Inspired by ara_jhoo's prompt.
Normally, tonight would be for heading to the public baths with his five younger brothers, but since they had all moved out of their parent's home and had jobs, it was harder for all six Matsuno sons to find time to spend just thirty minutes together. Osomatsu finished off the milk he had bought and tossed the bottle into the trash receptacle before stepping out into the cool night air, the slight breeze gently ruffling his hair.
There wasn't any rush to go back to his rented apartment since no one was waiting for him there, so he wanted to swing by his parent's house just to see how they were doing.
Opening the door with his usual greeting, he noticed two other pairs of shoes by the entryway.
"Oy, Karamatsu and Todomatsu!" He called out as he took off his own shoes, seeing the common room door slide open to reveal the youngest brother glaring at him with a twitch in his eye.
"I thought you had work, you damn shitty eldest."
"Someone wanted more hours, so I let them take my shift," He grinned as he set the bath essentials down near the lip of the entryway, "No skin off my nose."
"Brother!" The youngest was shoved down to the ground as the second oldest revealed himself with the trademark English term, the usual sunglasses pushed up on his head to act like a headband, "It's been such a long time since we've seen each other! Come, let's talk and drink to days gone bye."
"Yeah, yeah..." Osomatsu rolled his eyes and groaned, stepping into the common room to see that there were the remains of a fruit platter sitting on the table. He sat down at the table and started picking at the pear slices, taking the cold canned beer that Todomatsu offered, "How about your jobs?"
"It's office work. What else can be said about it?" Totty sighed, taking a long sip from his own beer.
"Mine's not too terrible. Still doing temp work since no one wants to hire me, it seems," Karamatsu took his place at the table, stealing one of the pear slices from Osomatsu's reach. The oldest retaliated by swiping one of the slices that Karamatsu was reaching for.
"Sucks to hear that, but maybe one will hire you permanently soon."
Osomatsu stayed a few more hours chatting with his brothers before being pushed out so their parents could go to bed, laughing as his mother physically shoved them out of the house. Bidding farewell to Karamatsu and Todomatsu, he sauntered back to the apartment building, his belongings safely tucked underneath his left arm. The unexpected sight of the two definitely lifted his spirits after the rough work week at the bookstore.
Climbing the last stair, he caught sight of a huddled figure sitting outside his neighbor's apartment door. Slightly raising an eyebrow, he remembered that they had been there when he left earlier. Was the neighbor not home?
Osomatsu had only seen her a few times; introducing himself when she had moved in, helping her carry a large load of groceries up the stairs, and returning laundry that had escaped her drying line onto his balcony. The only thing that he was bothered by was that she never spoke a word of thanks, shrugging off the thought before opening his own door and setting everything he carried back into its place.
His eyebrows lowered into a partial glare as his inner voice told him to do something about the person, staring at himself in the mirror before turning on his heel and heading back out the door. The person was still there, arms folded over their knees with their hands tucked in from the cold. Their head rested on the not-so-soft pillow of their forearms, and their lugs were tucked in close to their body.
He stopped in front of them, resting a hand on his hip, "You shouldn't sleep out here."
There wasn't an answer from them.
Maybe he's actually asleep? Osomatsu squatted down and listened carefully, hearing their breathing slow and shallow.
"Hey," He tapped their arm gently, frowning when he didn't get a response. Osomatsu reached out and shook their left shoulder, calling out louder.
In a swift movement, the person woke up and shoved something close to his eyes, a thick liquid spraying from their extended hand.
"What the hell?!" Osomatsu screamed out in shock and pain, his hands flying up to his eyes to rub off whatever was coating them. The sting grew worse as his eyes teared up from the pain, making him stumble and roll onto his back in agony. He couldn't see anything past the inky blur of night, but he felt two hands grab at his shirt and pull him in a direction, blindly clambering them before he realized that the person may be trying to kill him.
"Get off!" Osomatsu twisted around, feeling the hands let go of his shirt before pushing him forward instead of dragging him. He reeled from the touch again, rubbing at his eyes more furiously to get rid of the paste.
