More Than Neighborly
Title: More Than Neighborly
Author: thanku4urlove
Pairing: Hikaru/Keito
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Genre: Fluff
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: When Hikaru's neighbor--hot guy neighbor, as Inoo likes to call him--falls from his third story window, Hikaru rushes out to help him. He finds out his neighbor will be in the hospital throughout Christmas, wanting to make the best out of the situation for him.
A/N: One final fic for an even twenty!! Merry Christmas everyone <3 Sorry if this daily posting was annoying ;;;; It was fun to do though!! I might be disappearing for a little while again, I've got a fic that really needs to be edited. I'll post it when it's finished!! I'm really excited to post it, I can't wait.
Cuuuuuuuuuuuuute banner by ryosukekoibito <3
"What was that?" Inoo asked loudly, his voice coming in slightly grating through Hikaru's laptop speakers. Hikaru winced a bit, turning down the volume, but Inoo either didn't notice or didn't care, leaning close to the screen and putting a hand behind his ear. "Do you hear that?"
"I do." Hikaru said with a laugh, giving the bass guitar in his lap another strum. There was a second, identical banging sound, and Inoo visibly jumped.
"What is it?" He asked.
"It's my upstairs neighbor.” Hikaru answered. “I think he’s doing some last minute decorating." Hikaru himself was a little confused as to what was going on; the first week of December, he had seen the man carrying a Christmas tree all the way up the stairs and offered to help, and when they’d finally shoved the big and branchy plant into the living room, the place already looked incredibly festive. But now it was a week before the big day, and he had woken up that morning to him hammering nails around the outside of his window, and from what Hikaru could tell, he was now trying his best to hang fairy lights around it outside. As stupid as the idea sounded, Hikaru wasn't about to say anything. Thanks to the thin walls and echoing floorboards of the cheap apartment complex, he was able to hear the whole operation, complete with some inexplicable banging noises and random yelps.
"Ooh." Inoo's lips curled into a grin. "Is it the hot neighbor guy?"
"...yes." Hikaru admitted, and Inoo gave him a nearly sinister, cat-like smile until Hikaru told him to shut up. The chronicle of the hot guy neighbor was one Hikaru had kept Inoo updated on from the beginning, starting when they had awkwardly touched hands in the elevator on Hikaru's first day living at the complex. Since then, they had talked to each other about three times, and during those conversations Hikaru had learned that his name was Okamoto Keito, that he was relatively quiet, that he too played the guitar in his spare time, and that he was incredibly clumsy.
"You should go upstairs and offer to help him." Inoo said, waggling his eyebrows.
"No." Hikaru answered flatly, and Inoo sighed.
"Come on! He's hot, and you said he's nice. I don't understand why you're not chasing this with every fiber of your being."
"I'm not opposed to helping him, I'm just not going to do anything you suggest when you have that expression on your face. You know the one I'm talking about!" Hikaru tacked on when Inoo gave him an innocent, inquisitive look. That eyebrow waggling look had gotten them kicked out of a few of the bars in Shibuya. "Besides, it would be weird if I just knocked on his door and--"
A loud, muffled shout cut him off, Hikaru looking up in time to see an unmistakably humanoid figure falling past his window. He sat there, shocked for a moment, Inoo looking at him through the computer screen with a similar confused expression.
"Was that a yell?" He finally asked. "Hikaru, what in the hell was that?"
"I think he just fell out the window." Hikaru had to say, feeling sick to his stomach as he got to his feet to look.
"What?" Inoo's voice was flat in disbelief. "Oh god, is he dead?"
Hikaru looked out the window. Sure enough, it was the toned arms and long hair of the hot neighbor guy, lying in a heap in the snow. He was frighteningly still for a moment, but then shifted, rolling onto his back. Hikaru let out a shaky breath.
"He's alive." He told Inoo, who let out a long sigh.
"Good. Now go help him!"
"O-oh, right." Keito probably did need some help, Hikaru staking himself from his stunned trance and rushing around to find a pair of shoes and a jacket. "Should I call an ambulance now?"
"Oh, this is great!" Inoo was full of excitement. "You two will fall in love and it will be beautiful and magical and--"
"Shut up, I don't even know if he's into... People like me." Hikaru said, digging through his closet for a jacket; Okamoto Keito would probably need it, the snowy lump outside the window not dressed warmly at all.
"People like you as in guys, or people like you as in hopeless losers?" Inoo asked. Hikaru threw him a look, and he raised his palms up in a defensive stance.
"Hey, you'll never know if he likes guys until you ask him. Or kiss him. Or just stand there and take your pants off."
"Inoo, my neighbor just fell from a third story window and you're talking to me about taking my pants off." Hikaru said, pulling on some shoes as his friend laughed. "I have to go."
