NOTE:

Cover Image found on Pixiv, drawn by artist named 貝殼子! They're unaffiliated with this work, but if you like the image, please be sure to visit their artist page~

The first thing I saw when I woke up was his jacket on our coat rack.

I think...that Nagito forgot to bring his jacket again today. He's been getting really reckless lately.

Not that I'm any better. I guess I woke up late again. I feel a bit of regret when I see our digital clock displaying a bold-faced 1:00PM. It's afternoon already! But I'm used to this. I roll my head on the pillow to go back to sleep.

"Ow!"

But I hit my head?! Oh..now that I look at it, it seems to be my handheld console. I guess I just fell asleep while playing again. Hmm...actually, I feel like playing. I haven't even reached the final dungeon yet. The best thing about handhelds is that you can play them while lying down in bed.

I play for a bit, then I suddenly remember something important.

Someone dear to me.

His jacket. I have to bring it to him. Now I feel motivated to get up. But not motivated enough to comb my hair, since I'm planning on going back home immediately afterwards. I bring some mufflers and Nagito's jacket. I really hope he's okay. It's freezing cold, despite the mufflers, leg warmers, and my hoodie covering my head. I also placed my handheld in my bag, because I want to show him how cool the new area's monster designs are. Games are much more fun with people to share it with.

He's working at his job again, I think. It's still early afternoon. He really is diligent when it comes to things like this.

I walk down a few roads, and eventually I reach the cafe. One of Nagito's coworkers noticed me and helped me open the door.

"You're carrying a lot. Chiaki, you're really responsible, you know that?"

"Ah...thanks!"

I've been doing this same thing for weeks. I wonder what made this person say this all of a sudden.

It really is an unpopular cafe. Even in the afternoon, there aren't much customers. Yet, Nagito, Hajime, and others work here. Although I don't see any sign of Hajime. Maybe he's helping the baker again. Well, besides that, Nagito's at the counter again. He really looks bored.

"Chiaki!" He goes towards me with a wide smile. I smile back and attack him with a big hug!

"Nagito, you forgot your jacket again. Could you be more careful next time?" This is the sixth time this month. I wonder when he will remember. It's so cold, and his body isn't that strong to begin with.

"Ah...that's right. Thank you so much for bringing this all the way here."

"Dont forget to bring some bread home, okay? I'm gonna head back."

"Alright, I will. But..are you mad at me, Chiaki?"

I hesitate a bit, surprised by his comment. "I guess there's just been something on my mind. I'll tell you later."

"I see, I see. Sometimes I feel like that too! Please take care on your way back."

Ah, he really didn't get it. I guess he really can't read the atmosphere, no matter what.

I guess I'll show him those cool monster designs later.

It's 4:00PM now, yet there hasn't been any new customers since Chiaki left. Most of the part-timers have left by now already. It's getting quite boring. At least Hajime is still here.

"Hmm, what a slow day. I think it's about time that the manager listen to my exciting ideas. Surely a walking bread mascot will be enough to catch the attention of the common folk! Ah, and don't forget to implement a megaphone to scream out our menu items. Brilliant way to attract customers, don't you think so?"

"Come on, really? Listen to yourself right now. Do you hear what you're saying?" Hajime looked at me with his usual confused face.

"Ah, yes. I apologize, my ideas aren't actually that good. I just thought that perhaps even I could contribute something."

I continue to absentmindedly take note of how much of each pastry we have in stock. All in all, we only sold 7 pieces of bread today. A new low. Sales were dwindling every day. Which means less things for me to do.

I should ask Chiaki to lend me that game she was playing. Although, I'm not sure if she'd willingly do that.

"Nagito, please. I really cannot tell whether you like or hate yourself. Seriously. "

"Ahaha, what a funny thing to say. You must be used to it by now."

It's been two years since graduation. But I'm pretty sure he's still very much used to how I am. I used to think I would never be friends with a non-Ultimate, but I got swayed by Chiaki's insistence. I'm thankful for that.

"Although, I'm glad you've been trying to , yknow..work and all. To be frank, I was surprised at how much you have changed. But I was also surprised at how much you didn't change. "

"How confusing. Didn't you just contradict yourself at that last part?"

"See, like that. You still react to the strangest things. But that makes you fun to talk with."

I smile a bit. It's nice to receive a compliment. It's such a rare thing for me. But there's actually something I want to ask him, before the day ends.

"...Hey, are you really okay with this?"

He looked surprised at my sudden change in tone. Is he feigning ignorance? I pointed at the jacket and muffler that Chiaki handed to me earlier.

"Why would I have a problem with that? I'm happy that she is a good girlfriend. You two are happy together."

"I see. Thank you. Ah, and..this is your last shift, right?"

I decided to change the subject. I'm not sure, but I think I just said something really inappropriate. Of course I didn't actually think that, but his expressions make it seem like that's what I did. I am not good at these kinds of interactions at all.

I wonder if this is today's bad luck.

"Yeah. I just can't decide what job I want to do. So thanks for teaching me the basics during this part-time trial period."

"Trial, huh. So you're trying to find a job that you enjoy?"

"Not really...I'm just trying to find a job I can succeed in. I don't have a talent like you guys, so I'm not even sure what I can do. I don't think I learned much by being a reserve course student."

