Chapter Text
Chibita's fingers drummed idly on the counter of his oden stand. He usually had quite a few customers here. He was about to start packing up his cart to move on when he noticed someone headed his way. Chibita would have almost mistaken him for Karamatsu, had the man not been clad in a familiar red hoodie, designating him as Osomatsu. Not to mention he was looking a bit disheveled, and maybe even a little thinner than the last time Chibita had seen the eldest sextuplet. Now that he thought about it, it had been weeks since he had seen any of Karamatsu's brothers.
Chibita said nothing as Osomatsu approached and took a seat at the bench, not even looking up at Chibita.
A few uncomfortable moments passed. Chibita didn't want to completely ignore Osomatsu, whether he was a paying customer or, more than likely, not. Reluctantly, he passed Osomatsu a beer, hoping it would elicit some sort if response.
"Thanks." He said it in a suspiciously quiet tone. It seemed strange that the normally loud-mouthed Osomatsu would be acting this way. Chibita thought it was actually kinda creepy. The customer sipped his beer silently, which only made Chibita more wary.
"So, uh, haven't seen any of you idjits in a while," Chibita finally said, leaning onto the counter.
"...Join the club," was the response, accompanied by a sickeningly disheartened chuckle.
The hell?! Chibita impulsively shouted, "And just what is that supposed to mean?!"
Osomatsu finally looked up at Chibita with a piercing glare. Chibita was stunned silent for a moment. There was a storm of emotions in those eyes. Rage, Loneliness, Betrayal, Dejection, even Jealousy. That one look was something Chibita never had seen before in such a carefree man.
"Wha-... What happened?" Chibita managed to squeeze out of his lungs, letting go of a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
"They're gone," he stated plainly. "All of my brothers have moved out and gone on with their lives." Osomatsu gritted his teeth, his voice wavering. "They just... up and left, some of them without saying goodbye. And now, I'm alone."
Drip. Drip drip. Chibita took note of the tears falling on the counter. Osomatsu's head fell again, trying to hide the tears, to no avail.
"Osoma-"
"He didn't even warn me." He interrupts. "He could have said, 'Hey I finally did it this time! I had an actual interview!' But he didn't. He got a job behind my back and saved up enough to get his own apartment. Then one day he announces 'Oh yeah, by the way I'm moving out today!' Can you believe that, Chibita?!" He suddenly looks up again, shouting at him now. "Can you believe Choromatsu would do such a thing?!"
As Osomatsu broke into a fit of sobs, it was at this point that Chibita decided it would be wise to not tell Osomatsu that his younger brother was staying with him, let alone potentially being his boyfriend.