Archive of Our Own ^beta

The Monday coming back to school after Reo had publicly come out and “confessed” to Nagi (who was already his boyfriend) could’ve gone worse, he supposed. There were a handful of reporters waiting outside the gate of his family’s mansion as the limo he took to school drove past. He almost wished he could stop and give them a statement, but his parents, still occupied with the upcoming merger, had ordered him to stay silent on the matter.

They had initially planned to “have a discussion” (whatever that entailed), but the merger hadn’t yet been made public knowledge, and complications that they hadn’t bothered to tell Reo kept coming up, only delaying their meeting more and more. Currently, the earliest he’d be able to sit down and talk with his parents was two weeks away, but given what little Reo knew of what was going on behind the scenes, that day would likely get pushed back even more. 

He knew going into this that it would cause a huge fuss, both in the eyes of his family and the eyes of the public, but even still he didn’t care. He loved Nagi so much, and to Reo, it would always be worth it if it was for him. 

Speaking of, his parents hadn’t allowed him to see his boyfriend all the rest of the weekend. They didn’t exactly give him a reason, but that was standard enough with them. Regardless, he had sent Nagi a text asking him to get to school early so they could better figure out what exactly was going on.

As the limo approached the entrance of the school, Reo’s anxiety heightened. There were only a few people waiting outside the building as he had made sure to arrive extra early, but it felt like they had been waiting for him. His phone had blown up with texts from classmates over the weekend that he couldn’t get himself to open because of the fear of what they could be saying. Before the message from his parents, he couldn’t care less, but now the pressing uncertainty of how the rest of the world (or at least the rest of the school) would treat him and Nagi elevated the tension growing in his stomach.

People are more accepting these days, right? At least, I think people my age are.

He waited inside the vehicle a few moments longer before taking a deep breath and opening the door. None of the students waiting around rushed to approach him, but he could still feel that they were watching him—not being so bold as to stare, but stealing quick, repetitive glances toward him. Not wanting to make himself stand out more than he already did, he pulled out his phone and mindlessly scrolled through his apps, not even able to get himself to open one when he caught a glimpse of Nagi walking and making a turn to the street their school was on.

The tension from the watching eyes dissipated slightly, as Reo, smiling and waving, called out: “Seishiro!”

Nagi, who had been listening to something on his phone with the earbuds Reo had gotten him for Valentine’s, looked up, and smiled and waved back. A bit more pep in his step, he speed-walked over to Reo, crushing him in a hug and giving him a kiss on the forehead. Reo knew people saw that, but they weren’t doing anything to either of them, so it didn’t matter. He took and held Nagi’s hand and led them both to a part of the building that tended to be pretty empty before school.

As the amount of people lingering around them fell as they made it to a more private hallway, Reo asked, “So? How was that?”

“They were all watching,” Nagi observed, sitting down against the hallway walls.

Reo took his bag off and joined him on the floor.

“I figured they would,” concern grew in Reo’s voice, "but no one’s said anything to you, right?” 

“Nothing that bad at least. I got a ton of texts and calls, though. People wondering how I ‘bagged’ such a rich guy. Classmates wondering if I was gay for pay. I don’t care though. It’s too bothersome to respond to any of them.”

While Reo hated to hear people think of their relationship as any form of transactional (it had sort of been like that they began hanging out, but Nagi quickly shut that idea down when they had started dating), at least it hadn’t been upsetting Nagi.

“If anyone ever gets to be too annoying or mean about us, just let me know, okay? I don’t want you to have to deal with anything bad for my sake.”

“Nah, no one’s being too harsh. But I will let you know if anyone does anything,” he poked Reo in the side, “but you gotta do the same if anyone is with you.”

Our relationship really has progressed, hasn’t it?

Reo nodded, but he couldn’t help the sheer bliss at where they were. Since getting together, Nagi had taken so much care to let Reo know how much he loved him, even in the little things: from the dramatic mistletoe kiss at Christmas, to waiting for Reo to be ready to come out, to even the way he had asked for permission every time he kissed him when he first confessed. He couldn’t imagine the Nagi that he had first met almost a year ago being so…loving.

Reo was snapped out his thoughts when Nagi brought up his phone to Reo’s face, showing a message.

“I did get something from my parents, though.”

Parent #1: Saw on the news that you got asked out. Congrats

Parent #2: Nice job. Maybe we’ll meet him someday?

Detached contact names aside, Reo still felt very weird about Nagi’s parents. He didn’t talk about them much, but Reo knew that they weren’t very involved or in touch with Nagi. It was telling that Nagi had never mentioned Reo to them before and that his parents found out about his son’s love life from the news , of all things.

“You don’t have to meet them if you don’t want to. I know you’re already freaking out about your own parents, and I don’t even see them that often, so I don’t really care if they meet you.”

If he hadn’t been so aware of the precarious situation between Nagi and his parents, he would’ve been hurt that Nagi wasn’t excited to introduce him to his parents. Old Reo would’ve been absolutely devastated and cried and internalized the hell out of it. However, he had grown a lot in the over six months since they got together and understood that things were just going to be different than he had expected.

“Yeah, my parents are making a huge hassle about all of this. I don’t know if it’s just the shock of me coming out, whatever ‘scandal’ they think that is, or if they’re concerned about you being ‘good enough for the Mikage name,’” Reo teased in a fake posh accent, “which is stupid. If anything I don’t know if I’m good enough for the ‘Nagi name’—Ow! What was that for?”

Nagi had flicked Reo in the head and frowned at him.

“No more of that kind of talk. I thought we got rid of that mentality.”

Perhaps it was the looming stress of all the criticism Reo knew his parents had in store, but his insecurities had been appearing almost as much as they used to months ago; but he reminded himself that Nagi was there for him, and he would be there for Nagi. Their relationship was mutual, and it shouldn’t matter what his parents think.

