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1.
Hakuho High School’s first football match was against Aomori Dadada, a team that regularly competes in nationals. Their win against the highly skilled team drew attention from other teams and sports media outlets, and Hakuho’s football team can only move up.
Unfortunately, it seems that one half of Hakuho’s monster duo finds the football match exhausting, and doesn’t want to continue their streak.
Reo is used to Nagi’s complaints when it comes to training, and learns his way around in order to get him to afternoon practice — offering to bring him back home after school so he doesn’t have to walk; buying him drinks and snacks after practice, anything that makes Nagi’s life easier. He’s still understanding how Nagi works, shifting his routine and habits bit by bit to align with Nagi.
However, trying to get him to put some effort into the match proves to be a more difficult task for Reo. They’re up against another elite school known for its athletics, and beating them will easily prove that Hakuho is one of the best teams in the province.
“Oh, come on, Nagi! You said you’d play with me, and you’re giving up on the second match?” Reo whines, tugging at the arm that belonged to a limp body splayed over one of the benches in the locker room. The match was starting in ten minutes, and Nagi refused to get up to change, claiming that having to play against other teams was a pain.
Reo barely catches Nagi’s quiet muttering as he continues to prod at his arm. “You’ll be fine on your own, Reo… Just this once…”
Both of them know that if Reo gives in now, it wouldn't be just once. Besides, they must play together, it’s their agreement from the start, and he won't let Nagi break it now. Humming to himself, Reo’s brain whirls as he searches his thoughts for a solution.
Watching Nagi flop against the bench when Reo lets go of his arm, an idea flickers into his mind. “You’re refusing because it’s tiring after a long match, right?” Nagi gives him a weak attempt at a thumbs up that dangles from the bench. “How about this, then? I’ll carry you back to the locker room, all the way to my bike and back home if you score… say, a hat trick!”
“Hnn…” The lack of reply causes Reo to sigh, eyes darting towards the clock. It takes a few moments before Nagi decides to speak up. “...Fine. But carry me to the field.”
“Hey, I said after the hat trick!” Reo protests, laughing in delight when Nagi finally sits up. Filing the information into the back of his brain, Reo busies himself with his notebook as he waits for Nagi to change, going through his strategies in his head.
Reo manages to get both of them to the field in the nick of time, without having to drag Nagi much. Their opponents didn’t seem too concerned about the match, snickering away and shooting them smug looks that Reo refuses to acknowledge.
The laughter doesn’t last long, amusingly enough. As practised, the team meshes together smoothly, fully puppeteered by Reo and his tactics. They break through their rival’s defences with ease, passing to each other with polished mechanics. Before he knows it, they’re past the halfway line, and the ball is at Reo’s feet, completely up to him and Nagi to land the first point of the game.
He catches Nagi’s eyes as he finally passes the ball, and mirth floods his body when he notices the change of Nagi’s demeanour —- exuberance flowing through his movement as he scores with a powerful scissors kick. Reo brushes aside his team’s cheers from behind him, and dashes straight to Nagi with a large grin. “Good job, Nagi!”
“Two more, boss?” Reo replies with a firm nod and a hand ruffling at shockingly soft white hair. Like a puppy, Nagi leans into the touch as he grumbles away, trudging back to their side of the field. “You better keep your promise… What a hassle…”
Hakuho wins with four points against their opposing team’s miserable zero, and Reo can’t help but stick his tongue out towards the distraught team on the other side of the field. The rest of his own team is celebrating amongst themselves — except for Nagi, who seems half-dead on the grass, underneath the scorching sun. Reo worries he may overheat if they stay there any longer, and jogs up to the unmoving body.
“Nagi, you did great, but we need to get off the field to clean up.” Reo chides, poking at Nagi’s cheek with a huff of laughter.
Not receiving any sort of acknowledgement, he pokes again, repeatedly, until Nagi finally makes an incomprehensible noise. Before Reo is able to ask again, Nagi looks up at him with a squint. “You said you’d carry me. I got your hat trick, now c’mon…”
“You–” Reo gapes at him, searching frantically for a reply, but Nagi raises his arms like a child waiting to be lifted, and Reo thinks it'd be wrong to go back on his promise now. “Alright, alright, I’ll piggyback you, so get off the ground!”
The satisfied smile that appears on Nagi’s face makes Reo’s heart stutter embarrassingly. When Nagi finally stands up, Reo crouches down slightly while turning away from his partner, arms positioned to catch Nagi’s legs as he climbs onto his back. With his fingers digging into Nagi’s thighs, Reo can feel the warmth that shrouds his entire body when Nagi leans into him to rest his head on Reo’s shoulders.
He supposes it’s good exercise for him too, though it’s just a flimsy excuse to be able to hold Nagi close to him whenever he can. “Okay, you big baby, let’s go.”
