Obligatory character bonding, because god damn if I ain't writing a little bit of fluff. Still trying to get a foothold on characterization, but I think I'm doing halfway decent? Hell if I know.

Chapter Text













[Location: Michael's House, Living Room]













After I ordered the pizzas, Monika and I sat down on the couch in my living room. “This is a surprisingly nice house,” I comment. “First thing that tipped me off that I wasn't in Washington anymore.”







“Washington?” Monika tilts her head. “Is that where you're from?”







“Yeeeep, good ol' Washington, where it rains too much and let me tell you, Seattle ain't all it's cracked up to be.”







“Oh, I've heard of Seattle, what's it like?” Her eyes light up with excitement; I guess learning about places in the real world seriously excites her.







“Well, it's been like 7 years since I was last there – I don't travel much, you see – But man, Seattle has way too much traffic. Took forever to catch a bus, felt like longer riding on it. All I was doing was going to the zoo. Which, by the way, sucks these days.” I pause and sigh. “Used to be a place I'd visit every year at least, but that was the last time I went down there at all.”







“I see... So that must have been really disappointing for you.”







“It was, but eh, nothing stays the same, I guess,” I shrug.







“Well, it sounds like you've got a lot of life experience, ahaha...”







“You could put it that way, but frankly, I'm more of a person who doesn't go outside unless they have to.”







“Oh, is that so?” Monika flashes me a devious smile. “Maybe we'll have to change that~”







“Give me a good reason to, and you might succeed.”







“I think you could use the exercise!” She lightly pokes me in the gut.







“Far too lazy for that, plus my eating habits mean that I wouldn't be losing weight anyway.”







“Really? I guess you need some motivation, ahaha~!”







“Monika, if you're suggesting I exercise with you, I get tired way too easily. Just walking for half an hour tires me out.”







“Oh, were you expecting that I'd hold you up to my standards~? I wouldn't think you'd ever be able to keep up with me.”







“Good, keep expectations low. I'm a guy who's below standards,” I grin slightly. Before we can continue the banter, however, the doorbell rings. “Oh, guess that's the pizza,” I comment, getting up and walking to the door.







When I bring the pizzas back, I notice that Monika appears to be upset. “Something wrong, Monika?” I ask, setting the pizzas down on the coffee table.







“...You don't think very highly of yourself, do you?”







“Nope, I most certainly do not,” I reply, sitting down on the couch next to her.







“Why is that?” She looks at me, concern written on her face.







“Why should I think highly of myself? Having an ego helps nobody.”







“I mean, not that highly of yourself, no. But you don't seem to have any self-worth.”







“Well, of course not. I'm inherently worthless.”







“No you aren't!” Monika shouts, startling me. “How could you say that about yourself?”







“I'm an overly negative and cynical person who gives nothing of value to the world, that's how.” There's an awkward silence before Monika speaks up.







“...Michael, do you have depression?”







“Uhhh... why do you ask?” I try to think of how I can deflect the question so as not to appear weak.







“Well, when you were talking about Sayori, you said that you could relate to her, and that you knew what depression was like...” Fuck, what do I tell her?







“I mean, yeah, I've... known people with depression before.” Not my best answer, but it's true enough that hopefully she won't press the subject further.







“...I see...”







“Hey, why don't we eat the pizza before it gets cold? I ordered breadsticks too. Forgot drinks though. Didn't think to ask what kind you liked.” I try to change the subject. She can't possibly change what's at the core; suffering and pain forevermore. Don't show weakness.







“Sure, I guess...” It's clear that she's not going to give up so easily, but maybe she can tell I'm not comfortable talking about that kind of thing. We start eating our pizza, an incredibly awkward silence between us as the last conversation left us at a loss on what to talk about next.







“Welp,” I finally break the silence. “There's one thing I'm wondering, it's actually pretty important.”







“What is it?” Monika looks at me, a mix of confusion and concern on her face.







“Since you're here, doing this... What's that mean for the game's script?” Her eyes widen as I ask that. “It seems like me just being here changed a lot of things.”







“I... honestly don't know,” she admits.







“Think it would be possible for you to check?”







“I can try,” she closes her eyes. There's an unbearable silence for a couple minutes. She has to be looking through tons of data per second... She's definitely got a strong mind. Suddenly, she winces in pain, gritting her teeth.







“Whoa, you okay there, Monika?” I ask, getting closer to her. Shit, I hope she doesn't strain herself.







“I'm... I'm f-fine, I think...” She groans, opening her eyes.







“You sure? I don't exactly know how that works, so I have no idea what you just went through.”







“Ahaha~... It's so nice to see that you care about me,” she smiles, blushing lightly.







