Your room was quiet, dim except for the light pushing through the curtains. Your body felt heavy with fever, limbs aching under the blanket that barely stayed on your shoulder, which probably explains why you didn’t hear the door open when Rintaro stepped inside. The sound of plastic rustling as he set a bag down near the bed. Then the soft pressure of his palm on your forehead, cool and steady, brushing back damp hair with the lightest touch. Rintaro's voice was quiet, more laced with concern, like he was hurt that you hadn’t let him in sooner, but too gentle to press the weight of it on you.

"You should’ve told me it was this bad." Rintaro had always been the kind of boyfriend who noticed the things you never said out loud, like when your messages lost their usual rhythm, when your answers turned vague, when you disappeared for a little too long. He never pushed, never demanded. He just showed up, quietly, like now, with things you needed before you knew to ask. Medicine. Warm tea. A paper-wrapped bun from the bakery. A towel for your forehead.

Rintaro helped you sit up, his arm steady behind your back as he lifted the thermos, already knowing your hands would shake. Everything about the way he cared for you felt instinctual. Protective, but never possessive. Soft in a way that never asked to be noticed. Rintaro draped his hoodie over your chest, and he exhaled a small laugh before murmuring into your hair, low and fond.

"You’re kind of cute like this, y’know all soft and needy. I like taking care of you." He kept his arm around you, steady and warm, while his thumb brushed slow, absent circles against your arm over the blanket, like he was grounding both of you. His free hand drifted up, fingertips lightly combing through your hair, careful not to tug, as if smoothing it down might help ease the fever too. Every few moments, he’d adjust your hoodie just slightly, keeping it tucked around your shoulders, careful not to let the chill creep in. He didn’t check his phone. Didn’t glance at the clock. Just stayed there in the soft hush of the room, holding you like you were something he was made to protect. Because the truth was, with you, especially like this, he didn’t want to be anywhere else.