A Good Wife

"Go back to bed, Nodame!" A harsh tone, then a pause. "Please. Go."

Regardless of what he will say, Nodame knows how to be a good wife to a husband. This is the right time to ignore everything he will say for his own good… probably.

"Senpai." Sitting on the couch with his face in his hands, Chiaki doesn't look back at her. He grabs his hair and rubs his face as he hears her shuffle closer, dragging one end of their blanket, the other end wrapped around her. "Senpai, come back to bed with Nodame. It's late."

"Like I said, go yourself. I'm… not tired yet."

Which is the complete opposite of the truth. Chiaki has never felt more exhausted in his life, but his thoughts are still racing and he can't yet quiet them down so sleep is impossible. When he suggested going to sleep hours ago due to nothing else productive left to do, he was surprised and in fact a little disgusted at how easily Nodame fell right into dreamland beside him. Like it was any other day of their lives, like Strezemann had called earlier to discuss music and food and women instead of calling to say goodbye.

"Senpai, there's your dress rehearsal tomorrow morning. With a concert coming up so soon, Nodame thinks it's not a good idea to cancel."

"It doesn't concern you. And I want to be alone right now, so if you could be so kind as to go back to your dreams of Kazuo and spaghetti."

"But—" Whatever she had been about to say faded away as she remembered one of the last things Milch had told her. He won't admit it, but he's going to be very sad about my death.

In fact, she couldn't see much of his face from behind him, but what she could see was pale. His shoulders were shivering as well. He was crying. Take care of Chiaki for me. Nodame thinks that this is of course what a good wife is supposed to do.

Nodame quietly closes the distance between her and Chiaki, and in one quick movement throws her arms around his shoulders, bringing the cool blanket over them both. Chiaki is stiff for a short while, but to hide his wet eyes he pulls Nodame closer and lets the blanket soak up his tears.

Nodame feels his labored breathing and rubs his shoulders as she says it will be ok, because she knows it will be someday… probably. Chiaki doesn't respond with his words, but he rests his head at her neck and tries to normal his breathing.

When he calms down Nodame whispers to him, "You loved him like a father."

Chiaki didn't know about that, but he was definitely taking Strezemann's death a lot harder than when he found out his own father had gone.

"Maybe. Maybe not," he answers tiredly. "But I will miss him. When it came to certain things, he was a good man."

"Nodame thinks so too." She hugs him tighter and says, "When Chiaki-senpai is sad, you can tell Nodame. She will help you like she is right now. It's what a good wife should do."

"Baaaka…" Chiaki replies. "Whose wife are you?"

"Yours of course!" She smiles and Chiaki is quiet. "Senpai?"

With nothing else to say for the time being, Chiaki finally falls asleep, wrapped in a very comforting mixture of Nodame and blanket warmth. Not too long after, Nodame falls asleep herself. Because now that her real-life Kazuo is okay for now, she has to get back to dream Kazuo and help him finish the mountain of spaghetti to save the world!

Fin

It's really short. Too short. I haven't written a fanfiction in years so I forget how. But let me know what you think. There will be one more "chapter" and it will be Nodame and Chiaki's last phone conversations with poor old Milch.