Chapter Text
Something was bothering Nagi. This wasn't like him, because all he really wanted to do was sleep all day. Well, not just that. He had to agree that recently, ever since playing against the people in Blue Lock, ever since his most recent match, he had grown to love the exhilaration that scoring goals had given him. Reo was to thank for that, he supposed.
Reo, the source of his current dilemma. A couple of days had passed since their match against Bastard München, and now they were all busy training and preparing themselves for the next match, which Nagi really, really didn't want to do. But when he was trying to escape training, Chigiri had caught him near the gym.
"Hey, Nagi, I had been meaning to ask, are you and Reo back together now?", Chigiri asked.
Nagi assumed that he was asking him this because he and Reo were close again after the previous match, and everything was back to normal.
"Yeah. It's all normal again", he replied.
"But isn't it awkward, you know, getting back with your ex and everything?", Chigiri said.
Nagi blinked at him, honestly not knowing what Chigiri was talking about. "What ex?", he asked.
Chigiri paused. Nagi looked at him, genuinely bewildered.
"Wait, so you're telling me you and Reo were never dating? And still aren't?", Chigiri asked.
This made Nagi freeze. What on earth was Chigiri talking about? Why would he think they were dating? Nagi had never been interested in that kind of thing. Whenever girls used to ask him out (which was extremely rarely), he was more interested in sleeping and going home to check on his cactus, Choki than he was to go on dates with them. And he had never even considered the possibility of dating a boy. One of his online male gamer friends had a boyfriend, so he had thought it was normal but he never thought he would date a boy. He genuinely did not know where all this was coming from.
"No. What made you think that?", he asked Chigiri.
"Well, I think we all just assumed it after seeing the way Reo was acting during our previous selections, when Kunigami and I had to team up with him. He genuinely seemed so heartbroken. We even saw him pluck his toothbrush bristles and mutter something akin to 'He loves me, he loves me not', so yeah, we just figured you guys were a couple that had a fight.", Chigiri answered.
"Was he really-"
"Listen. If you guys aren't a couple then what is he to you?", Chigiri asked, cutting Nagi off.
"He is my.." Nagi really didn't know how to answer this. Friend would be wrong because he felt like Reo did more for him than the other boys around him ever did for their friends. Treasure was what Reo always called Nagi. And Nagi had just rolled with it, like he did with everything else.
When Chigiri figured that Nagi did not have an answer, he sighed. "Listen, I know this isn't any of my business but just because you don't think there's anything between you guys, doesn't mean Reo also thinks the same. You should maybe talk to him about this, you know, just to clear any misunderstanding. I'm telling you this because I really don't want any trouble and another fight because it will be bad for our team." Chigiri then shrugged and walked away, leaving Nagi extremely puzzled.
Nagi hadn't been able to laze around in peace after that interaction. He decided to consult his online gaming buddy, the one with the boyfriend. So he logged in and started a 1v1 game with him, texting him simultaneously.
Nagi06: Hey, I want to ask you something
Aoilikespancakes: Woahhh long time no see
Aoilikespancakes: What's up?
Nagi06: How did you and Kenzo get together?
Aoilikespancakes: You're suddenly interested in someone else's love life? Have you fallen for someone?
Nagi06: I'm just curious.
Aoilikespancakes: Well.. he was my classmate for two years. At first I thought we were the best of friends but as time went by I realised that best friends don't really act the way we do. I think he figured his feelings before I did, and one day he just confessed. At first I was confused about my own feelings but later on I accepted it and we have been going strong for almost an year now
Nagi06: Oh.
Nagi06: What do you mean by you guys didn't really act like best friends?
Aoilikespancakes: Uh I guess we were always physical with each other? Like we would hold hands and cuddle with each other regularly and he would often give me gifts. He even gave me chocolates on Valentine's Day. You don't really do those things with your best friend.
Huh. Reo did all those things for him. Except the chocolates for Valentine's Day part, but he had given him a whole multi-tier cake instead, which Nagi could not finish even a quarter of.
Nagi06: What made you realize you liked him?
