OOC: Thanks for the reviews! :3 I was so inspired to right another chapter I was able to finish what I wanted in a little over one day. I hope you all enjoy it and remember too R&R Please!
The duo had finally arrived at Dante's apartment building which happened to be smack in the middle of a six story establishment. The downfall is it seemed the dark clouds that had been threatening to rain had finally succeeded in its mission - it was now beginning to not only rain but pour down on the city. Great - this day couldn't possibly get any rougher for Onodera. What else in this world could possibly go wrong for him?
"Come on in - don't mind the mess." Dante had stripped off his soaked brown trench jacket placing it on the wooden coat hanger that stood besides the door near the wall. Next his hands reached upwards beginning to unwind the red material scarf from around his neck while those eyes of his watched Onoderas facial reaction. He had been here tons of times before - why did right now feel so different. Why was there this feeling of tension in the air?
"Your gonna catch a cold if you stay in those wet clothes Onodera let me get you something to change into."
Oh no! he knew how this would go! His eyes slowly shifted looking over towards Dante with a questionable glare shinning in his own eyes. His hands shifted down giving his shirt and top of his pants a nice pat feeling how damp they were. Oh Crap, he was stuck - either he took his chances getting sick from the cold and having to miss work and deal with a raging Takano or he changed clothes and risked something more dangerous happening with Dante. Crap.
"All right just a shirt and pants though." He easily slipped out of his brown dress shoes and than sighed as the gorgeous blonde had disappeared into one of the many rooms leaving Ritsu alone in the main living room. It was pretty neat considering what he had said about the mess. The mess was mostly focused on his small coffee table in the very center of the spacious room. It was littered with tons of various papers and four to five large stacks of books surrounding the table used for research - at least that's what he was hoping for. Besides that, the room was well put together. There was a modest colored rug across the center of wooden floors and the walls were painted a nice light brown color that seemed to have this calming affect. Obviously a TV was set at the front of the room and a couch and arm chair on the opposite side of the room against the wall. The main living space lead into the kitchen that was fully clean and seemed to have this comical sparkle to it. Actually, Onodera was impressed. It was pretty clean considering the other times he had unexpectedly stopped by without a phone call notice or text message via phone. There was also a nice aroma floating around the air - okay, now he was convinced he had planned this. This wasn't the usual actions of his author.
"You've really cleaned up in here. Where did you stash the Dante I - Uff!" He didn't get a chance to really finish his sentence as Dante had made an unnoticed reappearance back into the main room and had tossed the change of clothing at Onodera which had managed to slap right against the young editors face. A small snicker came from the authors mouth.
"Oh sorry bout that Onodera - didn't know you weren't paying attention."
Dante had one fluffy white towel draped across his head attempting to dry the soaked strands of his blonde hair. The smaller editor had moved shifting his hands to hold the clothing more securely in his palms before excusing himself to the restroom so he'd be able to change out of the soaked garments and into the dry clothing Dante had let him borrow. But as he left Dante had begun to think of their previous meetings they had and the time that had seemed to roll on by.
"Its been a long time since we last saw each other face-to-face." The words cut through the awkward silence and made its way through the bathroom door where Onodera was currently pulling his shirt up and off his body. Once his head was free he gave his head a soft shake feeling the droplets of water spatter out. Has it been a long time since he last saw Dante? He didn't think so - with the creepy vibe he was getting from him Dante should be glad he comes around at all.
" Didn't we just see each other last month?"
It was a good thing Onodera couldn't see the expression on Dante's face - he was standing there leaning against his couch looking down towards the bag that Onodera had dropped on the floor upon entering the room. His fingertips reached downwards beginning to drag along the handle and the smooth surface of the front. It was easy to see the lingering hint of something dangerous roaming around in his crimson eyes.
"That's not nearly enough - wouldn't you agree." His tone got a lot more softer before he leaned forward peaking his eyes around the corner to make sure Onodera wasn't coming back out from the bathroom before turning his focus back towards the bag and easily flipped the top open with a small tug of his fingers. He wanted to get to know his young editor a bit better and since he wasn't actually into sharing things with him verbally he'd have to snuff it out for himself. Even if that meant going through his personal items besides it wasn't bad as long as he didn't get caught right?
"Lets see - "
The words slipped very quietly from his lips as his fingertips dug down into the contents of the bag. But to his dismay he didn't find much of anything besides his usual laptop and a few folders that contained documents on his other authors. Well, this wasn't worth the trouble. His fingers had pulled out the files thumbing through them deciding to at least check out the competition and their sales while he had the results right here in his palms. It seemed he was still a favorite of the company which was good news and none of the other authors that Onodera was in charge was were able to get the numbers in sales that he's mangas were. That little bit of information put a smug smirk across his lips however it seemed to fall when he went to put the files back into place and out slid an old photograph.
"What do we have here."