2.
Their next match was in a day, and it marked the first month of he and Nagi’s path to the World Cup. With the Hakuho football team’s rising fame, other teams in their area are becoming wary of them.
Reo’s resting at Nagi’s place after practice, sitting cross-legged on Nagi’s bed while his partner has his head in Reo’s lap. As usual, he’s scribbling away in his notebook to prepare for the next day, with Nagi’s game as his background noise. With every passing day, Nagi seems to grow closer to Reo, draping himself onto Reo whenever he possibly can.
He doesn’t notice when Nagi stops focusing on his game, until he feels a finger jabbing into his abdomen.
“Hey! What’s up?” Reo swipes at the offending hand, looking away from his writing.
As usual, it takes a long while before Nagi replies, snatching the pen out of Reo’s grasp. “Reo’s thinking too much. We’ll win tomorrow, stop worrying about it.”
Heat spreads across Reo’s face when Nagi’s arms wrap around his waist, the beating in his chest echoing loudly in his ears. Physical contact isn’t something Reo is used to, not with his materialistic parents being overseas all the time, and always distancing himself from the people who claimed to be his friends with fake smiles and greedy hands. Despite the unfamiliar feeling, Reo places his hands on Nagi’s head, massaging at his scalp.
“Ah… That’s good…” Nagi sighs, pressing closer into Reo. “Just wanna sleep…”
Giving up on the rest of his reviews, Reo puts away the notebook, hoping that Nagi doesn’t notice the rapid beating of his heart. Their next game would be an important one, and Reo doesn’t want to risk Nagi slacking off. Reo picks up his phone, humming as he searches up the latest game that Nagi talked about looking forward to.
“Huh, Nagi!” He gets a confused sound in reply, shuffling on top of Reo to look at him. “That new game you were talking about: if you get four goals tomorrow, I’ll buy it for you.”
“Wah…” Nagi frowns, sitting up with a groan, stretching out his arms. “So many… But sure, I guess, if that’s what you want.”
Flashing him a grin, Reo leans back into soft pillows. “What does that mean? What if I didn’t get you your game?”
Nagi raises an eyebrow, scooting closer to Reo, hovering closer to him in a heartbeat. Not moving an inch, Reo blinks back at him, forcing himself to hold Nagi’s gaze as he tries not to flush a bright red. The intensity of Nagi’s stare makes him want to apologise, even though he knows Nagi doesn’t mind his jesting.
“You would get it for me anyway, so it doesn’t matter.” Nagi collapses beside him, almost crushing Reo’s arm as he falls.
Stifling his yelp, Reo flicks at Nagi’s forehead, laughing at the pout that forms on his partner’s face. “I see how it is. You’re too spoiled now!”
“Mhm, and it’s all your fault.” Nagi drops an arm across Reo’s chest, sending butterflies into his stomach. He doesn’t bother moving it away, reaching out to hold Nagi’s hand. “Take responsibility.”
“I always do.” Reo snorts.
For Reo, it's no surprise Nagi dominates the field as soon as he receives the ball — going all out to score five goals before turning to Reo with a tilt of his head, asking if it was enough. Irrationally, Reo’s heart almost beats out of his chest, because Nagi is scoring for him–
He pushes his thoughts aside, sending Nagi a thumbs up. The rigidity in Nagi’s body fades away, slumping into himself even though there’s five minutes left in the match. Reo is sure that they’ll be able to hold their defence with their opponent’s frantic panic breaking them apart, so he doesn’t bother chastising Nagi. Turning to the rest of his team,, he motions for them to move back, focusing on defending for the last few minutes.
As anyone would expect by now, Hakuho High School’s football team wins with ease. Reo is drawn to Nagi as soon as he hears the whistle blow, jumping onto his back as he snickers, hand carding through damped hair. “Oi, bastard! You can’t just slack off just because I said you scored enough!”
“You handled the rest just fine, so it doesn’t matter, Reo.” Nagi rolls his eyes, catching Reo’s thighs hanging by his waist. He scrunches up his nose when the rest of their team crowds around them with cheers and screams, making Reo giggle.
3.
The rooftop is an inaccessible place for the students at Hakuho, but one of the first things Reo learns about Nagi is that he hides up there whenever he doesn’t want to be bothered during lunch. Reo has never been a student who dares break any rules, to uphold his perfect picture for all to see. Unfortunately, he also learns that he’s not good at denying Nagi anything, so when Nagi whines to hide at his preferred spot when Reo’s friends start to look for them while he’s hanging out with Nagi, Reo doesn’t say no.
The first time they sneak up to the rooftop together, Reo is overly anxious, continuously asking if Nagi’s sure that they won’t get caught until he slaps a hand across Reo’s mouth, telling him to shush. “No one will find us if you don’t say anything about it, easy as that.”
