Archive of Our Own ^beta

There’s a new barista at Atsushi’s favourite coffee shop.

Or, he says ‘new’, but one of the usual girls there, Sacchi, idly mentions it’s been almost two months since he started working there, before quickly switching back to her original topic. He waits for his usual flat white, half listening to her in the dark silence that can only be found at 11pm in an empty café, but finds himself a little distracted now. New guy (who isn’t actually new)? Atsushi hasn’t noticed anyone new serving him, and he comes here often enough.

“-so there was a bit more drama when she showed up the next day wearing the same top, but I think it’s all pretty much calmed down now,” Sacchi chats on, smiling resignedly. “It can be really hard to keep track of all this stuff sometimes!”

“Sounds like it,” Atsushi says, and there’s a small noise behind him, the ping of a coffee machine, and then he realises Sacchi’s been talking to him nonstop whilst leaning against the counter, not making anything. “Who else is on a shift tonight?”

“Ah, well, it’s really just me,” she says, shrugging lightly. “Oh, and the new guy.”

“Hm?” He frowns, at first glancing around the shop and then leaning a little to see behind Sacchi. Sure enough, there’s a dark figure turned working on finishing the drink. Atsushi stares, confused. He likes to think of himself as fairly observant but he completely didn’t notice anyone else there – why has he just been so quiet? Is he shy?

“He doesn’t really have much of a presence, right?” Sacchi laughs.

“N…not really,” he says, feeling mildly uncomfortable discussing the boy whilst he’s stood right there. There’s a final clink of a spoon before the boy turns around, placing the cup in front of him. He’s not mysterious or intimidating, in actuality, just a relatively young and average looking guy. “Oh, thank you.”

The boy turns around again silently without even acknowledging him. Atsushi blinks at the blatant ignore and Sacchi laughs at him from behind her hand.

“Don’t worry about him,” she says, smiling at him mischievously. “He can’t hear you. He’s totally deaf.”

“…Deaf?”

It produces a slight feeling of pity and alarm in Atsushi, glancing over the new boy and trying a polite smile. He’s never come across someone deaf before, and isn’t really sure how he should deal with it. They can’t talk, right? The boy blinks at him, then flashes a quick, somewhat disingenuous smile back at him. As soon as he turns around he’s back to the bored, listless, and almost sad expression like before, and Atsushi glances at the name tag and he realises-

He’s seen this guy before. At once Atsushi’s thoughts twist as he sees the same person but younger, in a high school sweatshirt with tears rolling down his face. It had been awkward, Atsushi hadn’t realised he was deaf until trying to offer help for a good minute, and the boy had just stared at him with one hand clasped over his ear. All Atsushi had ended up doing was offering him a tissue, and then hurrying away from the situation. Wasn’t it…one of those six boys…Matsuno? He tries to cling to the memory, tries to dwell on it, but at that moment Sacchi’s light laugh echoes and his gaze snaps back to her.

“He doesn’t really look it, huh?” She smiles, pushing around a coin from the tip jar aimlessly with her finger. “Too average. But he makes decent coffee, so I don’t really mind. Wish I had someone else to spend my shift with though…”

Her voice trails off hintingly, and she leans forwards with a despairing look. Atsushi just smirks in amusement. The girls here flirt with him almost ruthlessly. Though he can’t say he doesn’t enjoy it, just a little.

“It’s too bad I’ve got all this work to do, or I might stay,” he says, gesturing to his bag. Sacchi pulls a face. “Maybe next time. Here’s the money. Add the change to your tip.”

“Oh, really? Thank you, Atsushi-kun!” She grins at his happily. “Wish me luck with Deaf-Boy.”

“Good luck,” he replies with a slight smirk. “I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time talking.”

“Jeez, go away,” Sacchi laughs, rolling her eyes as he waves her goodbye.

On his way out, Atsushi throws one last glance towards the dark figure of Matsuno with a slight pang of intrigue. He’s a weird kid, sure, but even still. He can’t shake off the image of him crying, silently, alone by that mirror. Maybe he’ll try to act a little nicer towards him, if only for the sake of pity.

-

Mostly, Matsuno seems to keep to himself. This isn’t that strange, Atsushi supposes, because it’s not like he could actually talk to anyone anyway. From time to time they meet eyes and maybe exchange a polite smile or wave, but nothing much. Atsushi can’t help but feel a certain apprehension towards him though. Not that he has any problem with him being deaf, just…it isn’t really something he’s used to, per se.

The sky takes the foreboding colour of blueberries, and Atsushi takes momentary refuge in the coffee shop before stepping back out into heavy rain, frowning just a little before pulling out his umbrella. As soon as he opens it up, the door sounds quietly from behind him, and he steps out of the way with a quick ‘sorry’, before realising it’s Matsuno, seemingly ready to go home with his lack of apron. Atsushi hadn’t even noticed he’d been working today. It’s amazing how easy it is to ignore him.

Matsuno glances at him and nods with that usual smile, then turns to the rain with an almost disgusted look. Atsushi wonders if he doesn’t have an umbrella. He glances at him, then points to his own umbrella questioningly, hoping that much is understandable. Matsuno blinks, smiles cutely, and then takes the umbrella with an appreciative nod before walking away.

Atsushi stands there for a few moments, mind blank as he stares out into the rain, watching the figure of the boy fade away against the grey silhouettes of the surrounding buildings. He tries to comprehend just what exactly happened there, then ends up laughing to himself, because really, that was so unexpected. So weird, Matsuno had almost looked smug taking it off him; was it really a misunderstanding? He doesn’t know why but that kind of personality just…wasn’t what he was expecting from a deaf boy he once saw crying in a school bathroom.

Shaking his head in amusement, Atsushi starts his race under the clouds, holding his head down in an attempt to avoid the water landing in his eyes. What a guy, really.

-

University is going well, he thinks. It can get a little dull, but he’s already got a decently paying job in a well-respected company lined up for after he graduates, so he supposes that much is worth it. A few sleepless nights isn’t too bad. Atsushi is confident he can handle any workload they throw at him.

Until, one Friday night where he receives two essays in for the following Monday. At least five thousand characters each. Citations compulsory.

It’s…a minor issue. Again though, he’s sure he can handle it. He makes a plan to spend the full night in the café, cautious of the risk he might fall asleep back at his apartment. With a bag full of textbooks, folders, and his laptop, he steps into the familiar and serene darkness of the shop. Sacchi is working tonight anyway, so she can keep him company at least.

When he gets to the counter, Atsushi notices instantly there’s something off. Or, two things off, rather.

First thing, Sacchi’s not here. There’s only one person stood there, the new boy, umbrella thief, Matsuno. Atsushi gives a pained smile when he sees it leaning against the side once again.