Aoilikespancakes:I always liked him as a friend, but I started noticing small things like the way his hair or eyes looked, or how pretty his smile was, or how smooth his skin looked to touch or
Aoilikspancakes: I got too ahead of myself didn't I
Nagi06: yeah that was kinda cringe man
Aoilikespancakes: haha sorry about that. You'd understand if you were in love though
With that, they switched the conversation to more game-related topics until the match was over. But after the game, Nagi lay on his bed once again, wondering about everything Aoi had told him. He hadn't noticed any of Reo's physical features so far, he thought. He wasn't even sure why he was thinking about all this at all. He just wanted to nap in peace.
The reality was that Reo Mikage was a literal storm that had come into Nagi's life. He had consumed everything that Nagi knew of; his time, his daily life, what he did, where he went and everything. And honestly, Nagi would even count him as his first real friend. Reo seemed to really like him, he had even told Nagi that he would change his whole life. But he still didn't know if 'friend' was even the right word. Reo was honestly the closest person in the world to him, the first one who actually really wanted to be with him.
As he was thinking, the devil himself barged into the room going on about his plans to make money and how they should progress in the football associations. Nagi stared at Reo, thinking about what Aoi told him. He supposed Reo's hair was nice, It was purple and cut unevenly on both sides. Maybe that was a little cute. And his eyes were always glistening when he talked, full of enthusiasm. It was all too much compared to Nagi's absolutely lethargic and aloof demeanour, but he he supposed the contrast was pretty nice.
He realised he had been zoning out and staring at Reo instead of listening to what he had to say when the other boy tapped his head lightly. "Hey, are you even listening? Is something wrong?, you've been staring at me. Did something happen?", Reo said, looking genuinely worried.
Nagi thought he might as well ask. "Hey Reo, what is your type?", he asked, instead of answering Reo's questions.
Reo paused. "Like my type in women? Where is this coming from?", he asked.
"Your romantic type, yeah. I was just curious", Nagi said.
"Uhhh I suppose I like older, more mature women" Reo said. Huh. So Reo probably really didn't like men at all. Not that it mattered at all, Nagi was just curious.
"I see."
"What about you? What's your type?", Reo asked Nagi, his tone a little more shrill than usual.
"I'm not sure. I don't even know if I have one.", Nagi replied honestly.
"Haven't you ever liked anyone?", Reo asked.
"I don't think so?"
"What? You haven't liked anyone in your entire life?"
"No, at least not to my knowledge."
"Wow! I have a lot to teach you, my treasure. Come here.", Reo said sounding excited.
Nagi didn't understand Reo's sudden enthusiasm, but he joined him anyway, sitting next to him on the floor. He looked at Reo, puzzled.
"Okay, close your eyes", Reo said.
"Okay..." Nagi said, shutting his eyes.
"Now imagine; you are in a cute café. The atmosphere is really pleasant and you feel at ease. You order a dessert. Do you have a picture in your mind?", Reo said.
Nagi nodded. It was pretty easy to visualise.
"Okay. Now you extend your hand and wrap it around the hand of the person sitting across from you. You both share the dessert. You look into their eyes. Do you have anyone in mind when I tell you all this?", Reo asked.
In his mind Nagi reached for a hand. It was rough and etched with veins. A sportsperson's. When he looked up, warm purple eyes met his own grey ones.
Nagi opened his eyes. The person who came to his mind was right next to him, he did not have to close his eyes to see him. He nodded slowly, looking at Reo.
"That means you like someone! If you saw someone in your mind that fast, that means you definitely have feelings for them. Well, there you have it! I just remembered, I needed to talk to Chris about something, so I'll see you later", Reo said with a laugh that sounded a little forced. He averted Nagi's gaze and left.
Could Reo be right? Did Nagi have feelings for him? It did and didn't make sense at the same time. If he had feelings for him, why hadn't he realised before? This was all so very confusing to Nagi. He didn't want to think about it. He decided to watch something instead.