“Sorry about that. Just stress and old habits, I guess.”

Nagi held his hand and kissed Reo’s knuckles. He would have swooned if he wasn’t already sitting down. Instead, Reo just smiled gratefully.

He caught a glimpse of the clock and realized there was only a few minutes until class began. Shooting up to standing, he told Nagi that he had to get to class, reminded him that he loved him, and bolted away. 

As he entered his own classroom, he was greeted by Unasaka casually, only to be bombarded by her friend, Kuwana (who wasn’t even in this class).

“Oh my gosh, Reo, I’m so so sorry for confessing to you on Friday! You were probably still psyching yourself up to get ready to confess to Nagi right there since you two were alone together and I just ruined it! Please forgive me!”

She bowed deeply, and Reo couldn’t help but feel so embarrassed. Most of his classmates were already sitting and watching the chaos unfold. Unasaka was covering her mouth and repressing laughter.

“Don’t worry about it at all! I was planning on confessing at the end of the day anyway! And you had no way of knowing about it, so don’t worry!” he repeated.

Kuwana stood up straight, looking hesitant, but seeing as class would be starting shortly, she gave a half-hearted “okay” and left the room. Unasaka walked up to him, laughter no longer stifled, and cackled while patting him on the shoulder.

“Dude, she was freaking out about that all weekend. She kept on telling me about how she was ‘worried that she ruined the gay agenda.’”

Reo chuckled at the sheer absurdity of the statement. He then took his seat, and then remembered what he had told Kuwana on Friday.

“By the way, how were the chocolates?”

Unasaka’s jaw dropped, shocked to find out that Reo knew Kuwana had given her them. She mouthed How did you know? as their morning lessons began.

The day proceeded in a fairly standard way, save for the odd glances from classmates and even his teacher, but no one said anything outright awful, so he took that as a win. He and Nagi ate lunch outside on the soccer bleachers again, the weather slightly warmer than it was on Friday. Reo had even for the moment forgotten the drama with his family, so their conversation followed the topics it normally did: new games Nagi was playing, what Reo had heard on updates in the world of soccer, etc.

As Reo made his way back for afternoon classes, however, he couldn’t help but hear snippets of whispers from the students around him.

…you think he’s actually gay?

I heard it was a publicity stunt so that the western businesses would like the Mikage Corporation better…

No, I think it’d be worse for business. Their corporation is known for upholding moral values. I can’t believe he’d disappoint his family like that…

Why would he go for Nagi? I mean, he’s rich so if he’s into dudes he could have whichever dude he wanted…

…I bet Nagi only said yes because of his money.

Reo huffed. He knew these kinds of comments would come eventually. To be honest, he was surprised it took until after lunch to hear them (although that might have been because of him ignoring everyone else). He was about to try and bury the frustration he was feeling deep inside, until he remembered his promise to Nagi. He’d make sure to tell him about it after school.

Class in the afternoon proceeded just as it had in the morning. Afterward, he went to student council (which he thankfully didn’t have to go to on Fridays like the past one, but now was just another place where all eyes were on him). He didn’t have a significant role there (because his parents wanted him to focus on schoolwork and training to take over the business), so he was out fairly early. 

Nagi had been waiting for him right outside the entrance, playing a game on his phone. However, he paused it and put it away when he had seen Reo come out. Standing up, he gave Reo a hug and another kiss on the forehead.

They started walking hand-in-hand down the path from the doors to the street , and Reo began complaining about the students he had heard on the way back from lunch.

“Ugh, it’s just frustrating that they were making all of these assumptions! As if you or I had some sort of ulterior motive with the confession!”

Nagi squeezed his hand. Reo was about to continue when he saw his family’s limo pull up on the street.

That’s strange. I hadn’t called for it, and the driver knows I’m usually doing other things after school…

It came to a stop at the front of the school entrance and the window rolled down.

The driver spoke, “Master Reo, your parents request that you come home immediately. I am here to take you there.”

“Okay…can Seishiro come too?”

“I was told that only you were to go.”

Reo gave Nagi an unsure glance, but he squeezed Reo’s hand again. Reo turned around to give him a quick kiss goodbye and then stepped inside the vehicle. As the door shut and the windows were rolled up.

“Master Reo, I was also requested to temporarily confiscate your cell phone.”

Reo hesitated, then asked, “What for?”

“I am afraid I was not told.”

He handed over his phone because he didn’t want the driver to get in trouble; nevertheless, rage boiled in Reo’s veins. What right did his parents have to take his phone away? First they tell him not to see Nagi on the weekend, and now they take away his phone?

While he wasn’t directly told why, he was certain it was because his parents didn’t want him talking to Nagi for whatever godforsaken reason. 

Those assholes.

Reo was left to stew quietly until he made it back to the mansion. He stepped inside, the driver (with Reo’s phone in hand) following him in. To his surprise, his parents were actually there, despite looking like they were about to leave, coats and bags in hand.

“Oh perfect timing!” his mother began, taking Reo’s phone from the driver, not even acknowledging her own son. 

“We’re going to head out in just a minute, so please head back and start up our car,” his father added.

His mother finally spoke to him: “Reo, what’s your phone password?”

“Why do you need to know?” he snapped back.

“Your mother and I have decided that we need to put some protections on it. We’re going to change the settings so that we can monitor what you’re doing on here—things like what texts you’re sending and receiving, who’s contacting you, and the like.”

“Again, why do you need to know?”

