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Reo isn't a stranger to Valentine's Day. He's always liked the holiday, both personally and in a business sense. He enjoys the attention it brings, most of the time, as well as the money, but sometimes it can get a bit much. Every year, without fail, his desk is piled high with more chocolate than he could ever eat. And, as a part of the already unwanted package, he receives copious amounts of flowers and notes that are bound to line his counters for weeks before he gets to cleaning them. As for direct confessions, well, let's say Reo's gotten incredibly good at dodging them, respectfully, of course. They all say the same sort of things, but he's never interested. He's never enjoyed things that were so easy to obtain. Now, generally Reo isn’t the type to reject attention, he enjoys the feeling of being desired, but when the ones desiring are not the one he wants, then, yeah, maybe he does get a bit annoyed. However, he knows it's likely going to be about the same this year as well. So that's why he's here, sketching a rough set up for a picnic, to court someone a bit harder to obtain.
For the past week, Reo's been near hysterical, trying to figure out how to confess to Nagi. He's complained to Ba-ya more than she likely appreciates and she's said the same thing each time: "Seishiro would like something small, he isn't one for grand gestures."
And she's right! She is, but Reo isn't used to being subtle. He enjoys being a bit dramatic. He likes showing up and showing out, letting everyone know that he loves the person he's with. If the way Nagi shows affection could be compared to a gentle breeze, then Reo's is more like a gust of storm winds. But, he'd prefer to say it's love is like the sun, bright and everburning, and impossible to snuff out. Though, if he had to choose between keeping Nagi comfortable or staying within his own comfort zone, he's bound to put Nagi first. Luckily, he feels a picnic is a decent middle ground. It's private, but it's still something a bit bigger than a card or some flowers. And, he's made all the food so it makes him feel like he's doing a lot even if it seems small.
He puts his pencil down and turns to Ba-ya who's been attentively watching him the whole time.
"Does this look good?"
"Very nice, Reo," she responds, and he knows she's telling the truth. He feels himself smile and hands her the paper.
"Thank you for helping, I would do it myself, but of course it had to fall on a Tuesday…"
She waves her hand dismissively, "It's okay, leave it to me."
Reo checks his watch and jumps up, quicker than normal. He's used to leaving much earlier to pick up Nagi, but he couldn't today for obvious reasons.
"Ready to go?"
Reo nods and fixes the cuffs of his sleeves, following Ba-ya out of the house and into the car. He shifts nervously in his seat, logically, he knows Nagi feels something towards him. At least, he hopes so, but he's still worried. What if something goes wrong and the picnic looks horrible. What if the food isn't up to his standard? He fights heaving out a sigh and hopes Nagi was even able to get to school on time without him being there to taxi him.
His eyes fleet across the buildings they pass, observing all of the Valentine's displays. He should've gotten Nagi a gift… He shakes the thought out of his head, trying to remind himself that he's gotten him enough. Even he's falling victim to capitalist greed, what a world.
They arrive at the school faster than Reo expects, and he has to hype himself up to leave the car. He already knows girls will be watching him from the moment he steps outside, but that's not the issue. The issue is that Nagi is in that school, with no idea that Reo is going to ask him out, and he's not sure he can face him like a normal human being at the moment.
Sensing his anxiety, Ba-ya glances at him through the rearview, "Don't worry, it's the same as every other day. I'll set everything up."
Reo smiles at her and takes a deep breath. "Okay," he whispers, grabbing the handle of the door and opening it. He hops out of the car, a smile already plastered onto his face. Sure he may be incredibly nervous, but he also has an image to upkeep. He waves at a few girls who pass by and greet him, even stopping a few times to talk with the ones who decide they want to hand him things right off the bat.
He internally sighs, realizing he'll have to carry all of this stuff home today. Maybe it's a good thing he didn't get Nagi anything big, because he'd be stuck carrying that too.
Eventually, he gets into the building and is uninterrupted long enough to switch out his shoes. He makes his way through the hallway, offering a polite smile to all of the girls who stare as he passes. Luckily, no one else approaches him, he isn't sure he's awake enough to dish out another rejection.
He peaks into Nagi's classroom, making sure he was even there. His eyes scan the room, finding Nagi rather quickly.
"Nagi!" He watches in amusement as Nagi jolts up, looking around for a few seconds before meeting his eyes and slumping back against his desk once he recognizes that it's Reo who had called. His eyes are still puffy with sleep and his forehead is marked red due to being pressed against his desk for too long. Reo thinks he finds the sight more endearing than he should.