Fucking mace...!
He stumbled over a step, fearing that he was going to fall down the staircase and quickly backed up into someone. They pushed at him again and he took a few steps forward before he heard a door close somewhere behind him.
My neighbor!
"Help me...!" His hands burned as he grabbed his shirt to rub off the mace from his eyes. A small grunt sounded behind him as the hands pulled at his right arm, leading him somewhere. If he wasn't at the staircase, then where was he?
Another urgent noise, sounding more female this time, came from in front of him before he felt his upper half be pushed over the lip of something. As he fought against the lip, feeling something smooth and cool underneath his stinging hands, he stilled as cold splashed onto his face.
Caught off-guard, he sputtered and spat out the new liquid that had made its way into his mouth, fearing that he had been sprayed again for complete submission. Another cold splash before the same female voice grunted, the words garbled in his ears.
The new liquid didn't burn at all. In fact, it brought relief to the burning and calmed Osomatsu down from his adrenaline-fueled fight-or-flight mode. He recognized the smell of it through the heavy pepper scent.
Milk.
He cupped his hands and held them out in front of him, motioning for milk to be poured onto his hands. The person helping him obliged, pouring some milk into his cupped hands before he started to wash his hands in the liquid, rubbing off the pepper spray before even thinking of touching his face. Switching between his face and hands, the person stopped giving him milk for a moment, leaving him partially blinded as his front door closed again.
Kneeling in the stillness, he could see that he wasn't outside the apartment at all.
He was in his own bathroom in fact, positioned over the tub with milk dripping off his face and hands. Without blinking, he partially turned to glance over the side of the tub, seeing a large empty milk bottle resting on the bathmat. The bath itself was a mix of red and white liquids, the pepper spray clinging to the sides of the tub.
"I'm gonna beat the crap outta him..." He growled as he heard his door open and close once more, someone entering the bathroom and kneeling next to him. A feminine hand reached from his peripheral vision with a wooden ladle full of milk, giving him almost no time to react before it was thrown against his face.
He spat out what fell into his mouth, "He didn't get you, did he?"
A heavy pause stretched into a long silence, the woman ladeling more milk onto his hands.
Maybe she didn't want to talk about what happened?
"He...didn't hurt you in any way, did he?" Osomatsu glanced over after she splashed his face once more. She flinched back and set the small milk bottle and ladle down on the ground, backing up and pressing her forehead to the floor. Her voice was still garbled to his ears, making him wonder if his hearing was damaged.
When she lifted her head, he saw tears in her colored eyes as a saddened look pressed down her features.
"Tell me what he did," Osomatsu quickly wiped off his hands with the nearby bath towel, dabbing the rough cloth on his face before looking back at her, "Tell me, and I'll pay him back tenfold!"
A look of realization passed across her face before she sat up straight, straightening out her right hand and tapping her chest with four fingers, moving her hand towards her right shoulder and tapping herself again. A worried look passed over her face when Osomatsu just stared at her, repeating the motion again before looking frazzled. She clambered to her feet and raced out the bathroom, her footfalls echoing through the apartment before she returned with a cellphone in hand.
Her fingers flew over the screen before a robotic male voice called out, "Are you okay?"
His eyes widened in realization.
She was deaf! She wouldn't say anything in response to him because she never heard him in the first place!
"I'm all right, but what about you? Did the man out there hurt you?" Osomatsu spoke slowly, watching as she looked down at her phone after he finished speaking. Her hair hung loose in a bun, some strands falling in front of her face before she started typing on her phone again.
"There was no stranger, only me. I maced you by accident, thinking that you were going to hurt me," The phone spoke the words she typed out, her eyes watching Osomatsu for his reaction, "I'm so sorry."
He paused for a moment before laughing into the towel he used to wipe off his hands, looking over to her when he caught his breath. Osomatsu could see that she was ready to catch whatever he wanted to say.
"I just wanted to help you out, if you were a stranger. Why were you outside your apartment?" Osomatsu reached over to turn on the bath water, washing off the milk and spray that remained. He could hear her typing a response.
