taiga really was.
He smirked. They had no idea, but he could make sure they all knew...
"Basketball Wives," he spoke in English for the first time in the past hour he had been there.
"What?" his husband yelled, obviously freaked out.
"I want to do Basketball Wives," he said and smiled when he saw how red Taiga was getting. This was too easy.
His agent looked deep in thought, Kagami looked as red as his hair. Daiki moved closer and wrapped his hand around his husband’s shoulder. He had spent too much time out of his personal space for his liking already.
"What? Don't you think I can play a good wifey for the screen?" he teased, moving even closer to and breathing down his neck, “I’m not too bad am I now my little tiger.”
Kagami tried to push him away, but Daiki refused and placed his other hand around the redhead, clutching possessively.
“This isn’t something to take lightly,” his agent said, “a man on that show is unprecedented and I don’t think you both have fully considered coming out publicly.”
“What is there to consider?” Daiki said dismissively. “Taiga is mine, it’s about time everyone knows and backs off.”
“I’m not your property you asshole,” his husband crossed his arms in front of him and frowned but did nothing to push Daiki off.
“Besides, I’m not doing anything when he goes to play. Having a camera follow me around will be annoying, but I guess it wouldn’t be too bad if that gets people to drop their panties for me when they see me on the screen.”
The basketball agent gave him an incredulous look.
“You’ve seen me naked you know I’m right,” he said with confidence. He felt a stab at his ribs that knocked his wind out.
“Watch what you are saying you moron,” Taiga scolded in Japanese.
“I will contact the producer from that show and see if they even agree, I’m sure they only offered because they thought- well it doesn’t matter. For the time being, we need to make a statement to calm the media, and you two should stay out of the public eye for the time being…”
Daiki zoned out again. Everyone that was anyone in his limited world (his parents, his old Teikō, and Tōō teammates) already knew how lucky he was with Taiga, anyone else was an afterthought. It’s not that he didn’t know that despite how “progressive” this country claimed to be it was still quite homophobic, it’s that he truly did not care.
The only word that ever hurt him was the monster he had dubbed for being better than everyone else in basketball but that didn’t bother him anymore, not when Taiga replaced monster with amazing. Daiki was also not a small man standing at 6 ft 4 inches and trained in combat thanks to the time he spent trying to become a police officer before he decided that without Taiga it wasn’t worth it. No one could threaten him to the point he felt the need to care, if they did, they wouldn’t be standing for long.
____________
“Do you even know what show you signed up for?” his husband asked when they were finally in the comfort of their own home.
Daiki shrugged.
“Ahomine you really live up to your name don’t you,” Taiga said as he pushed him off to wash the dishes.
“You would know something about that wouldn’t you Bakami,” pouting because all he wanted was a hug and maybe a few kisses and to cop a feel here and there-
"Ow what the hell Bakami?" Daiki said while rubbing his forehead in the spot Taiga had thumped him.
"I know what you were thinking. Pervert,” he sighed finally out of range from any of Daiki's attacks.
"If I am such a pervert how come you know exactly what I am thinking,” he mumbled.
"What was that?" Taiga yelled from the sink.
After a few more insults were thrown back and forth Daiki retired to the living room. The blue-haired twenty-five-year-old laid on it, taking up all of the room with his long limbs, only leaving one possible place for Taiga to sit.
"Why do you always do this?" Taiga complained.
"Do what?" Daiki answered with a yawn, patting the spot on the couch that he had left. It was the corner right corner that while it did give him an armrest, there was no way Kagami could sit there comfortably without touching him. Basically, his husband would have to squeeze himself onto the armrest or cuddle. Even if he didn't want to cuddle it was only a matter of time before Daiki would lay his head on his husband's thick and juicy thighs.
"Just sit down already," the quicker they got this over with, the quicker Daiki would be in thigh heaven.
“Let’s watch an episode,” Taiga suggested after he gave up on trying to stubbornly avoid their much-needed cuddle time.
“Netflix and chill?” he answered hopefully.
Taiga just rolled his eyes. “It’s not on Netflix.”
It seemed to be just like any other American reality show. When Daiki was still in Japan, he spent a lot of time watching tv shows like this hoping to familiarize himself with the language, though he won’t deny that what he looked forward to the most was the fights. "I thought it would be more like Jersey Shore," he commented.