"Reooo," Nagi whines, in his usual style of complaint. "You ditched me, I had to walk."
Ah, there’s Nagi, the object of his affection. The one whose desire he has yet to obtain. "I told you I wouldn't be coming, you know how to get here."
"Mm," Nagi grumbles, "I'm tired, can we skip practice?"
“I called it off for Valentines,” he responds simply, walking further into the classroom.
“Yay,” Nagi celebrates through a yawn as puts his head back down, “do you have plans?”
“Not particularly,” Reo shrugs, absolutely lying his ass off, “but I know some of the other guys have some.”
Nagi hums, seemingly pleased.
“Are you coming over again?
“Do you want me to?” Reo asks, hoping Nagi will say yes. Maybe then he’ll have at least some reason to believe Nagi desires him as well.
Nagi turns his head and looks at Reo, head still leaning against his desk, "Well, you always do."
Reo huffs out a laugh, he doesn't want Nagi knowing his exact plans just yet, "Yeah, I'll probably be coming over."
Nagi makes a sound of affirmation and closes his eyes. It wouldn't be surprising to Reo if he hardly slept the night before. It definitely wouldn't be the first time. Reo smiles and pats Nagi's head before leaving the class to go to his own.
He isn't surprised to see his desk full of chocolates the moment he walks in. Some boxes have little notes tucked in, they're cute, but they're also a bit of a nuisance. He gathers them all and sets them under his bag. He settles himself down in his chair and turns his attention to the teacher who has just walked in. It takes less than 5 minutes for his mind to wander. Today isn't going to be a great day for learning it seems.
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Reo's sure his knee hasn’t stopped bouncing for the last half an hour. He traded off his cleaning duty with someone else today, so he can leave the moment class ends; meaning he's one step closer to taking Nagi out. Which, while nerve wrecking, is also exciting. He doesn’t know how Nagi will react. Well, he knows the gist of it. Whether he rejects him or not his tone will be the same, painfully true to his thoughts. Or maybe not so painfully, depending on his response. He catches himself as his thoughts begin to wander once again and he thinks he’ll explode if he has to sit in this chair for much longer.
He stares at the clock, nearly jumping out of his seat the moment class ends. He rushes to put all of the gifts into his bag and speed walks out the door. He would probably run if it was socially acceptable, but alas, it is not. Reo hardly gets halfway there before he’s interrupted by another girl. He fights the urge to roll his eyes and smiles politely at her, trying to focus on at least a single word that comes out of her mouth but failing miserably.
“Reo?”
He startles out of his stupor and realizes the girl seems to be waiting for a response, “Oh, sorry,” he thinks she probably asked him to go out with her, but he isn’t sure. He searches for something to say, only to be interrupted right as he starts to speak.
“Sorry, he’s busy today.” Reo’s eyes widen at the sound of Nagi’s voice. He can feel the proximity of the other and it’s only increased as he feels arms wrap around him and Nagi’s chin against his shoulder.
Reo watches as the girl's eyes glance back and forth between them before a flush rises onto her face and she rushes to apologize. Reo can feel his own face heat up as well. Since when was Nagi the possessive type? He must be going crazy.
“What was that for…” He turns his face in an attempt to look at Nagi, only for their faces to bump against each other and worsen Reo’s already reddening complexion. He feels like a lovestruck schoolgirl, how embarrassing.
“You’re coming over to my house, aren’t you?” Nagi asks, detaching himself from Reo and taking a small step back. His face was as passive as usual.
Reo gapes, he did say that, but Nagi never seemed to care all that much if he went over or not, so why did he send that girl away? “Uh, yeah,” he responds, still confused, “but, we’re going to make a small stop today.”
Nagi tilts his head slightly, looking like a lost puppy, “Where?”
“It’s a surprise,” Reo grins.
Nagi pouts, “I don’t like surprises.
“You’ll like this one,” he responds confidently. He’d like to think he knows Nagi enough to know what he'd like. They’ve spent countless hours together, Reo’s taken care of his every need. He’s carried him around everywhere, bought him anything he’s needed, hell, he’s even fed him. At this point, it’d be more surprising if he didn’t know everything about the other.
“Mm, okay,” Nagi complies and Reo takes it as a cue to continue his path, knowing he won’t be far behind.
“Ba-ya is going to take us, I didn’t bring my bike.”
Nagi hums in affirmation, already caught up in some game on his phone. Reo laughs internally, starting to think the hardest part of this is going to be getting Nagi to set his phone down.
