Misfit Together

Chapter 19

(Am I late again? Why do I even bother with an update schedule? Anyway, it's time for the second-last chapter~! But things aren't completely winding down quite yet, I have something big planned to close it next week ;) And if anyone is interested, I'll hopefully be doing a one-shot collection for the musical 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee next. There's also a chance I'll do another Devil fic, something shorter probably, for my Demon Family AU, but that's still just an idea. Now that's all been said, onto the story!)

Five words. Just five words, but he had to read and reread them over and over again to get himself to believe it.

Could I come over today?

Momoko actually wanted to see him. The message had popped up almost out of nowhere while Urushihara was scrolling down his dash, feeling distant. Those words pulled him back to reality immediately but it took him a minute or two to respond.

Sure. Whenever you want.

He held his breath. A few seconds passed.

Sometime this afternoon. Villa Rosa right?

Then...

Shizuka told me.

He let out a sigh. It looked like things were starting to get better.

Right. I'll see you then.

There was nothing else after that. He sat back and thought. Maou had just left for work and would be back late in the afternoon. Urushihara only hoped he wouldn't interrupt them. He turned to look at Ashiya, who was busy washing up after breakfast. It might be worth getting him out of the apartment as well, but he could worry about that later. Right now, he just wanted to relax before he had to face his fear. He closed the laptop and pushed it aside, making room for him to lean forward on his desk. He sat there for what seemed like ages but couldn't really have been more than five minutes. It didn't take much longer for Ashiya to notice.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his tone more curious than concerned.

"Momoko's coming over later," he mumbled, not looking up, "To talk, I guess."

Ashiya rolled his eyes and turned back to the sink.

"There you go again, making plans without his Majesty's permission."

"Since when did I ever do that?" Urushihara snapped, tilting his head ever-so-slightly to sneer at his roommate, "And anyway, this is important. So if you're going shopping or anything today, take your time."

"This whole ordeal started because you decided to sneak out without either of us knowing," the annoyance in Ashiya's voice faded, "But I suppose I could give you the time you need. After all, I think you've suffered long enough over this."

Urushihara raised an eyebrow, looking skeptical.

"... You're just sick of me sulking, aren't you?"

"Well, yes, I am, to be perfectly honest with you. Still..." he turned around to face him, "I can see this has taken its toll on you. And I'll bet you've learned a thing or two about getting along with others."

... "Yeah, maybe..." Urushihara muttered under his breath as he turned away again.

Ashiya finished washing up and quietly went about the rest of his everyday chores in the apartment, leaving Urushihara to his thoughts. At this point, he was just waiting. After Ashiya left, he stayed where he was. He tried to force himself to stand up and at least look out of the window, just to see if Momoko was there, but his nerves and anxiety got the better of him. Sometime later, he heard footsteps outside on the staircase, then the opening and closing of the door into the hallway.