His mother looked up from his phone, and reprimanded, “Don’t use that tone with us! We are your parents and we will do what we think is right! Especially since we can’t be sure that we can trust you after that little stunt you pulled…”

Reo was about to interject until his father spoke over him: “Don’t think that we still aren’t going to sit down and have that discussion with you and that boy . Unfortunately, this merger is raising far too many complications, especially from the international branches, so the soonest we will be free is three weeks from now.”

Great. My parents expect me to give up my privacy and my boyfriend and yet they can’t even give me more than a few minutes of their time for the next few weeks.

He rolled his eyes, which only angered his mother further.

“Young man! You will respect your father and me and tell us your phone password! Now!”

He tried to control the sigh he let out, and answered, “six-two-four-four.”

“Good.”

His mom fiddled around with his phone (he had no idea how she knew how to set it up so she could see his activity) and then handed it back to him. His parents both began to make their exit before his father gave Reo one final warning.

“Make good choices with who you hang around. Unless it is for school-related purposes only, I do not want you out and about.”

He shut the door firmly on their way out. When he figured they were out of earshot, he let out a loud groan that echoed throughout the mansion. 

How could they? What gives them the right to judge what I’m doing when they’ve hardly even been here to even know what I’m doing?

He made his way back to his bedroom as his anger shifted to sadness. Sure, he saw Nagi at school, but they weren’t in the same classes. Nagi was one of the few respites from Reo’s otherwise chaotic life and overfilled with his parents’ grueling expectations of him. Now he was effectively banned from spending time with him and any communication between them would be monitored, heavily limiting what he could say. 

His parents had done this for so long. He had been trained in business etiquette since he could speak. He had been forced to attend meetings and ceremonies and galas that he had never wanted to go to. His parents even dictated what clubs and activities he was allowed to participate in, denying a source of happiness for him. 

And now they were trying to get rid of the one person that he felt comfortable around.

Sensing his own rising anxieties, he laid down on his bed, took some deep breaths, and recalled one of his favorite memories: when he and Nagi first got together.

~~~~~~~

It was just another day of Reo and Nagi hanging out after school. They were hanging out in Nagi’s apartment in his bedroom, Nagi playing video games on his phone and Reo working on homework. It had become routine on days Reo didn’t have to stay after school or stay late for student council, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Reo was thirsty, so he got up to get a drink.

“I’m getting some water, want anything to drink, Nagi?”

“I’ll take a tea.”

Reo made his way over to the fridge, grabbing a tea for Nagi (Reo made sure he had Nagi’s favorite brand well-stocked) and poured himself a glass of water. The situation was so normal, reminding Reo of exactly why he loved being with Nagi. 

He was never the Mikage heir with him. He wasn’t expected to behave like a future successful businessman would, even stooping so low as to help the other with no expectation of a favor in return. For the first time in his life, Reo didn’t have to act just as he had always been taught and got to experiment with being anyone else. 

The particular “anyone else” he had been as of late had developed a bit of a crush on Nagi, but he was able to put it aside; their friendship alone was satisfactory. He was just glad Nagi seemed fine enough to spend time with him.

He brought back their drinks, sitting next to where Nagi was laying down. Nagi scooched to sit up slightly and make a bit more room for Reo, taking the drink and mumbling a “thanks”. Even though it was obscured by him bringing the bottle to his lips, Reo didn’t miss the other’s grateful smile at the simple gesture. 

He couldn’t recall a time he had felt more at peace. Reo leaned into Nagi, resting his head on his shoulder. 

He would do anything for him.

Feeling slightly emboldened by the way his company eased his anxiety, Reo turned to face Nagi, not realizing how close their faces were, and asked, “Is there anything else you want?”

Nagi answered as if he was asking Reo to pass him his phone, or borrow his notes from class. His tone was so nonchalant, as if what he was saying was just as routine as everything that preceded his words. 

“Can I kiss you?”

Reo, absolutely stunned, flabbergasted , shot back and fell off the bed onto his back, limbs sprawled in the cramped space between the bedframe and the wall. All sense of peace had completely disappeared, his heart pounding so aggressively he felt it in his ears. 

“I’m sorry,” Reo nervously chuckled, “I think I didn’t quite get that.”

“It’s cool if you don’t want to. Don’t feel like you have to ‘cause I asked.” 

Nagi turned his face slightly away, with the unobscured part of his face blushing? Looking almost embarrassed? Disappointed?

If I didn’t misunderstand him, this is the last thing I want! I can’t stand to see him look so upset.

Reo scrambled up, sitting back on the bed, legs pressed to the side of Nagi’s. Taking a deep breath, he made sure to stare Nagi in the eyes and waited until he had his full attention. Even though he didn’t feel good enough for Nagi, he didn’t want the other to mistake his feelings. Mustering as much confidence as he could manage, he spoke.

“Nagi. I have wanted to kiss you for so long.”

Reo watched Nagi’s eyes widen, his slight frown shifting to an open-mouthed, silent gasp. Reo’s confidence apparently spreading, Nagi settled his forehead against the other’s.

“So can I kiss you?”

Reo sighed and smiled, “Of course you can.”

He closed his eyes the moment he saw Nagi inching closer. Chapped lips met his own, albeit slightly off the mark. Nagi tried out cupping his hand to Reo’s face and correcting the kiss, but still didn’t seem to have a confident idea of what he was doing, instead slightly gripping Reo’s cheek. It was inexperienced and awkward.

It was perfect. 

Nagi pulled away—far too quickly as far as Reo was concerned—and met Reo’s now opened eyes.

“I think I messed that up. Can I kiss you again?”

Giggling and giddy, Reo replied, “I don’t think you did, but I will absolutely let you kiss me again.”

Nagi repositioned himself to sit closer to Reo. Taking his time to do it “right”, he set one hand more gently against Reo’s face to guide himself. Reo planted his own hand by his side to steady himself, and Nagi once again leaned in.

Only for Nagi to lose his balance and collapse on top of Reo, with both of them now laying flat on the bed. He gave a small consolation peck.

Nagi hadn’t given up yet, though, a spurt of motivation to properly kiss Reo manifesting inside him. Still on top of Reo, he set a hand on both sides of Reo’s head and looked down at him.

“I want to master this,” his eyes glowing with intensity as he stared at Reo, whose heart began to beat faster, “Can I kiss you again?”

Reo sighed and relaxed, happily resigned to the position he was in, “Third time’s the charm.”

Nagi lowered himself and achieved what finally felt like the perfect kiss: their lips hadn’t clashed awkwardly, the way Reo’s hand reached up to Nagi's face and carded through his hair was tender, and best of all: no one fell.

When Nagi eventually pushed himself up off of Reo, although still hovering over him, he asked, “How was it that time?”

The pure bliss of a mere few minutes ago when he had grabbed their drinks now felt like nothing. If his life would now consist of getting kisses from the boy he had liked so much for so long, he didn’t think his life could ever get better.

“I already told you, it was perfect. But you don’t need to ask every time you want a kiss, so long as it’s just the two of us.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Nagi got up and moved so that he was sitting back at the head of the bed, tugging on Reo’s arm to drag him into cuddling with him. He picked up his phone that had fallen onto his nightstand, and rested against Reo as he started up his game again.

After a few moments, he paused the game and looked up at Reo, who was trying and failing to hide the absolute glee he was feeling.

“Reo? Does this make us…” Nagi hesitated as if trying to figure out the right word, “...boyfriends?”

The revelry on Reo’s face melted, being replaced with a face of affection and sincerity.

“Nagi, if you wanted to, I would like nothing more.”

He unpaused his game and nestled further into Reo.

“So we’re boyfriends then.”

The rest of the afternoon was spent like any other they had had with each other, but interspersed with kisses and Reo promising to take Nagi on the best dates imaginable.

