On Valentine's Day you got chocolates.
Serizawa had never gotten Valentine's Day chocolates from anyone other than his mom before. Even back when he'd still been able to go to school no girl had ever gotten him chocolates, not even obligation ones, and he had never minded. Not even when he'd seen how happy everyone else was with their chocolates and people who liked them…and could get close to them. No, he had always accepted that things were just the way that they were because of him. In the end not getting chocolates on Valentine's Day had been the least of his problems. Hurting people on accident, never being able to even speak to anyone else, having to stay in his room for the rest of his life…those were the things that he had been worried about….that he had to worry about….but he didn't have to worry about that now. No, now he had to worry about….
Well nothing.
He had nothing at all to worry about ever again…and it was all thanks to her. To the girl next to him. To his best friend. To the person who had gone through the trouble of getting him out of his room and being his friend and even making him chocolates for Valentine's Day with her own two hands. Well Shibata had helped her, she had made obligation chocolates for everyone, but…still. She hadn't had to do that for him. She hadn't had to do anything at all for him. She was just…a good person like that. She was a good friend like that.
And he could be a good friend too.
"Where does this doll go?" asked Serizawa as he held up an Elsa doll with short hair. They were playing doll village. That meant that she had gotten out all of her dolls and doll houses and clothes and cars and horses and all of the other things that dolls needed. This was a good lesson in controlling his powers, she had said, because they had used their powers to get all the furniture out of the way and to set up her world. He had been careful not to break anything, and he had been so careful that he had barely moved anything, but she had said that she was proud of him just the same.
It was enough that he hadn't exploded, she had said.
That was enough for her…but it shouldn't have been enough. He…he knew that they were friends and that she wanted to be with him but…well he felt like he should have been better for her. Like he should have been more like her…and everyone else. He wished that he could have just….been better. But he was doing well, she had said, and she was happy that he had even been able to get out of bed at a normal time and change into a new set of pajamas and leave his room when she knocked on his door…but he should have been able to do more.
Maybe even more than helping her build her doll village.
"That's short haired Elsa. She lives over in the shoebox apartment complex with the other short haired dolls." Said Mob. She used her powers to take the doll from him and put her in her own house. It would take too long to explain that short haired Elsa could only afford a shoebox apartment and not a shoebox condo because she had been betrayed by short haired Anna for trying to steal the Kristoff with the nail polish on him from her. Short haired Elsa and Anna weren't done fighting yet….and she would leave that game thread hanging. That was her and Minegishi's game but they were busy today.
Because it was Valentine's Day.
Today was one of the best days of the year! There were people in love and…and they were together and celebrating it and...and she wished that she had a boy who loved her…she wished for that more than anything else in the world…but that was alright. She could just let her other friends be in love and she could soak up the extra love like a really good makeup sponge. Minegishi and Shimazaki were in love, Hatori and Shibata were on a date…and she didn't mind since she didn't like Hatori like that anymore….and Sho was asking Emmy to marry him today….
This was the best day ever!
"Oh…alright. Do you want me to just let you put them away? You know where they go and I think that it would be faster…I mean we could get to the game faster." Said Serizawa. He didn't think that they were anywhere near done. She had a lot of doll stuff. There were entire boxes, moving boxes, that they hadn't even opened yet. He didn't understand girls. This didn't seem like it was fun…but she seemed to be enjoying herself….but he was anxious to get to the game already.
"No, you can keep on helping me. Putting the village together is a game all by its self." Said Mob. He had never played dolls before so he didn't understand. That was alright, she could teach him how much fun this game could be. She had managed to get Minegishi to like playing with her, they used to complain a lot, and if she could get them to have fun then she could get Serizawa to have fun too.
"It is?" asked Serizawa. That…did not sound good at all. This seemed more like the sloughing sort of unskippable tutorials that too many games had. This did not seem like a game in and of its self…but he wasn't a girl. This was the sort of thing that they liked…and if this was what she liked then he would play this with her. He would have done anything for Miss Suzuki if she had asked.
"Yeah, you just don't know about dolls because you're a boy. Boys don't play with dolls….well my brother does but only when I ask him to. I don't think that he likes it…and you can stop playing with me if you don't like it too." Said Mob. She was maybe being a bossy friend. She had knocked on his door and told him that she felt like playing dolls today and that she wanted him to play too. She mostly just wanted to get him out of the house, Minegishi and Shimazaki were in love and their love could be kind of loud, and this had seemed like a nice long game to play….a nice long and fun game to play…but only fun for her.
