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“...and done! Phew, I’m finally finished for the day.”
Mitsuki undoes the string of his apron as he folds it neatly, setting it down by the kitchen counter to avoid losing it the next day.
He looks at the clock. It’s currently 2 a.m. The hallways of the dorm were dead quiet, indicating that no one was up at a time like this. That, or they were out late for their jobs, and probably won’t be returning until the next morning.
“Washing all those dishes took longer than I expected… well then, time to head to bed, it would be bad if I were to oversleep for tomorrow…!”
He turns off the light in the kitchen and the living room with a gentle “click” from the switch and closes the door ever so softly to avoid waking anyone currently fast asleep in their room.
He silently walks back to his room, making sure that his footsteps were light along the way.
Mitsuki finally stops in front of his room, ready to open the door and immediately pass out on his bed. As his hand closes in on the door handle, he hears some rustling noises coming from Nagi’s room. He hesitates for a second, wondering if he should check up on Nagi.
“I’m sure Nagi is just tossing and turning in his sleep while dreaming of Kokona.” Mitsuki thinks to himself as he lightly chuckles, ready to open the door to his room.
What stopped Mitsuki in his tracks again this time was a muffled sob, coming from Nagi’s room.
Just as Mitsuki thinks that he might’ve been hearing things, another muffled sob could be heard, again from Nagi’s room.
Mitsuki hesitates in front of the door to his own room.
…
He turns around and walks in the direction of Nagi’s room, stopping only when he’s right in front of the door. Pressing his ears against it, he could hear the muffled sobs from Nagi.
Feeling concerned, Mitsuki knocks on the door.
“Nagi? It’s me, Mitsuki. Is everything alright?”
No response.
“Nagi? Are you okay?”
Still no response.
As Mitsuki was about to knock for the third time, he hears a click from the door as it slowly opens.
Nagi stood by the entryway, his silhouette illuminated by the light in his room behind him. He’s desperately wiping the tears off his face, clearly not wanting Mitsuki to worry.
“Oh… Mitsuki, is something wrong?”
“Nagi, you… what’s up with the tears? Is everything alright?”
“...”
Nagi stays silent for a split second that seems to stretch on for an eternity.
“I was watching Kokona and a character got hurt badly so I was in tears… I’m sorry Mitsuki, did I make you worry?”
“That’s it? Geez, you almost made me wo-”
Mitsuki takes a peek into Nagi’s room as he trails off during that sentence.
“Mitsuki?”
“...Nagi, you liar.”
“What?”
“Your TV screen nor your computer’s even on. You’re not even watching Kokona.”
“Mitsuk-”
“Nagi.”
Mitsuki looked straight into Nagi’s eyes.
“Nagi, what’s wrong?”
“...”
Nagi remains silent.
After what felt like an eternity, Nagi gestured wordlessly for Mitsuki to enter his room. Mitsuki did so, gently closing the door behind him. Looking at Nagi, Mitsuki finds that he’s still wiping off some excess tears. They both sit down on Nagi’s bed together.
“Is everything alright?” Mitsuki breaks the silence.
“...I had a dream,” Nagi says in the quietest tone Mitsuki has ever heard since the first day they met in that audition room.
“...a dream?”
Nagi nods.
“I… dreamt about being in Northmeir. I was trying to talk to his highness Seto, not as a prince but simply as a brother.”
Mitsuki silently listens to Nagi as he speaks.
“He kept walking further and further away, yet he was always out of reach no matter how much I kept chasing after him. Just when I’ve caught up to him, he turned around and told me that it was all my fault…” Nagi’s voice trembled slightly as he said that last sentence, with tears starting to form in the corner of his eyes.
“He told me that it was all my fault that Haruki passed away like that. That it was my fault I was too late, and that it would’ve been better if I was never his younger brother.”
Nagi sobs a little, slightly choking on his tears. Mitsuki had never seen Nagi in such an emotional state before, but considering all that had happened in Northmeir, he doesn’t blame Nagi in the slightest for all the emotions overflowing within him.
“Nagi… you know that’s not true…” Mitsuki gently placed his hand on Nagi’s shoulder.
“That’s your inner guilt speaking, you know? There was no way you could’ve known where Haruki was, and that it was your brother who was behind it all. It’s not your fault, Nagi."
Nagi turned to look at Mitsuki, tears still forming in the corner of his eyes, albeit lesser than before.
“You don’t have to bear the burden of this alone, alright? We’ll always be with you, so take your time to properly grieve and process your emotions. It’s not your fault at all.”
Mitsuki says as he opens his arms, gently gesturing for Nagi to embrace him.
Nagi wraps his arms around Mitsuki, accepting the hug that’s been offered. Mitsuki gently pats Nagi’s head as he wordlessly hugs him, basking in the comfort of someone else’s presence during a moment such as this.
“I’m sorry for bothering you so late at night…”
“It’s no problem at all, anything for my dearest friend.” Mitsuki gives Nagi a warm smile.
Nagi loosens up his hug on Mitsuki, and they both look at each other for a split second. As Mitsuki stands up from Nagi’s bed, he felt a tug on his sleeve.
“Can you stay a little longer, Mitsuki?”
“...huh?”
“Please?” Nagi uses his signature puppy dog eyes he does when he wants to be by Mitsuki’s side, which indicates to Mitsuki that he’s at least feeling somewhat better.
“...”
Mitsuki gives in.
“Sure, but only for tonight.”
“Yay!”
Nagi’s somewhat back to his eccentric self again, which is a relief, Mitsuki thought to himself.
“Wait, where am I supposed to sleep though?”
“We can sleep on the bed together!”
Mitsuki flushes 10 different shades of red as he stutters the words he wants to say.
“O-o-on the bed!? T-together!?”
“I wouldn’t want you to sleep on the floor…”
“B-but still…” Mitsuki stutters, still flustered.
“Just think of this as a sleepover, Mitsuki! I’ll turn off the lights.” Nagi says as he dashes towards the light switch, turning it off with a gentle “click”.
They both lie down in bed together, staring at the ceiling of the now pitch-black room.
“Mitsuki.”
“Hm?”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being there when I wasn’t feeling well earlier.”
“Of course I’d be there for you, you idiot. You were there for me as well, remember?”
“Oh, that’s because you’re my dearest friend, Mitsuki.”
“...and you’re my dearest friend as well, Nagi.”
They both chuckle.
“I’ll be by your side, no matter what.”
Hearing no response from Nagi, Mitsuki runs his fingers through Nagi’s hair and finds out that he’s fast asleep. That dream from earlier, and his overflowing emotions, both must’ve taken quite a toll on Nagi.
Being right next to him, Mitsuki could hear Nagi’s steady and gentle breathing. Mitsuki smiles, wishing that Nagi has a peaceful dream this time.
“Goodnight, Nagi.”
Mitsuki closes his eyes and wordlessly drifts off to sleep beside Nagi as well, with both of their hands touching ever so slightly.
Nagi had the most peaceful dream he’s ever had that night; a dream where both he and Mitsuki lie next to each other, smiling in one another’s embrace.