Ba-ya is already waiting once they get outside and part of Reo is relieved. Logically, he should just act how he always does with Nagi, but part of him feels awkward. It’s not like being in the car is much different, but at least he can make small talk or watch things pass by if he gets too nervous. They quickly settle themselves in the car and begin the drive. The area Reo picked out is near his house and relatively private, considering his status. He spent too much time trying to find the perfect area, perfectionism deeply ingrained in his nature. He tries to imagine what it must look like right now, hoping it matches his original vision. Of course, he trusts Ba-ya’s capabilities, she’s as reliable as people get, but Reo can pick out a flaw in almost anything. Though, he’s even more critical when it’s one of his own, so maybe letting her set everything up was the smart thing to do.
Reo startles when he feels a sudden pressure against his leg. He looks to the side and sees Nagi, who is holding his phone with one hand and pressing his leg down with his other.
Nagi's eyes drift away from his phone for a brief moment to look at him before speaking, “You were shaking it.”
“Ah,” he responds dumbly. Nagi was telling him to calm down. He’s not sure when it started. All he knows is that one day Nagi began to hold down his knee whenever he bounced it for too long and it stuck. At first, he would look at him as if to ask what was wrong, but now it serves as more of a reminder. It’s also probably partly because the repetitive noise bothers him, but two things can be true at once.
A few more minutes pass before they arrive at their destination and Reo thinks his heart might just stop with the car. He takes a bated breath and looks at Nagi, “Don’t get out yet. Wait.”
“Yes, sir.” Nagi responds easily, though Reo can tell he’s a bit curious as to why. He’ll find out soon enough. Reo glances at Ba-ya through the rearview, hoping for some sort of motivation. She smiles at him and he feels just a tad bit more confident. With one last deep breath, he opens the car door, walking to the other side and opening Nagi’s.
“Close your eyes.” Nagi looks at him and then back at his game, and Reo can already feel the manipulative puppy dog eyes that Nagi is about to show.
“Please?”
Nagi looks at him for a moment, an internal conflict evident on his face before he turns off his screen and closes his eyes. Reo smiles, happy he didn’t have to fight him to turn off his game. That’s an easy mood ruiner.
Reo grabs ahold of his hand and uses his other to guide Nagi out of the car.
“Is it far?” Nagi asks.
Reo laughs a bit, knowing Nagi just didn’t want to have to walk for too long, “It’s not far.”
He keeps his hand on the small of Nagi’s back and watches the ground as they walk. The area was nice, so the grass was relatively smooth, but Reo would rather not risk tripping. He told Ba-ya to park so that Nagi wouldn’t be able to see anything from the car, not that he was really paying attention to the outside anyway, but she still did it. Though, it only took a few steps to the side before it came into view. Reo marvels at the sight, she really set it up perfectly. From this view, the trees framed the sunset almost unrealistically well, allowing the orange hue of the sun’s rays to dress the picnic in colors right out of a painting. He stops in front of the blanket that had been laid down and glances at Nagi.
Fuck. He feels his breath catch in his throat. He shouldn’t have looked. The sun may have painted the picnic beautifully, but its effect on Nagi was incomparable. His skin was practically glowing and Nagi’s light lashes were now more visible, sitting pretty on the flawless skin of his cheeks. Reo thinks he should go outside more often, if this is what he’ll get to see. Unconsciously, his grip on Nagi’s hand tightens ever so slightly, and his heart begins to race. He doesn’t think words can leave his mouth even if he tries.
“Reo?”
Reo hardly manages to choke out a hum in response.
“Is everything okay?”
He nods and then realizes Nagi can’t see it. With a deep breath, Reo closes his eyes, “You can open them now.”
He keeps his eyes shut and the only indication he has that Nagi opened his own is the tightening of his hand in his. He sits in silence for a few seconds, waiting for Nagi to say something, but nothing ever comes. Confused, and mostly worried, Reo peaks open one of his eyes. He finds Nagi standing frozen looking at the picnic, and Reo doesn’t think he’s ever seen so much emotion on the other’s face before. His eyebrows are ever so slightly furrowed and Reo finds himself panicking when he notices a glint of wetness in his eyes.
He steps in front of Nagi, a feeling of concern building in his chest, “What’s wrong?”
Nagi just shakes his head, looking at Reo and then back everything else. “What is this?”
Reo feels his heart skip a beat and he starts to regret this decision, “A picnic.”
