Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

It’s an indescribable pain shooting through Seishiro’s body that causes him to start regaining consciousness, his muscles all screaming at him and burning with even just the tiniest breath as if he had just finished an intense workout, but that doesn’t make sense. He furrows his brows and his mouth forms into his signature pout.

Sure, he and Reo had some pretty intense sex before all but passing out last night, but he’s been rougher with the purple-haired man and still never felt his body get this sore afterwards. If anything, it was always his partner who would complain about his ability to walk being impeded. 

“What a pain,” he thinks.

The off season has just started and he’s already having what are probably phantom pains from remembering the fact that he still has to hit the gym every now and then to maintain his physique. At least Reo always joins him, and he’ll take whatever chances he gets at seeing his love half-naked and sweating, even if Seishiro would prefer being the one making him look like that.

Of course, that Reo likes to ogle him in return is also a motivator for him to keep with his regiment. That and all the other things his muscles allow him to do with the other man. 

It isn’t enough that his body feels like it’s falling apart, the bed is also unusually stiff and he can feel his feet hanging off the edge as if it’s too small. Underneath the covers, it’s too hot, not the pleasant warmth he feels when he cuddles with Reo, but when he takes the covers off, the air chilling his skin is too cold. 

To make matters even worse, he’s woken up without his arms wrapped around Reo or vice versa.

That’s never a good sign.

Momentarily, Seishiro thinks that maybe waking up without Reo in his bed is some kind of bad omen, but he shrugs it off. Instead, he opts to feel around the mattress to bring his starlight back into his arms and maybe get some more sleep. He’s not as young as he used to be after all, gone is his ability to slip into unconsciousness anywhere that wasn’t some high quality, ultra soft cushion purchased for him by his dearly beloved. 

He feels around and feels around some more and— nothing. 

Absolutely nothing.

Well, not exactly.

He can feel the other edge of the bed which is weird because their bed is wide enough to accommodate both of them, plus some extra room to take into account Reo’s love of moving around in his sleep. 

What concerns him more than anything, however, is the distinct lack of Reo. 

Reo’s not in bed. 

Reo’s never not in bed at this time of night. At least, he assumes that it’s night given the way that the darkness is evident even with his eyes closed. In an instant, Seishiro’s breathing picks up, trying to find explanations as to why Reo isn’t next to him in attempts to offset the panic beginning to take hold, but all his mind can think of is the worst.

Before he can venture too deep into any of his imagined scenarios, Seishiro opens his eyes to investigate and—

He closes them immediately. 

No, he doesn’t just close them, he screws them shut, frowning even harder than he was earlier, his pout gone, replaced now with a grimace. Slowly, he opens and closes them a few more times, feeling the tell tale signs of a headache coming on. 

“This is a nightmare,” He thinks. 

Truly, this must be a nightmare that Seishiro has unluckily gained some kind of lucidity in. Because when he opens his eyes, it’s not the bedroom he’s so familiar with, it’s not the welcoming space he’s grown to love so much as a result of the memories it holds of him and Reo. Rather, what greets him upon opening them is definitely not the room he fell asleep in, instead the gray walls with blue accents and cold ambiance can only be that of blue lock. 

The truth is, Seishiro has had bad dreams about being transported back to blue lock before. In fact, Seishiro is almost certain that everyone who got far in the program is probably owed therapy paid for by Jinpachi Ego himself because, really, what the fuck was all of that? Still, none of his nightmares about the place have ever been so vivid. Even as he’s grown older and developed his imagination and creativity a bit more for the sake of his plays, his dreams still aren’t, and have never really been, particularly realistic. Add to the fact that Seishiro finds dreams a hassle to remember when the details are usually so arbitrary, he’s never thought too hard about them. There were a couple of instances and recurring dreams that he wishes he could forget, like any that involve his and Reo’s infamous second selection misunderstanding and anything negatively involving Reo altogether, but otherwise his dreams and nightmares were pretty forgettable. 

Whatever this is, is something that’s never happened before.

He’s sat through Reo and Bachira’s conversations on lucid dreaming before, and if it’s anything like this, then he’s really not seeing the appeal. If anything, he’s kind of freaking out. All of the signs that could indicate that everything is all some kind of dream are not present at all. Everything is far too detailed, his senses are perfectly functional, on the night table next to his bed, he pokes at his phone and the time seems normal, Seishiro even expends the practically non-existent energy in his body to angle the phone towards him and, surely enough, even his reflection is looking normal.

Actually, his reflection looks distinctly younger but if this is a dream about his time in blue lock, then it makes sense, despite how unnerved he is. 

Reo.

He wants Reo. Needs him.

Trying to get up is a whole ordeal. His limbs are on fire and upon standing, he feels a rush that almost has him falling back down, vision going black for a moment before adjusting. On one bed he spots Chigiri in his leopard-print bonet and on the other—

“Reo,” He whispers, breathing a sigh of relief. 

Now that his love has been located, Seishiro feels his heart rate begin to calm down again. He’s also hit with a sense of relief that Chigiri also being in the room means that whatever this dream is, is probably taking place sometime during the Neo Egoist League. 

Seishiro makes his way over to Reo and watches as the man— boy- sleeps. All at once, Seishiro feels a wave of nostalgia hit him hard, the Reo that lies in front of him is straight out of his core memories, the face he loves so much is rounder like it used to be, his hair is much shorter, and though he’s covered by the flimsy blanket, his body isn’t quite filled out all the way. He stands there watching Reo’s chest rise and fall for who knows how long, eventually beginning to feel his eyes grow heavy and his body screams at him to take a rest. 

Whether this dream is taking place before or after he and Reo officially got together, Seishiro doesn’t know, but because it’s a dream then at least that means that the next time he opens his eyes he’ll be back to reality, right? Isn’t that how it worked in the movies?

