Chapter Text
Reo was untouchable.
He was the type of person who was put on the world with a legacy to live up to and a golden path paved for him to walk down. An elite young heir who was exactly what he was supposed to be. Someone who was born lucky.
And just like all the others, that’s what Nagi used to think.
In all fairness, Nagi was never really a part of social circles. Keeping up with the whims of the people around him, having to appease them and keep them happy, wasn’t ever Nagi’s forte. He liked to leave things alone, and other people usually got fed up by that. So he spent his days by himself, playing video games and sleeping whenever he had the chance. The comfortable silence that surrounded him was familiar, and he leaned into it, content with his life.
That was until Mikage Reo completely shattered everything that Nagi used to know.
All Nagi did was catch the phone that was falling in front of him. It was one of those rare bursts of energy that made him react instantaneously, mostly out of a desire to save his phone and his game. Yet somehow, he ended up with a billionaire constantly at his heels with a gleam in his eyes and a promise to win the World Cup on his lips. It was new and it was unfamiliar but Nagi didn’t hate it.
He was resistant at first though. Entangling himself with the light that is Reo seemed like something he was bound to get burned from, and Nagi doesn’t like things that are more trouble than they’re worth.
But then Reo kept coming back, insisting that something about Nagi was special. That there was something about him, as ordinary and unappealing as he was, that made someone as bright as Reo want to stick around. And so, telling himself that he might as well pocket some extra money through this rich guy —though it might’ve had more to do with Reo’s entrancing voice and his shining eyes— Nagi caves.
+
“Come on Nagi, just a few more!”
Nagi is starting to deeply regret everything. He is completely drenched in sweat, to the point where he had to take off his hoodie almost an hour ago, and his t-shirt is still disgustingly damp.
Running football drills was more work than he was used to ever doing, and quite frankly, more work than he ever wanted to do. His legs are numb to the bone, and he could swear that his feet are about to fall off entirely.
So, having reached his breaking point, Nagi lets himself collapse on the grassy field, with his head laying on the dirt, and he stares up into the pitch-black sky. It’s already night time, which means that he would have to have been out here for more than five hours now. In the back of his mind, Nagi thinks to himself that he never would’ve tried this hard if it hadn’t been for him.
And as if he was telepathically summoned by Nagi’s inner thoughts, Reo’s face pops into view. He’s crouching to look down at Nagi, and a few loose locks of purple hair have fallen out of his bun, framing his face. Somehow, all those hours of running around look good on him. Sweat glistens on his forehead, and his mouth is slightly parted from exhaustion. Nagi kind of gets what everyone says about how unfair it is that some people always seem to look good.
“Oh come on Nagi,” Reo says light-heartedly, “Is that it for today?” Nagi closes his eyes and he can feel Reo’s hand moving to run through his sweat-soaked hair. It’s probably gross, but it feels so good that Nagi can’t really bring himself to care, shamelessly leaning into Reo’s touch.
Nagi hums absentmindedly in response, more focused on the sensation of Reo’s fingers, still carding through his hair. He can feel Reo laugh softly at his non-verbal reply and it makes him feel like he’s done something right.
He thinks that Reo has given up, and he’s pleasantly proven right when he hears Reo sitting down on the grass with a thump, and gently lifting Nagi’s head into his lap to continue with his ministrations. There’s just something so gentle about it all, and Nagi soaks up the attention like a sponge.
It’s been about six months since they’ve met, and in the span of those six months, Nagi’s entire life has been flipped upside down. For the first time ever, there’s someone who waits for him to go to school together and after every one of Nagi’s classes. There’s someone who calls him a treasure and means it every single time. There’s someone who looks at him with such a softness, something so intimate reserved only for him, that it makes Nagi, who doesn’t ever want things, so greedy that it’s almost scary.
Reo is Nagi’s someone. And he revels in the fact that even though Reo is always so hellbent on keeping everyone else out of everything that matters to him, Nagi can rest his head on his shoulder or ride on his back, and Reo leans into it every single time.
When Nagi is with Reo, he knows who he is, and nobody can take that away from him.
“What are you thinking so hard about, Nagi?” Reo asks gently. His hands have migrated from Nagi’s hair to his face, quietly running his thumb over his cheeks. He feels like everywhere that Reo touches is on fire. At this rate, he might just actually combust.