~~~~~~~

Reo’s anxiety in the present had calmed down. He was still frustrated, but he had eased up enough to find the motivation to start his homework. He wasn’t in the position to disobey his parents, but he could explain the situation to Nagi tomorrow and they could figure something out.

As he got out his school things, he happened to notice a notification pop up on his phone.

Seishiro <3: I hope whatever your parents needed you for went okay :)

He even sent me a smiley face.

~~~~~~~

Nagi had been running late to school the next day, so Reo didn’t have a chance to talk to him before class started. He was able to eat lunch with him, though, which was when he told Nagi everything that went down with his parents the day before.

When Reo had finished, Nagi responded, “Wow. They sound like assholes.”

Reo snorted and nearly choked on his onigiri at Nagi’s blunt but true statement and nodded in agreement.

“Unfortunately, they’ve always been like this. I’ve tried talking to them in the past, especially when I wanted to play soccer, but they never listen.”

“So what do you want to do?”

Reo had been thinking about it for a while, but he still gave it another moment of thought before replying, “Well, whenever they’re actually going to try and sit down and talk to us, I’m just going to be honest. I don’t plan on giving you up for anything, and they can’t do anything to stop me.”

“And in the meantime? Because it sounds like they don’t want us to be around each other.”

“We can still have lunch together. And if we’re both able to get to school early we can talk then. They haven’t cut off my ability to text or call, but it’s all going to be monitored, so if you send me anything, try to keep it to something they’d approve of. Which unfortunately isn’t very much.”

Nagi frowned, then muttered, “That still isn’t a lot. I already missed not getting to see or talk to you all weekend.”

Reo felt so unbelievably lucky to have such a caring boyfriend. He gave him a kiss on the cheek, and then rested his head on his shoulder and whispered, “I know. I missed you too. I’ll try to figure something out.”

Lunch was almost over, so the two ambled back to their respective classrooms for their afternoon classes. It went the exact same as it had the day before, albeit with less looks from his peers. 

As the day wrapped up, Reo packed his things to go home (as he wasn’t needed for student council on Tuesdays), only to be approached by Unasaka.

“You’ve been uncharacteristically quiet today. What’s up?”

Figuring that she was the only person Reo could talk to besides Nagi, he opened up.

“My parents have been super busy with work since I came out, but I can tell they don’t approve of it. They want to have a sit-down talk with the two of us, but can’t for another couple of weeks.”

Unasaka replied, “That’s really shitty of them.”

“That’s not even the worst part. They’re now monitoring everything on my phone, and until this undetermined time, I’m not supposed to leave the house except for ‘school related purposes,’” Reo emphasized with air quotes.

“That’s extremely shitty of them.”

Reo groaned. “You’re telling me.”

Unasaka went silent for a moment pondering something, and then spoke up again.

“I might be able to offer something that can help. If you say you’re studying with me on Tuesdays and Fridays after school, you could actually meet up with Nagi at that time, presuming your parents are okay with that.”

“You think that would work?”

“It could. Especially because my parents can tell them that I am if they ask.”

Reo considered it. While not on the same level as the Mikage family, the Unasaka family did have sizable status and wealth, meaning his parents would likely approve. 

“And you could convince your parents to agree?”

“We’d have to lie to them too, so if they ask, that’s what we’re doing. But in exchange, I want one thing.”

Here it was: Unasaka, while kind, still often sought something for herself. Reo prepared himself mentally for a major ask considering how important this favor would be to him, only to be surprised by what she said.

“Wednesdays after student council, I want to actually spend some time studying with you.”

“Why though? You’ve already ranked in at least the top ten for all exams.”

She got in Reo’s face as she responded, “That’s the problem. Only top ten. You’ve gotten number one in everything for forever, which is the only acceptable rank by my parents’ standards. I want to try to figure out what you’re doing and how you study to try to get them to back off a bit.”

Reo was still shocked to hear of Unasaka’s parents’ strictness. So much of her dedication to school had seemed purely self-motivated, but he supposed that just went to show how little he really knew about her.

“So long as my parents don’t object to it, it’s a deal.”