And second thing, there’s a piece of paper celotaped against the cash register, reading in bold letters:

‘Hi! Sorry, we are short on staff right now. Please write your order down on the paper provided and I will make it ASAP. Please do not ask me directly as I am deaf and cannot hear. Any concerns please write down also. Thank you! :3’

Atsushi stares for a moment, then laughs a little. Matsuno watches him carefully, stood patiently in front of him looking a little tense with an expression that matches that of the sign. Below, there’s a small chart scrawled out on a sheet of paper with a few names and coffee orders written in, along with the occasional biscuit here and there. One or two immature comments, but overall less than he’d have expected from such a strange situation. Must be a slow night.

He writes down his order, and then can’t help but add ‘Working alone? Is Sacchi okay?’ after it. Well, he’s always been one for polite small talk. It shouldn’t be too different like this.

Matsuno takes the paper and glances over the order, moving towards the machine, then stops and looks back, seemingly noticing the additional comment. There’s a beat, then he looks back at Atsushi and smiles a little, quickly writing ‘she caught a cold. are you friends?’

Atsushi nods, and the conversation is apparently over after that brief exchange as Matsuno works on making the coffee. The shop is almost impossibly silent. It’s so strange.

Matsuno pops the lid on the drink and hands it to him with a polite nod. He wrote ‘atsushi-kun’ on the side. That’s cute. It’s like something one of the girls might do. Not that he’s letting himself be charmed by a coffee cup.

“Thank you,” Atsushi says automatically, then stops, realising. Matsuno seems to get it anyway, and nods again. Maybe he’s used to people talking to him, but even still, Atsushi feels slightly embarrassed for making such a stupid mistake. It’s a good thing Aida isn’t here, or she might be laughing at him.

Forcing himself to move on, Atsushi selects a seat by the plugs in the corner, then readies both himself and his laptop for a long night. Oh well. If one of the girls were here, they might just end up distracting him anyway.

The night passes easily enough, with 1am pushing through to 2am seamlessly. Occasionally he sees Matsuno glance towards him, looking mildly bored as he slips on and off his phone. He hasn’t even collected the empty cups from the tables yet.

Atsushi barely startles when the doorbell chimes, deep in the business of trying to find a reliable source in order to make this paragraph not seem like complete interpretation (it is), and only glances up when he hears a woman’s voice from the front.

“An espresso, please,” she says tiredly, eyes on her phone. Matsuno stands in front of her, gesturing to the sign, but she doesn’t look up until a few seconds of silence have passed. “Excuse me? Hello? Did you hear me? I said espresso.”

There’s a beat, and Atsushi watches closely now, a little unsettled. Matsuno directly points to the sign, then to the paper, smile tight.

“Sorry, what?” She frowns at the paper for a moment. “You want me to write it down? Are you being serious? Why are you hiring people that can’t hear to work in a café?”

Matsuno starts to look somewhat wary, though more so irritated, and glances back to the paper before handing her the pen. She looks at him and then takes it with a brisk laugh.

“This is ridiculous,” she says, scrawling her order down, which Matsuno takes quickly, annoyance clear in his eyes now. The woman turns around, and seems to notice Atsushi. “Hm, did you get your coffee? Can’t they just hire normal people? I’ve got to be up until 5am and I really don’t need this kind of service.”

“Sorry, but, I don’t think you should be speaking like that,” Atsushi says before he can stop himself. The woman stares at him whilst Matsuno continues making the drink, oblivious.

“You’re kidding,” she says, staring at him disbelief. “You know he can’t hear, apparently? I can say whatever I want. But this is insane, I might as well just go to the coffee shop a few blocks from here where the staff aren’t totally incompetent.”

“Maybe you should,” Atsushi says, standing up.

She scowls at him, then turns on her heel to leave. “Fine, I’ll take my money somewhere else.”

Atsushi watches as she flaunts out the shop, just as Matsuno turns around with the newly made drink. He looks around in obvious confusion, frowning down at the drink, then sending Atsushi a questioning stare. He collects his empty cup off the table and walks to the bin nonchalantly, like that’s what he was intending to do in the first place, before walking back over to the counter, feeling at least the need to explain to a completely unaware Matsuno.

‘She remembered urgent matters and had to leave. I’ll take the drink, if you don’t mind. How much?’

Matsuno stares at the paper, frowning almost like he suspects something, then scribbles down a quick ‘¥400’. Atsushi smirks in return. Liar. Espressos are only ¥350. He pays in full anyway.

The amount of interest he has in this guys just keeps growing, one way or another. As Atsushi settles back down to his essay, he makes a mental note to try and learn some kind of communication so he can ‘talk’ to Matsuno somehow. It can’t hurt to learn a few basics, anyway.

-

When he next visits after a few weeks’ preparation, Atsushi feels full of confidence and determination, the emotions only enhancing when he notices the empty state of the café. He’s studied a lot, using free time between classes to read up on as much as he can, throwing in slight practise when he gets back to his apartment. And it’s been going fine. After all, he is a fast learner. Aida’s just putting on her coat as he gets there, blinking up under her long lashes as she sees him stroll in.

“Ah, Atsushi-kun! Sorry, I’m just leaving now, I’ve got a meet-up with the other girls so I can’t stay and chat – sorry!”

“That’s okay, I was only passing by.” Like hell he is. He doesn’t even want a coffee, it’s like 8pm and he has no university tomorrow.

“Oh, you’ll need to write your order down since Sacchi isn’t here yet…” Aida pulls a face, tossing her bag over her shoulder. “It’s so inconvenient, isn’t it? I really don’t get why they hired him…I’m sure we’re going to be getting complaints soon, like, there are lots of job people like that can do, right? Why would they choose to work in customer service, it’s just weird...”

“I guess.” Atsushi thinks back to the other night with a slight frown.

“Oh, but anyway, I really have to go! See you, Atsushi-kun!” She waves at him as she leaves, already typing out something on her phone. Atsushi waits for a second, then readies himself and moves over to the counter. This should be easy.

“Good evening,” he signs, as practised, and Matsuno stares at him, eyes wide, before brightening a little and-

“____ ____ ___ sign?”

…Oh. Atsushi hadn’t counted on this. Matsuno’s obviously going to be a lot faster, harder to understand…but, he…didn’t pick any of that up.

“Again, please?” he tries, trying not to look as incompetent as he feels. Matsuno pauses, then suddenly his face flips to something teasing, tilting his head up a little with a smug smile.

“Are you new ____ sign?” he signs, thankfully making his movements a little slower.

