This has absolutely not been edited, but it has been laying around in forever, so I just wanted to finish it and upload it. Ooohhh welllll, some fluff for you, just call me Fluffer McFluffington
Onodera stepped out of the lift and towards his apartment door. It dripped from his coat and hair and left a trail of rainwater behind him. It was late; he had left the office as the last person and only just made the last train. He stopped in front of the door and rummaged through his pockets. Not there. He put a hand into the bag instead. Nothing. Had he dropped his keys? His head hurt from just trying to think back… Oh. It had rained all day, so his coat had been soaked when he made it to work earlier this day. He had emptied his pockets before putting it up to dry. His keys must be on his desk. At work. He hit his head on the door and sighed deeply. Great, he thought and straightened up again. He rubbed his forehead and squeezed his eyes shut. The rain had soaked him to his bones and left him shivering, and the hallway wasn't exactly the cosiest place to stay. He looked back at the elevator. Where could he go? He knew no one in this building. Except… His eyes slid to his neighbour's door. No, he thought and shook his head. It sent a wave of unpleasantness through him and for a moment, he thought he was going to vomit on his very own doorstep. He put a hand on the door for support and only slowly looked up again, still facing that door. He could just sleep here, but… Honestly, that wouldn't make him better at all, and his neighbour would come out sooner or later to scold him and drag him into his apartment. It was better to make it seem like it was his own decision to ask for help, to prove he could take care of himself, right? No. He wouldn't have forgotten his keys, if he could do that. With slow, dragging steps, he made his way to the other door. He raised his hand and gave the door a single knock. While waiting, he cleared his throat. Takano didn't need to know he was sick too, just that he had forgotten his keys and needed a place to crash. He was well aware of the teasing and scolding that would follow that, but it was much, much better than the over-protecting and worrisome mood Takano would be in, if he knew. It wasn't anything anyway, was it? He was just tired from a long day at work, not sick. And in that moment Takano opened the door and Onodera sneezed.
"Onodera? Are you okay?" Too late, Onodera thought. Takano sounded worried already. Onodera cleared his throat again:
"I forgot my keys," he mumbled and kept his eyes to the ground. He felt how rough his voice was.
"What?" Takano asked and put a finger under his soaked neighbour's chin and lifted up his face. Takano studied him through his glasses.
"I forgot my keys at work," Onodera said just a pinch louder this time. "And…" His voice faded away and he looked down again. Had his face not already been warm from the upcoming fever, he certainly burned up in embarrassment now.
"And..?" But Onodera kept quiet. They stood in the door. Onodera sneezed again. Takano took him the coat sleeve and pulled him inside.
"Of course you can stay over, idiot," he said and took the young man's bag and placed it on the floor. "You're soaked. Why didn't you bring an umbrella? It's been raining all day. How could you forget your keys?" Takano kept talking, scolding in a worrisome tone, while he helped Onodera out of his jacket, but Onodera had stopped listening. He just fiddled to get his shoes off without his hands. Takano had a strong hold on his arms to stabilize him.
"You need to get out of that clothes and get warmed up," Takano said.
"Huh," Onodera just mumbled somewhere underneath a cough.
"You're shivering," Takano said and put a hand on Onodera's back. "For how long where you out in the rain?" He followed him to the bathroom and turned on the shower for him.
"Will you be all right to shower on your own?" Takano stared intensely at Onodera.
"Yes," he replied hoarsely and started peeling off the wet clothes. Takano stood there for another moment, watching him carelessly flinging his shirt to the ground.
"I'll make you something warm," Takano said and left the bathroom. Onodera stepped into the hot shower. The heat made him drowsy and he noticed how much his body ached. For how long he stood in the shower, he wasn't sure, but when he stepped out of there, someone had picked his wet clothes off the floor. Instead, a towel was lying on the counter next to a set of fresh clothes. He dried himself off and discarded the towel onto the floor. The clothes consisted of boxers, shorts and a t-shirt. All several sizes too big for him. He pulled on the boxers and shorts, - it was probably the only type of pants of Takano's Onodera could fit, - but he paused when he made it to the t-shirt. He lifted it up to his face and sniffed it. He closed his eyes. It smelled like safety and comfort. He groaned at himself and just pulled it over his head. Before leaving he picked the towel back up from the floor.
He stepped into the living room with the towel clutched in his hands. He stood there until Takano came out of the kitchen with a bowl of hot soup. He placed the soup on the coffee table and picked a blanket off the sofa. In a smooth movement, he took the towel out of Onodera's hands, tossed it to a side and wrapped the blanket around him instead.
"Come on," he said and lead the younger man to the sofa. "Eat something." Takano sat by his side and watched him closely as Onodera picked up the bowl with shaking hands. Seemingly as scared of him spilling, as he was himself, Takano placed a hand underneath the bowl to help him.
"Don't scold your tongue," Takano warned him. Onodera smiled weakly at him and drank the soup carefully. The warmth spread inside of him, as he sank the hot soup. Takano placed the bowl back on the table and put his hands on Onodera's arms.
"Don't tell me you stood outside for long before you decided to knock on my door," he said and caressed his arms. "You can always come to me if you need help." Onodera didn't answer. He felt exhausted and everything ached. His head was spinning and he just leaned into Takano. The consequences of allowing Takano to see him like this, to let him take care of him, could wait for tomorrow. Takano pulled Onodera into his arms and mumbled against his hair:
"I love you."
Onodera just sighed and drifted off to sleep, safe and comfortable.
Was this even a real story? Probably not. Will it be longer? Maybe, I don't know. If I feel like, I guess, or if people want more of it? I don't know.