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Hiiro has no idea how to interact with Maki. To be fair, how the hell do you interact with the formerly dead boyfriend of your own boyfriend of almost two years?
Especially when said boyfriend has been passively avoiding you since… since…
Taiga’s been avoiding him since Lovelica and Saki’s temporary revival.
Which was two months ago.
It’s not the “his boyfriend’s boyfriend” thing, that’s… well, they’d talked about what might happen if and when Saki and Maki were revived. It’s not the “Saki wasn’t revived” thing, because there was a good chance his data and the remaining Chronicle victims whose data was transferred to Zombie Chronicle who were not yet revived still had a backup, because Dan Kuroto, if insane, is certainly meticulous when it comes to his god complex and his weird opinion on the care of a human life.
It’s really, truly, the “Taiga is ignoring me and now you work with me and I don’t think either of us know what to do” thing.
With Taiga? With each other? With the reality of life now that everything is quite possibly as over as it possibly can be?
“You know I don’t know about you,” Maki says, surprising Hiiro enough to make him jump, and he barely saves the slice of his cake. But he can cut anything, it was still a surprising almost. “But I find that a month is the maximum time Taiga can be left on his own before he does something stupid.”
“Stupider,” Hiiro says, the word coming out in his confusion. “He used the Chronicle Gashat.”
“I know,” Maki says. “But I saw the way he smiled when I was first revived. He’s still Taiga. Still the sweet genius of an intern who ignored me for a month and a half when it took me longer than ten seconds to say yes when he asked me out.”
Hiiro coughs on his cake. Maki laughs.
“He really… he never…”
“Taiga is an incredible Doctor,” Maki says. “And a good man. But he’s terrible with failure; I’ve seen in plenty of times. Even if he’s obviously stronger now, from what I’ve been told.”
Wait a second.
“He’s avoiding you, too?”
“Obviously,” Maki says, calmly. “Worst case I ever saw I was in a coma for most of, but…”
Zero Day. Right. The center of their reasons to be in these positions, now.
“I was a student,” Hiiro says. “And I was grieving, and I… and he…”
He didn’t take it well. He’d tried to take the Game Driver when he was fired. Tried to kill himself. Hiiro has pieced it all together. He’d just kinda wandered across a way to make money. There’s a room, now with a second for Nico, at his clinic that is still reserved for a place to sleep.
“I saw him the day after Saki died, and I punched him in the face. He’d just been fired, and he didn’t dodge.”
Maki blinks.
“Oh,” he says, “Well, I do admit, he’s a bit of an idiot.”
“I was in the wrong,” Hiiro retorts. “I won’t deny it.”
Maki’s grip tightens on his cup. Not much of a lunch, but he’s still a Bugster, and Hiiro has very little room to judge.
“Damn it, Taiga,” he says. “Okay, new topic. Tell me about yourself.”
Hiiro blinks.
“Why?”
“Because you’re apparently my boyfriend’s boyfriend,” Maki replies. “And… you know, Saki talked about you often.”
Hiiro blinks.
“Oh,” he says. “You know she…”
“Emu told me,” Maki explains. “So, tell me about yourself. Anything. Do you really like sweets so much?”
“…They grew on me,” Hiiro replies.
Maki laughs again. It’s a nice, warm sound.
Talking to him makes the awkwardness ease surprisingly quickly.
Taiga glares at him.
“What are you doing here?” He growls. Hiiro holds out his hand.
“I brought cake,” he says. “And you don’t currently have any patients, to my knowledge.”
It’s definitely not pointed. What could possibly be pointed about Taiga’s remaining side practice that they have all collectively chosen to ignore? What could be pointed about a reminder of their shared job?
Taiga growls and lets him in.
“Have you been calling Nico?” Hiiro asks, aiming for the least tense topic possible. Taiga grunts, getting out a pair of paper plates and handing the tools to Hiiro for cutting the cake.
“Once or twice,” Taiga says.
“…That’s not much, is it?” Hiiro asks. Taiga just grunts again.
”She calls every day,” he replies.
They eat in silence for several minutes. Taiga sighs, and Hiiro notes that he hasn’t met Hiiro’s eyes once.
“You aren’t leaving until we talk, are you?”
“No.”
Taiga sighs.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “Guess I’m still the useless ex-doctor who caused his best friend’s death and failed his patient, what, thrice over now?”
“Don’t forget killing yourself trying to use Chronos,” Hiiro replies dryly. “But… I don’t think you’re useless. You gave me a few minutes, which is more than I thought I’d have for… years, and Saiko-sensei says there may be a copy of Saki’s data, yet.”
Taiga just sort of… wilts, turns away.
“I’m starting to wonder if it ever matters,” he mutters. “Never seem to be the winner.”
“I…” Hiiro starts. “I was speaking with Maki-Sensei, and he called you… kind, and skilled, but unable to… handle failure.”
“And what do you think?”
“I think that you deeply care for your patients… and I miss you.”
It’s a testament to how well Taiga knows him, and how often he’s been beside him, that he instantly understands the scope that phrase means to him.
Also, it’s been a while since they made out in Taiga’s office.
One year later
“We probably need a bigger bed, eventually,” Taiga says, voice softer than it is… nearly always. One that Hiiro definitely likes.
Maki laughs.
“Taiga, I of all people know you like being close,” he says. “And you’ve been saying that for nearly a year.”
Taiga hmphs. Hiiro laces his hands in Maki’s and curls closer to the former Radiologist.
For an ending, he doesn’t know what to call it. For a new beginning?
He thinks it’s pretty damn good.