Work Text:
"Mikoshiba," Nozaki said.
The silence continued. It wasn't actually silence, because it was broken by the constant quiet whimpering and shuffling of paper which had let Nozaki know that someone was already in his apartment when he'd gotten home. He considered this thoughtfully and revised.
The noise continued. That was better, but it was too easy to overimagine. Noise seemed like it could imply-- say-- the existence of Seo and Wakamatsu. That sort of noise, thankfully, did not either continue or begin. The one that did had a definitively Mikorin tinge to its essence, although theoretically it could have been someone else crying in there. Nozaki just felt certain somehow that it wasn't anyone else; he could almost hear a plaintive how could you do this, Suzuki-kun? twined between the sobs.
Ah. There was an idea in that. "Mikoshiba?" Nozaki called again, toeing off his shoes and setting his school bag down in the corner so that he could grab a sketchpad off the counter where he'd left it earlier.
Mikoshiba wasn't in the kitchen, or in the main room, or unaccountably hiding under Nozaki's desk (where he did, however, find a pencil he'd been missing for a while.) He wasn't in Nozaki's bedroom, either, although possibly Mamiko would be in her bedroom? Yes, that seemed reasonable. He jotted down in a bedroom maybe in the background for Hori-senpai's benefit and took a moment to finish sketching out the arc of Mamiko's hand pressed against some kind of cloth.
He hadn't ever thought about what kind of sheets Mamiko liked, even on the day he had tried Ken-san's suggestion of method acting. That was definitely an oversight, although perhaps since no one seemed to have noticed he would be able to get away with it. He'd just have to slip it in somewhere in a few months when it would look natural.
Satisfied, Nozaki left his sketchbook on the table and opened the spare room door. "Ah, Mikoshiba. ...?"
Mikoshiba looked up from a cardboard box of figurines and merchandise, his eyes overflowing with tears.
Had he bought them all and gone wildly into debt so that he was now being pursued by ruthless gangsters who would stop at nothing to reclaim their cash --no, the mood felt wrong for that, somehow, even if it was a well-established type of plot. It was totally wrong for Mamiko and impossible for Let's Fall in Love, anyway; he'd definitely get fined if he tried to incorporate something that dark. Or worse, thrown back to Maeno-san.
Before he could bring that up, though, something caught his attention. To be more precise, the absence of something caught his attention. Several spots on the previously-filled shelves were empty. The corresponding selection of tie-in manga and figurines appeared to be... in the box in front of Mikoshiba.
"Ah," he said, in understanding this time. It wasn't that Mikorin had spent all his money and was on the run; it was that he was in sudden desperate need of money, enough to sell all his treasures. Perhaps to support a suddenly-appearing child--
"I'm getting a divorce," Mikoshiba said, through tears that Nozaki felt like he really ought to be getting a reference picture of, "and it's your fault."
"Ah."
Mikoshiba dashed his arm across his eyes, hiding his face. "I tried to play Girls Princess 3 all day," he said unsteadily, and Nozaki realized belatedly that he hadn't actually seen Mikorin at school (or anywhere else, for that matter) since the night before. "And I can't! I just can't finish any of the routes! I can't even start them! Akane-chan... Kaori-chan... I can't even look at you anymore... I'm so sorry. I promised my future to you but all I see is him!"
"Ah," Nozaki said again. "Tomoda."
"Tomoda!" Mikoshiba said in despair. "Those three long years..."
"Three years of dedication," Nozaki said, bowing his head and putting a comforting hand on Mikorin's shoulder.
"There's no other choice," Mikoshiba mumbled into his hands. "I can't do anything else. There can't be anyone else, not now."
Silence descended; actual silence this time, as Mikorin's snuffling faded. Nozaki gave it a respectful moment, then said, "I think they would understand."
Mikoshiba took his arms away from his face and peered up at him doubtfully. "You... you do?"
"Mmm." With a heroic effort, Nozaki rallied himself to say the unthinkable. "I think... in the face of that love... even Suzuki-kun would understand."
"....Eh?" Mikoshiba's grief shaded first to confusion, then suspicion. "...Suzuki-kun? What's your manga have to do with this?"
"...Ah," Nozaki said.