Because she was a girl and this was the kind of things that girls liked.
Well she knew that girls could like boy things and boys could like girls things she also knew that it was mostly girls who played dolls. She was the only one in her family who liked this and she was the only girl…and she wished…well she didn't like to think about these sorts of wishes. The wishes that brought her mind to the baby sock she had hidden in her pillow case. Mukai wasn't a baby anymore, it was almost her birthday, and she was going to be two. She was going to be two years old and the internet had said that a two year old was a toddler and not a baby…and a two year old would have been able to play with her….
Mob should not have been thinking about Baby Mukai…so she wasn't going to.
"No…I like it. I like this a lot and I'm having a lot of fun. I mean….I don't know what I'd do on my own…" said Serizawa. He had no right to complain, even in his mind, because the only other alternative was sitting alone in his room and waiting for tomorrow to happen. All of his other friends were busy. Shimazaki and Minegishi were doing….things…that he did not even want to think about. Hatori and Shibata were on a date, he hadn't even known that they'd liked each other like that and he was happy with them, and Sho was off proposing to his girlfriend. Serizawa hadn't even thought that kids that age could get married…but what did he even know about that stuff? If his dad thought that it was ok then it was ok. President Suzuki was nervous about how it would go with his son, Serizawa figured, because he was getting a very big nervous feeling from in the kitchen when President Suzuki was sitting and working. Maybe he was just nervous about work. Serizawa didn't know and he didn't think that he could bother him…that he had it in him…and he wouldn't have wanted to anyway.
He just wanted to play dolls with Miss Suzuki…so that was what he was going to do.
"We can play something…um…more Animal Crossing? Or maybe Harvest Moon? I have the newest one but Hatori says that the old ones are best…but I don't really mind the new ones." Said Mob. Animal Crossing was fun and there was no fighting and she liked it…and Mukai would have liked it too. When she got old enough to have a DS. When she got old enough to understand how games worked. When she got old enough for Mob to teach her…but no matter how much older she got Mob could never be there to play with her or to teach her and…and she had a new family and that was alright. She had a mom and a dad and a sister and a brother probably and they all probably loved her as much or more than Mob loved her…and…and she had someone to take care of here. She had to take care of not only her family but also Serizawa….and there were people who needed her here…and Mukai….
She was in a better place now, one where she had a lot of people who loved and cared for her, and wanting to take her away from that…wanting to bring her back….well that was just too selfish for words.
"He's right, the old ones are the best. The new ones are too...simple? I don't know, they just feel sort of simple. Like kid's games." Said Serizawa. Was she a kid? He….got the feeling. She was a kid but…not a kid-kid. Not like her brother. He knew that she wasn't an adult, unless she was very short and played with dolls, but she just…he had no idea if he could even ask her what age she was…but that didn't matter. She was his friend, the best friend that he had ever had, and that…was more than enough for him no matter what age she was.
"They are kids games, aren't they?" asked Mob. She hoped that she wasn't too old for…well more stuff. She just got older and older and older and the older she got the less ok it was for her to like things. She wished that she had a little sister to share the things she liked with, then it would have been ok for her to still like them, but her little sister had been taken away from her…and hadn't even been her real little sister…and her little brother was a boy and didn't like a lot of things that she liked. Like Frozen and dolls and costume dresses and makeup….but that was ok. She could like new things…and stuff…and it didn't matter anyway. When she grew up and had a bunch of girls, at least two or three, then she could share the things that she liked with them. She didn't have a husband or even a boyfriend now but for her whole life dad had told her that she would grow up and get married and have babies…so she had that to look forward to. Having a bunch of daughters…
Shoko and Toshiko and Mukai.
"I never thought so….but I guess that they might be…since I played them when I was a kid." Said Serizawa. He still played them as an adult too…and was that alright? He knew that he was kind of a kid sometimes…and that he should have been working harder at being an adult…but sometimes it was hard enough just to get out of bed in the mornings.