His fingertips grasp the photo and brought it closer to his eyes so he was able to fully look at it. In the photograph appeared to be a much younger Onodera. He was guessing he was in high school due to the uniform he was wearing. He had this blushed look across his face which Dante thought was purely adorable but one thing stopped that smile on his face and it quickly fell. Onodera wasn't he only one on the photograph - there besides the younger teen was a taller man with dark black hair and confident eyes that were looking straight at Onodera. There was something funny about their body language though, something he couldn't put his finger on.
"Hey Dante?"
The sound of Onoderas voice caught Dante completely off guard. No way was he going to allow Onodera to see him going through his stuff like some average run-of-the-mill stalker. So he hastily shoved the papers and photo back into the bag and quickly moved his tall frame so that he was able to put the bag down exactly how it was left deciding to answer him.
"Do you happen to have a - "
Right at the end of that little sentence Dante had dropped down onto the couch trying to look as casual as he could possibly muster without looking an ounce suspicious. Onodera poked his head out from the side glancing over to where Dante was seated finishing where he left off.
"Towel I can use? My hair is pretty soaked from the rain."
Onodera slowly stepped fully out into view, naturally Dante was a bigger man and taller so the clothes almost resembled as if a small child was playing dress up in his fathers clothes. The shirt hung low and the pants had to be rolled a few times near the waistband so it kept up on his hips. He really did look adorable in Dantes eyes but stupid in his own.
"Yeah, wait right there. I'll grab you one."
He disappeared once more into the bathroom retrieving a new fluffy white towel and walked back this time instead of tossing it at his face, he simply handed it over in a gentle fashion. Onodera gently took the towel from him offering a soft thank you before beginning to rub the rough fabric against his head at the same time made his way towards the couch and easily plopped down onto the middle seat with a heavy sigh easing out of his lips. However he could feel a set of eyes, Dante's eyes, watching him. That familiar feel of tension had eased over Onodera as he rubbed the strands of his hair furiously with the rough towel doing anything to avoid making eye contact until he moved away.
"You know, they say if you want to warm up the body your suppose to lay next to someone naked."
The words seemed to slowly slip out of his lips Dante had actually leaned closer to Onodera. He had pressed his hands on either side of his smaller frame body and was leaning forward enough so that his lips were nearly right besides his ear. Each word came out in a hot slow breath right against the shell of Onoderas ear enough to make him immediately stop toweling his hair.
"T-Thank you - you know for the towel."
He did the only thing that came into his head - he thrusted the towel straight against Dante's face hoping to put some distance between the two. He needed it - Onodera couldn't breath with his manga authors breathing right against his ear the way he was. After thrusting the material straight against his face and moving his small figure from the seated position to once again be standing there. His feet moved shifting his body around so that he was able to face him from this new stance.
"But I'm all dry now thanks Dante. Shall we get to work?" His voice didn't sound as confident as it was before or as much as he was trying to make it sound and that alone made Dante smirk in victory. He enjoyed the fact he knew he was getting to the younger editor. He liked seeing his reaction to his moves and what he'd say. But instead of fighting with Onodera on going back to option A. He simply sat down on the couch crossing his left leg across his right knee cap and shrugging his broad shoulders.
"If it can't be helped. Might as well try to do something productive while I've got you here."
A sigh of relief eased past Onoderas mouth hearing Dante agree to actually working rather than his unusual comments. After hearing him agree he opened his bag and removed the file labeled with the name "Dante" across the front in a bright red lettering and opened it up. Inside was the manuscript that had been faxed to his apartment earlier in the week but there amongst the different bubbles of conversations and boxes of character interactions were bright red marks. They were suggestions on changes to make - naturally, the author didn't have to make these changes but it always seemed to help the sales of the book to do so.
"Why don't we start by going over these first."
With that he sat down besides his author and began to go through the storyboard pointing out the obvious things he thought needed changing and really getting into a discussion about it. He was glad the topic seemed to change from radiating body heat through their naked bodies onto something more productive. Onodera felt Dante scoot a few inches closer proclaiming that he was just trying to look at the boards but somehow it began to make Ritsu feel a bit more wary. There was just something not right about this whole situation but he couldn't pin point what it was exactly. Didn't Dante have a girlfriend or something? So why was he constantly doing these little things to attempt to get close to him? Or tease him? He must be enjoying this way too much. Because of the scoot, Onodera himself would inch in the opposite direction but Dante wasn't through with him - oh he was going to get Onodera to see his feelings but right now he had to focus on the work that laid ahead of him.
"All right - so you want this here."
The hours on the clock inside the office at the publishing headquarters seemed to just tick away like grains inside an hourglass. Takano had been busy the entire time talking to various contacts concerning deadlines and pushing back publishing dates for authors. It seemed like a never ending job. Takano was just really glad that he loved his job to really spend this big of portion of his life trying to make this division a success.
Finally, his ear was free from being pressed against the cell phone. He snapped his phone closed and sighed folding his arms across the top of his desk and resting his forehead against them. It had been one long hard day and right now all he was worried about was how he was going to get something to eat and how long it'd take to crash when he opened the front door to his apartment or if he'd even possess enough strength to reach the bed.