~~~~~~~

Reo talked to his parents over the phone about his plans to start studying with Unasaka that night, which they happily agreed to.

Probably because they think me spending time with a respectable, well-off girl like Unasaka will somehow make me straight, but little do they know she’s crushing on a girl.

He divulged the plan to Nagi the next day at lunch, with him getting excited about getting to spend time together outside of school. Reo couldn’t help but grin as his boyfriend excitedly planned a movie night for Friday.

Since it was Wednesday, he joined Unasaka at the library after student council, and the two completely ignored the drama with Reo’s parents in favor of studying. 

School continued as what had become the new normal the next few days, with the occasional glances and side comments from other students, but he overall remained focused on his classes.

When Friday after school came along, Reo couldn’t have been happier. He met Nagi by the school entrance, receiving a kiss on the cheek, and they held hands as they walked back to Nagi’s apartment.

He had apparently wanted to pull out all of the stops, because when Reo stepped inside Nagi’s home, he was shocked by what he saw. All sorts of snacks—from microwave popcorn to theater box candy—were set out, and Nagi had turned his couch into a blanket fort with christmas lights hanging from the ceiling.

Seeing Reo’s delighted face, Nagi said, “I just know things lately have been…hectic, so I wanted to do something special for you.”

“Oh, Sei!”

Reo wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and peppered his face in grateful kisses. Nagi smiled and kissed him back, taking Reo’s hand and leading him to the blanket fort. He tugged on Reo so that he was laying on top of him and started a movie. They munched on the snacks, and Nagi played with Reo’s hair. 

It was so sweetly domestic that when Reo’s phone began to ring, he startled and accidentally elbowed Nagi in the ribs.

He mouthed a “ sorry ” as he answered, not even reading the caller ID before he realized who had called him.

“Reo.”

Upon recognizing his father’s voice he instinctively sat up straight. Nagi sat up too, seeing the dread appearing on his boyfriend’s face.

“We have a date set for our discussion. Friday, March fourteenth, six pm at the Katsu Steakhouse. You will make yourself available then. Bring the boy.”

Reo gulped, “Okay.”

“And invite his parents too. We need to see the kind of influence he has grown up with to see if it matches our standards.”

“Okay.”

“We will see you then. Leave your study session with Unasaka soon. Tachibana needs to show you something.”

Before getting another confirmation from his son, his father hung up. Reo grumbled in exasperation, then stood up.

“Well, we have a set date for the discussion with my parents. March fourteenth at six. They’re having us meet at a fancy restaurant, so I’ll take you to get a suit tailored.”

Nagi got up with him, and gave him a hug.

“Three weeks away? What a hassle,” he mumbled into Reo’s shoulder.

“My father also asked me to invite your parents, but I don’t know how much luck we’re going to have with that.”

Nagi frowned and then shrugged as Reo made his way to the apartment entrance and put his coat and shoes back on.

“Do you have to leave?”

Reo swallowed, trying and failing to hide his disappointment.

“Unfortunately, yes. He demanded that I leave my ‘study session’ immediately for something he wouldn’t tell me about.”

After Nagi kissed Reo goodbye, he called a taxi and went back to the mansion. He was greeted by one of the oldest staff members, Tachibana, who looked disgruntled.

“Why didn’t you take the limo we sent to Miss Unasaka’s?”

Not realizing that his parents would have tried to be that controlling, Reo lied, “We were at the library. I took a taxi.”

Tachibana huffed, and then explained, “This perfectly illustrates the necessity for what I was asked to do. Your phone, Master Reo.”

Knowing that he would report any of Reo’s disobedience, he unlocked his phone and handed it to Tachibana.

“Your parents requested that I download a location-tracking application to your device.”

Reo didn’t even bother to argue, recognizing that it would only make his situation worse. He considered going out to buy a new phone, but if his parents were going to this extent, they would most certainly also be monitoring his purchases.

