Take Me Home (Tendou x Reader)

Chapter 40

You left the house with a knot in your stomach, determined to make this trip as short as possible. You had barely made it inside the store however, when you noticed that you had forgotten your wallet, again. Cursing, you marched back outside to retrieve the offending object.

Just as you entered your house, you heard a loud bonk coming from upstairs. You quickly checked the living room and your heart sank into your stomach as you confirmed your suspicions that Tendou was not there anymore. You rushed upstairs and could now hear that the water was running in the shower.

Not even thinking about the fact that he might not be decent in there, you barged into the bathroom.

You found Tendou, fully clothed, seated on the shower floor. He was leaning his shoulder and head against the wall. His long, red hair was plastered to his face, obscuring it. The shower was indeed on and he was drenched from top to bottom. You needed only a fraction of a second to compose yourself before you shot into action.

The first thing you did was turn off the water, which you then noticed was ice cold.

"What are you doing?" You asked, not expecting an answer. You squatted down in front of him, not caring that your feet and the bottom of your pants were getting wet as well. As you turned his head to face you with one hand and brushed the wet strands of hair out of his face with the other, you noticed a big red spot on his forehead.

"Don't tell me that bang I heard was you hitting your head?" You asked horrified, but he couldn't look at you, let alone speak.

You observed him for a few moments, amazed that he wasn't shivering after that literal cold shower, before you stood back up.

"Let's get you out of here." You said as you grabbed a towel and made an attempt to pull him up. Luckily he was cooperative because there was no way you would have been able to get him out of there on your own.

He just stood there hunched over as you dried his hair and he didn't react as you unzipped his hoodie and started taking it off.

"You need to get out of these wet clothes." You said as you tossed the black hoodie aside. Before you could do anything else, however, one of his skinny arms wrapped around your shoulders and pulled you closer.

He rested his forehead on your shoulder and for a moment you just stood there, unsure of how to proceed. Finally he started shivering and then he spoke, his voice tiny and broken.

"I'm scared." He said and as soon as the words left his mouth you wrapped your arms around his back and pulled him closer. You felt his hold on you tighten as well, one hand grabbing hold of the fabric of your sweater. "I'm so scared."

It broke you to hear him like this. You had no idea what had transpired between him and his parents, but you knew that you would be here for him no matter what it was. He had been through enough as it was, this was not supposed to happen.

You only noticed that he had started crying when his back and shoulders shook slightly, it was almost indistinguishable from his shivering. Having him here like this was enough to get you started as well, but you kept it in, determined to keep a brave face for him. Instead, you raised one hand to stroke his damp hair while tightening your hold on him even more with the other.

You could hear his heavy breathing and quiet sobs next to your ear and the sound broke you. The longer it went on, the more you wanted him to know. The feelings in your heart that you had been holding on to since your first year in high school. The ones you had kept in check because you believed he wasn't ready to accept them.

As he stood there, broken in your arms, you had this overwhelming urge to tell him. He needed to know. Even if he did not harbor the same feelings for you, he needed to know that there was someone out there who accepted him for who he was, who would always be on his side whenever he needed it. Someone who loved him.