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2-2, extra time, with both teams seemingly evenly matched. The next goal would decide victory and loss. He’s still thrumming with satisfaction from being able to finally beat Isagi, undoing the frustration that he’s felt during their first match-up.
Thinking too deeply is troublesome, strictly following orders is troublesome. It’s really best to have a partner who can understand him so well, while also having wide creativity to think of so many things on his behalf.
The six months that he’s spent playing soccer with Reo had been full of nothing but victory. They never stumbled, they took down powerhouse teams one after another. Success became too easy to the point that it was expected, and it was difficult to reconcile it with losing for the first time.
But now, it’s different. He knows that he could lose. He knows that even if he teams up with the best, he could still lose. He knows that even with Reo by his side, it’s still possible to lose.
The important thing is to eventually reach the end goal. Losing and winning and getting stronger and getting frustrated: those are just side quests. The main quest is the destination, of winning the World Cup together.
That’s a promise that he’s always kept in mind, even when he’s had to take detours in order to power-up and solve his own issues. Reo’s creativity is great and his skills are great, but so that they could fulfill that promise, they had to temporarily split.
Staying together until the end—that’s the first promise that he made out of his own volition.
It’s true that it stung him when Reo accused him of forgetting that promise, but now he understands a little bit more.
Their ideas of how to fulfill that part about ‘staying together’ have been fundamentally different. Reo doesn’t care for the side quests, and is only looking at the main goal. But for him, a temporary separation doesn’t mean anything, because his heart has already been set in stone.
At 2-2, it’s still possible to lose.
If they lose, would it be Reo’s turn to feel frustration? Would it be Reo’s turn to leave him behind for his own side quest?
He clenches his fists as he thinks about that stretch of time of not being together. It’s not impossible to live without Reo. It’s not impossible to have other companions or to interact with others if Reo isn’t around.
That said—
—it’s more troublesome without him.
He doesn’t want to see that kind of look on Reo’s face again. He should always look willful, those almond-shaped eyes should always look at him with that ever-present sparkle, as if just staring at him is enough to give him so much happiness.
He turns to the person beside him, who’s currently biting his hair tie as he tries to fix his hair in preparation for match restart. “Ne, Reo. I now know what my next goal is.”
Reo turns to him immediately, hands raised to form the bun on his head. Because he’s still biting the tie, he raises his eyebrow and makes a soft questioning sound.
“I want you to be mine,” he says frankly, shoulders a bit slouched as he meets the other’s wide eyes. “No matter what the result of this match is, or the next, and the next, I want us to be together.”
After all, he doesn’t want a repeat of what happened before. Reo is brought up in a businessman’s environment, so he’d probably be more at ease if he has a written contract in hand. He needs to make sure that Reo knows that they’ll always be together, that he’ll never forget his promises.
And the least troublesome way of doing so is by being together. This way, no matter what happens, Reo would never think that he’s leaving him behind. This way, Reo would also never think of leaving him behind.
Reo gapes at him, speechless for once. His mouth opens and closes, but only a strange wheezing sound escapes him, like a game that frozen in its loading screen.
He catches the hair tie that falls, wipes it against his gloves. He loops it a bit awkwardly, picks up Reo’s limp left hand and slides the looped tie over his ring finger. “I’ll give you another one later,” and he thinks about asking his parents for allowance in advance, so he can buy something. Or maybe the earnings after this selection? It’s too troublesome to think about it. He’d find a way later.
For now, the important thing is—
“The match is restarting. Let’s go, Reo.”
After a few moments, he feels a slap over his back and hears a flustered, “Nagi, you bastard, I’ll give you an earful after this match!”
The next goal looms in his eyes, and he runs forward to take it.
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