Tachibana added that Reo will now have a curfew of no later than two hours after school or student council on days when he would be studying with Unasaka. When he got his phone back, he went back to his room and decided to work on homework, despite it only being a Friday night. If he was lucky, he would get so focused on derivatives and integrals that he would forget the horrendous situation he was in.

~~~~~~~

The weekend went by unbearably slow. He had finished most of his homework by Saturday morning, so he tried to occupy himself by reading the books that had for so long just decorated his bookshelf, but he got bored of that soon enough. He watched every show he had been meaning to see (and even the ones he hadn’t), but felt miserable throughout.

On Monday morning, he updated Nagi on the new location tracking and curfew. He was upset that they wouldn’t be able to go on proper dates, but he offered the idea of hanging out at the library on Tuesdays and Fridays so they could at least have something.

That Tuesday after school, they walked to the library and went to a private study room together. They chatted for a bit, pretending their situation wasn’t as tense as it was, until Reo acknowledged one thing that needed to be done sooner rather than later.

“So since we’re going to be going to an upscale restaurant, you’re going to need a suit to match the occasion.”

He brought a sewing tape measure that he had stolen from the laundry room that morning out of his backpack.

“Mind if I take your measurements?”

Nagi looked confused, asking, “Are you making my suit?”

Reo laughed, and the tension melted slightly as he answered, “No. Unfortunately I’m not that skilled at sewing. I’m going to send your measurements to a tailor so it’ll hopefully be ready by the fourteenth.”

“Oh. That makes more sense.”

Reo laughed again, and then started guiding Nagi on how to stand (“don’t slouch!”) and how to position himself while Reo recorded the different lengths on a scrap of paper. 

When he had finished getting all of the measurements, he pulled up the website for the tailor he used. He went to the page’s section for five-piece suits and turned his laptop to Nagi.

“Pick out the style you like best, and then we’ll pick out colors and input your measurements.”

He scrolled for a while, eventually settling on a very classy-looking cut, with black pants, a black jacket, black waistcoat, and white dress shirt, and a tie that ended up surprising Reo.

“Why’d you choose purple?”

Nagi answered as if it was obvious, “Because then it’d match you.”

Reo blushed, embarrassed but happy that Nagi cared about something as silly (but sweet) as that.

Nagi continued and filled out the measurements Reo had written down and clicked “add to cart”. His eyes widened when he saw the price pop up.

“I can probably ask my parents for the money for this, but—”

Reo cut him off, “Nagi do not even worry about it. Since my parents are the ones demanding this, they’re going to be the ones paying.”

He had figured that, while his parents were most certainly watching his credit card spending, they likely wouldn’t question a charge for clothing.

He continued, “I had initially wanted to use part of their stocks to buy this—especially since they’re anticipating their stocks to go up after their acquisition goes public—but they’d definitely notice me doing that.” He filled out his credit card information, then added, “Although oddly enough, their stock has been going up significantly anyway in the last week.”

Nagi seemed perplexed by that information, his face eventually making an expression of realization. He didn't, however, elaborate on it to Reo.

As Reo wrapped up the order, making sure it would be delivered to Nagi’s apartment, he noticed the time on his phone: it was almost his curfew. He sighed and showed the time to Nagi, who also grumbled. He gave him a hug and a chaste kiss, heading to the library parking lot, where, unsurprisingly, the limo was waiting for him.

~~~~~~~

The next two weeks dragged on unbearably slowly. Classes were boring, doing homework was boring, not leaving his house was boring; his only breaks were the few hours a week spent either at lunch or in the library with Unasaka or Nagi.

Finally, though, it was the fourteenth. School had just got out, and he didn’t care what his parents thought: he was going over to Nagi’s to get ready for the dinner. Nagi shot him a look when he saw that Reo was joining him but ultimately didn’t question it.

They had a quick snack at his apartment, and then Reo helped Nagi get ready. The suit had thankfully arrived a few days ago. 

Reo sat on the couch waiting while Nagi got his suit on. He checked his phone (which thankfully didn’t have any screaming messages asking where he was) until he heard Nagi’s bedroom door crack open. He stepped out, looking extremely dapper in the suit that fit him perfectly. Reo walked over to him and fiddled with the suit jacket, brushing off his shoulders, and complimenting his boyfriend’s appearance until he noticed something.

“Seishiro, where is your tie?”

Nagi averted his eyes and replied, “‘S on the bed. I don’t know how to tie it.”

Reo laughed, “So that’s why you don’t wear yours with your school uniform!”

He still walked over to Nagi’s bed and picked it up.

“Do you want me to show you how to?”

Nagi pursed his lips, then decided to ask, “Can you just do it for me?”

Reo smiled and shook his head. This boy is going to be the death of me.

He carefully wrapped the tie around the other’s neck, gently tucking it under the shirt collar. He folded and maneuvered it into a classic windsor knot, and then he patted his palm over Nagi’s heart.

Going slightly on his toes to give Nagi a kiss on the forehead, he whispered, “All done.”

Reo then took Nagi’s hand and dragged him to the bathroom to take a few minutes to put some product in Nagi’s hair. He didn’t want to use a ton of it, so he styled it to keep his hair out of his face but still soft and fluffy.

After checking his watching, Reo realized they didn’t have much more time.

“Crap. We still have to head to my place so I can get ready.”

Nagi grabbed his phone as Reo called for a taxi. With one dressed to impress and the other still in his school uniform, they climbed in and got out a few minutes later. Reo rushed inside with Nagi tailing after him. He didn’t have to worry about his parents seeing either of them because he knew that they would be meeting them at the restaurant directly after a business meeting.

Once inside Reo’s room, he scrambled to put on the outfit he had set aside. It was all black, save for a purple vest and white tie. Nagi had turned around while Reo changed and turned back when he saw out of the corner of his eye Reo standing fully dressed by his mirror.

Reo knew Nagi saw the tie, and he spun around after putting in some earrings (the same soccer ball ones Nagi had gotten him for Christmas that were far too informal for the occasion). 

He pointed to his tie, and cheesily declared, “See? It matches you.”

Nagi couldn’t help himself but to step forward and press his lips deeply against Reo’s own. Reo wrapped his arms around Nagi’s neck and smiled into the kiss. After a few moments, he pulled his face away, body still pressed against Nagi’s. 

“I’d love to just kiss you senseless, but I still have to get ready.”

Nagi made a grumpy pout, settling for a quick forehead kiss as Reo went to his bathroom to pull his hair back and gel it into place. It didn’t take him more than a minute or two, and he called Nagi back to him.

“Give me your hands.”

Nagi held them out, palms up. Reo dabbed something wet onto both of his wrists, and Nagi gave him a confused look.

“It’s cologne. Smell it.”

Nagi brought his wrists up to his nose and sniffed. 

“Smells like you.”

Reo’s face reddened as he hastily explained, “I’ve used that scent for a while now. I only have the one, but I figured you should probably have some cologne on too, and—”

Nagi shut his rambling up with a kiss.

“It’s perfect. Now we match even more.”

Reo smiled, completely enamored with his boyfriend. After giving himself a little bit of time to savor the moment, he called a taxi for the restaurant.