“I mean, we're friends, aren't we? That's just what friends do,” I reply, getting up and heading to the kitchen, coming back with a glass of water. “Here, have some water, might help.” She nods and takes the glass, drinking it.







“Thanks for that, I needed it.”







“No problem. So, what did you see there?” Monika pauses, trying to put the words together.







“It's... hard to explain. I guess the simplest way of putting it is that the original script no longer applies. There were bits and pieces left for today, but beyond that... I don't know.”







“So... you have no idea what could happen next?”







“No, I don't... it's both exciting and terrifying at the same time, ahaha...”







“Yes, I can imagine... You've probably gotten used to knowing what happens. I could tell I was throwing you off at the club today.”







“Yeah, you were. I'm a little bit mad about that~” She laughs, leaning in towards me.







“Well, I couldn't be too careful. I didn't want to let anything bad happen, y'know.”







“Mm... Well, you had your reasons to act like that...” Monika looks away, frowning. Guess she's still upset about the whole... you know.







“Hey, if the original script no longer applies, I think we can change things for the better,” I put a hand on her shoulder, smiling. “After all, what's this game got to throw at us? We can make happiness in the Literature Club.”







“...Do you promise?” She looks back at me, her emerald eyes glistening with tears. Geez, I'm not one to make promises that I'm not certain I can keep, but she looks so damn sad... Well, I'll do my best, I guess.







“I promise. All of you deserve happiness,” I assure her.







“Does that include you, too?” I look away, silent. No. I don't deserve anything of the sort. I'm an awful person. My lack of response causes Monika to move closer to me. “Michael... I want you to be happy too.” Damn it, I'm not prepared for this kind of thing... “...Is it okay to hug you?” I nod silently, still not able to find the words as she wraps her arms around me.







“Ha, this feels nice...” I comment quietly. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Monika smile. We sit like that for a minute before I finally cave. “Alright,” I sigh, turning to look at her. “I'll try and be happy. For your sake.”







“Thank you, Michael~... I won't let you down,” she says with a smile. She looks so happy. It's really going to suck for her to have her heart broken.







“Yeah yeah, don't let it get to your head. You're just lucky that I have a weakness for sappiness.”







“And just like Sayori, I'm exploiting that weakness~!” She smirks mischievously.







“Oh no, now I'm going to have two friends exploiting my weaknesses. Whatever shall I do?” I chuckle.







“I guess you'll just have to deal with it! Sorry Michael, but I have no weaknesses~”







“Ah, but you said being perfect would be boring. Soooo...”







“Oh-- but-- Argh, I have no argument for that!”







“Ha, guess you have a weakness for good logic,” I smirk.







“Okay, maybe I do have one weakness...” Monika pouts.







“Well anyway, it's getting late,” I remark, glancing at the clock. “You probably want to be getting to bed, don't you?”







“Are you not going to bed?” She tilts her head.







“Oh, I stay up late pretty much all the time. Don't worry about me.”







“But Michael...” She smiles awkwardly. “It's a school night.”







“...Fuck. Right,” I sigh, facepalming. “I'm not used to that. 100% not a morning person.”







“Ahaha, I can relate to that. I always need a good cup of coffee in the morning to wake me up.”







Aaaaaand now I've just had a thought. “...Okay, forgive me, but I think it's something I should ask... Where exactly do you live?” Monika has a look of realization on her face after I ask that.







“I... don't even know if I actually have a place to live,” she admits. “The game never really had me outside of the school.”







“Yeah... that's going to be a problem. Would you be able to just claim any house as your own?”







“I'd have to try. Buuuut I'm kinda tired, so that'll be a task for tomorrow.”







“Well, you're free to spend the night here,” I offer.







“Oh, I'd love to!” Monika exclaims, before clasping her hands over her mouth, realizing that might have been a poor choice of words. “I-I mean, I'd appreciate that...”







“Heh, it's fine, Monika. I know how you feel, no need to be ashamed about it,” I chuckle, getting up and putting the leftover pizza in the fridge. “Come on, I'm pretty sure I have a guest room,” I say as I start walking up the stairs, Monika following behind me. “Ooookay, I think it's this one.” I open a door to a room that's next to my bedroom. Sure enough, it's a guest bedroom. “Alright, well, here you go, Monika,” I gesture, stepping aside to let her walk through.







“Thank you, Michael,” she smiles at me.







“No problem. Have a good night, Monika.”







“You too!” She chirps back, closing the door behind her. I walk over to my bedroom and close the door behind myself as I enter. “Welp, guess I'd better get to sleep... Right after I change out of these clothes,” I sigh, realizing I never changed since I got home. After a quick change into more comfortable clothing, I climb into bed, pulling the covers over me. “Hopefully I can manage to get good sleep tonight...” I mumble as I turn off the light and try to fall asleep.