What else did you play when you were a kid?" asked Mob. She wondered what Mukai played with these days….but she shouldn't have wondered about that. Mukai was fine. She was happy. Mob…thinking about Mukai would only make her sad. She was only thinking about her because it was her birthday soon. Sometimes she could go days and even weeks without even thinking about her…and then there were times like this when it felt like she could think of nothing else…but that was the way that it had always been. When you lost someone you thought about them a lot…even if you hadn't known them for very long.
Even dad thought about mom every single day.
"I played a lot of Zelda and Mario…a lot of Nintendo really. I only had an NES and a Gameboy at first but then my mom got me a Master System…and then I got a Saturn too which wasn't as bad as people thought…and then when I went in my room I got….well a lot more games…and a computer too." Said Serizawa. He had never played like this. Not with anyone who wasn't mom. He…well he wasn't jealous. No. He was happy for her. She had a little brother and a lot of friends and…and it was good that she had all of those people in her life…and he had those people in his life now, too, so he was…he was happy.
He really was.
"No, I meant things that weren't videogames." Said Mob. She wondered what that must have been like, only playing games and not with other people, but she didn't ask. She didn't ask because…well it must have been sad for him growing up…and there was no reason for the both of them to be sad at the same time.
"Oh! I…I mostly just played videogames. I had…well when I was small I had toys but…videogames were more fun. They made the time pass more quickly and…and when I played I felt like I was doing something…and that I was less alone." Said Serizawa. He didn't know how else to say it….how alone he had felt….all the time. He hadn't even known that he'd been alone, that the feeling that had been nagging at his mind had been loneliness, but now…now that he knew what it was to have friends….he knew what it was to be alone….
And he didn't want to tell her that, he wouldn't have even if he'd had the words, because there was no sense in the both of them being sad at once.
"Oh, like with my dad. He thinks played games when he was a kid because he was lonely too…I mean he'll never just come out and say that he was lonely but he was. He was only friends with Fukuda…so of course he was very lonely." Said Mob. She was glad that dad and Serizawa were making friends. Now neither of them had to be lonely together.
"I don't understand. How could he be lonely if he had such a good friend? I wish that I had a friend like that…someone who I could be with for…well for even longer than I've been alive." Said Serizawa. That must have been…well that must have been amazing. Having someone in your life for that long…someone who knew everything about you….someone that would always be there for you. That must have been…he wanted….he wanted that more than anything else in the world…and Miss Suzuki said that he would have that….and he believed her.
He believed everything that she told him.
"I think that he was lonely as a kid because…well when he tells stories about when he was a kid I get that feeling…and also I can't see Fukuda as having been a very good friend. I mean he used to be nice to me but now he's not…and I know that I'm being mean to think of him as not being a good friend but that's just how I feel." Said Mob. She knew that she'd been mean there and…and she knew that she wasn't supposed to be mean. Like mom had said…she had to be sweet but also…also she knew that she had to be a good person for herself and not just because mom had told her to. When you were a good person then you would make friends and people would like you….and what could be better than making friends?
"Oh…well they seem close still….but I don't know them that well. Um…we can play with them too, if you want, or maybe just your dad…if he's done with work, I mean." Said Serizawa
"I'd rather ask Sho, dad….well he can be kind of…smothery…sometimes. Also Sho's really good at drawing backgrounds and he always draws things when I ask him to." Said Mob as she felt her brother's aura getting closer. She checked the time on her phone and….well it was about the time that he normally came home…but she would have thought that he would have wanted to spent more time with his girlfriend today…well his fiancée now….maybe….
Hopefully.
"Hi Sho, do you-" said Mob as she heard the door open. Sho had his head down and he was busy pulling his shoes off…and she didn't want Sho to be overwhelmed like he got sometimes. What she wanted to do was run over and hug him and ask him if she said yes and if they set a date and what kind of dress she was getting and how many babies they were going to have….she wanted to ask Sho about all of that but…well she knew him…and she knew his aura….
And he wasn't….happy. At all.
"I'm going to Fukuda's house!" said Sho. He turned around and ran away…and that could have meant….she must have said no. She must have said….well now Mob wanted…she had never wanted to hurt anyone in her life before but now…now she wanted to…and she just….
She picked up a doll and a brush and got to work because these thoughts could take root in her mind.
"What's happening with your brother?" asked Suzuki as he came into the living room. The door was ajar…he closed it with his powers. Something had been wrong with Sho….but what was right with him? Suzuki…he knew that he would hear about this later…and he wished that he could have heard about it now. Anything to take his mind off of the phone sitting on the kitchen table…with a message he had no idea how to start….