By now, it’s Reo that usually drags them up there, to hide away from their classmates that constantly clamber around them whenever they can. Nagi doesn’t object — he never did when it came to Reo — allowing himself to be dragged along by the wrist.
“We have a match later, so you gotta eat!” Reo chides, pushing the food he brought along closer to Nagi. The groan he gets in response doesn’t deter him, only making him shake Nagi’s shoulders with more force. “C’mon, I made an extra just for you! Now eat up!”
“How tiring, another match…” Nagi sighs, but picks up the box to prevent Reo from rattling his brains out. “Ah, thanks for the food.”
Reo slides back against the wall, shoulders sagging as he blocks his eyes from the glaring sunlight. With their next game edging closer, he should be worrying about preparing their team’s new strategies and counters to their opponents, but with Nagi by his side, Reo thinks he doesn’t have to worry too much about it. It’s their fifth month of starting football together, and they haven’t lost a single match since the formation of their team.
Despite the assurance, dangling a bait in front of Nagi will ensure the best results from him. Reo taps at Nagi’s thigh insistently, getting his attention. “Hey, Nagi. If you score enough goals today, I’ll get practice cancelled for the next two days.”
They stare at each other for a moment, until Nagi blinks and sends him a confused look. “What does enough even mean?”
“I’ll decide that part during the match!” Reo looks away, trying to ignore Nagi’s hardened stare.
“You don’t need to keep exchanging stuff for goals in order for me to try.” Nagi sulks, dropping his head onto Reo’s shoulder. “But sure, I guess. I’ll give you however many goals you want.”
The hot breath against Reo’s shoulder almost causes him to flinch, but he forces himself still as he slides a hand towards Nagi’s arm. “Okay, okay, I get it. Hey, finish your food before you sleep!”
An early afternoon spent at Nagi’s place is quite uncommon, considering their practice schedule along with Reo’s extracurricular activities. Reo doesn’t think he remembers the last time he’s able to take a nap that’s early enough not to ruin his sleep schedule, and he certainly doesn’t think it’s as good as relaxing beside Nagi right after their classes end.
Despite the comfort he’s buried in, he can’t help but say out loud, “We still have to remember to do our homework later, alright?””
Nagi exaggerates a groan, covering his face with a pillow as if he could pretend Reo’s reminder didn’t exist with it. It’s almost too domestic — Reo feels more at home when he’s at Nagi’s place compared to the huge penthouse his parents showed off. He can’t help but bask in it, the solace introduced to him by Nagi was something he never thought he could have.
When Reo shuts his eyes, it feels impossible to sleep. The warmth of Nagi beside him may be a comfort, but he can’t stop his mind from running a million miles an hour when he has his partner so close to him. He avoids moving about too much, knowing that Nagi falls asleep much quicker than he does.
Reo’s hovering on the edge of sleep, almost falling into unconsciousness before he’s interrupted by a weight on his cheek. Face turning crimson, Reo opens his eyes to Nagi staring at him, patting at his face without a care in the world.
“Uh, Nagi? What are you doing?” Reo keeps the stammer out of his voice with a large amount of effort, unable to move away from Nagi crowding him against the wall.
“Observing.” Nagi seems to think that Reo is supposed to understand what he means, as he continues to slide his hand down to Reo’s neck.
Reo can’t stop the shiver that crawls through his body, trying to pull away from the touch. “What does that even mean?”
“You do observing all the time.” Nagi mutters, his fingers brushing the hair right above Reo’s nape. “Figure it out.”
Unfortunately for Reo, his brain doesn’t have the power to even process the current situation, let alone try to figure out whatever the hell Nagi was talking about. Shutting his eyes with a huff, Reo thinks that it may deter Nagi from continuing his ministrations.
He’s wrong, of course, the weight of Nagi’s attention lies heavy on his skin, but Reo finds that he doesn’t care, not when Nagi makes it feel like he treasures Reo too.
0.
When Reo sees Nagi actively moving on his own, trying to create his own ideas in order to find the perfect goal, he finds himself at a loss. He doesn’t want to be selfish, but Reo doesn’t want himself to be discarded like a simple stepping stone to Nagi’s development — if he was even part of it, in the first place.
Brushing away the hesitant thoughts eating away at his heart, Reo calms himself, remembering his own role in the match. Bastard München managed to score two in a row, and they’re one away from finishing the game. He hasn’t reached the impact he wanted to force upon their opponents, the thirst to score completely unquelled.
Unfortunately, Reo doesn’t think he’ll be able to do so, not when Nagi approaches him with a cry for help. He strongly considers turning him away, to let them both develop individually the way Nagi clearly wanted them to. However, the feeling of realisation hits him like a truck when he hears Nagi utter the words he remembers swearing to hear: Reo is always going to get what he wants, no matter how long it takes. He had never understood the meaning of insecurity until he came into Blue Lock, fear prickling at his skin at crucial moments that seemed to slow down time.