“I’m new,” he repeats, realising now that about ninety percent of everything he learnt has completely evaporated from his mind. “Sorry- slow.”

“___ __ I ___ thank you,” Matsuno signs, smiling, and Atsushi just stares. He finds his eyes flickering from the boy’s hands to his face, desperately trying to follow whatever’s being said. Maybe this was a bad idea. He just wanted to seem polite. “What ___ ___? …Coffee?”

Coffee. Right. That’s a thing. “M-a-c-c-h-i-a-t-o, please.”

“___,” Matsuno signs, then spins around, looking much more upbeat whilst he does his usual business on the machines. Atsushi is glad for the momentary pause in conversation (if it could be called that), taking a moment to reflect. This is something completely out of his element – very rarely is he the one struggling in conversations, but here he is.

It’s actually kind of interesting paying closer attention to how he makes the coffee, with his head constantly flicking around to see if a machine has finished rather than relying on the noises. Atsushi wonders, just for a moment, what it would be like to never be able to hear, but then Matsuno presents the drink to him with a smile. And it’s a little more genuine than before. Looks like it definitely won him some points by at least making an effort. Maybe he’ll get his umbrella back at this rate.

“You ____ ____,” he signs to him, seeming to almost enjoy Atsushi’s failure to understand. “I ____ help you.”

“Help me sign?” Atsushi repeats uncertainly. Matsuno nods. “That’s…okay.”

He just shrugs and Atsushi takes his drink, moving to a table not too far from the counter. Taking out his phone he tries to casually sip at the burning liquid, but can feel Matsuno staring at him, and glances back at him. At once his eyes move back to the cash register, feigning innocence. Atsushi almost laughs, breath blowing the steam away from his drink.

For a moment he thinks maybe nothing will happen, like these kind of things normally play out, but then there’s the noise of cups of spoons clinking against each other, and when he looks up Matsuno is clearing a table (for once). But then he’s placed the tray down on another table and is back over by Atsushi.

“___ you __ ___ university?” he asks, question reflected in his eyes alongside something definitely teasing him. Atsushi can’t tell whether he’s laughing at him or not. Probably. “…Sign at university?”

“No, I- my choice,” Atsushi struggles, aware he’s probably going to end up knocking over his cup with these jumbled movements. “Few weeks.”

“You need help,” Matsuno signs, and now he definitely is laughing at him, it’s completely there in his eyes, a teasing glint. “I’d ____ do it for free. Maybe.”

“…If you want,” Atsushi signs after a few moments hesitation. It can’t help to know. And he’s sure learning off an actual deaf person will be a lot more effective than online courses, as expensive as they are. “Thank you.”

Completely disregarding the tray of cups he should probably be washing up, Matsuno sits down across from him happily. Atsushi wonders just what he’s gotten himself into here.

…Even still, it ends up being kind of fun in the end. Matsuno is definitely a character, though maybe not as weirdly inaccessible as Atsushi first thought.

-

“No, that’s wrong, look. ___ __ thumb down.”

Atsushi fumbles to copy the movement, watching Matsuno carefully from where he sits across from him. The moment the café had quietened down he had been straight over to him, pulling up a chair and getting started after a few signs Atsushi couldn’t fully make out but was sure were teases.

“Like- this?”

“Just-“ He leans forwards and places his hands on Atsushi’s own, repositioning the fingers so gently it’s almost like they’re moving by themselves. “See? Not hard.”

“Easy you can say that,” Atsushi tries to shoot back, but it’s obvious Matsuno has the upper hand here. They both know it too; for all his polite innocence it’s clear he’s enjoying all of Atsushi’s mistakes in a smug kind of way. It’s a good thing he’s not easily put off or he might just say screw it.

“I’m _____ you’re still ___,” Matsuno carries on, smiling at him with that little cat face he sometimes does. It’s annoyingly cute; Atsushi tries to pay it no attention.

“Again, please. Slower?”

“I-m-p-r-e-s-s-e-d,” he spells out, and Atsushi sighs in relief because everything is so much easier like that, if a little slower. “That you’re s-t-i-l-l  t-r-y-i-n-g.”

“Why?” Atsushi blinks. Maybe he started off trying to be polite, but it’s actually genuinely interesting to be able to have conversations with Matsuno without the pain of writing like before. Or awkward waves and smiles.

“I thought you’d stop,” he signs, shrugging a little. “You’re at university, ___? You must ___ ___ smart.”

“People often stop?” Atsushi asks, frowning. Well, he guesses that makes sense. If you didn’t have the right motivation, it might get difficult to carry on.

“My family ____ ___ sign,” he explains. “Nobody else.”

“Family…?” Atsushi pauses for a moment. “Brothers? Five?”

Matsuno noticeably stiffens, smile tensing. “Why do you think ____?”

Was he wrong…? But he definitely remembers those six people in his high school that looked the same, and even though he never paid much attention to anything outside of his studies, he’s pretty sure people said one of them was deaf. Atsushi is about to ask further when he’s interrupted by a voice.

“What’re you guys doing?” Aida looks at them in fascination, gaze inquisitive. “Oh, are you doing that signing thing? Wow, Atsushi-kun, I didn’t know you knew how to do that! That’s amazing!”

“I’m only a beginner,” he says, shrugging modestly. Matsuno glances between the two of them. “I haven’t had much time to practise due to my final exams being soon, so Matsuno-san had been helping me.”

“Wow, you’re so nice, Atsushi-kun, I could never do that,” Aida says, smiling at him brightly. “Maybe we could hire you to be his interpreter, heh. Just kidding! You wouldn’t fit in working here, you’re too official.”

“You don’t think I’d suit the apron?” He raises an eyebrow, and Aida laughs.

“Anyway, um, if you know how, could you tell Matsuno-san he can finish his shift early tonight? We have someone to cover so it’s fine if he wants to leave in an hour or so.”

Well, it’s not like he’s doing anything here anyway, Atsushi thinks, sparing a glance to the boy who sits looking a little bored across from him. “I’ll let him know, thanks.”

“Have fun with your ‘chat’!” Aida laughs, waving to them as she hops away, swiftly collecting the few trays left out on tables.

“What did you say?” Matsuno asks as soon as Atsushi’s looking at him again, face eager. “She never ____ at me. Did she get new ____? It __ ___.”

“Slower, please,” he signs in exasperation.

“N-e-w l-i-p-s-t-i-c-k. Not as good as her last one.” Matsuno stares innocently as Atsushi raises an eyebrow. “What? She can’t understand, can she? I know you ___ talk about me when I can’t understand, it’s just _____ ___.”

“I-n-t-e-r-e-s-t-i-n-g  l-o-g-i-c,” Atsushi spells out, copying Matsuno as he shows him the actual signs.

