Work Text:
Hakuho High School’s soccer team has cemented itself near the top of the prefecture due to multiple wins in a row. Most of their teammates are fine with the usual after-school practice. It’s only Reo who’s motivated enough to do extra practice after everyone else has left for the day.
Unfortunately, Reo doesn’t allow him to go back home either, bringing him along with the usual laps, stretches, drills and shooting practices.
Then again, it’s not as if it’s a complete loss on his end. Waiting for Reo so they can go home together has its perks. Ever since he has mentioned that getting chauffeured around by a limousine is too attention-grabbing, Reo has agreed to cycle him back home. For someone who others would expect to be very spoiled, Reo is weird enough to enjoy attending to his whims.
Reo is also fond of bringing him to the nearest convenience store then buying a bunch of things for him. And if he plays his cards right, if he’s hungry and tired by the time they reach his home, he can ask Reo to carry him up, have food delivered, then help feed him. Chouki is nice, but it’s even nicer to have company who can actually talk to him, even if talking for too long is troublesome.
…Hm?
Come to think of it, where is Reo?
“Reo…?”
Last time, Reo has nagged at him for falling asleep standing up in the soccer club’s designated shower room. The nagging has been followed by threats of showering with him—it’s very effective. Not because he cares enough about sharing the same shower stall, but because that would mean being coaxed to follow Reo’s meticulous rituals when showering.
Then again, it’s not as if that’s a total loss on his end either. Reo apparently likes to buy those expensive hair treatment from Italy, and it’s really soft to lean against whenever the other carries him on piggyback. It’s also a really calming fragrance whenever the other rides the bike with him on the back, making him want to sleep right then and there.
…He wants to smell it again.
Where is Reo? He’d usually appear as soon as he calls for him, like he has a homing radar to the sound of his name.
Frowning, he steps out of the shower, dripping to the floor with a towel hanging on his neck.
Huh.
The adjoining locker room is devoid of people. Reo’s bag is still there, contents haphazardly spilled. That’s rare. He walks towards the bench with Reo’s bag. His notebooks are in disarray. The notebook that he uses to jot down ideas for formations and strategies is on the ground, a strange shoemark on the crumpled edge, as if someone has carelessly stepped on it.
Reo’s locker is closed, but his keys are inside his bag.
He doesn’t have compunctions in taking it to open the locker. Reo’s favorite ball and his extra Hakuho jersey is inside. His sports bag is still on the bench, but his shoes are still there. One of his cleats have been seemingly kicked towards another bench.
His frown deepens. Reo wouldn’t just leave without letting him know. He also takes good care of his things and his cleats, so he wouldn’t just carelessly throw them aside.
He isn’t dripping as much by the time he pulls out his phone and dials Reo’s number. Out of coverage area, according to the operator tone.
This week, Reo’s mentioned about testing one of the new products Mikage Corporation wants to launch: a new high-end cellphone that has amazing functionalities. One of which includes never losing signal, even at hard-to-reach places. Signal jammer, or phone forcibly turned off. Reo would never switch off his phone, because he’s the sort to receive all sorts of messages from all over the world.
“…Ah. It’s that.”
Perhaps it’s unsurprising that the heir to the massive Mikage Corporation will face a kidnapping attempt after one of his after-school extra practice. After all, Reo is really rich, and this would be the time where he has the least security around him. He’s so eye-catching too, that soft hair, sparkling eyes and bright smile like a massive fireworks display that could acts better than a neon sign pinpointing his location.
He should call the police.
He should call Ba-ya.
But he doesn’t have her number, and he doesn’t want to spend time explaining about why he thinks Reo has been kidnapped.
He doesn’t think that anyone kidnapping the Mikage heir would really harm him. He’s just a negotiation piece for more money, probably. He also doesn’t think that Reo would be that deep in trouble—he is the Mikage heir, and there’s no doubt that there are security measures in place.
If he’s kidnapped and his family intervenes—
With his safety in mind, they’d probably force him to stop doing more after-school practices. In fact, they might overreact and force him to stop playing soccer entirely.
That’s good. Soccer is still pretty troublesome. It’s only because Reo himself isn’t troublesome that he can find it in himself to play along.
Reo’s weird enough to enjoy spending time with someone so unmotivated as him. Somehow, it feels so difficult to deny him too much, especially when he looks at him with those willful sparkling eyes each time.
It’d be nice if he doesn’t have to play a troublesome sport anymore, but…
If Reo is banned from these extra practices that he enjoys so much… If Reo is banned from playing soccer itself…
He’d probably be really sad. He’d probably be frustrated and angry, and he’d probably cry angry tears. He’s very animated with his emotions, after all. He wouldn’t be able to hide it, and it’d be written on his face and body.