Reo lets his frustrations dissipate when he watches Nagi’s fervent expression, sighing at how easily he’s giving in once again. He knows that he’ll be slapping himself internally after the game for entertaining Nagi’s whims, but he couldn't care less for the time being.
Manshine City loses in a humiliating fashion, but Reo can’t help the excitement that lingers even a day after the match. The adrenaline that coursed through his veins when he watched Nagi score his super goal was unlike anything he’s ever felt, because to assist Nagi in order to become the best in the world, that’s what he wanted from the beginning. Most of the team are either still practising or at lunch, so Reo jumps into the baths without a care in the world after rinsing off.
Reo melds into a conversation with Nagi easily, even though they’ve barely spoken to each other before the game. Nagi doesn’t seem to care either, responding in short sentences and even whining about bathing being exhausting — Reo’s not sure whether to feel relieved or upset about his partner’s indifference, but he refuses to spiral down that embarrassing hole again, so he pushes the dilemma out of his thoughts. When Nagi himself notices his loss of motivation after their match against Bastard München, Reo searches for another goal for Nagi to reach, a way to keep his growth steady.
He helps Nagi dry his hair and tosses him his clothes, because Reo’s hopelessly smitten even though he should be pissed. Even though Nagi doesn’t seem to care about his rising popularity, Reo tells him to take advantage of it, to get an offer from a better team.
It takes him by surprise when Reo rambles along as he turns around to see Nagi staring at him. Reo shoots him a sweet smile as he cocks his head, waiting just in case Nagi wants to speak. Standing up from his seat, Nagi trudged towards Reo, who’s busy doing his hair, to hook his chin over Reo’s shoulder. The sudden weight that melts onto his back along with the skin contact between Nagi’s arms and Reo’s stomach nearly short-circuits Reo’s brain.
“I like this better.” Nagi mumbles into his neck, pulling Reo closer into himself. “Soccer’s more fun with you.”
Reo jolts at Nagi’s lips grazing on his nape, blush overtaking his face and ears. It’s impossible to ignore what Nagi just said, no matter how hard he tries. “Huh– What’s with you today, you’re acting weird…”
“I’m not.” Nagi finally releases his hold on Reo, hands lingering at his waist until Reo pulls away. Jerking away to hide his red face from Nagi, Reo is finally able to get dressed, taking his time to calm himself. He’s able to feel Nagi’s eyes burning into his back, but Reo’s used enough to the action that his face doesn’t flare up.
“Maybe not.” Reo muses, turning back around. “But you only try to butter me up if you want something.”
The pout on Nagi’s face causes him to laugh abruptly, Reo strolling towards the mini fridge to grab a bottle of water. He catches Nagi moving towards him again, lighting up when Reo raises a hand to ruffle his hair. It’s unbearably cute and makes Reo giggle, but he leads them towards the benches before Nagi tries to make Reo carry him unnecessarily.
“I’m not trying to butter you up.” Nagi pauses mid-sentence, eyebrows furrowing as he seems to contemplate something. Reo’s about to ask him what’s wrong, but Nagi perks up before he does. “Okay, well, there is something, but it doesn’t have anything to do with praising you.”
“Yes, yes, I got it.” Glancing up towards Nagi, Reo beams at him reassuringly. “What is it, then?”
Before he notices it, Nagi is in front of where Reo is sitting, crouching by his feet so that Reo can’t look away without making it awkward. He blinks in surprise, hiding his loss of composure with the clearing of his throat.
“Our next match, against FC Barcha.” Nagi starts, seeming uncharacteristically befuddled with himself. Reo nods in acknowledgement, waiting for Nagi to continue. It takes a while for Nagi to find his words again, gazing back at Reo with a small smile. “Give me a kiss if we win.”
“Oh, uhm, that’s a little…” Reo freezes in place, warmth drowning him as he fumbles for a proper reply. “Why are you even asking for that?”
Standing up to tower over Reo, Nagi caresses at Reo’s head mindlessly. “Eh, not the point right now. So? Or do you want goals instead?”
Reo covered his face with a hand, the flush on his face refusing to fade away. His heart is about to beat out of his chest, mind whirling from the situation he’s in. It almost feels like a fever dream — and Reo does dream about receiving Nagi’s affections plenty — with the way Nagi is massaging his scalp rhythmically.
He figures that he should reply soon, when Nagi pokes at his cheek in concern. “You have no shame, do you…” Nagi hums in agreement, tickling at Reo’s neck. “Fine–! Now hands off!”
The delight in Nagi's expression almost makes Reo’s embarrassment worth it, if not for the way Nagi’s lips brush across the front of his hair. “Alright, enough!”