Random my loveprize in viewfinder stories.

Come in from the rain (i'll warm you up) by EtOhPower

Takaba really isn't stalking Asami. At least, he isn't doing anything that Asami hasn't paid several burly men to do to him first--or so he tells himself as he slips into the marble lobby behind some girl with a dog in her purse. A quick sweep of the hall reveals a security guard who seems a bit too friendly to be one of Asami's goons.

It's been a good six years since Takaba last did anything like this (or at least, that's what his police record says), but he's somehow able to finagle the girl's key from the hairless monster. He spares a moment to marvel at the lax security.

Stopping turns out to be a really bad idea, since the pause allows him to dwell on far more troubling things. It's really not the fact that he's trespassing, or that he just stole a stranger's elevator key which is the problem--extended exposure to Asami has more or less eroded any latent respect Takaba still had for civil law. The problem is that it's a Saturday morning and he's standing outside the door of Asami's apartment with a basket full of fruit and a thermos of Kou's chicken soup.

You see, it really started on Friday night. Since Hong Kong, Asami had taken upon himself to "accidentally get caught in the rain" every week at 9pm, regardless of the weather, so really, Takaba couldn't be blamed for taking his clothes off preventative measures at 8:55pm, when the phone rang.

Stupid Asami.

Figures that Takaba couldn't even be allowed to enjoy the news that the bastard really did get stuck in the rain and ended up catching a cold.

A deep voice jostles Takaba from debating over whether of not to just ring the bell and run away.

"Just come in, Akihito."

Damn Asami for making even his name sound condescending.

What stopped him from just storming off right then, however, was the burr in that familiar baritone.

Asami's apartment building is surprisingly...normal, albeit ridiculously overdone. Then again, Takaba had been expecting some sort of evil castle (and really, what did it say about their relationship fling marriage decidedly non-consensual thing that Takaba had never even been in Asami's apartment?). Despite the mountain of tissues in the trash bin, the flat was incredibly neat, and Takaba had a moment of amusement at the thought of Asami dusting in an apron.

He decided the he was probably sicker than Asami when the only word that came to mind was "cute".

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Suddenly, Takaba heard a muffled "Akihido?" come from a pile of blankets in the bedroom.

This was hilarious, and really, he should have just brought a video camera. He wanted to make Asami's sniffles his ringtone.
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Two hours later, the novelty had long since worn off and Takaba was seriously considering flipping a coin to choose between suicide and homicide. Asami, it turns out, was probably the world's most obnoxious sick person, especially once the drugs kick in.

"Akihito, peel my apples for me."

"I already did, they're on the table."

"They look disgusting. Do it right."

Takaba was tempted to throw the peeling knife right at Asami's non-existant heart, except for the fact that one of the tissue boxes looked suspiciously gun-shaped.

After about 15 minutes of fumbling, Takaba managed to get the fruit peeled and still fruit-like, though the finer nuances of just WHY he was doing this still escaped him.

Asami was doing a damned good impression of a healthy person--smoking, calling people, and in general, being menacing despite wearing nothing but the tightest, smallest pair of boxer-briefs Takaba had ever--AHEM.