"Go get 'em." He said, Hikaru rolling his eyes as he ended the skype call and snapped his computer closed. He bounded down the steps two at a time, making it outside and running over to where Keito was. Keito hadn't yet gotten up from the ground, which was worrying, still flat on his back. His left leg was at an angle that didn't exactly look natural, Hikaru's stomach turning as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.
"Are you okay?" He asked, kneeling, his free hand hovering uncertainly, wanting to help but not knowing how. Keito glanced up at him.
"No." His hands were balled into tight fists, his teeth clenched and tears in his eyes. Hikaru didn't ask any more questions, calling for help right away, giving out their location and as much about the situation as he knew. He was warned not to move Keito under any circumstances, standing there and shivering as he stood there in wait for the ambulance.
"What hurts?" He finally asked. "Your leg looks a little..."
"Breathing hurts." Keito said, his voice shaky. Hikaru had no idea what to say to that but it was concerning as hell, looking into the street and willing the medical assistance to hurry. Keito's nose and cheeks were bright red, his lips turning purple from the cold, Hikaru finally remembering the jacket he had slung over one shoulder.
"Here, let me put this on you." He said, and Keito shifted, Hikaru quickly repeating what he had been told about not moving and draping the jacket over Keito's torso. "The ambulance will be here soon."
Thankfully it was, the crew loading Keito up on to a stretcher. Keito gasped in pain when they moved him, reaching out blindly and gripping Hikaru's arm. Hikaru moved the physical contact down to his hand and Keito held it, squeezing his fingers tightly. Swept up into it all, Hikaru ended up in the ambulance too, Keito's hand in his, hearing reports from the medical personnel as they drove about "a broken leg" and "possible rib fractures". He must have looked quite terrified, one of the women putting a hand on his shoulder and telling him that Keito was stable, and didn't appear concussed, so that was a good sign.
Reaching the hospital was when they had to be separated, the doctor saying seriously,
"I'm sorry, your boyfriend--"
"I'm not..." Hikaru began hastily, and the man looked confused for a moment, trying again.
"Your brother--"
Hikaru shook his head, the doctor seemingly stumped for a moment before realizing that it didn't matter.
"Your... Person is going to have to stay in the waiting room, is that okay?"
Keito just nodded, his grip loosening as Hikaru dropped his hand, watching him get wheeled away. He considered going home, but he knew that if he did he would just be stuck, pacing and worrying about how Keito was doing, so he stayed instead.
He was there for longer than he expected. A nurse was quite surprised to see him still, remarking affectionately about it as she walked him to Keito's room. She opened the door for him, closing it behind him once he stepped inside.
"Oh, hi." Keito was surprised to see him too, and Hikaru felt painfully awkward for a moment, hoping his actions hadn't been out of line.
"Hi, I'm Yaotome Hikaru."
"Yeah, I know.” Keito responded with a bit of a smile. “I'm Okamoto Keito."
"How are you?" He asked.
"Better." Keito answered decisively after a quiet moment. "The pain killers have kicked in." He smiled, gesturing to the chair by the bed he was sitting in. "Do you want to sit down?"
Hikaru sat, looking over Keito's body. He had an incredibly long cast going up his left leg, as well as something around his ribcage on his torso.
"That's for the fractured ribs." Keito said, noticing where he was looking. "And I broke my leg in two places. They want me to stay here for a few days or so; something about keeping an eye on my spine."
Hikaru couldn't help it, wincing. "That's pretty terrible." He said, knowing it was probably the understatement of the year. "I'm sorry."
"Yeah." Keito sighed a little. “They say it’s going to be five days at the most, so at least that isn’t too bad, but I'm going to be in here on Christmas." He looked quite put out by that fact, and Hikaru felt bad.
"Speaking of Christmas..." Hikaru couldn’t help but grin a little, Keito smiling back and looking abashed. "How did you fall out of the window anyway?"
"I'm clumsy." Keito stuttered out defensively. "...really clumsy. I had the idea to hang lights out there, and my friend told me it was stupid, and… They were right. I lost my balance."
Hikaru just looked at him for a moment in disbelief, and Keito gave him a small sheepish grin.
"Thanks though, for calling the ambulance, and riding with me, and... Everything, really." Keito gave him a gentle smile, and it felt like the first time Hikaru had seen him all over again, his cheeks pink like when they'd both reached for the elevator buttons, except this time Hikaru noticed how cute the mole under his eye was.
"Of course." He found himself saying, pursing his lips and glancing away in a failed attempt not to smile. The failure was all too obvious, and Hikaru saw Keito's own smile get a little wider when he noticed, which made his heart skip a little in his chest. He barely knew Keito, sure, but Keito was cute, and he realized in that moment that Inoo was right. He had no reason not to try, pulling out his phone and unlocking it."Here; give me your phone number, and if there's anything that you need while you're here, I can help."