"I locked myself out accidentally and the landlord wasn't responding to my text messages."
He held off speaking for a moment, waiting for her to get ready to 'hear' him.
"Would you like me to call him for you?"
The response came a few moments later, "That would be wonderful."
With a nod, Osomatsu stood up and tossed the towel onto the small washing machine before heading out of the bathroom, picking up his cell phone and dialing the landlord's number. When the line clicked over to a voicemail, he left the message that his neighbor was locked out of her apartment and would need assistance in the morning.
He looked over his shoulder to see her look at him expectantly, her phone in front of her.
"No good. He didn't answer, but I left a voicemail for him," He gave a slow shake of his head.
"Darn," The phone spoke up, "I don't have my wallet or anything with me that would allow me to stay at a hotel."
Osomatsu put a hand up to his chin, looking around his apartment like it held the answers to the universe. The glass sliding door leading to the small porch caught his attention, waving his hand to get his neighbor's attention. She glanced towards him before holding out the phone.
"Did you leave your back door unlocked?"
A look of thoughtfulness crossed her face before she lightly shrugged with a small head shake in uncertainty.
Well, that could be the quickest way in, Osomatsu thought as he made his way towards his porch, eyeing the distance between the two balconies. He'd be able to jump it with no issue.
"I'm going to see if it's unlocked. Do I have your permission...umm...?" His voice trailed off, trying to find a way to ask for her name.
"(Y/n)," The answer came quickly, "Don't hurt yourself."
"(Y/n)..." Osomatsu repeated to himself, a smile growing on his face. The door slid open easily and he climbed on top of the railing, keeping his footing steady as he lay his hand against the side of the wood paneling on the building exterior. Sucking in a small breath, his legs crouched into a jumping position before leaping over to (y/n)'s balcony. The movement drew a strangled cry from (y/n) as she watched him land on the opposing railing, turning to give her a wide smile before slipping and falling onto the unforgiving wood planks of her balcony.
He jumped back onto his feet and held out a thumbs up to signal that he was fine, seeing a relieved look on her face before turning towards the sliding door and gently tugging on the handle to feel the door give.
Slipping inside (y/n)'s apartment, Osomatsu realized that her apartment was the same layout as his, closing the door behind him as he made his way towards the entryway. Her apartment smelled of apples and lavender, and he glanced towards where her bedroom was to see that the door was partially open. His mind wondered at what she had in there, but his gut yelled at him that she was probably waiting by her door.
Clearing his thoughts, he took long strides towards the front door, unlocking the door and opening it to see (y/n) waiting expectantly. Too excited to use her phone, her voice struggled to form the right words as she gave Osomatsu a tight hug.
"No worries," He spoke slowly, exaggerating the words on his lips on the off chance that she would understand what he was saying. Catching a whiff of the pepper spray still lingering on his face, Osomatsu held back a cough and excused himself for a quick shower as (y/n) allowed him to leave, waving good-bye.
Coming back from his routine morning jog the next day, Osomatsu found a package sitting in front of his door with a note taped to the top. Picking up the package and note, he saw the note was signed by (y/n).
'Neighbor Osomatsu,
I wanted to thank you so much for helping me out last night, and also apologize for spraying you in self-defense. Contained in the box is a freshly made batch of apple-cinnamon cookies (hopefully the smell doesn't deter you from eating them), and I'd like for you to have my phone number just in case I need emergency assistance with something.
Regards, Neighbor (Y/n)'
Osomatsu smiled as he set the box down on his kitchen counter, opening up the top to see the apple-cinnamon cookies sealed in a bag. Taking one out, he bit into it and had to stop himself from devouring them all as the spices settled nicely on his tongue while the baked apple chunks were just the right consistency for him.
Finishing off the one cookie, he put her number into his phone and sent her a confirmation text stating who he was.
Osomatsu smiled to himself as he put the cookies away, hoping that she'd lock herself out by accident more often...and not holding mace.