While he was aimlessly scrolling through things to watch, his eye caught a show that had two men on the thumbnail. It was a romantic show. Subconsciously, he clicked on it and started watching it. It was a story about how a boy realised later on in life that he was attracted to his childhood best friend. The childhood best friend had always been into the main character but he had never gotten the courage to tell him. The main character was conflicted with everything he was feeling, but even the smallest physical gestures had lead to such great electricity ridden moments between the leads that even Nagi felt something deep within him. The ending was bittersweet and they ended up accepting their feelings for each other even though they were both put through a great deal of pain before that.
The actor who played the childhood friend kind of looked like Reo, just a little bit. He was cute, Nagi thought. Maybe Reo was cute too. He didn't really know, it was all too much. Nagi sighed, and found more television series the same actor had starred in and kept watching them, waiting for Reo to return.
Reo returned after around two hours, with just a towel on and his hair down. Nagi had seen Reo after his shower a million times now but today he stared. Reo had really pretty features, which was highlighted by his damp hair. His body was chiselled, just like all the other boys in Blue Lock. But the way he held himself and walked was unique, Nagi thought. Nagi's eyes felt at ease whenever he looked at Reo. He had pretty nice skin too, even though it was roughened by all his time playing football.
"Why are you staring at me?", Reo asked, snapping Nagi back to reality.
"I just noticed that the way you walk is pretty cute, Reo", Nagi said without hesitation.
Reo froze. "Huh? Why are you telling me this all of the sudden?", He exclaimed, his voice louder than usual. Reo's face was red.
"I just noticed it now.", Nagi said. "Also Reo, your face is red. Are you feeling unwell?"
"I'm fine!", Reo shouted. Nagi didn't really understand why he was so worked up, but he also didn't ask. If something was wrong, Reo would have told him.
But to Nagi's confusion, Reo seemed to be ignoring him the next day during training. Nagi, Reo and Chigiri would usually take treadmills next to each other for their daily run, but today, Reo had looked at him on the treadmill, ignored Nagi and gone to the strength training equipment instead. The same thing continued during lunch, when Nagi noticed that Reo had joined Chris instead of him. Even during field practice, Reo was passing to him but not with the same enthusiasm he did before.
Chigiri once again stopped Nagi after practice. "What is going on between you two now? Did you fight again?", he asked.
Nagi shrugged. "I talked to him like you asked, but he has been ignoring me ever since."
"What exactly did you talk to him about?"
Nagi recounted everything that went down the previous night, including how he started noticing things about Reo that he hadn't before.
After he finished recounting, Chigiri paused. Then started laughing uncontrollably. Nagi watched him in bewilderment as Chigiri clutched his stomach trying to calm himself down.
"What is it?", Nagi asked.
"Isn't it obvious? Reo thinks you like someone else and I don't even blame him, you ditched him for Isagi before, after all. He is probably distancing himself from you to avoid getting hurt again.", Chigiri said.
"Wait, you mean Reo likes me? He told me his type was mature older women though.", Nagi said.
To this, Chigiri started laughing even more. "Mature ol- older women. Oh, this is gold. That is literally the first thing someone who doesn't like women would say to closet their truth. Don't believe me? Why don't you try telling him how you feel?"
"But what if he doesn't wanna talk to me anymore?", Nagi asked.
Chigiri sighed at this. "Nagi, Reo literally brought you here and still came back to you even after you broke your promise to him and betrayed him. That won't happen.", he said.
Nagi thought about it a little and then nodded. He made up his mind and walked to his room.
Judging by all the videos he had seen and the articles he had read, Nagi figured that if they dated, nothing much would change because they already behaved like the couples he had seen. Maybe they would be more intimate, but that was about it. And the thoughts of holding and kissing Reo was.. well. Reo had soft lips, Nagi thought. It would probably be nice.
Nagi didn't like it when Reo ignored him. When other people did it, he was usually grateful to be left alone but when it was Reo, he knew that something was wrong. Maybe Chigiri was right. Nagi hoped he was. The thought of losing Reo was weighing in on him now and he hated it.
He opened the door to their shared room to see Reo tying his hair, as if he was getting ready to leave. Nagi observed the muscles on Reo's arms shift as he tied his hair.
"Hey, Reo-"
"Ah, hello. I was just leaving, I need to talk to Chris about something again", Reo said cutting Nagi off and rushing towards the door.