"Jersey Shore, please tell me you did not like, Jersey Shore,"
Aomine shrugged and laid his head on Kagami's lap, " I hope I get in a fight. "
"If you wanted a fight all you had to do was tell me," Taiga said with a harsh tone but started running his fingers through Daiki's blue hair.
"Not that type of fight, but if you don't mind recording-" before he even finished that line Daiki felt something smack him.
"Rude."
Watched a few more episodes silently with Daiki laughing every now and then at a few of the roasts.
"You really don't mind?" his husband spoke up again.
"I knew this day was coming sooner or later when I left Japan to make you my Sugar Daddy," Daiki said, not missing a beat.
"Please, don't say shit like that on National TV," the redheaded pro that could only imagine those headlines whined.
"It's true, I haven't worked in five years, we have a cleaning service, I get all of the shoes and magazines my heart could desire, " he turned on his side to look at Taiga's face. Then he reached out his right hand to cup the other's face.
"What other reason could it be? " He raised his face to get close to the other man's face, almost touching his lips with his.
"Love?" he didn't kiss him but let the redhead feel his lips mouthing the word against his.
His husband turned red, blushing all the way from his face to his neck, creating his favorite shade, Daiki laid back down just a little to admire the view, to this day Taiga really still was the best. The brown-skinned man smiled and went in for an actual kiss.
His lips were soft but firm, a feeling he would never get tired of. Taiga brought his hand over his darker one to try to take it off his face.
"Of course not, how stupid of me to think you aren't just here for convenience, " he said breaking the kiss with a smile and no trace of harshness in any of his words.
"Exactly, this is just a side effect of my career," Daiki said, staring at the red with gold in his husband's eyes and matching the smile the other had on his face. That bright, honest smile that he could no longer live without.
"Is pissing me off also a side effect?"
"No, that is part of the job description,” Daiki said, pulling the other man in for another kiss.
"Why do I put up with you again?" Taiga said that they both needed to stop to get air.
"You love it," Daiki purred as he comfortably sat on his husband's lap.
"I hate it," Taiga whispered, not at all convincing as he placed his arms around his waist and placed his thick calloused hands on his ass.
"You love to hate it," the darker man whispered in his ear, nibbling it before licking his throat all the way down to his collar and taking a bite.
Taiga's voice hitched automatically trying to suppress a moan. "Yeah," he managed to say after Daiki had left a few more marks. "I do love it."
____________
They had a few more official meetings with all sorts of people that Daiki didn't care to remember the name of. In the end, it was decided he would join the new season of the show in the middle of it so they could surprise the audience and get their reactions before signing him up for more. He was also not to meet with the ladies until filming to get their genuine reactions on camera. The day after the airing of that episode the NBA had a press conference on standby in case the reaction wasn't solid, and they had to do damage control. This was a lot more work than necessary. It almost made him wish he had joined Taiga's team so he could spend time with him in public without people thinking too much about it... almost.
The producers let him know what was allowed and what wasn't. They also tried to pitch a persona to him, said people would react better if he acted flamboyant, and called himself” bitch” and “girl.” Apparently, the public tended to accept gay couples as long as their roles appeared to be normal. The masculine one had to be Taiga since he was a big bad Basketball All-Star so that left him to act like a pussy.
Daiki thought that was a load of bullshit. Why did he have to act like a girl? He was taller than Taiga, better at basketball even, and if anything, Taiga took on more traditionally feminine roles than he did. He also was the one who provided financially, but that was only because Daiki had no interest in doing anything at the moment. If he set his mind to it, he could make double, triple what Taiga was making, easy.
There was no way he was going to put on an act for them, he also wasn't going to show him his true self (only Taiga got that) but he didn't see why he couldn't act like a man, because that is what he was, that is what they BOTH were. If people didn't like it, that wasn't his damn fault, it would not change the fact he had already captured Taiga's heart. And if the stubborn, fiery, redhead, that was too nice for his own good, ever wanted to even consider divorcing him because of anyone's opinion or ANY reason, well he had another thing coming. Daiki was never going to let go of him ever (again).
Having come up with his resolve he let the producers know that he didn't need a persona, he was just going to be his polite and charming self. They didn't look convinced, but it wasn't like they could FORCE him to do anything, if they didn't like what he did they would just cut his screen time. After a few more logistics they asked if he had any questions. He just had one. "How many sex jokes can I make?"