“Heh,” he thinks, “Unless I’ve somehow switched places with my past self, ” laughing at himself for the absurdity of the possibility. 

Regardless, Reo is his and he’s Reo’s.

With that thought in mind, Seishiro climbs into the bed next to his partner, carefully lifts the sheets so as to not disturb him and lays down. He takes a second to appreciate his sleeping face, those cute little eyebrows twitch slightly and Seishiro holds back a smile, he brings a hand up to tuck some of his hair behind Reo’s ear and caresses his cheek, before bringing the boy into his arms and closing his eyes once more. 

When Seishiro wakes up to the sound of a camera shutter going off, he doesn’t think anything of it. Reo likes to take pictures of him in his sleep, Seishiro knows that because of the dedicated folder his partner has on his phone. Similarly, Seishiro has his own folder of sleepy Reo pics. 

It isn’t until he has feel a solid form trapped in his arms that Seishiro opens his eyes and—

“Fuck,” Seishiro thinks.

Because either this dream is one of those dreams that makes you live out the whole day or he really has somehow managed to switch places with his past self. 

Of course this has to happen to him. It’s not even like he can explain his situation to anyone else without sounding absolutely crazy or possibly messing up his future. 

When Seishiro turns his attention back to the situation at hand, he realizes that the body in his arms is that of his partner. He also realizes that the person who was snapping the photos was not Reo but Chigiri, who stands above them smirking and using what looks to be Seishiro’s own phone to capture the moments. At least his past self can look forwards to the pictures the red-head took of him and Reo sleeping in the same bed. 

He angles his head down so he can get a better look at Reo’s sleeping face. Only, Reo is no longer sleeping, judging by the flustered look on his face, and the way he avoids eye contact with Seishiro, Reo is very much awake and probably having an internal freak out.

“Cute,” he says.

Reo makes a high pitched squeak and closes his eyes while Chigiri breaks into a fit of laughter. 

“What did you say?” Chigiri asks as he clutches his stomach and attempts to catch his breath, he holds the phone out and Seishiro presumes that he must be recording a video now. 

“Cute,” Seishiro repeats, “Reo is cute~” 

Perhaps it’s a little mean of him to be teasing this younger Reo, especially considering how his own Reo tells him about how nervous he’d get around him, but at the same time, Seishiro just can’t resist. A flustered Reo is an adorable Reo, that statement is true regardless of how much time passes between them. Seishiro may as well take advantage of the fact that with all the knowledge he’s amassed over the years, he’s a pro at sweeping Reo off his feet. 

Still, Seishiro isn't too sure why Reo is reacting the way he does. If Chigiri is here then that means they’re in the Neo Egoist League, which should mean they’re already together. Seishiro can remember it pretty clearly, even though his friends might think him someone who never remembers dates, he’ll always remember them if it involves Reo. Among the dates he remembers is the day they got together, sometime half way through the NEL. 

When Seishiro looks at Reo again, the expression he wears has crossed the line from simple embarrassment to borderline panic and he takes that as his que to stop the teasing. As much as Seishiro loves making his Reo flustered, he hates making him uncomfortable. Throughout their relationship, they had to learn a lot about each other, and towards the beginning there had been instances where Seishiro had pushed a bit too hard. There was a learning curb, but eventually they figured it out together.

But the Reo that’s in his arms now is still fresh off the throws of the period of time where he was most emotionally sensitive and Seishiro would really like to keep their relationship intact. 

With that in mind, Seishiro unwraps his arms and lets go.

“Sorry,” he mumbles.

The double take that Reo does is pretty funny. Seishiro thinks he must’ve caught him off guard. Of course he must’ve, Seishiro can’t remember having ever apologize for anything all that often when he was this young, something that had also been something they had had to improve upon on their relationship journey. 

Though Seishiro wishes that his younger self would’ve vocalized his feelings more, he knows himself and because of that, he knows that something like that is easier said than done. It’s taken Seishiro years of introspection and navigating life with Reo to put a voice to the words he’s thinking, and even with all of that learning he’ll still find himself not saying something out loud every now and then. The two of them have had many misunderstandings in the past, some much bigger than others.

Ones like during the second selection that physically pains Seishiro to remember. 

After staring at a dumbfounded Reo, all he does is blink at the purple haired boy. He tilts his head and widens his eyes in the way he knows makes Reo’s heart melt and of course, the Reo in front of him is quickly looking away with the tips of his ears starting to redden.

“It’s okay,” Reo says, sounding like he’s run out of breath. 

Seishiro would like to avoid as many misunderstandings as possible, so although he understands that perhaps he’s saying more words than he would’ve at this age, he finds it necessary if only to reassure Reo. 

“I’ll let go now,” he starts, looking at Reo in the eyes and licking his lips. Seishiro watches as Reo’s eyes quickly glance at his mouth and is satisfied at having his full attention. He continues, “But I want to cuddle more later, Kay’?” 

The room falls deadly silent, Seishiro’s question unanswered and letting himself get lost in the sea of brilliant purple that looks back at him. 

Off to the side, Chigiri lets out a cough, breaking them out of their staring contest. 

When Seishiro glances over to look at him, Chigiri’s face is red, either with irritation or second hand embarrassment, he can’t really tell. The red-haired boy also awkwardly holds Seishiro’s phone out so he can take it back. 

“Um,” 

All attention falls back on Reo, causing him to look away before putting on his well practiced mask of confidence. 

“We should get some breakfast before heading out to training!” He laughs, but the awkwardness lingering in his voice doesn’t escape Seishiro. 