On the ride over, Reo’s anxiety began to rise again. They didn’t speak much in the vehicle, but after seeing Reo bite his lip, Nagi reached for Reo’s hand, held it, and gave it a squeeze. Reo looked over to him, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then smiled.

Reo knew he would probably never be ready for what was about to happen, but the taxi still got to the restaurant far too soon. As they stepped in, Reo noticed Nagi’s eyes go wide at seeing how elegant the place was. 

It had high, vaulted ceilings and a crystal chandelier by where the hostess was standing. The tables were spaced out and set with cutlery and napkins with ornate detailing. Even the carpeting looked to be designer.

While Nagi was still gaping at where they were, Reo walked up to the hostess.

“We’re here as part of the Mikage reservation.”

“The rest of your party is already here. I’ll show you to your table.”

Reo turned around to Nagi, who then brought his attention back to his boyfriend. Reo waited until Nagi walked up to him to follow the hostess. Nagi took his hand and pressed a kiss to his knuckles and made their way to their table.

It was a booth slightly tucked away in a corner of the restaurant. The one wall it was attached to had a window with a view of the rest of downtown. Reo’s parents had already been sitting down, with unpleasant looks on their faces.

Reo gestured for Nagi to go into the booth seat first and then slid in next to him. Nagi grabbed his hand under the table, rubbing his thumb reassuringly against the side of Reo’s hand.

Without even giving a proper greeting, Reo’s father spoke up, “It’s 6:01.”

Reo allowed himself a moment to inhale deeply and then plastered on a fake smile, stating, “Hello father, mother. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with us. I know it was difficult to spend time with your son, given how much you postponed this.”

His mother’s own fake smile grew sinister as she bit back, “Speaking of, you haven’t yet introduced us to… him .”

Reo figured his parents wouldn’t be accepting, that they would fake courtesy for the sake of their own image. He just didn’t expect their tone to be so demeaning.

“Father, mother, meet my boyfriend , Nagi Seishiro. Sei, these are my parents.”

Nagi offered an awkward smile and a wave with his free hand.

Their waitress came around and asked what drinks everyone wanted. His parents’ smiles became slightly more genuine when addressing her, then fell again when she left. His mother addressed Nagi.

“So, did the invitation to your parents not go through? It doesn’t reflect very well on you if the ones who raised you—”

“Mother, stop. Seishiro’s not in control of his parents.”

Nagi awkwardly tried averting his eyes. Reo knew this wasn’t an easy subject for him.

“Don’t talk back to us!” his father snapped. “I hope this attitude isn’t part of his influence.”

Reo openly scowled back, then picked up his menu, almost hiding his face from his parents. He quietly discussed some of the options with Nagi, but his mind was far from whatever he was going to eat.

His mother cleared her throat and began again.

“Nagi.” She spoke his name as if it were the devil’s. “Tell us about yourself.”

He was startled a bit, having been drawn out of his mesmerization of the dining options, and then responded, “I’m seventeen and in the same grade as Reo, but in a different class. I do well on exams and enjoy playing video games in my free time.”

The answer was unsatisfactory to them, but almost anything would be, given the situation.

“And remind me how you met Reo?”

Nagi’s face lit up at the memory: “It was at school in one of the hallways, about ten months ago. Reo bumped into me and made me lose grip of my phone. As he was apologizing, I jumped up so my phone wouldn’t hit the floor. He immediately asked me if I played soccer—I don’t—but we just kind of hit it off from there.”

Reo held back a laugh that he didn’t mention asking Reo for money. His parents definitely didn’t need to know about that part.

At the mention of soccer, however, any attempt to appear pleasant disappeared from Reo’s parent’s faces. He knew his parents were extremely disagreeable on the subject. Luckily, they didn’t press the issue more for the moment. 

Reo decided to interject.

“You both have known that we’ve hung out a lot since then.” He turned toward Nagi and continued, “He became my best friend, then the person I cared about most. I couldn’t stop myself from falling for him.”

Nagi, clearly touched and uncaring of what Reo’s parents thought, brought up their clasped hands and planted a kiss on the back of his palm. If his parents made a disgusted face, Reo paid it no mind.

The waitress came by again and took their orders. Fake friendliness came and went with her. As his parents’ act dropped, so did any attempt at treating the younger pair with dignity.

“You can’t possibly feel this deeply for someone you’ve only been together with for a month,” Reo’s father remarked.

Irked at his parents’ indignation, Reo retorted, “We’ve actually been dating for over seven months now.”

“Then what was all the fuss on Valentine’s Day?” his mother inquired.

“Well, mother, ” Reo spat, “I was tired of pretending I didn’t like Nagi like I did. I was tired of making excuses for us to spend time together without putting up a front that we were only friends. I was tired of having to plan around you both being gone for Christmas to plan a holiday date with him.”

“You. What .”

Ignoring his father’s accusatory statement, Reo continued, “I just took that moment as an opportunity to publicly come out and show the world my wonderful boyfriend.”

As if the person in question wasn’t sitting right there, his mother questioned, “But how do you know he’s not dating you just for the money.”

“Oh please, Mikage !” He uttered his own last name like a curse word. “He hardly lets me spend money on him unless it’s for a special occasion, and he’s been there for me in the moments when I’ve been struggling more than either of you have!”

“Do you even realize how bad this is for the business? For our company’s image?”

“Actually,” Nagi spoke up, reminding everyone at the table that he was right there, “stock market values of the Mikage Corporation have increased since this incident.” He pulled out his phone and displayed an already open tab proving his point. He read off an article that was on a different tab. “‘There’s also been a lot of positive press coverage, with a lot of the western market appreciating the business’s seeming “tolerance” for diverse sexuality’—that’s from an American business magazine.”

