Chapter Text
It starts with confusion, an ignorant lack of understanding about a topic most other teenagers find easy to discuss. Rei thinks about Nagisa, about their smile and spending time with them and how toned their body is from all the swimming they do… and he knows he has feelings for them. But that isn’t the problem.
The problem is: how does he actually tell Nagisa about this? It may sound strange, but at sixteen years of age, Rei has never dated anyone before, for the very simple reason that, well, he’s never had a crush on anyone before (he’s pretty sure he is demiromantic, because he has only recently started getting feelings for Nagisa despite knowing them for months). So he is incredibly naïve in this situation, and probably needs help.
So he decides to go and talk to Gou on the matter, for she seems to know a lot about the subject of dating. And even though just the thought of talking about his feelings for Nagisa makes him blush, Rei tries to act nonchalant as he wanders over to Gou after swimming practise.
“Kou?” he says, knowing he needs to use her preferred name if he wants her help. “Can I talk to you about something?”
“Oh, sure. What’s on your mind?”
Rei glances around, watching Makoto finally drag Haru out of the pool, whilst Nagisa laughs at the scene before them. “Uh… it is sort of… personal. Is there somewhere we can go to talk in private?”
Gou tilts her head, an inquisitive look etched upon her face. But thankfully she smiles and says, “Um, you can come ‘round my place later, if you want.”
Rei smiles and nods his head. “Thank you.”
But even after what was a rather good conversation, his face still burns at the thought of telling someone about his feelings for someone else, for that is a rather personal thing to do. Still, he trusts Gou, so it should be fine.
So at 8pm, Rei finds himself invited into Gou’s house, and they go to her bedroom. Rei sits cross-legged on the floor, Gou kneeling opposite him.
“So, let me guess,” Gou says, grinning. “You’ve got a crush on someone?”
Before he can hide his surprise, Rei’s eyes widen and Gou giggles.
“I knew it!”
“H-How did you know that?” he says, his ears going red too.
“Because there aren’t many things that make people blush this much. Anyway, who is it?”
Rei looks down at the floor, adjusting his glasses. “N-Nagisa.”
He glances back at Gou, but when he sees her smile, the tension in his chest relaxes.
“I don’t blame you,” Gou says. “They’re pretty cute, aren’t they?”
Rei smiles, before clearing his throat. “Yes, I suppose they are.”
Still grinning, Gou says, “So you wanna ask Nagisa out, but you don’t know how to do it?”
“Basically. You see, I’ve never d-dated anyone before.”
“No offense, but I kind of worked that out already,” Gou says.
“How?”
“Because you came out to us as demiro-ace, and that kind of means you barely ever date people. Add in your… uh, social awkwardness, it makes total sense that Nagisa’s your first crush.”
Rei raises an eyebrow. “How astute of you. But I guess you’re correct. So now you know, can you help me… work out what to do?”
Gou smiles, shuffles forwards and puts her hands on his shoulders. “I’d be honoured to.”
---
Gou’s relationship advice from yesterday still rattling around his brain, a distracted Rei sits in homeroom. Her advice was simple and makes sense, yet Rei still can’t help but think he might mess it up. But he is going to do it; at lunchtime today, he will ask Nagisa if they would like to date him.
By the time the bell rings for the start of lunch break, Rei is actually trembling; not from nerves as such, but just from adrenaline.
Please let this go okay, he thinks.
Rei and Gou have already told Makoto and Haru to go away, so when he arrives at their normal spot on the roof, Nagisa is the only one there. The sun makes their soft blond hair seem to sparkle, and they look so lovely in their uniform, a mash-up of the boys and girls uniforms that would look awkward on anyone else.
“Hey, Rei!” they say, grinning. “Where are the others?”
“Oh, I asked them to leave us be. You see, there is something I’d like to talk to you about.”
“Oh, okay,” Nagisa says, patting the ground beside them.
So Rei sits beside his friend, folding his arms across his chest. His face is burning, but he tries not to think about it.
“The thing is,” he says. “I, uh… we’ve been friends for a while now, ever since you stalked me until I joined the swim club.”
Nagisa giggles at that, a memory they both remember as fond despite how annoying Nagisa was at the time.
“And I, I very much enjoy spending time with you.”
“Me too,” Nagisa says, smiling.
“Anyway, recently, I have started to think that… that I… I have feelings for you.”
His words come out in a rush, and Rei ducks his head.
But then…
“Rei?” Nagisa says. When he looks at them, their smile is obvious. “You mean you’ve got a crush on me?”
He nods. “Yes. What… do you think?”
“I think…” Nagisa trails off, but then their voice is loud and joyful as they grab his arm and say, “I think that’s so amazing ‘cause I was gonna tell you too but you did it first and it’s so cool we both like each other at the same time and I’m so happy Rei I really am and I’d love to be your datemate and—”
“Nagisa, slow down,” Rei says, smiling.
They grin. “Sorry.”
“No worries. Now, what does datemate mean?”
“Oh, it’s just the gender neutral version of boyfriend or girlfriend.”
“I see. So you wish to be my datemate as much as I want to be your boyfriend?”
Nagisa grins, their smile so large it is all Rei can see. “I do! So, do you want to go out?”
Rei smiles. “I thought that much was obvious.”
They laugh, pulling Rei into a hug. This isn’t the first time Nagisa has hugged him (they hug everyone, to be honest), but it feels different this time.
“This is amazing!” Nagisa says, their hair tickling his chin as they hug Rei. “Rei… can, can I maybe kiss you? You know, as we’re dating now. Or… or is that too sudden?”
“No, it’s fine,” Rei says. “As embarrassing as it is to admit, I’ve never kissed anyone before. But… you seem the perfect person to try it with. So, yes, you can kiss me.”
And as Nagisa grins even broader, they reach for his hand and lean closer. And then…
They kiss him. It is soft and slow and tentative, their lips just brushing together, but it is a kiss, a kiss from Nagisa, and Rei knows it is the most wonderful first kiss he ever could have hoped for.
When Nagisa pulls away, they are blushing.
“Thank you, Rei,” they say. “You know, I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long. But I never thought it’d be this amazing.”
Rei smiles, no longer noticing how his face burns. “How long have you wanted to kiss me?”
“Pretty much since the moment we met. I… I really like you, Rei.”
“I like you too,” Rei says, and he doesn’t pull away when Nagisa leans in for another kiss.