Before Reo could leave, Nagi blocked his way. "Wait, I need to talk to you about something."
"What is it?" Reo asked, looking up at Nagi.
Nagi locked eyes with him. He noticed that Reo's eyes had several different hues of purple splashed across it. It was pretty. Nagi's favourite colour might just change from grey to purple. "Uh. Reo, do you really just like mature women?", he asked.
Reo looked annoyed. "Why are you asking me this?", He asked irritably.
"Because.",Nagi said. "When you asked me to visualise the café date yesterday, it was you who I saw in my mind."
Reo froze and blinked at him. "What.", he said.
"Yeah, and I watched a cute television romance with two male leads after that, and the love interest kind of looked like you and I found him cute. Not as cute as I find you though, I don't think.", he said.
Reo's eyes widened. "You...like me??", he asked, his voice almost a whisper.
"I think so. Chigiri thinks so too. I think you're pretty. I like your hair. Your eyes are nice too, I didn't know purple had so many shades. You were my first and only friend Reo, and yeah, thank you for everything. I like you, at least I think I do.", Nagi said.
Reo was shocked, he probably had never heard Nagi talk so much at once in his life. He sunk onto Nagi's bed to process everything he was hearing, his eyes wide and his hands shaking.
Nagi stared at Reo, as he didn't say a word for a good ten minutes. "Uh, Reo?", he asked, starting to get slightly worried, per Nagi standards.
Reo zoned back into reality at that. "You know...Nagi. I've had feelings for you for a long time now. Like, ever since I found you and made you my treasure, you were already the most valuable thing in my life. But before I knew it, I..started getting jealous of people who started admiring you. Not because I wanted to be like you, but because I didn't.. like the way they looked at you", he said.
Chigiri was right after all, Nagi thought. Reo had liked him even then, and he was sad when Nagi had left him.
"I'm sorry I made you sad by joining Isagi, and everything, Reo", Nagi said, plopping onto the bed next to Nagi.
"No, it's okay, it all worked out at the end. But I just. I never thought you would ever like me back. I had accepted that fate a long time ago. But I was still hurt when I thought you liked someone else yesterday, and I was trying to process the reality of that. Guess you noticed I was ignoring you, huh? I still can't..believe all this.", he said.
Nagi was admittedly to blame for Reo's doubt. He did not like seeing Reo look so sad, it made him uncomfortable and reminded him of the way he had looked at him before Nagi had left with Isagi and Bachira. He wanted to make the expression go away.
He reached out his hand and cupped Reo's cheek gently, rubbing his thumb along his cheekbone, just like he had seen in television shows before. "Can I kiss you?", Nagi asked softly.
Reo looked at him with wide eyes. After what seemed like forever, he nodded slowly. Nagi wasn't sure how to do this, so without thinking, he leaned over and pressed his lips softly against Reo's and wrapped his other hand around Reo's body. He closed his eyes and did it again. And again. he kept kissing him this way until Reo gained a sense of reality and wrapped his hands around Nagi's neck, pulling him closer towards himself and deepening the kiss.
This is nice, Nagi thought, while he felt his lips go numb from kissing Reo. He felt Reo's rapidly beating heart against his chest. At that moment, Nagi decided that he knew his favourite sound now. Reo's lips felt just as soft as they looked, and he smelled so nice, like fancy perfume and clean clothes. Reo had climbed into Nagi's nap now, still kissing him softly yet deeply. Reo had once again consumed all of Nagi, because there was nothing else in Nagi's mind now except Reo, Reo, Reo.
Finally, after what felt like forever, they pulled apart, gasping for air. Nagi was still holding Reo on his lap. "Reo, will you-", he started saying.
"Nagi Seishiro, you are my boyfriend now. I will not be taking any criticism or objections.", Reo said.
Nagi smiled slightly. This was how it always was. Reo's command was absolute and Nagi couldn't help but go along with it. He nodded and leaned in to kiss Reo again.
The next day, Chigiri regretted everything after he saw Nagi and Reo kiss for what seemed like the 100th time after practice.