“But she never ____ notices me – must be because I’m with you,” he signs, face moving from somewhat catlike straight to the cat that got the cream. “Did she say ___ to you?”

“A-i-da said you can finish e-a-r-l-y,” he explains, and Matsuno brightens up, grinning.

“Yay, ____ we __ go out, ____ lessons,” he signs happily, and Atsushi pulls a face. “R-e-p-a-y me! Okay?”

If he knew how to, Atsushi would make some remark about ‘doing favours out of the kindness of your heart’. But he can’t so he just rolls his eyes with a smile and signs back ‘sure’.

-

There’s something Atsushi has noticed after a month or so of learning signs from Matsuno, in that whilst he is cute and pretty good at making coffee, he is also a huge shitface. Occasionally teaching him the wrong signs just to laugh at him and constantly overcharging him whenever he can get away with it. It’s a good thing Atsushi isn’t the stereotypically poor student.

Every time he starts thinking maybe he isn’t that bad, Matsuno just does something to prove him wrong. This thought stays with him when it’s another calm night shift, and he’s sat on his laptop working through some extra-credit work, with Sacchi and Matsuno both on their phones, and he’s hardly paying attention to anything going on, until suddenly there’s a large slam of a tray and he almost breaks his keyboard in surprise.

When he looks up, Sacchi has a hand over her chest, eyes wide in shock, and Matsuno is just glaring stormily down at the tray, before looking up and noticing the two of them staring at him.

“…Sorry,” he signs quickly, then continues scowling when Sacchi looks away again with a sigh of relief. Atsushi waves a hand at him to catch his attention.

“Something wrong?” he asks, raising an eyebrow. Obviously, there’s something. Even if he can’t hear, Matsuno must’ve known it would have got their attention in some way.

“Everything!” He crosses his arms, bitter look still on his face. Atsushi wonders if this is the sign version of ‘don’t talk to me’. He shrugs, and is about to turn back to his work before he sees Matsuno start signing again furiously, but it’s too far away for him to properly make out, and he beckons him over. He’s sure Sacchi won’t mind.

“I need to move out,” Matsuno signs to him and then, still pouting, picks up Atsushi’s tray irritably.

“Not finished yet,” Atsushi signs, and Matsuno slams the tray down with another resounding slam, though Atsushi manages to resist flinching at this one. “You seem a little upset.”

“I’m fine,” he signs with an expression that definitely looks like it isn’t fine. It’s unlike him to lie so obviously. “A-tsu-shi-kun, do you ____ ___?”

“Slow down a little,” he signs, sighing at the erratic and angry gestures. “I can’t understand when you’re angry.”

“I’m not angry,” he seethes. “S-i-b-l-i-n-g-s. Do you have any?”

“No, why?”

“Lucky,” Matsuno signs, then seems to blink and recover, catlike smile back on his face in an instant. His movements return to their usual flicky style. “A-tsu-shi-kun, your name is too long. I’m ___ you like this one, okay? ____-kun. Like a ____.”

Atsushi repeats the last sign uncertainly.

“N-i-c-k-n-a-m-e,” he signs. “Atsushi-kun. Got it?”

“…I guess.” Is this like entering first name basis but in sign? He doesn’t really understand.

“You can call me To-do-matsu, if you want,” he signs with a wink. “Cute, right? If that’s too hard for you don’t worry, I doubt I’ll be confused who you’re signing at.”

So maybe it is. Atsushi just smiles. “It’s okay, I got it.”

Somehow he can’t stop calling him Matsuno to his face though. Maybe he’s just too accustomed to it. Even still, it feels nice to have this level of familiarity with him, if a little unexpected.

(A girl asks him out the next day, and Atsushi finds himself declining. He’s not really sure why.)

-

After that, Atsushi has to take a moment to reflect on a few things. Number one is something he’s been thinking about for a while, which is, he’s seriously increased his caffeine uptake since he realised Todomatsu was working at the shop. He thinks maybe he could blame this on the fact that final exams are drawing closer and closer, but really, it seems more likely that it’s linked to the more obvious factor. In spite of this, he decides to buy a bottle of water on his next visit. It doesn’t really feel like it’s fixed the problem.

The second thing is – right now, there is quite definitely a clone of Todomatsu in the shop. Atsushi stares, eyes narrowed and deep in thought as he watches this twin walk in along with the usual afternoon crowd, for whatever reason wearing sunglasses even though it’s March right now. Right, right, there are…five of them, six including Todomatsu. Still, Atsushi has never seen more than one of them at once before, to the point that back in high school he had begun to wonder if maybe someone had made up the whole ‘sextuplet’ thing as a joke about their average looking faces.

But, there’s actual Todomatsu, stood behind the counter with horrified look on his face, and suddenly he’s sneaking away from the machines, ducking under the counter and speed-walking across the café, grabbing his twin as he goes. Atsushi looks on in mild amusement as they start signing to each furiously out the front, just visible through the logo painted over the window. There’s very little he can make out from this distance, but Atsushi wonders if they’re arguing. Todomatsu definitely looks angry, but, that’s not really a rarity anymore.

A few moments later, after the twin of Todomatsu has been sent away, he comes hurrying back into the café, sees Atsushi, and changes path again, this time dragging him to the door instead.

“Tell the ___ I’ve gone on break,” he hurries, letting go for a moment, and Atsushi barely has time to call it out to Aida before he’s pulled out of the shop. There’s a moment where he just stands there with a frown, sighing, before looking up at Atsushi with large eyes. “Hey, hey, Atsushi-kun.”

“…What?” He already has a bad feeling about this.

“Do you have your own place?” he asks, blinking much too innocently. And that cat smile again…

“I might do,” he signs back. “Was that your brother?”

“Did you see?” Todomatsu looks scandalised, then pouts. “So annoying, he looks too much like me, I can’t even lie and say he’s just some ____ guy…”

“But you wouldn’t lie to me,” Atsushi teases, smirking. Todomatsu pulls a face.

“I never lie to you.”

“At this point I’m half e-x-p-e-c-t-i-n-g you to be lying about being deaf.”

“I wish.” Todomatsu glances to the side in mock exasperation. “But you know what I’m ____ telling the truth about? I need to move out!”

“You said.” Atsushi raises an eyebrow.

“So!”

“So?” A few people enter the shop and glance at them strangely as they walk in. Atsushi ignores them. “I heard there’s a d-i-s-t-r-i-c-t around here with some cheap rooms for r-e-n-t.”