Chigiri, on the other hand, doesn’t notice. Or if he does, he says nothing about it, desperately grasping onto the opportunity Reo has given him to get out of whatever situation he’s gotten himself in. Which— Rude, Seishiro thinks, that Chigiri would prefer Chris’s back breaking training over being in their company. 

Seishiro doesn’t have the chance to answer as Reo hurriedly gets off of the bed and is out the door in a flash. Chigiri, now tired of holding Seishiro’s phone out for him to take, tosses it onto the bed next to where he’s still laying and follows Reo. 

“This is such a pain,” 

Externally, Seishiro groans as he struggles to pick himself up, reaching out for his phone as he does so. Quickly, he takes a peak at the pictures Chigiri had captured and, despite the red-head expressing disdain at their show of affection, he had taken a lot of pictures, and they were pretty good. 

There were some of Reo while he was still asleep, as well as one of Reo after he had woken up, flushed because of his close proximity to Seishiro. Their friendship had always been physically intimate, but once they became official, even the slightest touch sent his partner into a stuttering mess, something that Seishiro found incredibly endearing. Just another aspect of Reo for Seishiro to love. 

He smiled at his phone until his stomach rumbled and Seishiro groaned once more, pocketing his device and slowly getting out of bed to stand up. 

It’s a bad idea. He realizes this as he tries and fails to stand that his legs feel like literal jello and although he wants nothing more than for Reo to come back and carry him to the cafeteria, he knows his voice won’t reach him even if he yells and also, yelling would be a bother so Seishiro sucks it up and makes his way to the others at a painfully slow pace and with all the grace of a baby deer learning how to walk. 

Maybe he can get Reo to carry him next time. 

In the end, he manages to get Reo to carry him to practice, and after some complaining and his best puppy dog eyes, manages to convince Reo to carry him back to their room once practice has concluded. 

Chris scolded Seishiro a few times but he just tuned it out. His body hurts even more than it did that morning and despite acquiescing to his ridiculous requests, Reo had done so in a manner that kept Seishiro at a polite distance, even when they were physically touching. 

Now as he lies in his bed as he had that morning, he watches as Reo flits about the room, gathering some clothes in a hamper, his own as well as some of Seishiro's. When they had gotten to the room, Reo had chastised him for flopping on the bed while still covered in a layer of sweat and grime, Seishiro didn’t care, his bones are tired and his muscles feel weak, Reo eventually just let out a huff and ruffled Seishiro’s hair. 

The attention Seishiro places on Reo is replaced in favor of looking through his phone once more. Mostly this phone’s gallery and all the photos of Reo and Choki that to him, were as he remembers them years ago, but for the body he’s in, were taken just a few months back. Silently, Seishiro revels in the way Reo had come into his life so suddenly and how that meeting had drastically changed his destiny. Seishiro wouldn’t have it any other way, he’d follow Reo to the end of the universe and back, he’d stay close with Reo for as long as his starlight would want him. 

When he closes out of the gallery app, Seishiro makes a note of the day. 

“Huh…” he thinks.

To people on the outside, Seishiro might seem like the type of person to not remember dates, and that’s somewhat true. He tends to forget about most things because remembering would be a hassle, but the truth is that his memory is really good. When it comes to matters concerning Reo, that memory basically becomes photographic. Reo’s birthday and half birthday, the first time Reo said “I love you,” the day Reo asked him to move in together, all of those days sit nestled in the very large Reo file in Seishiro’s brain. Along with their anniversary of becoming an official couple. Which is why, when Seishiro looks at the date on his phone, he realizes that perhaps the reason Reo was so shy earlier and throughout the day isn’t because he’s nervous about their new relationship, but rather, because they aren’t a couple yet and the relationship he’s worried about is the friendship they must’ve just recently started patching up. 

Mentally, Seishiro face palms. 

On this day, ten years ago, Seishiro confessed his feelings to the love of his life and like the luckiest man alive, Reo had reciprocated, thus marking the beginning of their journey as official lovers. Seishiro could never forget. Though, they never do anything particularly special for their relationship anniversary, something their friends find strange as they’re both very sentimental when it comes to the other. By the time that the two of them had confessed to each other, though they were just officially getting together, they both felt as if they’d been more than just friends for a good while before.

That’s why they celebrate their anniversary on the day they’d met, rather than the one where they became “official.” 

Even still, today was a day that lives in Seishiro’s mind rent free.

He thinks about how his earlier behavior must’ve looked from Reo’s perspective. Seishiro had been even more clingy and cuddly than he probably normally was at this age, or rather, as cuddly as he’d have wanted to be, but never allowed himself out of fear of making Reo uncomfortable. 

Internally, Seishiro sighs. 

The universe must think it’s so funny sending him back in time to the very day that he confessed his feelings. He contemplates it for a moment.

“Should I even do anything?” He thinks.

If something goes wrong then it could possibly mess up his entire future. What if the way he’s been acting today really did make Reo uncomfortable, and that makes him reject Seishiro? Then they’d never get together and never have a future with each other and—

Seishiro doesn’t want that.

Seishiro doesn’t want to live in any timeline where he and Reo don’t end up together. He’s all too familiar with what a life without Reo is like; it’s terribly lonely and unfulfilling. 

Had Seishiro not confessed to Reo all those years ago, where would he be now, he wonders. But he knows the answer.

He knows the answer and does his best not to think about his old apartment, with its plain white walls and rooms devoid of anything homely. It’d just be him and Choki again, but this time without the warmth of Reo’s sunlight to feed them.

He shouldn’t interfere.

What Seishiro should do is just wait for the day to be over, but that nagging worry all but decides his course of action. 

Reo breathes color into Seishiro’s existence and Seishiro grabs onto it like a lifeline, in the end, Seishiro doesn’t want to even run the risk of ruining their future together and decides that just like all those years ago: Seishiro has to confess. 

His past self better thank him later. 

