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Pounding woke him, he’d thought it was his head at first, and he uncurled from under his suit jacket, stiff with cold and pain. He'd overslept. Staggering to the door he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and twisted the deadbolt. Serizawa was standing there.
“You look awful.” Reigen coughed harshly into his elbow, each one driving a nail behind his eyes, until he was gasping.
“Mm, thanks.” The esper stepped inside, closing the door behind him, really looking him up and down, and the conman found himself flushing further under his gaze.
“Did you sleep here?” Suspicion in the tone and Reigen froze, he'd been caught, all because he’d slept through his alarm. Or had he even set it? He couldn't remember.
“Ah, well,” his hands lacked their usual flair, “I worked late and missed the last train.” He pressed his fingers to his throat, he couldn't help it, each syllable was like a razor blade. “I’ve done it before.”
“I should have walked you to the train. You're sick, you’ll never get better sleeping here,” he was in Reigen’s space, holding a palm to his forehead, and he was paralyzed. “It's freezing.” There was real worry in his voice, worry for him, and he couldn't parse it, not when he was here, touching him like this, like he mattered. He pulled away, almost tumbling over his own feet, but Serizawa caught him, tugged him into his arms, against his chest. “Be careful.” He was going to have a heart attack, it was pounding out of his chest and he just felt so hot right now, was drunk with it. “You feel really warm. You should go home.” Reigen shook his head and Serizawa made a noise of frustration.
“Jus’...lay down for a bit.” Reigen didn't trust himself to say anything else, couldn't while he was so close to this man. Suddenly he was on the couch, he didn't recall moving there and Serizawa still looked worried, maybe more so, as he stared foolishly up into his face. He should say something, something clever, something to take the attention off of himself, but he couldn't.
“Just rest, okay?” He nodded, mute, laying back and curling up, feeling the fever burning everything away, hollowing him out even further. Something warm settled over him, Serizawa’s suit jacket, and it smelled so comforting, familiar, like rain on city streets, the humidity in the air that followed. Reigen buried his face under it, gripped the fabric in trembling fingers, content to hide beneath from reality for just a little while, just a minute or two, until he opened the office. “I’m turning up the heat, this cold isn't good for you.” He couldn't find it in him to argue, frozen down to his bones without being pressed against Serizawa and there was no reason he could give that would justify it anyway. It would just look suspicious.
He slept the whole day, waking only when Serizawa forced tea on him.
There wasn't a single client.