“Atsushi-kunnn.” Todomatsu has a habit of drawing out his signs at times and adding extra flicks here and there (something Atsushi takes care to avoid when learning) – it’s a quirk he noticed after a while of talking to him. It’s especially noticeable now, so much so that Atsushi can almost hear his whine. “It’ll only be for a few days!”

“I don’t know what you’re asking.” Oh he so does.

“Let me stay with you for a bit!” he signs, pulling a face of desperation he probably thinks is cute (it kind of is). “Pleeease?”

Atsushi raises an eyebrow.

“___, Atsushi-kun, you know I’m deaf, right? You feel sorry for me, don’t you? Think about how hard it is for me! I can’t move out by myself, the best I’ll get is a ___ one room apartment! What if someone breaks in?! I won’t even be able to hear them!”

“If it’s only one room, you’ll be able to see them.”

“Atsushi-kunnnn, you’re missing the pointttt.” Todomatsu steps just a little closer to him, and Atsushi blinks. “Just for a short while? Please?”

He wants to say no. There’s no way this could end well.

…But, annoyingly, he’s too cute. Atsushi takes a breath and then nods. If it’s just for a few days, maybe it won’t be so bad. He likes the company of Todomatsu anyway, and he’ll probably be at his job for the most of it. Right. It’ll be fine.

-

Pink.

Almost all of Todomatsu’s belongings are pink. His toothbrush, his clothes, his bags, his large collection of toiletries…Atsushi wonders why he’s even bringing all of this, if it’s only a few days…there’s enough here for a lot longer than that.

“Wowww, Atsushi-kun, your apartment is so bigggg,” he signs after throwing all his things on the floor pretty much, looking around the room in awe. “You must be really rich. Now I feel less bad about staying here.”

“Did you feel bad to start with,” Atsushi signs, but Todomatsu has already moved his attention elsewhere. He bounds over to his bed, sitting down on it with a grin and bouncing up and down a little on it. “…What are you doing?”

He blinks and stops, looking somewhat sheepish. “We don’t have a proper bed at home. It’ll be ___ having one for once.”

“…What?”

“What?” Todomatsu shoots him a look. “It’s not gay to share a bed, Atsushi-kun. Get over it.”

“That’s- not what I meant.” He shakes his head, trying to focus. “Sharing? Why would we share?”

“Where else are you gonna sleep, on the sofa?”

“…” He really has no idea what to reply to that. The fact that Todomatsu would think it would be him sleeping on the sofa despite it being his apartment… “I can always buy a futon.”

“Atsushi-kunnn.” He stares at him with his cutesy smile, and Atsushi frowns as he feels his indignation slip. Soon this guy is gonna have complete control over him. Not that he’d mind. “It won’t be weird, promise.”

Atsushi starts to wonder if he’s accidentally gained some kind of strange wife figure for his apartment. He tries to be annoyed, but can’t. Well, sharing a bed can’t be that weird, he guesses. If they just…keep to opposite sides of the bed…and this kind of thing is normal for girls, after all…

As it turns out, Todomatsu ends up being a sleep-cuddler. Atsushi feels his resolve crash and burn. This is a dire situation. He’s so cute. And such a shitface. Save him from this hell.

-

He tries to look at the positives of the situation. A mental list inside his head.

Todomatsu is a barista, after all. So Atsushi supposes maybe he can have someone make him nice coffee when he gets back from university.

“Make it yourself,” he signs, letting his phone fall against his chest with a lazy stare. “Maybe if you pay me I will.”

Atsushi stares, then sighs. Okay, fair enough. Maybe. He does make coffee all day for his job, it’s probably tiring to have to do it at home too. This might be a helpful start to kicking his caffeine addiction too.

Even still, he expresses his annoyance at this by throwing a pillow in Todomatsu’s direction. It comes back to bite him when he refuses to return it later that night, leaving Atsushi without. Asshole.

The second thing is something harder to go wrong with. Since Todomatsu is deaf, it’s not like he has to worry about him blasting annoying pop music at 2am or anything. Atsushi is thankful for this since it means he can study in peace.

Except, again, no. Atsushi had assumed the main way to get attention would be just to wave to catch the other person’s eyes, but Todomatsu seems to have invented slightly more unconventional ways (that perfectly fit in with his terrible personality). Atsushi discovers this whilst he’s deep in revision, condensing already condensed notes even further and frowning at the paper as he mentally reviews the information, before all of his thoughts are cut off as there’s a loud bang.

When his head snaps, he sees Todomatsu staring at him, satisfied, and one of his chairs deftly pushed over beside him.

“…What?”

“I’m boredddd,” he signs back, and Atsushi runs a hand through his hair. It’s like having a cat. Atsushi doesn’t have a cat for a reason. “Let’s play a game!”

“I’m in the middle of my final exam week,” Atsushi signs irritably, and Todomatsu seems to falter, frowning.

“But you’ll pass, right?”

“Not if I don’t study.”

“You always study.”

“Look, if you want to make yourself useful, do some housework for once,” Atsushi signs. Todomatsu pulls a face, faltering. “…If you do, I’ll take you out for drinks at the end of the week.”

“Wow, really?” His posture brightens instantly, eyes sparkling. “Yay, Atsushi-kun’s so kind.”

Or an idiot, he thinks bitterly, but thankfully, he’s left unbothered after that. Todomatsu does as much as putting in a load of washing, dusting some things that don’t need dusting, and buying a set of microwave meals with money that Atsushi is sure isn’t his. But at least he’s quiet during this, other than the occasional hard clap to catch his attention. This feels far too domestic for what it is. Atsushi wonders if he hasn’t actually obtained a wife.

There’s also the other method of catching his attention which Atsushi is less annoyed and more amused by. He’s sat rereading a report, when suddenly all the lights flicker off. And then come back on again. And then off, and on, and off, and on. Atsushi looks over to the light-switch and sees Todomatsu stood there with a blank stare, looking straight at him whilst continuing to flick it off and on, pace slowing slightly but not stopping.

“…Yes?”

“Where do you keep your sugar?” he signs, smiling innocently. Atsushi stares.

“…Why?”

“Sec-ret,” Todomatsu signs. This isn’t helping his suspicions. “What? Don’t look at me like that, it’s a nice thing, I promise.”

“Do you know how to cook?”

“Wow, Atsushi-kun, you think just ‘cause I can’t hear the fire alarm go off it means I’m bad at cooking. Well, that only happened one time, and it wasn’t my fault anyway!”

“…Please don’t set my apartment on fire.”

“I won’t I won’t, just tell me where you keep it!”

(A few hours later, Atsushi is presented with a clumsy looking pancake. A little too sweet for his tastes, but not bad.)