Briefly, Seishiro considers if his past self is in the future. 

“Past-me better thank me for that too,” He thinks. 

Seishiro, afterall, is perfectly aware of the state he had left his Reo in the night before, and if the consciousness in Seishiro’s body is himself from the past, then he just knows the kid must be doing mental fist pumps at getting to see his Reo like that. But hopefully, he doesn’t try anything weird with his Reo. Seishiro doesn’t care if it technically is still him, Seishiro and Seishiro alone is the only one allowed to pleasure Reo. 

Having lied down for long enough, Seishiro decides that he’s in need of a bath. He doesn’t want to be covered in sweat and stinky when he tells Reo that he loves him, Reo deserves only the best.

“Bath,” is all he says as he struggles to get out of bed.

Reo pauses. Seishiro can tell by the way that Reo’s hair is slightly damp and by the soothing scent that lingers around him that he’s already taken a bath, but that doesn’t stop his partner from asking, “Want me to come with?”

Those big purple eyes look at Seishiro with an expression akin to expectation, waiting patiently for Seishiro to tell him yes. Seishiro swallows, he hates having to turn Reo down, but he needs to organize his thoughts right now.

“You already bathed…”

“Ah, right…” 

“I’ll be back,” Seishiro says with a half-hearted wave.

“Okay,” is what he gets in response.

Looking back at his partner just once more, Seishiro feels his heart sting at the way Reo’s hopeful eyes turn sad with dejection. The truth is, Seishiro would love for Reo to join him in the bath, scrub his back, wash his hair, dry it, and help dress him. Maybe he can do that with his own Seishiro when they get their bodies back.  

After Seishiro’s lazy guy approved, minimal effort hose down, he immediately goes to jump in the scalding hot water of the bath, letting his body just float around in the way he knows would have Barou fuming. The same way that makes Reo giggle. 

His mind once again wanders to what Reo, his Reo, must be doing today. If he remembers correctly, he has an interview that, if Seishiro were still in his own body, he would’ve tried to get Reo to cancel it in favor of spending the day doing nothing but cuddling

— wait.

“Ah…” Seishiro thinks as he opens his eyes.

He was supposed to meet up with Chigiri and Bachira today, wasn’t he? Seishiro had come close to begging them to help him out with something super important.

Seishiro and Reo have been together for a long time, and he just can’t take it anymore, Seishiro thinks he’ll die if he doesn’t get to marry Reo. 

Seishiro hopes that his past-self doesn’t mess up somehow. He’s not worried about past-Seishiro not going, because if he doesn’t show then Chigiri certainly will bust down the door to his and Reo’s condo and drag him out himself, what he’s worried about is that his past-self might freak out. 

As if hearing Seishiro’s thoughts about him, Chigiri steps into the bath and gets in, shooing Seishiro away and taking a seat.

“You know,” he says, getting settled into the bath and sinking in a bit further, “Reo looked a little sad when I saw him in the room…” 

An uncomfortable silence fills the air and Seishiro contemplates not saying anything for a moment. But Seishiro concludes that he could use someone to vent to about his plans, and as much as Chigiri likes to pretend to not care about his and Reo’s relationship, Seishiro knows now after years of experience that the red-head is actually incredibly invested. He and Bachira are also terrible gossips, Reo is as well, but at least he’s more discreet about it. He wonders how Kunigami can deal with Chigiri when he has the tendency to be a bit of a tsundere. To each their own, Seishiro guesses. 

“Reo’s probably sad because I said I didn’t need him to come to the bath with me…”

Chigiri gaps at him like a fish and Seishiro might have laughed if he had the energy.

This is probably the longest sentence he’s probably spoken to Chigiri at this point, the only other times that Seishiro speaks so much is when he’s in the presence of Reo and half of the words that come out of his mouth are just his partner’s name. 

Surely enough, Chigiri calls him out on it, “Dude, seriously? You only use full sentences whenever you talk to or about Reo. Talk about down bad.” 

“Hm,” Seishiro says, “I’m gonna confess to him later—”

He hears something slash and turns to see that Chigiri has somehow managed to slip, submerging himself completely in the bath. This time, Seishiro can’t suppress his laugh, letting out a couple of huffs as he watches Chigiri struggle to stand up, arms flailing and his long hair only serving as a means to waterboard the poor red-head who’s already straining to regain his breath.

“You’re gonna what!?” He manages to say in between his coughing fit. 

Finally, Chigiri manages to catch his breath and move his hair out of his face, fixing Seishiro a serious stare. Chigiri and Reo like to tease each other a lot, but Seishiro is well aware that despite the two of them getting catty with each other every now and then, they’re good friends and he knows that Chigiri would most definitely fight him if he were to hurt Reo.

His mind supplies him with the many shovel talks Chigiri has given him throughout the years and Seishiro shudders. T

he princess could be really ruthless with his words when he wanted to be. 

“You better not be joking, Nagi,” he says, “Reo is— he’s sensitive.”

“I’m serious,” Seishiro replies.

And he truly is. Seishiro would never make a joke out of his feelings for Reo. 

Chigiri lets out a sigh, “Why today of all days. Isn’t this a little out of the blue?”

They look at each other and Chigiri does his best to try and decipher the thoughts behind Seishiro’s eyes, but ultimately gives up. There’s no use in trying when the only person who can read him on that level is Reo.

“It just has to be today,” Seishiro answers in a quiet voice. 

At his words, Chigiri’s eyes grow a bit wide in surprise at listening to the way Seishiro’s voice goes all gentle, the way it only does when he’s talking about Reo, and watches the way his eyes soften and seem to glisten with determination ad reverie in the bathroom’s fluorescent lighting.