Vaguely, he remembers that Reo asked him a question. One that he probably wouldn’t have given such a direct answer to had he been in his right mind. But Nagi is exhausted and burning and so he tells the truth.
“You,” he mumbles, “I’m always thinking about you though.” Almost instantly, he feels the effect of his words because Reo’s touch halts. Nagi wants it back, and he’s beginning to regret saying the words that made it stop.
“Huh?” Reo’s laughing nervously, at a higher pitch than he usually does, “What’s that supposed to mean?” Nagi doesn’t really know if it’s one of those questions that you’re supposed to answer or not, but he does it anyway.
“I thought you were smart, Reo. You know what it means.” Nagi’s half-yawning as he says the words, but clearly Reo doesn’t share his same sense of ease, because Nagi feels Reo’s body go completely stiff from under him. His hands start trembling slightly from where they lay on Nagi’s face.
There’s a pause. A moment of silence that stretches on a little too long for Nagi’s liking. Usually he likes the peace that quiet brings, but he doesn’t like it when it’s like this. When the tension in the air seems so palpable that Nagi starts to shift uncomfortably, wondering if he had said something wrong. Nagi’s heart-rate starts to increase, and he can feel it pounding in his chest.
It’s okay though. Reo wouldn’t do anything to him. Nagi didn’t have to do anything, because Reo would fix it all. He would make everything better. Nagi trusts him. So, he tunes out the unfamiliar emotions twisting in his stomach, and listening solely to the shaky sound of Reo’s breathing, Nagi waits.
It’s a little while longer before anything changes, but eventually, Reo swallows nervously, and he opens his mouth again. His voice is wavering as he speaks. “Nagi, this isn’t something that you can joke around about. If you..."
Reo trails off and takes another breath before he finishes. "If you’re just playing around about this, it’s going to sting more than you realize.”
Nagi frowns at that. Does he really take Nagi for someone so stupid? He is fully aware of the weight behind his words.
It’s only because it’s Reo that he can say it so easily.
Slowly, he peels his head off of Reo’s lap and sits up to look him in the eye. Upon laying his eyes on Reo’s face, he immediately realizes that Reo is a lot more nervous than he thought. His eyebrows are nothing more than slightly furrowed, and his jaw is just clenched enough to keep the rest of his face in check.
Reo’s good at keeping a straight face. But Nagi knows him. And Nagi can feel the doubt oozing off of him in waves. Boring into Reo’s eyes with his own, Nagi decides right then and there that uncertainty isn’t a good look on him.
Reo always looks the best when he’s staring at Nagi like they’re the only two people who matter.
His next words are simple. Something that most people would pass off as flimsy and wishy-washy, but he knows Reo will understand all the same.
“Of course I’m not joking.”
He needs Reo to get this.
“I’m always serious when it’s about you.”
And like magic, the tension slowly melts off of Reo’s face, leaving behind a look in his eyes so intense, that it has even someone as unshakeable as Nagi starting to feel nervous. Their eyes don’t ever leave each other, and Nagi is feeling the full effect of it.
“Good,” says Reo breathily, “Because I’m always serious about you too.” His eyes draw Nagi in like a man in a trance, and in the back of his mind, he faintly thinks to himself that he was a goner from that very first day on the stairwell.
Nagi doesn’t know if it’s him who leans in first or if it’s Reo, but all he knows is that one second he’s shifting his gaze from Reo’s eyes to his lips, and the next, he can feel them on his own.
Reo is light and Reo is too close but not close enough and Nagi is burning.
The kiss is slow and unhurried. Something so much more patient and intimate then he could’ve ever imagined. But as the seconds start to bleed into each other and Nagi continues to just melt, he doesn’t know how he ever managed to live his life without the feeling of Reo intertwined with him.
The sensation is utterly addicting, and in that moment, Nagi thinks that he would do anything for Mikage Reo.
When they eventually pull away from each other, they’re both smiling so hard that Nagi actually feels elation like he’s never felt it before. Reo is light and Reo is beautiful and Nagi wants to just stay with him, basking in his warmth for the rest of his life. It has him drunk on it all, and he wants to stay frozen in this moment.
The next day, they both receive their invitations for Blue Lock.