At the end of exam week, Atsushi is so high with catharsis that he almost forgets to be annoyed with Todomatsu, until he’s shortly reminded about his promise from earlier on, which is how they end up walking back from some bar at near midnight, Todomatsu clutched onto his arm.

“That was so much funnn,” he signs as best he can without detaching his elbow from him. “It’s so much fun being friends with you, Atsushi-kun.”

He’s a little tipsy, but his mind is still working enough to know where this situation should go. And for once manage to get a little power over Todomatsu, which he does twisting him round and kissing him hard on the lips. Because fuck it, deaf or not, Atsushi has been falling for this guy too long to hold back anymore. And he thinks just for a moment, it’s him, he’s in the upper hand like he should have been all along, but then he feels Todomatsu’s coy smile against his lips and damn it it’s still him.

“You’re so bold in public,” he signs once Atsushi lets go of him, face flushed and smirking. “People will hear.”

“Kissing doesn’t make any noise,” Atsushi replies, a little surprised his attempt went so successful. He should have tried that weeks ago. Todomatsu lets out a little puff of breath like a soundless laugh, and Atsushi wonders if that’s another cute thing he does on purpose, or just genuine. He doesn’t mind either way. It’s adorable.

“I bet you’d moan though, wouldn’t you,” he signs, grinning at him devilishly. Never mind, he’s not cute at all.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Atsushi signs, rolling his eyes but unable to stop himself from grinning back. “Maybe I’ll get you to moan so I can hear your voice for once.”

“I bet you have an annoying voice,” Todomatsu signs, sticking his tongue out a little. “I’m glad I’ll never get to hear it.”

“I bet you have a cute voice,” Atsushi signs back, moving closer to him again. “I’ll definitely get to hear that.”

“Wrong,” is all Todomatsu gets to sign before Atsushi kisses him again, entwining their fingers together to finally stop that annoying teasing.

Third thing is, he completely loves having Todomatsu around. And there isn’t really any downside to that which isn’t also a positive. So all in all, it’s not that bad.

Besides, he finally gets his umbrella back. There’s that too.

-

After that, he finally has time to relax a little more, only having graduation to plan for now. Todomatsu, annoyingly enough, declines, claiming it’d be boring if there’s no one to translate and he’s spending the entire time on stage, but Atsushi doubts he would have come anyway. Not that he blames him. If it was up to him he’d probably skip it too. At least Todomatsu’s honesty is refreshing compared to the normal politeness of everyone else he knows.

On the way back from the shop, Atsushi decides he might as well stop by the café once again, since he knows there’s no way Todomatsu’s going to make him a coffee once he gets back. Such a loving boyfriend.

When he steps into the shop, Atsushi finds himself unable to move, staring in complete disbelief as five identical people are gathered around the counter, a triad of loud voices all talking at once. He isn’t the only one staring.

“C’mon, can’t you just take a message or something?” one of them asks, and Atsushi manages to unglue himself from the entrance to explore just what exactly is going on here. These are definitely Todomatsu’s brothers, alright. The resemblance is almost uncanny, even more so seeing them all lined up here at once.

“Is there a problem?” he asks, raising an eyebrow. Aida and Sacchi turn towards him, shoulders slumping in obvious relief at the sight of him.

“Atsushi-kun, um, these guys are sextuplets, I think they’re looking for Matsuno-san…?”

“Have you seen our brother?” one of them asks, frowning anxiously. “He’s like us, but he’s deaf, and kind of obnoxious-“

“That asshole just totally upped it and left home in like, a day,” another cuts in, pulling a face. “He’s probably dead for all we know.”

“Did he really work here?” one of them says, looking around with his hands in his pockets. “Looks too high tier…”

“I know your brother, yes,” Atsushi says, frowning. “He-“

“Um, sirs, is it possible you could step outside and have this chat?” Aida asks pleadingly, glancing at the queue forming behind them. “Sorry, Atsushi-kun, it’s just…”

“That’s okay, I understand.” He nods, and there’s a final commotion from the five brothers, before they follow him back outside. Atsushi tries not to be perturbed at how similar they all are. It’s really unlike anything he’s ever seen before.

“Kind soul! Please, enlighten us on the unascertained location of our brother-!” one of them starts, and Atsushi hardly has time to blink before someone else elbows the same one in the side.

“You know Todomatsu, right?” another one cuts in, face serious and tone direct.

“Yes, he-“ Atsushi has to stop as another one yells ‘Totty!!’, grinning widely. Totty…? He has to supress a laugh. That’s…that’s kind of cute. “He’s living with me.”

“What, really? Man, I totally thought he was lying about that,” one says, leaning back a little. “I thought there was no way a shithead like that could make a friend. And that’s even after you get past the whole talking barrier.”

“I can sign,” Atsushi explains uncertainly, feeling somewhat uncomfortable as all gaze as him in awe. He has to wonder if Todomatsu had even mentioned him at all. Seems not. “I-uh, he taught me.”

“Wow, you must be really smart,” someone else (god he can’t keep track at all) says, grinning.

“Can’t you all sign?”

“Well, yeah, but Todomatsu’s always so picky with it, like he’s always like, ‘you have to mouth the words or it doesn’t work’ and ‘Osomatsu-niisan you can’t use just use one hand it won’t make sense’. Like, does he even realise how much effort it is? Just talking normally is hard enough!”

“Please ignore him, he’s an idiot,” a different one cuts in, then bows stiffly. “Um, please take good care of our brother! I may he may not seem it, but he’s actually very high maintenance.”

“’Doesn’t seem it’?” Another raises an eyebrow, still looking chronically bored. “Tch, yeah right. That guy’s the most transparent of us all.”

“Totty doesn’t talk, so I taught him other ways to be loud!” the grinning one exclaims. Well, at least now the constant slamming and clapping makes sense.

“He is a poor soul, tormented by those who cannot understand-“ Elbowed again. Atsushi has to admire his persistence, if anything. Then he realises something, remembering something he was meaning to ask about for a while but kept forgetting.

“I actually met him back in high school, but I only started getting to know him after he started working here,” he explains. “I think I saw him crying. Do you know why? I haven’t asked him about it yet, since I don’t think he remembers me.”

“Crying…?” One of them frowns. “Todomatsu’s cries at everything though. Like he’ll cry if you eat the strawberry off his slice of cake-“

“No, you ate the entire thing-“

“Uh, I think he might have been injured…” Atsushi starts feeling a little uncertain. It…was him, wasn’t it? The others stare at him blankly, before one of them holds up his hand.

“Oh,” he says, blinking lazily. “The hearing aid thing.”

There’s a unanimous ‘ohhh’ from the other four of them, and Atsushi waits.