A quick, “Good luck,” is all Chigiri manages to say before deciding that it’s time he gets out of the bath. Before Seishiro drops another bomb and actually causes Chigiri to drown. 

For a couple of more minutes, Seishiro floats in silence. He gathers his thoughts and feelings, there’s so many things he can say to Reo to confess his feelings. So many things he wants to say, things that he’s told Reo throughout the years, things that this Reo, this young and newly insecure Reo would likely benefit from hearing. 

Making up his mind, Seishiro opens his eyes and gets out of the bath, completely set on spilling his heart to the love of his life.

Upon arriving back to the room, Seishiro’s hair is dripping wet and his clothes are uncomfortable against his skin. Immediately after finding his resolve, Seishiro had changed quickly, not even bothering to dry off and now he stands in the doorway, a small puddle from his hair forming around his feet and he stares intensely at Reo.

“Um,” Reo starts, “Do you want me to dry your hair, Nagi—”

“We need to talk,” Seishiro cuts him off. 

Yeah, maybe that wasn’t the best choice of words because as soon as they leave his mouth, Reo flinches slightly, his body tenses, and he looks like he’s doing his best to regulate his breathing. Even after all these years, Seishiro still sometimes blurts things out without wording them properly and it’s moments like this where that habit comes to bite him in the ass. Just like that, he’s thrown Reo’s mind into a tizzy, he can tell by the look in his eyes, the way they cloud with anxiety.

The Seishiro from the past would’ve noticed the change in Reo’s demeanor but wouldn’t have been able to decipher the reason behind it as well as he can now. Seishiro now knows that in Reo’s beautiful, perfect little head, there’s a storm of negative emotions brewing and he acts quickly to keep it from taking shape.

“Nothing bad,” he says, and when Reo’s eyes are on him again, mouth slightly open and eyebrows still knit up in concern, Seishiro adds a quiet, “Promise.” 

Reo gasps softly and then looks away. He responds with a nod and watches Seishiro carefully as he crosses into the room and stands in front of Reo. Gently, Seishiro finds Reo’s hand in his own, lacing their fingers, and tugging on them as he takes a few steps backwards, signaling for Reo to stand and follow him. 

The purple-haired boy swallows hard. The look of utter terror is gone from his face, but there’s still lingering anxiety shown through the way he doesn’t fully relax in Seishiro’s hold. His mind is still whirring like crazy and before they step out, Seishiro says, “You’re thinking too loud.” It’s soft and quiet and without any tone of accusation, the last thing he wants Reo to think is that he finds him bothersome. They’ve been down that road before and all it did was result in pain for the both of them.

“Sorry,” Reo says. His free hand comes up to scratch his cheek nervously and he looks away with a slight flush on his face, the corner of his mouth quirked upwards in an awkward smile at having been caught overthinking. 

They lock eyes again and Seishiro gives Reo’s hand a comforting squeeze and his out lips pull at the corners into the slightest of smiles that has Reo looking at him with complete wonder. Even after the many times Reo has told about why he loves Seishiro, he still finds it hard to believe that someone like him could have ever gotten so lucky. Seishiro’s heart flutters at being able to completely capture Reo’s attention, at being able to capture his heart. 

Seishiro leads them away, their hands still linked and Reo’s eyes never losing their focus on him even as they pass the other members of Manshine City that linger and chat in the hallways, conversations coming to a hush as the two boys walk past them, knowing smiles on their faces. 

(A while ago, Seishiro recalls Chigiri having told him that back in blue lock, the members of Manshine and even Chris himself had made a large betting pool, all of them betting on when he and Reo would finally get together. In the end, Agi wins the bet, but Seishiro thinks he wins in life).

With their hands intertwined, Seishiro leads them to the now empty practice field. It’s nearly dinner time now, so most of the others in the stratum are either in their rooms or getting ready to head to the cafeteria, but Seishiro is here with Reo by his side sitting down on the grass. Even with the dim lighting, Reo is brilliant, looking around nervously as Seishiro rubs comforting circles onto the back of his hand. He’s probably searching for the cameras, worried about whether or not they're being filmed. Seishiro knows they’re not, they stop rolling when practice ends and even if they were, as much as it makes him cringe, he wouldn’t mind others watching as he tells Reo about his love.

They hold hands as they sit, but it’s not enough contact for Seishiro. He wants to be closer, craves Reo’s touch, yearns for the warmth that blooms in the wake of Reo’s hands on him. Seishiro wants to hold him and be held and for neither of them to ever let go, meld together until they’ve become one entity that must not be separated. 

Carefully and slowly, Seishiro leans his head down so that it lands to rest peacefully on Reo’s shoulder. The other boy tenses, but relaxes almost immediately, surprised yet used to the way that Seishiro takes him and does with him whatever he pleases and Reo lets it happen just as he always does.

It’s still not enough. Seishiro wants more, needs more.

“Play with my hair,” He says. 

Demands is a more accurate word. His tone is gentle but firm, he’s not asking Reo, rather, Seishiro tells him what he wants shamelessly.

The other boy complies with a practiced ease and pleasant laugh, “Whatever my treasure wants.” 

In a matter of seconds, Reo brings his free hand to Seishiro’s head, burying his hands into tufts of white, massaging his scalp in the way Seishiro loves. He plays with Seishiro’s hair, twisting it, twirling it, flicking at the slight curls that form and giggling at the way they bounce. Slowly, his hand travels from Seishiro’s head to the nape of his neck, warm and comforting, eliciting a groan from Seishiro as he leans in closer to his partner. Seishiro breathes out a content sigh as Reo’s hand works its way to his back, the ache in his shoulders all but disappearing as Reo’s deft fingers drive out the soreness in them.

They stay that way and Seishiro nearly dozes off. The silence is comfortable but as he turns his head to look at Reo, he knows that he can’t let this moment slip away.

