The Ultimates

Twenty-Five

I'm updating twice today. Here is update 2/2!

In the morning, I woke up before Nagito again. He was definitely the type to enjoy sleeping in, which I didn't mind. Once again, he laid on my chest, snuggling up against me. I ran my fingers through his hair, causing him to smile in his sleep.

While I hated the fact that Nagito was crying last night, I was glad I got to hear what he needed to say. How long had he been preventing that sadness from boiling over? He had to be at his wit's end if a simple family dinner made him cry so harshly. Yet he'd never experienced a family experience like that. Or he'd forgotten all about it. I hated to see him so sad, but I was relieved to have been able to help him.

I loved Nagito so much it hurt. I wanted to make him happy and feel loved and appreciated. I'd look after him for as long as I could, make sure he knew how important he was to me. I never knew it was possible to love someone as much as I loved him. I adored him, and I would do anything for him. Anything to make him happy.

My bedroom door clicked open, and I lolled my head over to spot my mom in the doorway. She stared at me with wide eyes before she smirked and left my bedroom.

Rolling my eyes, I gently laid Nagito onto my pillow and left my bedroom. Walking downstairs to the kitchen, my parents were cooking breakfast and giggling at each other. When they spotted me, their giggling worsened.

Huffing, I sat on the kitchen island and folded my hands in front of me. "Mom, dad, I need to talk to you about something important, and it's not a laughing matter."

"Of course not, honey," mom quickly assured and leaned against the island to look me in the eye. "We're here for you."

"It's about Nagito." The two snickered. "I'm not kidding."

When they realized how serious I was, they sobered their laughing and leaned in close to listen. "Last night, we wound up talking a bit more about his past. He was feeling... overwhelmed by you two, because he forgot what it was like to have supportive and loving parents. He can't even remember if his own parents loved him."

"Oh dear," dad sighed, and mom hung her head.

"He really likes you two," I explained. "He was moved to tears over how well you treated him."

"My heart," dad whimpered, placing his hand on his chest. "The poor boy."

"I was hoping you two could be, sort of like, a... I don't know, makeshift parents for him?"

"Absolutely," dad stated without a shred of hesitation.

"Nagito is such a sweetheart," mom giggled as she clasped her hands together. "I'd love to be his makeshift mother. After all, I might wind up becoming his mother-in-law."

"What?" I sputtered, and mom and dad laughed at me.

"Oh, don't tell me you didn't think we wouldn't notice those looks you two were sharing all night," dad teased.

"Not to mention that we wound up interrupting an obvious attempt at a date," mom added. "We would have stayed out late on purpose if we'd known you were trying to impress him."

"No, I'm glad you both came home when you did. Otherwise, all of that stuff with Nagito and his parents never would have come up."

Mom nodded. "That is true."

"Have either of you confessed to the other yet? Or are you waiting for the right moment? Don't tell us you were going to last night?"

"No, no," I quickly denied, shaking my hands rapidly. "I don't plan on confessing to him. Based on all the things he's told me, I've deduced that what he needs more is a friend than anything. I don't want to violate his trust, so I don't plan to be the one to confess to him. If he ever confesses to me, I'll tell him the truth, but I refuse to be the one to say it first."

"How strong would you say your feelings are?"

"I'm in love with him."

"It's not good to keep those feelings bottled up," mom commented. "I'm sure you've created a strong enough friendship with Nagito that if you were to confess and he didn't feel the same way, he wouldn't consider it a violation of his friendship or trust or anything. He'd understand."

"I refuse to risk it."

Mom sighed. Before she could comment any further, we heard Nagito's footsteps from above. I gestured for them to not mention anything, and they quickly turned back to the stove to finish cooking breakfast.

"Good morning," Nagito greeted as he entered the kitchen, rubbing his eyes.

"Good morning, sweetheart," mom smiled, surprising Nagito. He'd clearly never heard someone greet him like that. "How did you sleep?"

He glanced from me to my mom. "It was nice."

"Much better than being alone in that big old house by yourself, right?" she cheekily replied.

Nagito giggled. "Much better."

"Nagito, dear, you are welcome here any time you'd like," dad insisted. "Any time you don't want to be home alone, you are welcome to stay the night here. No questions asked."

"Are you sure?" he whispered.

"Absolutely," mom exclaimed, reaching out to hug him tightly. His eyes shot out of his head. "You are an absolute joy to have around, and you are more than welcome here any time of the day."

Staring at his feet, Nagito smiled. "Thank you, Midori."

Mom kissed his temple before walking back to the stove. Nagito stared at her in shock before shuffling over to the island beside me. I held my arm out open for him, and he instantly cuddled into my side. Mom and dad glanced over at us, smirking and looking away in unison. At least they didn't say anything.

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