“Yeah, I remember that,” one says, nodding. “Some guys in his class ripped it off. Mum was really mad, ‘cause they’re crazy expensive.”

“Hearing aids…?” Atsushi is pretty sure he’s never seen Todomatsu wearing them. Though, the real issue here… “Ripped off?”

“Yeah, there was blood everywhere, like totally everywhere-“

“It wasn’t that bad,” another snipes, rolling his eyes. “By the time he was with us it had mostly stopped.”

“He wore them when we were kids but then he said he didn’t want them anymore after that,” the first one continues, then laughs. “When we were super young, like, he always used to ignore us, so we kinda thought he was just a huge asshole. But then it turned out he was deaf, so we ended up all learning sign language, but even then he still ignored us.”

“Turns out he actually was just a piece of shit,” one of them mutters. “Good luck living with him.”

“Does he really not want to come back?” the one who keeps getting elbowed asks, managing only to receive a glare this time. Then he gasps, staring carefully at Atsushi. “Could it be…you are in-!”

“Nobody wants to hear your voice, Shittymatsu,” someone hisses, and Atsushi wonders that with this level of insanity it’s kind of amazing Todomatsu isn’t more terrible than he is. With lingering concern though, he tries to move back to the original topic.

“Why would they take off his hearing aid? Wouldn’t that…hurt?”

“Yup!” one of them answers with a beam that doesn’t really suit his reply. “That’s why he cried!”

“I dunno why they took it off,” another says, shrugging. “He wouldn’t tell us.”

“I know why,” someone else speaks up (Atsushi seriously needs to ask Todomatsu for some way to differentiate between them). “We got our mid-year tests back, and he scored higher than some of them, so they snuck up on him and ripped it off as a joke. I heard from some people in our class talking about it.”

“That’s…” Atsushi suddenly feels kind of bad. “I had no idea.”

“You can’t feel bad for him though,” the first one says, laughing. “He’ll never shut up about it if you do. He’s seriously a real piece of shit. Anyway, you don’t seem like you’ve got any evil intentions, so I guess you can keep him for now.”

“Why did he leave?”

“Because he’s totally stupid-“

“Because somebody started saying some unnecessary stuff to him, and he got upset and decided he couldn’t be bothered with us anymore,” one snaps, glaring at the other. “Even though you know he would have taken it personally-“

“He overreacted! It wasn’t my fault, he would have left eventually anyway.”

“I can’t believe he’s moving forward in life so much faster than me,” he sulks. “Maybe I could ask him to give me some advice…”

The five of them skulk off back down the road, and Atsushi watches them uncertainly, still a little confused if what just happened was real. That was certainly…a lot to think about. And a lot to process. Atsushi suddenly realises he’s lived a very normal life compared to those guys.

When he gets back to his apartment (in the end, without any coffee), he sees Todomatsu led on his back on the bed, looking through his phone with a listless expression. Atsushi catches his attention with a wave and he sits up at once, face brightening. It’s a cute reaction.

“Atsushi-kunnn, you’re gonna loveeee me,” he signs quickly, grinning. “I’m so nice, I cleaned up and then bought you one of those cute cakes from the shop down the road ‘cause I got bored waiting for you to come back. Even with my own money! But, you should totally share half with me, because I’m cute and I deserve it.”

Atsushi can’t help but smirk back at him. “That’s a first.”

“It’s not! I always do nice things, but today I’m just being extra nice.”

“What do you want, I wonder,” he signs, moving over to the kitchen area. There actually is a cake there, not even half eaten. Wow.

“Nope, nothing! Wow, Atsushi-kun, you’re so distrustful. Maybe I’ll stop doing nice things if you’re going to be like this about it.” He leans back a little, smiling coquettishly.

“Well, thank you then,” he signs, still glancing at the cake a little suspiciously.

“Are you going to share?” Todomatsu blinks at him innocently.

“Probably not.”

Pure betrayal. “Why not?! Hey, Atsushi-kun, c’mon, you should, c’monnn, don’t you looveee me??”

Todomatsu wraps his arms around him tightly, grinning, and Atsushi rolls his eyes. They end up sharing in the end, and he lets Todomatsu eat the strawberry on top. He feels like he’s learnt some useful information today.

-

He’s at home one day, looking through the internet aimlessly, with not much to be doing in the pause time between finishing university and starting his job. Todomatsu is out working until late that night, so he’s pretty bored, paying little attention to anything.

Until there’s a slam of his door and he sits up, startled as Todomatsu bursts in, face a delicate mix between pissed off and near tears.

“You’re back early,“ he signs, and Todomatsu stares at him for a moment, expression unreadable. “…What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he signs back shortly, and Atsushi notices when his hands move there’s a slight difference in movement between his left and right hand, the right being a little less pronounced. He narrows his eyes, and then notices him clutching something in the hand- maybe a tissue, and then startlingly he notices a scarlet stain pooled in the middle and shuts his laptop abruptly.

“Are you bleeding?”

Todomatsu quickly closes his palm, hiding the tissue, but Atsushi’s already seen it. He stands up, concerned. “It’s nothing.”

“Let me see,” he signs, moving forward.

“It’s fine, I sorted it,” he signs stiffly, but there’s definitely something up with his hand from how he signs. Atsushi takes it gently and frowns at the few thin napkins he recognises from the café wrapped around his palm. Shifting them slightly reveals a long cut, looking painfully deep, starting from under his index finger down to the corner of him palm.

“This isn’t sorted at all,” Atsushi signs to him, and Todomatsu draws his hands back closer to him, frowning. “You need proper bandages. What happened?”

“…I broke a cup at work,” he signs with small movements, and seems to wince as he carries on using his injured hand. Atsushi sighs, moving over to his under his sink where he keeps the occasional medical supply. He’s never used any of them before until now, and thanks his past self for being so well prepared as he manages to locate a roll of bandages and gauze, amongst other things.

Todomatsu lets out a quiet whine and shifts his head away as Atsushi presses a cotton swab of disinfectant against the wound.

“Sorry, sorry,” he signs singlehandedly, before going back to cleaning the cut, wrapping it up tightly. Afterwards, Todomatsu flexes his fingers experimentally, pulling a face. “It’s probably best if you don’t use it that much.”

He pouts and glares down at his hand in annoyance. Atsushi has a feeling it’s not going to stop him. Well, getting a hand injury when it’s your only way to communicate…he can understand the frustration in that.

“Did you get sent home because of it?” he signs, expecting a nod or a shake of the head, but Todomatsu seems set on giving a full reply.

“Kind of,” he signs with a shrug, and then, suddenly angry, “I’m gonna quit my job. I’ve been there long enough, and it’s boring! All I do is make coffee.”