Reo’s anger diminished. Knowing Nagi had put the time and effort to research and prepare for this meeting, to prove to his parents that they were worth something reminded him why he loved him so much.

However, it also made him realize that maybe it didn’t even matter what his parents thought. They had proved how little they wanted to support him, while Nagi had demonstrated time and time again the opposite. It gave him enough courage to do something he felt like he never could: walk away from them.

As his parents’ outrage increased at Nagi’s defiance, Reo slid out of the seat, Nagi’s hand still in his own.

“Come on Seishiro. Let’s head out.”

Nagi didn’t put up a fight, as if he had almost expected this to happen, and slid out. He squeezed Reo’s hand, who responded by kissing him sweetly on the lips, in clear view of his parents.

“Stop it, Reo!” his father whisper-yelled. “You’re making a scene!”

He didn’t justify that accusation with a response, only saying, “You both have tried so hard to control my life for so long. You dictated everything I could and could not do. You denied me from even trying out a sport that I always wanted to play. I’m not letting you take away the man I love from me.”

As his parents demanded he sit back down “right this instant!” he turned around and walked out of the restaurant with the only person who mattered. As the door to the restaurant shut, Reo let out an exhausted exhale. Nagi took over guiding their path.

“I’m really proud of you, you know?” Nagi broke the tension. “I know that wasn’t easy for you.”

Reo sighed again, and replied, “I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t regret saying what I said, but I have no idea what this means going forward.”

He leaned slightly against Nagi as they walked in silence, eventually recognizing the streets they were on.

“Are we heading back to your apartment?”

“Mhm. I still haven’t had the chance to give you your White Day present.”

Reo’s eyes went wide; he had been so caught up in the drama with his parents that he had completely forgotten that it was White Day. 

They soon entered the apartment, Nagi patting the table in the kitchen.

“Before I get you your gift, we’re eating first. I’m hungry.”

As if on cue, Reo’s own stomach growled, and he took a seat. They had walked out before their food arrived, so it had been several hours since they had last had anything, and it had only been a light snack at that.

When Reo saw what Nagi pulled out of his cupboard and set on the counter, he burst into laughter.

“Cup ramen?”

“I know it’s not exactly what you were planning on eating tonight, but I don’t have much else I can make easily right now.”

Reo grinned and placed his hand reassuringly on top of Nagi’s.

“It’s perfect.”

It reminded him of their first two dates: Reo had planned the first one, which ended up going horribly wrong. He wanted to show Nagi exactly how much he meant to him, so he placed a reservation at a high-end fancy restaurant, similar to the one they were at earlier. Nagi had been really uncomfortable by how haughty it was and felt out of place. Reo felt lousy about it, but Nagi reassured him and still agreed to another date. 

The second date, which Nagi had planned, was a night in playing games and eating takeout. It was completely opposite to the expectations Reo had had of any significant relationship, yet he found himself enjoying it more than any lavish event he had gone to before. It had been similar to the times that they had hung out before, but many of the pressures Reo had of how he should behave and the fears of what Nagi would think of him went away. He didn’t worry that he was being too close or too touchy with Nagi, and he even indulged in things he had restrained himself from before, like cuddling and kissing Nagi. Being with Nagi was just…comfortable.

Nagi set both of their noodle cups, as well as two pairs of chopsticks, on the table. They ate in an easy silence fairly quickly, and then Nagi disappeared to his room.

He came back with a large, almost square, bag in hand.

“It’s not much, but I figured it’d be something you’d enjoy. Happy White Day.”

He handed it to Reo, who pulled the tissue paper out. Inside was a soccer ball, with purple patches where the black sections would normally be.

That was the final straw. Reo started to cry.

“Oh jeez, I know it’s small but—”

Reo got up and hugged Nagi, gripping his shirt as more tears poured out.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you, Seishiro.”

Nagi hugged him back, pulled out of the shock of Reo’s sobs.

“Oh. They’re happy tears.”

Reo stammered out a laugh, replying, “Of course they are, you dingus.”

Reo kissed his boyfriend, gave a “thank you”, and wiped his face, beaming.

“It’s still not that late. If you want to borrow some of my clothes to change into, we can play for a bit at the park down the street.”

Reo nodded excitedly, so Nagi went back to his room and tossed Reo a t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts. Reo changed in the bathroom, carefully folding and setting his suit on the counter, while Nagi changed in his own room. When they both had stepped out, Reo grabbed the ball and an extra pair of Nagi’s gym shoes that luckily fit him.

Nagi took Reo’s hand and they walked to the park. Using sticks and pinecones that were already on the ground, they marked arbitrary goals and began running around and kicking the ball.

“Sei, are you sure you’re not a soccer player because you’re really good at this!” Reo called out.

Trapping the ball and dribbling down their makeshift field, Nagi replied, “I’ve only seen the games I’ve watched with you. But you’re pretty good at this yourself.”

They played until it got too dark out to see clearly, with Nagi winning seven to five. They walked back to the apartment, an unspoken understanding that Reo would be staying the night.

Nagi again offered some of his clothes—this time pajamas—and they both got changed again. As Nagi’s sleepiness kicked in, he yanked Reo under his bed covers with him and turned off his lamp light.

With eyes already closed and an arm slung over Reo, Nagi joked, “Happy one month anniversary Reo.”

Reo flicked him and retorted, “Happy seven and a half month anniversary.”

Nagi smiled, almost asleep, and murmured, “G’night. Love you.”

Pressing himself closer in, Reo kissed Nagi’s forehead and whispered, “Love you too.”

Reo had no idea what would happen after today, no idea what his parents would say or do tomorrow. That problem didn’t seem to matter as much though, when the person he loved so much was right by his side.