Poor talentless Hajime. I've never really thought about how bad Non-Ultimates are at things! Ah...wait. I better not say things like that out loud anymore. Saying things like that got me into trouble a lot.

"Haha, I wish you luck. Honestly, I don't think I'm going to be staying long here either. "

"Wow. That's oddly polite of you to say. I expected something worse."

We both continue our jobs ; me as a waiter, and him as our walking advertisement: giving out free samples to passersby. As expected, Hajime is really good at being loud.

But I really do wonder if I said something wrong.

"Chiaki~! I'm home! I brought bread home, like I promised."

I'm about to run out of games to play. My backlog is finally, finally nearly done. That can only mean one thing: time to buy more games. Although, it's just -almost- done. There's actually still some titles to go through.

"Eh, Chiaki? I'm home, you know?"

Well, I usually go through the shorter ones like platformers first, then I go through the RPGs. Those tend to take longer.

"Ah, okay. So that's how it's going to be."

So when I calculate the remaining games, my estimate playthrough time, and-

Hey, something heavy is on me.

"Nagito, you're home."

Looks like he's finally here. I guess that means it's 8PM.

"Yes! You finally noticed me." He breathes a sigh of relief and continues to squeeze me.

"You're heavy...you don't have to lie down on me to get me to notice you. Also, I think I have some more games that I want to buy."

He quickly gets off me and opens up a plastic bag full of bread. We both grab bagels and start munching on them.

"Did you finish the games we bought last month already? That's quite fast! Well, I should expect at least that from the Ultimate Gamer!"

"Of course I did. I also finished that one we bought last week."

I take a big bite out of the bagel, and I notice that it's kinda tough. "Did you bring home old bread again?"

"Good observation! It is. Oh, but it's not expired or anything, no need to worry. Just a bit old, is all."

I sigh and finish the bagel in a few more bites. Then I take out another one. I'm famished!

"Oh, that's alright. How was your work today?"

"It was alright. I did a lot of nothing. There were a few customers, but most of the time I was just talking to Hajime. The cafe isn't really selling enough these days. So as an employee, I was forced to do my part and help reduce losses by taking home old bread. It can't be helped!"

I smile and pet him on the head. "At least you two are getting along. Everything is better when you do it with friends. You know, Nagito, if someone like me was able to make a lot of friends, then you should also be able to. You really have improved."

"You really haven't changed at all. Chiaki really is precious." Nagito squeezes my cheeks and kisses me on the forehead. So embarrassing! I look away to avoid his gaze. "Because you have different skills than I do, I have something to ask you. It is something that has been troubling me."

Something troubling him, something only I can do?

"Do you need help beating a game?"

Nagito looks shocked for a bit, then gives out a small laugh. "Oh, no no. I don't play as much games as you do, I'm absolutely no good at them! It's actually about a conversation I had today."

"Hmm...I can tell that Hajime is the only other person you talked to today. What happened?"

"I asked something that made him make this weird expression. I was just asking him something that should be easy to answer. He could have just said yes or no. Perhaps he was overthinking. A lot of people overthink about useless things. Honestly, he really had no reason to react that way. Unless...no, it can't be. It might be because he has no talent. Non-ultimates must have weak character as well, and-"

"Nagito, you're thinking out loud again. It's okay because it's me right now. But if you think out loud with other people, they might get hurt by your words." Since we started dating, I've tried to make him think before he speaks. He's getting better, but...he really needs a lot more practice.

"Ah, I'm sorry Chiaki. I've made you mad again today. I'm absolutely terrible."

Sigh. "You're not terrible, okay? It's not your fault. Besides, I'm not mad at you." I lean against his side, and nudge my head towards him a bit. "The usual way people would respond is by mentioning what happened, and nothing else. Like, what did you ask Hajime."

He ponders for a bit, and speaks, "I asked him if he was okay with what you did today."

I react with surprise to that. "I would think that it's pretty normal for me to give stuff to my own boyfriend. But it must have been awkward seeing me date someone else. Maybe that's why he reacted that way?" I haven't actually spoke with Hajime since we broke up , and that was years ago.

"Ah, that makes sense. But I asked that question because I expected him to say no and to insult me. It was very boring at that time, after all."

Somehow I feel like this is a behavior that needs to be corrected. "Are you sure those are the only reasons you did that?"

"Hmmm...I may have asked that question to make him jealous of what I have? Haha, how selfish. Humans have a right to be selfish, and so I shou-"

"Nagito, that was very mean of you to do. I told you to be nice to people..." I puff out my cheeks, cross my arms, and go towards the bed.

"Chiaki, I'm sorry! Forgive your horrible, disgusting, selfish boyfriend!" he says to me, across the room. It occurs to me now that our place is sorta small. Everything is so compact that he barely needs to raise his voice.

"Maybe tomorrow~ but still, you're not any of those bad things, okay?" I actually didn't want to think of anything right now, 'cause I'm really sleepy. Plus, when Nagito gets interested in a topic like this, it never ends! I will talk to him properly when I wake up. But wait, wasn't I supposed to tell him that something was bothering me? Oh well, that can wait. Goodnight!