"Oh wow, thank you." Keito seemed genuinely touched and surprised by the offer, giving off his phone number. “I’ll try not to bother you too much. I’m going to call my dad soon, and he’ll probably stop by and help me out, so--”
"It’s not a bother.” Hikaru insisted, and Keito’s concerned expression softened a little. “Seriously, don't hesitate to text me."
Keito thanked him again, a nurse slipping in, Hikaru deciding it was probably time to be getting home. He stood and smiled, saying goodbye, knowing he was smiling like an idiot--which seemed exceptionally unappropriate, considering he was exiting a hospital--but he was much too elated to care.
"Hikaru, you are doing this." Inoo told him, his voice loud and heavy with excitement.
"Doing what?" Hikaru asked back innocently, but Inoo didn't have any time to humor him.
"The hot neighbor!" He exclaimed. "You've got to go visit him. I know, take him a coffee or a tea or something tomorrow."
"Okay, but..." Hikaru had seen Keito with a Starbucks cup in hand on multiple occasions, but he didn't know much else. "...I don't know what kind of drink he likes. And what if he's not allowed to drink it, because of his medicine or something?"
"It's good that you don't know what drink he likes. That would be creepy, wouldn't it?” Inoo pointed out. “Besides, it's the thought that counts." He paused for a moment. "I mean, you do want to pursue this, don't you?"
“I mean…” Hikaru was glad they were on the phone, so Inoo couldn’t see his face. “Yeah. I do.”
"Then you have to go for it! You did say he was nice and easy to talk to, didn't you?"
"That might have just been the morphine." Hikaru pointed out.
"Then strap on your charming pants, because he's only going to be on that morphine for what, a week?" Inoo snapped his fingers, and Hikaru couldn't help but laugh. Inoo’s suggestion wasn’t a bad one, and he wanted to know how Keito was doing anyway, so he stopped by Starbucks on his way to the hospital. He stared blankly at the complicated menu for a few moments, feeling at a loss before realizing that there was an easy solution. It was Christmas, after all.
"Two hot chocolates, please."
He asked the front desk when he arrived whether or not Keito could have the whipped cream concoction, and when the nurse said yes, he went ahead and entered.
"Hi." Hikaru said timidly, peeking his head in. Keito glanced up from his phone, completely surprised to see him. Keito hoped it was good surprise, realizing for the first time that this could be seen as creepy. That made him approach slowly, holding Keito’s Starbucks cup out in front of himself as an explanation. "I brought you some hot chocolate, if you want it."
"Thank you so much!" Keito beamed, sitting up straighter, and at the smile Hikaru felt his shoulders relax. He took the cup when Hikaru handed it to him, Hikaru sitting down in the visiting chair.
"So... Are you feeling better?" Hikaru asked after a few moments of sipping in silence. Keito nodded, taking a drink.
"I do.” It’s a little boring since I can’t really walk around much, but other than that it’s fine.”
"I'm sorry." Hikaru said, but Keito shook off his apology.
"What do you have planned for Christmas?" Keito asked him. "It's two days away."
"Well..." Hikaru had to think for a moment. "Tomorrow I'm going Christmas shopping, and then..." Inoo was having a party, but Hikaru found most of Inoo's other friends weird. "I've got a friend's holiday party, but I'm not too excited about it."
He looked over Keito for a moment, who had a slightly concerned expression, and was struck with inspiration.
"...what?" Keito asked him after a moment.
"Would it be weird to use you as an excuse?" Hikaru asked, already pulling his phone out.
"No, you don't need to cancel your plans because of--" As he was speaking, Keito seemed to catch on to what Hikaru meant. "Oh. I... Sure?"
Thanking him--and to Keito’s amusement--Hikaru dialed Inoo's number, putting him on speaker so Keito could interject if he wanted.
"Hey!" Inoo answered jovially. "What's up, Hikaru?"
"You know that Christmas party you're having? I think I have to bail."
"My drunk, butt-squeezing aunt isn't going to be there this year." Inoo told him. "Your ass will be safe."
"No, it's not that." Hikaru said while Keito giggled behind his hand. "I don't want my neighbor to be stranded here, in case he needs anything. I don't want to leave town until he can walk again."
"Sorry!" Keito chimed in, his voice soft and cute in apology, Hikaru smiling at him.
"Wait, was that him?" Inoo asked excitedly after a moment of silence. "Are you with the hot neighbor guy? Did you bring him a coffee like I told you to?"
Hikaru couldn't do much more than stand there, holding his phone, instantly mortified. Keito turned to him with a curious expression.
"Hot neighbor guy?" He asked aloud.
"I'm not the one that thinks you're hot." Inoo said, and Hikaru was able to regather his wits.
"I'm not coming to your party." He said loudly, Inoo still laughing as he hung up the phone. "That's my friend Inoo. He's... He's an idiot." Hikaru said quickly, unable to meet eyes with Keito, who was looking at him with a little smile on his face.