“If we win ten in a row, I promise to bring you to Akihabara and I’ll buy all the games you want!”
…Ah.
He’s only realized it now, but he has picked up that notebook of strategies.
On the back end, there’s a scrawled itinerary for an Akihabara day trip, complete with annotations about various shops and bookstores. There are several pages dedicated to restaurant and snack choices, depending on what Nagi wants to eat. Some other attractions are noted down, to be visited if Nagi feels like going there. There’s even a note about hotels that have a nice tub and massage service, in case Nagi is too tired and would like to spend the night.
“It’s a promise,” he murmurs to himself. They’ve promised to play soccer together, to win World Cup together, to spend a weekend in Akihabara soon.
Plus, it’s troublesome to cycle back to his home alone. It’s even more troublesome to pedal by himself and not have Reo’s warm back and sweet-smelling hair in front of him.
Doing things is simply a matter of actually doing them.
It’s troublesome to move, but it’s more troublesome to not have Reo with him right now.
It’s only a matter of actually picking up Reo’s things, arranging them, changing his clothes while pulling up maps and traffic information in his phone. He memorizes the routes, glancing at the maps in the same way he glances at the reviewers for History books.
It’s only a matter of pinpointing the best route a big vehicle can take, if they’re to abduct the heir of Mikage Corporation. It can’t be too uncomfortable, because they wouldn’t want to treat Reo harshly. It must be a big enough vehicle, with enough men inside for back-up. It must be for an area with the least security, with the least amount of traffic cameras enroute.
He bikes at top speed, hating how he doesn’t have Reo in front of him.
Still, it doesn’t take too long for him to track down the location, all of his senses working together. Thankfully, Reo has freshly showered. His body wash smells of lemons, reminding Nagi of his favorite drink. He can smell it in the air, and he follows that towards an old pachinko store that has closed down.
He’s just in time to see someone bulky step close to Reo’s personal space, one hand stretched out in order to grab his lapels.
“Ah, that’s no good,” he says as calmly as possible, running and leaping so that he can kick the man to the side. “If Reo’s hurt, then he can’t cycle me back home.”
“Nagi?!”
…Ah. There it is. Even in the dim lighting of this place, Reo’s eyes are still so bright when they look at him. There’s a light bruise on his temple, and his hands and feet are tied, but he doesn’t look injured. Just tired and annoyed, like being kidnapped is such a boring spectacle that happens so often that he’s sick of it.
Nagi can’t help himself from reaching out to rub his thumb against the bruise, brushing against the other’s hair.
Reo’s eyes are still wide with shock. “What are you doing here?!”
“I want to go home,” he replies honestly. “I’m too tired to go home by myself. I’m also hungry. I want to sleep.”
Reo takes a deep breath, like he wants to yell about how this is on the other end of the city, and that he could have reached his home minutes ago if he just went ahead on his own. “These people don’t have the courage to harm me, I’d be fine,” he says instead, but there’s a giddiness in his voice. “You didn’t have to come here, Nagi.”
He ignores the yelling and commotion from the men inside this hideout. They’re saying a bunch of useless things anyway, it’s too troublesome to listen. It’s more important to tell Reo, “They had the courage to take you away when I needed you to bring me home.”
That elicits a helpless smile and a, “Okay, I’ll take you home.”
“Good,” he nods, then picks Reo up so he can carry him back to their bicycle.
He dodges and ducks when fists fly at them. He knows that Reo wouldn’t let them be pursued for long. Reo picks up his phone from Nagi’s clothes, then makes a report about hoodlums causing trouble at a certain street.
Once the coast is clear, he unties Reo and gestures for him to take over the cycling duties.
“I want to sleep soon,” he declares and means that that first thing he’s going to do after getting home is to nap first in the bath, then eat dinner after that.
“You were really cool earlier,” Reo is very generous, and that includes his propensity for praising him.
“Don’t get kidnapped again,” he replies seriously. He’s too tired after this troublesome affair, that he can only slouch and collapse against Reo’s body. Warm and comfy. He wraps his arms around the other’s waist so he doesn’t slide off completely. Reo’s neck is a nice place, because it smells both of that lemon body wash and it’s near his nice hair. Very warm and very comfy. “It’s troublesome when you’re not around.”
“…okay, I promise I won’t.”
“Good. It’s a promise.”
Today, Reo is warmer than usual when he cycles them back home. His ears are very red, and hot against his lips. Very inviting. Nagi nuzzles closer and relishes the feeling, knowing that Reo has promised to not leave him alone.
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end