“Oh?” Atsushi raises an eyebrow. “What are you going to do instead then?”

“Maybe I’ll just a break. Become a housewife. I can __ ___-“ He makes a small noise of pain as he stretches out his hand, then frowns down at it.

“Careful,” Atsushi instructs. “You’ll make it worse.”

“I hate this,” he signs with a scowl. “Stupid- cup. Hey, Atsushi-kun, you’re not doing anything right now, are you? Let’s do something fun.”

Something fun? Atsushi just rolls his eyes, before leaning forwards to kiss him. Todomatsu grins and responds happily enough, annoyance seemingly forgotten. He supposes they don’t need to be able to use their hands to do this at least.

-

Once again, Atsushi finds himself going to the coffee shop even less than before. It’s kind of amazing how much his caffeine intake changes depending on how much he sees Todomatsu at the shop. Maybe it was the reason he was going there so much after all. Now that he’s quit…Atsushi cuts down to maybe one every week, at most.

When he steps into the familiar smell of coffee once more, he sees Aida working over at the counter still, and she quickly waves him over, eyes wide.

“Atsushi-kun! It feels like so long since you were last here! Honestly, you missed lots of drama!” She looks at him in concern without giving him the chance to reply. “You have Matsuno-san’s phone number, don’t you?”

“Ah, yeah, why?” He frowns. “He did tell you he was quitting right?”

“He quit? Ahh, I guess that makes sense…” Aida looks down a little sadly. “It was so terrible, Atsushi-kun, you should have been here.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Didn’t he tell you?” Aida stares at him. “Oh my gosh, Atsushi-kun, it was so bad. Matsuno-san was clearing up some tables, and there were these loud guys, I think high schoolers, you know the type? Well, I think they must have heard he was deaf, because they were making all these comments, and me and Sacchi were going to ask them to leave, but it was just us and it was kind of busy…but anyway, Matsuno-san left this tray with some cups on and then turned away, and one of them just smahed it, and obviously everyone heard, and we looked, and it was so bad because Matsuno-san didn’t have a clue and he went to pick it up, but nobody could stop him in time- and there was so much blood, we used like all our napkins trying to stop it. He went home after that, and we kicked those guys out, but oh my gosh Atsushi-kun, it was just so so bad because he had no idea, and I felt so bad, like who does something like that? Isn’t it awful?”

“Wait, so you mean…it wasn’t just an accident?” He narrows his eyes.

“No, no way, they were laughing so much,” Aida says, shaking her head in dismay. “It’s really sad because, I know he couldn’t really talk to us, but me and Sacchi both liked having him around by the end, he was really helpful.”

“Yeah, I…get that,” Atsushi says, unable to shake off the feeling of distaste from hearing the actual story behind that cut. “…If you want, I can give you his number. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind talking to you every now and again.”

“Oh, really? That’d be great!” Aida beams at him.

“So long as you’re not going to flirt with him,” he adds, smirking. “He’s taken.”

“Eh? Really? I didn’t know thaa…wait, Atsushi-kun, do you mean-?”

“I’ll get two cappuccinos to go, please,” he cuts in, smiling cooly. Aida stares at him for a few moments before, before shaking her head with a laugh and turning around. Her coffee is maybe a little less nicer than Todomatsu can make it, though better decorated. Maybe he’s just biased.

-

“Wow, is that for me?? Thank you, Atsushi-ku-“

Todomatsu makes a small noise as Atsushi moves into a hard kiss, still holding the coffee in each of his hands. He kisses back after a moment, and gives Atsushi a strange look once he pulls back.

“Did you miss me that much? You were only gone like twenty minutes.” Todomatsu smiles at him coyly, and Atsushi puts down the drinks. “But, I was thinking, I can still move out if you want me to, if it’s getting annoying. I could always go back home-”

“No,” Atsushi signs, trying to focus. “Are you going to tell me the truth about your hand?”

Todomatsu stares, eyes wide, before glancing at the coffee cups and seeming to understand what’s happened. His gaze doesn’t quite meet Atsushi’s own.“…You said I wasn’t supposed to sign, so I can’t talk too much-“

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Atsushi waits, but Todomatsu doesn’t move, holding his arms to his chest. “I spoke to your brothers too, do you remember back in high school? I gave you that tissue in the bathroom-“

“That was you?” he signs, eyes wide with something that looks like panic, nervous smiling flickering up again. “That was- it was a sports accident-“

“They already told me what happened.”

“…Do you think I’m weird?” he signs after a short pause, movements lacking their usual flick. Atsushi stares.

“What?”

“It’s really embarrassing, all those things,” he signs, looking down, before glancing back up. “Isn’t it? I mean, I know I can’t really ever be properly normal, but- it’s annoying when I can’t even pretend to be.”

“That’s-“

“Did you feel sorry for me when you met me?” Todomatsu continues, suddenly something bitter in his eyes. “I think that’s why they hired me in the first place. I don’t mind, but it’s just…annoying.”

He stares down at his lap with a sullen look. Atsushi wasn’t really expecting this, more just a ‘haha oops sorry’. The surprise only intensifies when he notices tears in Todomatsu’s eyes, though he squeezes them shut in what looks like an effort to fight them.

“Sorry,” he signs sadly, and more strikingly, genuinely. Atsushi wishes there was a way he could pull him into a hug and talk to him at the same time. “I just didn’t want you to find out how weird I am. Normal people don’t have stuff like this.”

“I don’t think you’re weird,” Atsushi signs, then reconsiders. “Not because of you being deaf, anyway.”

Todomatsu glares at him. “Don’t be mean, I’m upset.”

“Sorry, sorry.” Atsushi moves closer to him. “You don’t have to move out, is what I’m saying. You’ve stayed here long enough, I would have kicked you out a long time ago if I didn’t enjoy having you here.”

“Ew, Atsushi-kun, are you saying you actually do love me,” Todomatsu signs, looking at him with a somewhat hopeful smile, mixed with mild disdain. It’s amazing how he can always balance such pure cute expressions with disgusted judgmental ones. “That’s gay.”

“I guess,” he signs back, smiling a little. “Maybe you can stay and actually be my housewife.”

“…That could work,” he signs, a thoughtful look entering his eyes. “But, I mean, you’ll have to convince me. Maybe I’ll leave and find someone else deaf to live with.”

“But then who would tell you if someone broke in,” Atsushi signs, raising an eyebrow, before pressing his lips against Todomatsu’s cheek. He grins and pushes him back a little.

“I’m not that easily won over,” he signs, trying to hide his pleased smirk. “You can’t convince me just like that.”

But it turns out he can. Todomatsu doesn’t move out in the end.