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It starts when Isagi collapses into bed for the night. Bachira comes out a minute later, takes one look at Isagi, and decides to turn his leg into a pillow.
Isagi meets Bachira’s grin with a raised eyebrow, warmth curling inside him.
“Comfy,” Bachira mumbles contently.
Isagi sighs and accepts his fate. It’s hard to say no when Bachira is smiling like he single-handedly invented sunshine.
“Don’t fall asleep,” Isagi sighs, but even as he says it, he knows it’s useless. Bachira can fall asleep anywhere, and if he thinks Isagi’s leg is comfortable, it’s a losing battle.
When Nagi finds them, Bachira is fast asleep.
“He didn’t give me a choice,” Isagi explains, a slight blush coloring his cheeks.
Nagi looks at them curiously. “Is he sucking his thumb?”
Isagi laughs. There’s a fondness to the sound that escapes him. “He does that.”
Nagi’s gaze shifts from Bachira to Isagi and back again. “He looks comfortable.”
“He is,” Isagi says with another quiet laugh. “He could sleep anywhere, though.”
Nagi inspects the two of them a moment longer before making his way to Isagi’s free side. “Do you mind if I lay here too?” He asks, a tone so casual Isagi thinks he might have misheard the question.
It’s one thing when it’s Bachira. Isagi has grown accustomed to Bachira’s closeness, but intimacy with Nagi is uncharted water that Isagi doesn’t know the depth of. Waves crash in his stomach.
“Um.” Isagi tries to think of a reason to say no but fails to come up with anything reasonable. “Okay.”
Nagi drops down onto the small bed. He curls into Isagi’s side, head resting on his chest. “You’re as comfy as you look,” Nagi tells him through a yawn.
“Uh...” Isagi stutters, unable to fully process the situation at hand. “Thanks…”
Nagi breathes softly against him, eyes already closed. All Isagi can do is lay there, unmoving, trying to calm the rising tide within him.
⚘⚘⚘
Isagi isn’t prepared for the intimacy that follows their impromptu cuddle session.
Bachira finds every excuse under the moon for them to be touching, and then there’s Nagi. He’ll drop his head onto Isagi’s shoulder without a second thought, and when they’re sitting together, he’s always an inch too close.
Isagi prickles with each touch. Affection is an entirely new concept to him. He has no idea how to interpret the ease of their proximity. But Nagi is always touching Reo, and Bachira has always been a touchy person in general, so Isagi decides this is a part of friendship that he should get used to.
⚘⚘⚘
As soon as Isagi finds himself growing comfortable with the closeness, Bachira rewrites the rules.
“Isagi, have you ever kissed anyone?”
Isagi freezes. He sees Nagi glance up at him.
“I’ve never kissed anyone,” Bachira continues when he remains silent. “It’s not something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about, to be honest.” He regards Isagi with interest. His stare stirs something in the pit of Isagi’s stomach. “But I’ve been thinking about it more, since I met you.”
Isagi’s eyes are wide. His heart is racing like he’s in the middle of a game, trying to find an impossible goal. He was five minutes away from falling asleep and now he’s five seconds away from an internal crisis. Leave it to Bachira to keep him on his toes — even off the field.
“I’ve never kissed anyone,” Isagi manages to get out, hoping this will be the end of the conversation. Neither of them has kissed anyone, moving on…
But Bachira doesn’t move on.
“What about you, Nagi?”
Nagi’s eyes are already on them. “Yeah.”
Bachira nods like it’s the answer he was expecting. Isagi’s head spins, trying to keep up with the conversation.
“Can you show me how?” Bachira asks.
What?
Nagi shrugs. “Sure. I don’t mind.”
Wait—
Bachira crosses the room and takes the seat next to Nagi. Isagi watches, eyes wide and mouth gaping, too stunned to say anything.
“Should I close my eyes?” Bachira asks, casual as ever.
“If you want to,” Nagi says, like kissing Bachira is no big deal.
Isagi’s stomach is full of flames. He watches as Bachira’s eyes flutter shut, as Nagi closes the space between them and presses their lips together.
Isagi watches Bachira experience his first kiss and struggles to untangle the knots forming in his chest.
He nearly looks away, the softness and intimacy of their kiss overwhelming him, but then Nagi pulls back slowly, and Isagi can breathe again. Bachira licks his bottom lip, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Isagi is unprepared for Bachira’s eyes to meet his.
“Do you want to try, Isagi?”
His brain begins to short-circuit. This…this is Blue Lock! They’re supposed to be focusing on soccer, not experimenting with each other!
That’s why Isagi is so shocked when he hears himself mutter out a quiet, “Okay.”
Bachira returns to his side of the room before Isagi has a chance to wrap his head around what he’s agreed to.
Bachira’s gaze is piercing. His eyes are open and vulnerable. Intense and gentle. “We don’t have to if you’re not ready.”
Determination flares inside Isagi.
“I want to,” he insists, and it’s only then that he realizes, yeah, he does want this.
He wants to kiss Bachira.
What does that mean?
He doesn’t get a chance to dwell on it, because a moment later, Bachira’s lips are on him, a delicate kiss placed against his mouth.
It’s over almost as soon as it starts, and Isagi finds himself chasing Bachira’s lips as he pulls away.
Bachira flashes him a knowing smile and he flushes red.
Isagi looks away from the brightness that is Bachira, his eyes landing on Nagi, who’s still watching them, expression unreadable.
Surprising himself, Isagi asks, “Nagi, can I kiss you too?”
Nagi’s features remain unchanged. Isagi can feel Bachira’s gaze boring into him.
“Okay,” Nagi agrees, his eyes shifting to the empty space next to him, waiting for Isagi to fill it.
Isagi is in over his head, but he still closes the distance between them, filled with resolve and a swarm of butterflies.
“Are you nervous?” Nagi asks.
The knots in Isagi’s chest tighten. “No,” he lies.
The ghost of a smile finds its way to Nagi’s mouth. “Then kiss me like the Isagi that wants to be the best striker in the world.”
Flames rise inside him. Isagi’s second kiss is nothing like his first.
It’s Nagi’s lips crashing into his, it’s tongues exploring, it’s messy and unwavering—the opposite of the gentle kiss he shared with Bachira.
But just like the first kiss, it ends before Isagi is ready.
“Woaahhhhh,” He hears Bachira breathe. “I want to try that!”
Isagi’s third kiss is eager, his fourth kiss hungry, his fifth kiss experimental, and his sixth kiss…
There’s an ease to Isagi’s sixth kiss that lights a spark inside him.
Maybe this affection thing isn’t so bad after all.