“Why?”
Reo takes a deep breath, “It’s Valentine’s”
Nagi looks at him once again. His gaze feels more intense than usual. Reo wonders if he can disappear, but then Nagi goes to sit down and pulls Reo along with him.
Reo allows himself to be dragged down and looks away from Nagi, who still hasn’t broken eye-contact, “Do you like it…?”
Nagi nods and smiles, “It’s perfect.”
He thinks he may be close to fainting. Nagi rarely smiles. He wishes he did more often. He’s so pretty. Oh my god. He might have overestimated his ability to confess. He looks down at their hands that are still intertwined and wills his heart to calm down.
“I wanted to do something more grand, but I knew you wouldn’t like it,” he admits.
Nagi shakes his head, “I like anything you do.”
Reo covers his face, if there was a wall close by he would probably slam himself into it. He pulls his hand away slowly and reaches for the card he had written over the course of this week. Which, in hindsight, was the best idea he’s ever had, because if he talked for much longer, he’d probably begin to cry.
“Here,” he coaxes it into Nagi’s hand and tries to find anything for him to fiddle with as he waits for him to finish reading. He watches Nagi’s eyes scan over the page, hyperfocused on any change in his expression. He sees as his lip twitches and his eyes begin to soften, and everything suddenly feels more intimate than he’s used to. He wants to look away but he can’t. And suddenly, Nagi is looking at him, and the letter is placed down at his side.
Nagi reaches over and grabs ahold of his hand once more. “You mean it?”
Reo smiles, “Of course I do. Nagi, I have never, in my life, felt this way about anyone but you.”
Nagi smiles once again and shakes his head. He brings Reo’s hand up to his lips, leaving a small kiss on the back of it. Reo gapes and Nagi wastes no time turning it over and leaving another on his palm, then his forehead, then his cheek, then his jaw, and Reo sits there in awe, beginning to feel himself cry. Nagi seems to hear how his breath shakes and leans back, a tint of concern in his eyes, “What’s wrong?”
Reo laughs and rubs at his eyes, “Nothing, this is just more than I ever expected.”
Nagi smiles and cradles Reo’s face in his hand, “I didn’t even do anything.”
“I just thought maybe I was the only one who felt this way,” Reo admits, and his tears don’t get any closer to stopping. This is embarrassing.
Nagi tilts his head ever so slightly, “I thought it was obvious how I felt.”
“Nagi, nothing is too obvious with you,” Reo jokes.
“Ah, yeah. You’re probably right,” Nagi sighs and wipes the tears off of Reo’s cheek. They sit there for a few moments and Nagi’s hand twitches on his face, expression ever so slightly conflicted.
Reo nuzzles his cheek into Nagi’s hand, “What?”
His fingers twitch again, “I want to kiss you.”
Reo’s breath hitches, “Then do it.”
Nagi closes his eyes and leans in slowly, stopping merely an inch away, and Reo can’t help but push forward to press their lips together. He’s not as patient as Nagi is, nor is he as strong.
The kiss is slow, soft, comforting. It’s everything that embodies Nagi in Reo’s eyes. And their lips meld together as if they were meant to be. He doesn’t think either of them really know what they should be doing, but it feels right. With Nagi, everything feels right. Slowly, they lean away and Reo feels like he’s trapped in his gaze.
“We should eat,” he says and Nagi laughs. Nagi laughs? Reo’s brain stops working, “You just laughed?”
Nagi just laughs harder, which is really just the shaking of his shoulders getting a bit more obvious, and takes his hand away to wipe at the tear that apparently fell from his eye, “You’re cute.”
Reo’s eyes widen, “Shut up.” He doesn’t know how he’s going to get used to this.
“Yes, boss.” Nagi says, between his quiet laughter and picks up one of the sandwiches that had been lying there.
Reo watches him for a few seconds, before grabbing his own. They came out good. He smiles to himself, glad everything worked out. He feels Nagi’s head fall onto his lap and smiles down at him.
“Tired?”
Nagi shakes his head, “I just like being close to you.”
Reo assumes he should know that by now, ever since they met, Nagi has almost never not been touching him in some way. Though, he assumed it was more because he liked being carried around rather than him enjoying Reo’s touch. He finds his hand carding through Nagi’s hair, and his heart swells. He doesn’t think he’s ever felt something so strongly before.
“I love you.” The words leave his mouth before he can think.
Nagi looks up at him and reaches for his hand to bring it to his lips once again, “I love you too, Reo.”