“Reo,”

The boy in question pauses his ministrations for a second, before continuing when Seishiro lets out a quiet whine. 

“Yes, Nagi?”

“I want you to listen to me,” he says, swallowing hard, “I want you to listen to everything I have to say, okay?”

Next to him, his partner goes silent and Seishiro can see by the look on his face that he’s confused and intrigued. 

Finally, he responds, “Okay.”

At his Reo’s agreement, Seishiro removes himself from his shoulder. As much as he wishes to stay there, what he has to say needs to be done face to face. He moves himself slightly, so that he’s kneeling in front of Reo, hands still clasped together. Seishiro looks at Reo’s other hand, now unoccupied, relieved of its duty of massaging his back, Seishiro takes it in his free hand both so that he can feel Reo better and to keep the other from trying to run away if things go south. 

Breathing in, Seishiro tries to collect himself. There’s so much he wants to say to Reo, so many words that Seishiro says to his own that have become easy now after years of being free to speak his love for him out loud. But this Reo, the Reo in front of him now, is not the same confident man that he’ll eventually grow up to be. The Reo from the past, from this time specifically, is sensitive and insecure and just recently started his journey of self-love. Seishiro lets out a shaky breath. 

“Firstly, I want to say I’m sorry,”

Reo sucks in a breath and Seishiro notes that he already looks like he wants to flee. Seishiro presses onward.

“I’m sorry for leaving you behind without a proper explanation. I’m sorry for not choosing you that second time, I knew it was important for our growth and I had faith in you that you’d make it, but I should’ve told you what was on my mind. I— I’m sorry I called you a pain in the ass. I was upset that you said I didn’t care, because I do care. I care about you so much, Reo, but I lashed out and I didn’t mean it. I—” Seishiro gulps and takes a breath. He feels like his throat is starting to close up, like his vision looks a bit more obscured. Seishiro himself knows exactly what he wants and needs to say, but this body he’s in, the body of his younger self, is being thrown into panic mode and Seishiro silently gives himself an apology for putting himself through this, but it’s necessary. 

“...I’m sorry for being a bad friend,” he says.

Immediately, Reo jumps in to defend him, “You’re not a bad friend! Nagi, I was a bad friend, I-I— I was mad at you and wanted to hurt your feelings the way you hurt mine, I should’ve understood you better, I’m supposed to know you the best but I—”

“Stop.” Seishiro says.

Reo shuts his mouth immediately, struggling to bite back his words, biting down hard on his lip instead and failing at keeping his tears at bay.

When Seishiro takes one of his hands out of Reo’s, his partner’s eyes widen and his hand chases after him, but Seishiro doesn’t take it back to be cruel. With his hand now free, Seishiro brings it to Reo’s face and wipes his tears away before bringing his thumb to Reo’s mouth where the other boy is biting down on his lip and rubs at it until Reo understands and stops, leaving behind a pinprick of red that Seishiro desperately wants to kiss better. 

“You said you’d let me talk…” 

Instead of a vocal response, Reo nods and grabs Seishiro’s hand again. 

“Reo, you always look for the best in me and honestly, I don’t think I deserve it. Your attention, your dedication, your affection, there’s so many other people who are worth more than me, but you still chose me even though we hurt each other, even though I hurt you. Reo, you don’t know even half of what you mean to me. Thinking about feelings and talking are a hassle, but thinking about you, talking about you, being with you, that’s not a hassle at all.”

Reo’s breath hitches and his mouth wobbles, but the tears don’t flow this time. Seishiro takes it as his sign to continue.

“Reo is amazing and talented and smart. Reo is so many things, Reo is all the good in my world. I’m glad you were so persistent with me, I’m glad you showed me football. I’m grateful to you, Reo, without you, I’d still be eating nothing but jelly packs completely isolated from anyone, my life would be colorless and meaningless and boring.”

Even though the lighting is dim, Seishiro can make out the redness growing on Reo’s face. He takes a moment to appreciate it.

“I… Don’t like talking too much. Talking about feelings is a hassle, but talking about Reo is— If I don’t talk about you then I really think I’d explode,”

Reo laughs at that and Seishiro’s mouth curls up into a small smile.

“I just… have a hard time voicing my thoughts to you sometimes. You understand me the best so sometimes I think that I don’t need to say anything, but that’s not right. It’s not fair to you. It’s just hard telling you these things to your face. When it’s with other people, then I can talk about you forever, but when I’m with you I—” he trails off, losing his words and internally, he groans.

“Do I make you nervous?” Reo says.

Seishiro considers telling him to be quiet and let him speak again, but the sad look that he had worn on his face is instead replaced with a teasing smirk. Despite the tears that still cling to his lashes, Reo must be starting to feel more comfortable. 

“Yes,” he answers quickly.

“...”

“...”

“Oh, ” Reo says, voice laced with sadness.

But Seishiro is fast to reassure him once more.

“It’s not bad. Reo is perfect and pretty and nice, that’s why I get nervous sometimes.”

Those compliments lift Reo’s bad mood and replace them with embarrassment, Seishiro watches as his partner’s face turns an even brighter shade of red and how he tries to turn his head so that Seishiro can’t see. He fails miserably and Seishiro lets out a soft huff of laughter that has Reo reclaiming one of his hands and playfully hitting him on the shoulder while sticking his tongue out.

They sit in silence for a while until Seishiro registers that even after all of that, he hadn’t actually confessed to Reo. All of his words came straight from his heart, but like the many things he’s learned about his partner throughout the years, one of them was that Reo could be surprisingly dense when it came to the way others feel for him. Either he’s dense or he does the most insane mental gymnastics to convince himself that people don’t mean what he thinks they do and because of that Seishiro knows he has to explicitly tell him that he does, in fact, love him very much.

