NO, THAT'S WRONG! ~~Naegami~~

Chapter 4: That's Enough

  "A Togami is never wrong, Byakuya. And even when they are, they sure as shit don't admit it."

   And Byakuya would never go against what his father told him. What had compelled him to apologise in the first place? Naegi was worthless. Less than the dirt on Byakuya's shoe. Makoto should be apologising to him, not that Byakuya would give him the time of day. This was how it was meant to be. He was on a different level to everyone else. And those levels should never mix. So why did Byakuya feel so empty?

   He had never expected that the way it was meant to be would be so lonely.

                                                                                      ***

Classes started tomorrow. He should really be getting some sleep. Instead, Makoto was lying awake running through what the hell had just happened. How had he been so goddamn stupid? And why had he wanted Togami to share with him so much. He had been nothing but vile to Makoto ever since they'd met. Makoto wasn't blameless in that, he knew that much. But still, he had never stopped to comfort people who weren't his friends before. Could it be possible that..? 

   Nope. There just wasn't any way. Makoto was just a nice person. That had to be it, right? And anyway, it wasn't realistic to believe that he and Byakuya could ever be friends. Togami was on another level to him, maybe even to the rest of the Ultimates. And those levels should never be mixed, Makoto knew that much. He had never had a problem with the way it was meant to be before. He'd accepted his lot in life was to be painfully average, and not to push his luck- Ultimate though it may be- by daring to think he would ever be more than that. So why did Makoto feel so empty? And why did he feel the almost irresistible urge to run to Byakuya's room and apologise? Makoto tossed and turned until his eyes finally began to droop. He went to sleep dreaming of Togami's ice-blue eyes.

                                                                                         ~~~

What time was it? Makoto blinked the dust out of his eyes and sat up groggily. He winced; his head was pounding like crazy. He checked the clock in his room. It was almost 7 am, the time he had agreed to meet the others in the dining hall. Groaning, Makoto lifted himself out of bed, got dressed, and sleepily staggered to the dining hall, where Ishimaru, Asahina, Ogami, and Maizono were already sitting. He gave them a brief wave, then walked over to a nearby table and immediately rested his head on it. Makoto was well and truly spent. Falling asleep so late had definitely been a mistake. His eyelids got heavier, heavier, heavier, until he drifted off.

   The sound of a chair scraping the floor woke Makoto from his slumber. He lifted his head to see who had sat down opposite him. Maizono maybe? Perhaps Asahina (though she spent most of her time with Ogami)? When he saw who it actually was, all of his grogginess vanished. Adrenaline coursed through his veins like it had been injected with a syringe. 

   "Togami?"

   The Ultimate Affluent Progeny sat with his arms and legs crossed, an expectant look on his face, a small smile playing on his lips. His blonde hair was still slightly messy, but it still looked good on him. To be fair, Makoto thought, anything would look good on him. He had brought two apples to the table, one of which he tossed to Makoto.

   "Well?" he asked impatiently, "I'm waiting." 

   "W-waiting for what?" Makoto asked, barely managing to catch the apple.

   "For an apology, what did you think? You need to explain yourself." Makoto nearly got mad, then realised what Byakuya was doing. He couldn't admit that he was wrong, so he was getting Makoto to do it for him.

   "Oh! I'm really sorry Byaku- Togami, I mean." The blonde inclined his head, signalling for him to continue. So he did. "I didn't mean to cross any boundaries, really I didn't. I just... wanted to help you. But you didn't want that, which I should have respected. I'm very sorry." Togami smiled slightly and nodded.

   "In light of this, I have decided to repeal my earlier decision. You're still allowed to talk to me." Byakuya's own way of apologising, without actually doing so. Makoto was flooded with relief, relief so strong he physically slouched down, releasing a breath he hadn't even realised he was holding. "Now eat that quickly, Naegi. You don't want to be late do you?"

Word count without A/N: 1424

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii sorry for the long wait between chapters, I've been really busy with school, because Chemistry is the bane of my existence (side note; what the heck is a mole?) but I hope you enjoy this chapter. I've worked on it a lot more than the word count suggestsssssssssssssss, this one went through many drafts. But the result of it is my favourite chapter yet! I hope you like it too. Uhhhhh I'm gonna try to release more tomorrow, but don't count on it. I am unreliable at the best of timesssssssssss, but writing this fic is so much fun! Uhhhh yeah. I have nothing else to say here lmao.

-- Winter