"Well... Tell him thank you for the drink idea. It was very thoughtful." Keito said, Hikaru muttering that he would. He was a bit upset that Inoo suddenly had the credit for his thoughtfulness but he tried not to let it bother him, quickly shifting the topic of conversation. They talked for a couple of hours, both of them surprised when Keito checked his phone after receiving a call and realizing it was well after lunch. Hikaru felt as though he was intruding for hanging around so long, but he couldn’t help but feel a slight glow in his chest when he noticed that upon his leaving, Keito looked slightly put out by his departure.
Later that night he had his own idea for something to do for Keito--one that, he proudly declared to Inoo, was a thousand times better--causing him to put on shoes and rush out into the cold well after the sun had gone down. He set an alarm for early the next morning but didn't find himself at all tired when it went off, heading down to the hospital.
He got there before visiting hours had started, but after a bit of convincing the nurses allowed him in anyway. Keito was deep in sleep when he got there, and thankfully he stayed that way while Hikaru brought in ornaments, strings of lights, and a tiny tree. With the help of two of the nurses and a fair amount of scotch tape, Hikaru had Keito's entire hospital room decorated. Fairy lights were twinkling on all of the walls, a tiny tree sitting on the table next to his bed, ornaments hanging from the light strings and off his bed frame.
Hikaru couldn't stay to see Keito's reaction unfortunately; he had all of his shopping to do, thanking the nurses before heading out again.
He was standing in line at the toy store when his cell phone began to ring, pulling it out and answering.
"Hello?"
"Were you the one that decorated my room?" It was Keito's voice, and Hikaru could hear his smile, unable not to smile back, happy and surprised to be getting a call. "It's amazing!"
"I'm glad you like it." Was all Hikaru could say, paying for his presents and heading out to his car. "I figured you must really like Christmas decorations if you're willing to fall out a window to put them up, but you can't even see your own, so..."
"Thank you so much." Keito said, and his sincerity made Hikaru feel like he was glowing, from his heart all the way to his fingertips. "I love it."
"Good, I'm glad."
"Really, thank you. Thank you."
"Stop! You're going to make me blush." Hikaru told him with a laugh, though in truth he already was, having completely tripped over a curb because he wasn't paying attention to where he was going. Keito laughed a little.
"What can I do to repay you?"
"Just get better soon." Hikaru told him. He wrapped all of his presents that evening, distributing them out early on Christmas eve, driving around to see his mother and siblings in turn. His favorite part, as it usually tended to be, was the excitement on the faces of his niece and nephew when he arrived. He told all of them, despite their protests, that he couldn't stay; he still had one present to deliver. He wanted Keito to have real--romantic, hopefully--Christmas, picking up some Christmas cake and chicken and heading over to Keito’s hospital room.
"Sorry to keep bothering you." Hikaru said as he peeked his head inside Keito’s door. It was late, the sun going down as he'd driven up to the hospital, but the darkening window made the room look even more festive. Keito looked genuinely surprised to see him, a smile growing instantly on his face, watching him walk in and sit down.
"Don't you have... Other places to be?" Keito asked him, but Hikaru waved a hand.
"I wanted to give you this." Hikaru said, putting the food down on the bedside table and handing over the gift in his hands. The present wasn’t anything special, really, because he didn't know what Keito could want or need. He’d simply picked up a set of guitar strings while he was out shopping, quickly explaining as Keito unwrapped it.
"I don't know if you need them, or anything, but I remembered that you mentioned once that you play guitar, so... I have a few basses, I can show you how to restring it sometime if you want."
"I would really like that, thank you." Keito was beaming at the present, and Hikaru had to smile scratching the back of his neck. He considered going and getting his instrument right away--he knew a few Christmas tunes--getting to his feet. He felt a tug on his scarf, looking down to see Keito holding on to it.
"Wait." He said, Hikaru giving him a questioning look.
"I'll be right back, I just..." He began, but Keito pointed up, his face pink, saying,
"There's, um..." Keito trailed off, and Hikaru looked up to see mistletoe taped to the ceiling, right above his head. When he looked back, Keito was flushed pink.
"I didn't put that up there." Hikaru said, and he could feel himself blushing too.
"I didn't either!" Keito defended. "I can't walk."
"Right." Hikaru said, laughing a little when Keito met his eyes, and Keito laughed too, though he did look a little guilty. Hikaru opened his mouth, though he was unsure of the question he wanted to ask, when Keito gave his scarf another tug, pulling him down further. He was only smiling a little now, his eyes more serious, and Hikaru didn’t miss the quick glance down at his lips, butterflies erupting in his stomach.
"Thanks for... Everything.” Keito told him quickly, giving him a swift kiss on the cheek. “Merry Christmas."