He opens his mouth to do so when Reo begins to talk instead.

“You’re important to me too, Nagi,” he starts, “You said that you’re sorry, but I’m sorry too, It's like you said, we hurt each other and I won’t stand and let you apologize to me when I owe you one too. I’m sorry Nagi, really. You mean a lot to me and I don’t think I could bear it if we had to stay apart forever. I’m glad I met you, really, our meeting feels like destiny to me. You keep saying how you think you’re not worthy of me, but for me, it’s the other way around. You’re just so you, such a genius, such a treasure and as hard as I try, I’m afraid that I’ll never catch up, even still, that you’ve chosen to be with me this time, it makes me happy. I just want you to be happy Nagi, even if you don’t stay with me forever, you’re my first real and true friend and all I could ever wish for you is to live a life that you want. I meant what I said all those months ago; I love you just the way you are, for me, you never have to change. This version of you and every other version of you possible, I’ll love them all.”

In the midst of his ranting, Reo doesn’t seem to have noticed his choice of words, but Seishiro does. Seishiro notices and latches onto those words.

“Love?” he says, eyes wide and sparkling as they look at the way Reo’s face goes through a myriad of expressions, shock, horror, embarrassment, all in the matter of a second. 

His partner stutters, opening and closing his mouth trying to find a way to explain himself and failing. “I— I just- What I meant is…” Reo’s voice dies out, trembling with fear as he looks away from Seishiro. He must think he’s pushed Seishiro away, what Reo doesn't know is that Seishiro is stuck with him and he never intends on leaving. 

In one swift motion, Seishiro rips his hands out of Reo’s hold and before the other boy even has time to think about any of its negative implications, Seishiro dives right in, capturing Reo in his arms and tackling him to the ground. 

“Don’t apologize,” He says against Reo’s ear, pleased by the shiver it elicits, “I love Reo too.” 

It’s firm and clear, leaving no room for Reo to doubt himself. Words that by now Seishiro is used to telling his Reo on the daily, but ones that this Reo is hearing from him for the very first time. The body that he’s in is trembling, his insides are doing flips, and if he dwells on it any longer, he fears he might throw up. For Seishiro, telling Reo that he loves him is as easy as breathing, but for the body of his past self, telling Reo that he loves him is as relieving as it is terrifying. 

When Reo stops moving, Seishiro half expects him to push him away, tell him that it’s not what he meant and run away. Instead, Reo cautiously wraps his arms around him and lets out a quiet, “Oh, ”

This time, it's Seishiro’s turn to hold his breath. He buries his head into the crook of Reo’s neck, not daring to look him in the eyes yet. This body shakes with its built up nerves, but as soon as those words leave Reo’s mouth, Seishiro realizes that there was never anything to worry about. 

“I love you too,” the purple-haired boy whispers against Seishiro’s ear. 

Seishiro moves to hover above Reo so that he can get a good look at his face, but the other boy hides it behind his hands and Seishiro is too endeared to try and stop him. Reo takes a peek through his fingers, squeaks when he locks eyes with Seishiro, and goes back to hiding.

“We—We, um, can take things slow or whatever pace you want! Or, or, If you don’t want anything at all then,” Reo’s voice goes quiet as he says, “If you don’t want a relationship then that’s fine too. Also I’m sorry for dropping the “L” word on you, Chigiri told me that maybe saying something like that would be doing too much, and maybe he’s right, you know? I wouldn’t want to scare you away and, haha, this is totally weird isn’t it, I’m being stupid, Nagi, I’m sorry—”

Reo is cut off when Seishiro places a hand to cover his mouth.

“Shh,” he says, “Stop talking.”

Beneath him, Reo’s breath hitches as he waits for Seishiro to continue.

“Silly Reo,” the hand on Reo’s mouth moves to caress his cheek, “You’ll never scare me away. In fact, you’ll never be rid of me from now on. We made a promise, remember? You said you’d stay with me until the end and I’m holding you to it, you’re stuck with me forever~”

Reo screws his eyes shut and Seishiro can feel the way his face heats up.

“Reo…”

“Reo~ Look at me,” he says. 

At the sound of his pleading tone, Reo opens his eyes and looks at him once more. 

“Reo, there’s no universe in existence where I’m not completely obsessed with you,” 

Reo’s eyes widened.

“The truth is, I’ve loved you for a long time and I’ll keep loving you as long as you’ll let me, boss. Since the moment you bumped into me on that stairwell at school, you’ve been on my mind. I’ve probably even been in love with you since then, it’s just taken me a little bit to figure it out. So if there’s ever a doubt in your mind, let it be known here and now that I, Nagi Seishiro, love you, Mikage Reo, and only you.” 

They look into each other's eyes and in an instant, Reo has fat tears spilling from his eyes, his body trembles. Seishiro sits up once more, taking Reo’s arms carefully to sit him upright as well and brings him into a bone crushing hug which Reo reciprocates in kind, grasping onto his sweatshirt like a lifeline as he sobs into Seishiro’s chest. 

The shaking and sobbing subsides eventually, replaced by the sound of Reo trying to regulate his breath, small hiccups escaping his mouth every now and then. 

“Sorry I made you cry,” Seishiro says.

He rubs circles onto Reo’s back and waits for a response to come. The boy in his arms lifts his head so that he can look at Seishiro’s face and flashes him a smile. 

“Don’t worry, they were mostly happy tears.”

“Mostly,” Seishiro questions, raising an eyebrow.

There’s hesitation in Reo’s eyes before he lets out a “I don’t want to talk about that right now,” and Seishiro decides to let it go for the time being. 

“Kay’” He says, cupping Reo’s face in his hands, “Just promise me you’ll tell me when you’re ready.”

