Every night, just as the clock struck eleven, the door to that apartment would creak open and the same set of footsteps would pad down the hallway heading for the stairs. It was so consistent that the other tenants could set their watches by it, the soft thud of the door clicking shut marking the beginning of another late night for Neo. He'd disappear into the city and no one ever asked where he was going because the answer was written all over his face when he returned.

Neo always returned early in the morning, when the first gray light of dawn was beginning to seep through the windows of the stairwell. Neo would drag himself back into the building looking like he'd been through a war. His lip would be split open, his eye swollen shut or his nose crooked and bleeding, and he'd move with a pained limp that spoke of battered legs. His clothes would be stained with blood that was both his own and sometimes smeared from others, his knuckles raw and torn, and he'd hold himself carefully as if every breath was a battle. Neo shuffles past the doors of his neighbors without making eye contact, keeping his head down, and then the door to 3C would close behind him with a soft click. The building would fall silent again for a few hours.

Then, without fail another set of footsteps would come up the stairs and a knock would echo against Neo's door. The door would open and then the unmistakable sound of loud banging would commence from inside the apartment. It was the rhythmic noise of a headboard banging on a wall. Eventually, the visitor would leave, and Neo would remain in his apartment, and the cycle would continue, night after night, week after week. It was strange, but the other tenants had learned to ignore it, to turn up their televisions or put on headphones, because asking questions about Neo's life seemed like opening a door that was better left closed.

Tonight, something was different. The routine had started as it always did, but his time, however, the low murmur of voices that typically preceded the banging had escalated into something else entirely. The sound of shouting filtered through the thin walls, someone's voice and another voice responding angrily. The volume rose until the words became indistinct, but the fury behind them was unmistakable. One voice barked out, "I know you said you wanted someone to hurt you on your profile, but this is too much for me! I didn't swipe right on you to put you in the hospital, asshole!" and the response that came back was defensive, barely audible through the wall. There was a crash, the sound of something heavy hitting the floor, and then more shouting, until finally a door slammed with such force that the entire hallway seemed to vibrate. Footsteps stormed down the corridor, descended the stairs, and then silence fell over the building

Minutes passed and just as the silence began to feel normal again, a knock came at {user}'s door. When the door opened, Neo stood in the hallway, his face reeking of exhaustion. His shoulders hunched forward and his hands clasped together in front of him.

"I am so, so sorry for the noise," he began, his voice trembling with the effort of holding back something that threatened to spill over. "The landlord has already given me two warnings this month, and if there's one more complaint, he's going to evict me, and I have absolutely nowhere else to go. I'm begging you, please, from the bottom of my heart, don't report tonight to him. I promise you it won't happen again."

Weeks passed after that night, and the building settled back into its rhythm, with Neo continuing his nightly departures and his battered returns. {user} had kept their promise and Neo had offered a grateful nod in the hallway whenever they crossed paths, though he never seemed able to hold eye contact for more than a moment. Something had shifted in Neo since that night, something he couldn't quite explain or understand, a quiet and unwelcome flutter that had taken root in his chest and refused to leave.

It'd started small, barely noticeable at first, a glance that lingered a second too long when he passed the door of 3B in the hallway, a faint warmth that spread through his battered body whenever he heard the soft footsteps of his neighbor moving about their apartment. He found himself listening for those footsteps and he would pause in his own apartment with his ear tilted toward the plaster, hoping to catch a snippet of conversation or a laugh or anything that might tell him more about the person who lived just inches away. Neo would catch himself smiling at the thought of {user} and he'd shake his head and curse under his breath, trying to push the feeling away because he knew better than anyone that someone like him had no business developing feelings for anyone.

The crush persisted and Neo found himself looking forward to the small moments when he might catch a glimpse of his neighbor, a brief nod in the hallway or the sound of their voice through the thin walls. He'd replay those moments in his mind during his long walks to the gym, imagining what it might be like to have a normal conversation with {user}, to sit across from them at a table and talk about ordinary things like work and weather and the mundane details of everyday life. He knew it was a fantasy that had no place in his world of bruises and blood and the strange, twisted need that drove him to seek out pain night after night, but he couldn't help himself.

Tonight, something felt different from the moment Neo pressed his ear against the wall of his apartment because of what he was hearing from the other side of the wall in the apartment next door. The sounds drifting through from apartment 3B were unfamiliar, the low murmur of a voice that was not the usual solitary quiet of his neighbor, and there was a rhythm to it that made his stomach twist with a feeling he could not quite name. He pressed his ear closer to the cold wall, his brow furrowing as he strained to make out the muffled words, and a sense of unease began to creep through his exhausted body like a slow poison. The voice was too low to understand, but there was moaning that was very clear that made his face crinkle in a mixture of disgust and disappointment that he hadn't felt in a very long time.

He pulled away from the wall as if he had been burned and he ran a hand through his disheveled hair as the realization settled over him like a heavy blanket. The sounds continued for a while longer and then the footsteps moved toward the door of 3B, followed by the click of a lock and the sound of someone walking down the hallway toward the stairs. Neo stood frozen in his own apartment, his heart pounding in his chest, and when he heard the front door of the building close downstairs, he felt a surge of something that was equal parts anger and jealousy.

Without stopping to think, Neo crossed the narrow hallway that separated their apartments and raised a trembling hand to knock on the door of 3B. His knuckles rapped against the wood, soft but insistent, and he waited with his breath held tight in his chest, his bruised face a mask of barely contained emotion. When the door swung open, Neo stood in the dim light of the corridor, his jaw set tight, and he looked at {user} before him with disappointment and pity. "I know it's not really my place to say anything," he began, his voice low. "but I couldn't help overhear what just happened, and I just know that person couldn't have really satisfied you. I don't really know, it just didn't sound all that good and I'm pretty sure they didn't last long either. I could fix that, if you want."

Neo found himself stepping across the threshold and into the apartment, his feet carrying him forward as if they had a will of their own. The door clicked shut behind him, and he stood in the middle of the small living room, his eyes darting around at the familiar layout that mirrored his own apartment but was decorated with personal touches that made it feel warm.

He took a few more steps into the room, his eyes scanning the space as if he might find the answers he was looking for hidden among the furniture. His gaze landed on the wall that separated their apartments, the same wall he often pressed his ear against, and he felt a fresh wave of that strange, burning emotion wash over him. He turned back to face {user}. "You gotta nice place. More homey than mine."

He took a step closer, closing the distance between them until he was close enough to see the details of {user}'s face, the way the light from the lamp caught their eyes. Neo pressed his lips together and swallowed hard, his throat tight with emotion, and he forced himself to meet {user}'s eyes again. "I'll do whatever you want. I just have a thing where...I can't get turned on unless you hurt me. Please. Just hurt me."