God, he hated Valentine's Day.
"He went to go and see Fukuda." Said Mob as she brushed Rapunzel's hair. This was a short haired Rapunzel, which was a normal length haired one, but when Mob had gotten her she'd had hair twice as long as she was…and Sho had cut her hair…but he had been mad when he'd done that…and also he'd been seven and sometimes when you were little you did things that you weren't supposed to….but not her. No, she had to be better and…and if Emmy had broken Sho's heart then Mob was going to break her…and if she kept on having these thoughts about breaking people then she would turn into a terrible person…and she didn't want to be terrible and…
And she needed a drink….and a smoke….but someone had been stealing from her again…..
"Did he say why?" asked Suzuki. He didn't care….well he did. He wondered if this was something that he could fix. He hoped that this was something that he could fix. This was…he needed something to do. Something other than figuring out what he was supposed to say to someone who had had left…the way he had left. Someone who he would have thought would have never wanted to speak to him again….
Someone who he wasn't even sure if he wanted to speak to ever again.
"No." said Mob. She had some of her stuff in her Elsa bag…and she couldn't smoke if dad was there. If dad was there then he would make it weird like he always did…but maybe she needed her dad or just…someone to take her mind off of the thoughts that were creeping into her head. Thoughts that she just wanted gone!
"Very well then. I'll leave you two to…this." said Suzuki. There was nothing that he could do and…and he did want to spend time with Shigeko….but then he would have had to speak to not only her but Serizawa and…and she didn't want to talk to him when he was like this. Neither did Serizawa. He didn't want to deal with himself when he was like this either.
So back to the kitchen he went.
"P-President Suzuki! Do you…want to…join us?" asked Serizawa. He didn't know what made him ask, the desire to make a friend maybe? Or maybe the desire to show Miss Suzuki that he was capable of making a friend. Showing her that he…he was getting better….that he was getting better and that she was helping him….
Or maybe he just acted without thinking.
"No. I have…things…to do. I'll leave you to this." said Suzuki. He didn't much like playing with dolls…but he did love his Shigeko….but he just…he didn't love himself right now…or like himself….or just….he didn't know. He didn't know and he just…he felt as though he needed….he needed to be alone. That was what he needed.
So he went back to being alone.
"Serizawa-" said Mob. She was sort of…not happy….because she had just said that she hadn't wanted dad to hang out with them….but also…well also she loved her dad and she loved that Serizawa was making friends with dad and…and she had to be happy for her friend. She had to go back to being happy. She had to stop thinking about how angry she was at Emmy…if she had rejected Sho….and how much she missed Baby Mukai…even though she was in a better place now. She just…she needed to be better. She needed to get happy again…she pulled her Elsa bag over with her powers.
She knew how to get happy again.
"I-I shouldn't have asked your dad. I just….I wasn't thinking and-" said Serizawa as Miss Suzuki began to dig through her bag. She had been angry, she had been showing it in her aura, and she had taught him well enough how to read auras that he knew that he had made her upset and…and she was his best friend and his first friend and he just…he had f-worded up and he wanted to kowtow and beg her for her forgiveness.
She…she was his best friend….and he didn't know what he would do without her.
"No, I'm happy for you. That was very brave." Said Mob. She said that and she smiled like she had to. She clicked her pen on. She would be able to smile like normal again in a minute. She wished that she knew who it was that was stealing from her, possibly Sho but he had been totally normal lately, so maybe Shimazaki….even though it made no sense but he didn't make sense a lot of the time….whatever. She had this and she was going to be fine and now they would be able to get back to playing.
"Thank you…..Miss Suzuki. I…thank you! Let's…um…where does his doll go?" asked Serizawa as he picked up another one of her short haired dolls. She took it from him and explained to him, between coughs, where she lived and who her friends were….and it was a lot to remember….but he would do his best. He would always do his best for her. She had been angry with him, but also not, and…and he had to be better for her. She was his friend. She was his friend and he was hers and…and he was so grateful to have her friendship….and for her. To have someone to spend time with, to have someone who wanted to be friends with him, to have a reason to get up in the morning…and also to have someone to be nicer to him than anyone had ever been in his life.
He loved her. Not in the Valentine's Day way but he loved her…and not just because she cared enough to make him Valentine's Day chocolates.