“Promise,” Reo says in a whisper. 

Slowly, Reo begins to untangle himself from Seishiro’s grasp, looking embarrassed as he notices the tear stains he’s left behind and the way Seishiro’s sweatshirt wrinkles because of the force he used to grab it. 

When he is once again sat in front of Seishiro, neither of them makes a move. Reo looks away, his nervous habit taking over when he bites his lip again, only to stop when he sees the way Seishiro looks at his mouth with concern. 

Seishiro is waiting with baited breath. The confession he gave to his Reo all those years ago had gone slightly differently than this one had, at the very least, he remembers it very vaguely. What he can’t forget though, is what happens next. He waits and waits and finally—

“Is it okay if I kiss you,” Reo asks. 

And when Reo is looking at him with those eyes and asking him that question, What else is Seishiro to do except comply? 

“Hell yeah,” he says.

As Reo is leaning in, he stops just short of Seishiro’s face, their noses nearly touching. In the end, Reo lets his worries take over as he kisses Seishiro’s nose instead of his lips. When he goes to move back to his original position, he’s shocked by the two hands to grab ahold of his face, and guide him to crash his lips against Seishiro’s own. 

They separate for a moment, Reo staring dumbfoundedly before letting the metaphorical dam burst completely and practically jumping into Seishiro’s space to bring their mouths together again. 

They kiss until they’re breathless giving each other a look before they both start to laugh. Seishiro’s as quiet as usual, and Reo’s loud and bright. 

“Let’s head back to the room?” Reo says.

“Yeah.”

A wave of tiredness hits Seishiro like a truck, one unlike any he’s ever experienced before and thinks that “this must be it,” It must be about time to head back to his own future or something. He’ll relish in the few hours he has left with this Reo for the time being. 

As Nagi lays in bed with Reo in his arms, all he can think is that Reo is really cute and that he also deserves some kind of award for basically having to do the hard part of confessing twice. 

He also really hopes that the meeting with Chigiri and Bachira, his past-self must’ve gone well, but that he hasn’t tried to propose to his Reo. Though Seishiro is scared shitless, he knows deep down that there’s nothing more he wants in life than for Reo to be officially his husband. 

For the time being, Seishiro commits the sight of a younger Reo in his arms to memory. The boy begins to drift to sleep with his mouth parted slightly, his lips a tantalizing sight that have Seishiro wanting to kiss him again, but opts for an innocent kiss on his forehead.

“It’s okay, you can sleep, Reo,” Seishiro whispers against his partner’s head.

The other boy grasps at Seishiro’s sweatshirt, not opening his eyes and his mouth turning slightly downward. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll be here when you wake up,”

“Promise?” Reo asks.

“Promise,” Seishiro seals it with another kiss to Reo’s forehead and it’s only a matter of minutes before he’s falling asleep, a soft smile on his lips indicating sweet dreams. 

Seishiro falls asleep shortly afterwards in the arms of his beloved.

When Seishiro opens his eyes again, the sun peeks through the windows, bathing the room in a soft golden glow. He looks around, Choki sits on a table near the window, his desk and Reo’s across from their bed, and the multitude of photographs are as Seishiro remembers. 

What pleases him most, however, is the sight of Reo, his Reo, in bed next to him illuminated in the early morning light that makes him look absolutely ethereal. Seishiro takes a moment to appreciate his lover, afterall, it’s not often that Seishiro is waking up first. He watches the way Reo’s chest rises and falls, the way his hair is sprawled out on the pillow around him, and tucks a stray piece behind his ear. Reo is wearing one of his hoodies and Seishiro can’t help but feel the warmth that spreads through his chest. His hoodies are oversized on himself and on Reo? He’s swallowed whole by the fabric, fingers poking through the sleeves just slightly and he looks small despite the two of them having remained close in height throughout the years. Seishiro also takes notes of the couple of bruises on Reo’s neck that are starting to fade and breathes a sigh of relief. If what he experienced was real then he doesn’t care if his body was being inhabited by his younger-self’s consciousness, nobody touches his Reo except for Seishiro. 

The purple-haired man mumbles something in his sleep and Seishiro thinks that he might’ve just accidentally woken him up. Reo shifts position, moving closer to Seishiro and reaching out to hold onto him. Even in their sleep, the two of them always gravitate towards each other. 

Seishiro takes hold of him with one arm and with the other arm, he reaches over to grab his phone that sits on one of the side tables, takes it off its charger and snaps a couple of pictures of his sleeping boyfriend. 

He spots various notifications, a couple from Chigiri and Bachira that he makes a mental note to read later when he’s more awake.

What catches his eyes though, is a message that seems to have been texted to himself. He clicks it hesitantly and the text that awaits him is details about rings; Reo’s size, the type of cut he likes best, and the type of metal. All things that he already knows, has known Reo’s ring size for years, knows the cut and gem he loves most from when they helped Isagi and Bachira pick out rings without either of them knowing, and knows that Reo prefers gold, but wears silver because it reminds him of his treasure, of Seishiro. Still, at least this has given Seishiro the confirmation that the day before really was real and he really does deserve a prize for kicking off the possibility for this future in the first place. He also appreciates that his younger-self went through the hassle of remembering and writing down the details for him, even if the message was mostly vague and things Seishiro already knows. Well, it’ll be useful information for his past-self to keep in mind.

Along with the list of details, a lazy “👍🏼:x” is hastily tacked onto the bottom of the message. 

Seishiro smiles.

He turns his phone off, adjusts his hold on Reo and just goes back to sleep. 

Right now it’s just the two of them. Nothing from the outside world distracts them, no work to keep them apart, just the two of them tangled in the sheets of their shared bed in their shared home of their shared lives. S

eishiro can’t wait to spend the rest of it with Reo.