"God what time is it?" He spoke in a clearly tired voice reaching his hand upwards and removing the glasses once more from his face so he was really able to relax further. It was around six - everyone else had either gone home or went to their authors houses to discuss changes to the manuscript. Either way he was the only soul left there at the building which was strangely odd. He pushed his hands down against the desk easily turning around in the wheelie chair that was positioned at the front of his desk. His eyes were mentally going through all those involved here double-checking what they verbally told him they were doing right now.
His eyes shifted towards one of the desks that belonged to a fellow editor, Kanade Mino. He had a brief e-mail sent to his e-mail address earlier in the day about all three of his authors actually finishing their heap of work load before their three month deadline. So because of that, Takano was able to move things around and get his authors works published before a few other editors authors that way they were still saved from a missing deadline strike once again.
"Let me see - Mino, taking his manuscripts to the printers since his authors were able to finish before their deadline which is actually amazing considering usually all our authors run a bit late. He told me he wouldn't be coming back to the office afterwards and was heading out to the bar to get himself a celebratory drink."
Those intense amber eyes quickly darted towards the desk right across from Minos which happened to belong too Yoshiyuki, Hatori. Now he had a phone conversation with Hatori but he was trying to re-call all the words that he had spewed out in a rushed tone. Apparently, his author was behind a few pages and they were currently at a coffee shop going through it. But it was rather hard to hear with all the rambling in the background, which Takano assumed was his author Chiaki Yoshino. The guy was talented he had to give him props but he still had a long way to go to get to that legendary status.
"Hatori's handling his author the best way he possibly can. So I'm not expecting him to come back tonight either."
Once more his eyes seemed to dance from empty desk to another one. This one happened to belong to the oldest editor but the more child-like ones Takano had working on the team. The desk happened to belong too Shouta Kisa. He was a handful all his own but Takano knew his talents - he knew that one of Shoutas manga artists was doing really well right now especially in one specific store. He made a small mental note to check the store out at a later date. Kisa had briefly mentioned something about going over to that store now that he was thinking on the subject. Takano pressed his elbow against the surface of the desk and leaned his strong chin against his palm keeping his focus on that empty desk.
"That's right - he mumbled something about going to the store to check out the recent sales but if my memory serves me correct Yokozawa already told me he had been there previously. So there's gotta be some "unknown" reason why he continues to go back there. But it's none of my business long as he gets his work in on time which hes done."
A sigh erupted from his mouth closing his eyes for a second before finally finding his gaze at the last desk.
"That leaves one."
Now that he was thinking about it Onodera never called him or sent him any sort of message about having met up with his author. In fact, the last time he even saw his high school ex boyfriend was when he was rushing out of the building to reach the train station on time. Now his mind began to roll with "What-if" scenarios and different possibilities on what "could" be happening to him now. Didn't he know anything! He was suppose to be checking in with Takano! He was suppose to be making sure he knew where he was - strictly for business purposes. He was lying to himself - he knew the real reason why he was so concerned with Onodera he loved him. He knew he still loved him, he actually never really got over their break up.
"Ritsu you better have a damn good excuse."
He didn't waste any time he reached onto the desk and snagged up his cell phone immediately pressing the speed dial button which was linked to Onodera's cell phone number he had put in his own phone from work records. Hey! What if there was an emergency and he needed to get in contact with him in a hurry? It was perfect legal - in his own head. He pressed the phone against his ear standing up and beginning to pace as it rang and rang and rang for what seemed like minutes. What the hell was he bloody doing?
Onodera and Dante were right about in the middle of the manuscript when it seemed the time and days events had gotten to them. The duo were passed out on the couch slumped over against one another. The papers barely staying level on their laps. And where was the missing cell phone? It was in the bathroom against the sink ledge where Onodera had accidentally left it when he was changing and the sucker was in vibrate mode as if not to disturb the two if they were busy writing. So the phone call from his Editor-In-Chief went unanswered but that only seemed to make Takano that much more worried and concerned.
"That's it."
Takano had enough of him not answering the phone he was going to personally check the obvious places. First place - he was going to go knock on his apartment door and if he wasn't there the next step would be the authors place. So the raven haired Editor-In-Chief grabbed his laptop easily searching for Onoderas authors location and scribbled down the address across his palm not bothering to grab a piece of paper.
"You better have a good excuse for not answering your phone."
Oh Onodera was going to pay when he saw him. Takano grabbed his jacket and one of those plastic see-through umbrellas from the stand right outside the doorway. He slipped his arms into the jacket one sleeve at a time before tugging the collar and than rushed out of the door carrying that piece of paper and his cell phone in hand just case Onodera wasn't at his own apartment. After making sure he had everything he ran out of his apartment listening to the door slam shut shortly after his departure. He made his way over towards the next door neighbor where Onodera happened to live. He drew in a deep breath hoping with every being in his body that he was going to be there. He drew in a sharp breath before moving his hand and pressing down against the ringer listening to it. Once again, he'd wait for response. Okay - now he was really growing impatient.
"Enough of these silly games."
He was done waiting for Onodera now he was going to this authors house. Takano was going to see exactly where Onodera was.