It took a while for the words that Dominic had just said to sink into his head. 

Gojo: Huh? Publish this? Come on... You have to be joking right? 

However, Gojo looked at Dominic and once he saw the seriousness in his eyes, he knew that Dominic was dead serious. 

Dominic: I mean it. I want you to submit this story for the Mugen Monthly Starline publication. 

Gojo: I mean I don't think it's that good enough to publish it anyways so I don't see the need to do all that. 

Dominic: Then why did you draw it and show it to me? 

Gojo thought for a while to the feelings he felt and the time he spent drawing HLC and then sighed.

Gojo: I just wanted to know if you'd understand the feeling I felt when I drew it. 

Dominic: And what kind of feeling is that?

Gojo: I mean you read the story didn't you? What do you think? 

Dominic thought back for a minute and then seemed to get what Gojo was saying and sighed.

Dominic: Yeah... I get it. (pauses) So you really don't want to publish this? 

Gojo scratched the back of his head as he thought it through again. 

Gojo: I... I don't know. 

Dominic suddenly had a sad & disappointed look on his face as he dropped Gojo's drawing book. 

Dominic: I see... That's a shame. Just... Let me know if you change your mind alright? 

Gojo nodded his head slowly feeling a bit down that he had to disappoint Dominic like that but he wasn't really sure of the draft he had just drawn, so he wasn't going to do it. Which was fine by him but he couldn't help for but feel sad for letting Dominic down. 

However, Gojo's mother had been listening to the entire conversation from where she stood on the staircase that led upstairs and she felt the same way her son did, but she wasn't about to let things continue like this.

******

Later that evening, Gojo headed to the convenience store after his mother realized she was out of pepper for dinner. The walk was quiet, and for the first time that day, the conversation he’d had with Dominic replayed in his head, not his words, but Dominic’s expression. That disappointed look. It made his chest tighten all over again.

He shook it off as he grabbed the pepper and hurried back home.

When he returned, his mother thanked him and playfully nudged him aside so she could finish cooking. Gojo helped her with the last bits of dinner without saying much, and she didn’t push him. She simply watched him out of the corner of her eye, noticing how his shoulders drooped a little more than usual.

Once they finished and the dishes were cleaned, Gojo retreated to his room.

The moment he opened the door, he froze.

On his desk, where his finished draft was, sat a neatly arranged pile of brand-new manga drawing materials: manuscript paper, fresh ink, new nibs, screentones, rulers, brushes. Everything he’d ever mentioned wanting… and a few things he’d never even brought up.

Resting on top of the stack was a small folded note.

Gojo’s heartbeat picked up as he stepped closer. He opened the note carefully and saw a message written in his mother’s handwriting. It read:

“Do your best, honey! Luv Mom!”

Gojo felt his breath catch in his throat.

Gojo: She must've heard the conversation I had with Dominic earlier today. But... 

Just then the conversation he had with Dominic earlier began to flash in his mind and then the images of his father, mother, his younger sister, Emilia and Dominic flashed in his mind and then all he could do was smirk. 

Gojo: Damn it....

****

The next day passed slowly for Dominic.

Even while he worked, ate, tried to distract himself with TV, his mind kept drifting back to Gojo. Dominic could still feel that heavy sense of disappointment he felt yesterday… and he hated that he let it show.

Gojo had created something uniqiue and Dominic knew that if Gojo just pushed through his uncertainty, even a little, the finished product would be good; good enough for Mugen Monthly, maybe even better.

But how was he supposed to convince someone who didn’t believe in themselves?

Dominic sighed, running a hand over his face as he paced his at his table.

Dominic: (to himself) Maybe he misunderstood my reaction… or maybe he thought I only cared about the draft because of the magazine. I should’ve been clearer.

He checked the time. It was Early evening.

Dominic grabbed his jacket.

Dominic: Screw it. I’ll just talk to him.

He stepped outside, with his destination in mind. If he waited too long, Gojo might give up on the draft entirely, and Dominic refused to let that happen.

As he walked down the familiar road toward Gojo’s house, he rehearsed a hundred different ways to say what he meant:

“Your work means something.”

“You’re better than you think.”

“You don’t need to be perfect... just finish it.”

None of the lines felt right. He exhaled sharply, hands in his pockets.

Dominic: I’ll just speak from the heart.

When he finally reached the Masaki residence, he paused in front of the gate.

Dominic: Please… let him have at least thought about it.

Taking a breath, he rang the doorbell as soon as he reached the door. 

Aftter a few seconds, the door opened and Dominic was expecting to see Gojo's little sister which he had seen the other day, but to his surprise, he met Gojo's mother at the other side of the door. 

Dominic: Oh! Mrs Masaki! Good evening ma'am. I wasn't expecting to see you at home today. 

Mrs Masaki: Yeah I know.... But there's been a change of plans so I had to be home today.

Dominic: Oh... I see. May I come in?

Mrs Masaki: Of course. Please do. I have something I want to show you. 

Dominic: (puzzled) Something to show me?

What Mrs Masaki ended up showing Dominic was something he had been silently hoping for like a prayer. She led him upstairs and to the entrance of Gojo's room where they stopped. 

The first thing Dominic realized was that the door was slightly open and when he peeked into the room, he saw Gojo drawing furiously on a manga manuscript paper with a proper ink pen and his fingers were stained in black ink. His eyes shone in surprise.

Dominic: Is he...?

Mrs Masaki: Yes... He is. He's working on the finished version of the draft the both of you talked about yesterday. 

Dominic: Oh... You overheard that conversation, ma'am?

Mrs Masaki: Yes… I did. To be honest, ever since Gojo stopped going to school and spent all his time shut away drawing, I’ve felt completely helpless. I never knew what to do to cheer him up or how to support him. So I did some research and bought all those materials. But I didn’t know when the right moment was to give them to him, until I overheard the conversation you two had yesterday.

Dominic listened in for a while before he spoke. 

Dominic: I think you did the best thing here ma'am. After what I saw yesterday, I believe that Gojo has the potential to stand out and draw people in. All he needed was a little push and you did that ma'am. 

Mrs Masaki: (smiles) Well, I am his mother after all. (pauses) Mr Dominic, you don't need to work today so you can take the rest of the evening off. 

Dominic: Oh! Oh... Are you sure ma'am? 

Mrs Masaki: Yeah... You can come back tomorrow. Let's let Gojo have this day. 

Dominic: Yeah... I guess you're right ma'am. 

On the way back, Dominic couldn’t contain himself. He actually jumped into the air and let out a shout of pure excitement right in the middle of the street, earning a confused, slightly concerned stare from a woman walking her dog at the far end of the block, as if she were wondering whether he might have a few screws loose.

But at last, everything seemed to be falling into place.

The days began to blur together, passing faster than any of them expected. And by the end of November, Gojo had finally completed the finished draft of Heartbreak Loverboy Crybaby.