Chapter Text
Mikage-Nagi Hoki is “born” on a Saturday afternoon in the dead of winter.
Surrounded by white walls and bright lights, and the smiling, albeit tired, faces of his parents, he comes in at just about five pounds.
A little underweight but otherwise a healthy, happy newborn.
With big gray eyes and a mild temperament, his “mother” says he’s just like his father.
His father, on the other hand, will take one look at his almond shaped eyes and majestic purple hair and say otherwise.
Mikage-Nagi Hoki is the light of his parent’s life, their miraculous little “treasure,” the embodiment of his parents’ wishes and promises to remain together through the trials and tribulations of life.
Mikage-Nagi Hoki… also just happens to be a sack of flour.
How has it come to this?
The question is becoming something that Reo asks himself all too frequently and, honestly, it’s starting to become more trouble than it’s probably worth.
Really, is all of this necessary?
What Reo wants is pretty simple, in his humble opinion.
Work hard, train harder, make Nagi the best striker, and win the World Cup alongside him. His plan is written neatly and with a very careful attention to detail in the lavender-colored notebook he takes everywhere with him.
All content that is one hundred percent top secret information.
(No, it doesn’t have to do with the numerous personal entries that are interspersed between the training regiments and tactics).
Just a few weeks ago everything was normal, business as usual in the Blue Lock facility, but of course, because they can’t have nice things— Reo can’t have nice things— Ego decides to throw in a new curve ball for everyone.
“The higher ups are concerned over the audiences’ concern regarding whether or not you unpolished gems are receiving a proper education,” is what Ego had said a while ago, “Frankly, I don’t give a rat’s ass, but it’s out of my hands now, so until they hop off my back, there’s gonna be some changes.”
Apparently, Ego likes to make his problems the problems of a bunch of teenagers too, and with their careers on the line, Ego so maliciously dangles the threat of immediate termination in front of their faces with that creepy smile of his.
It’s not like any of them could actually refuse.
Yes, it seems that the people tuning in to Blue Lock TV have only just now begun to question the ethics of locking up a bunch of emotionally underdeveloped teenage boys into a football survival prison.
Well, the deprivation of actual sunlight is a cause for concern. If Nagi becomes any paler, he’ll be translucent, and Reo has seen nary a fresh fruit in almost a month, he’s growing concerned that any day now Bachira might develop scurvy.
They’ve been getting random assignments and projects here and there.
Including, but not limited to: that really hard physics test they had a few days ago, (not to brag, but Reo totally aced it) the cooking course they had where many people ended up with food poisoning courtesy of Chigiri’s undercooked chicken katsu, and who could forget the Blue Lock science fair where Bachira had everyone convinced that he’d made an actual functioning bomb?
Thus far, all the assignments, homework, tests, and projects have been nothing but busy work meant to placate a vocal minority of watchers that probably aren’t actually that concerned about football frying their brains.
In their attempt to provide some kind of education to the participants, what was originally meant to be boring work which Ego had intended to bring down ratings so that he could go back to doing what he was before, has actually had the opposite effect.
That is to say, the sad attempts at making them learn have become something of a spectacle. In fact, the ridiculous work is bringing in viewers and internet traction.
Barou is a meme now, Bachira is tiktok famous, and Reo has seen multiple edits of himself, Chigiri, and Nagi in the same vein as the ones typically made for kpop idols.
The wonders of the internet are ceaseless, and the power of a newly forming fandom starved for content is one that moves with more speed than any of Japan’s fastest bullet trains.
Reo would almost find it commendable if some of their fans’ creations weren’t so questionable.
But throughout all of this, Reo really didn’t think that it could get any more outlandish.
Clearly, Reo was wrong.
Letting out a deep sigh, Reo refocuses his attention on the sack of flour lying limply in front of him and Nagi on the table.
According to Ego, they’ve now entered their “Health” unit. Granted, Reo wasn’t even aware that they had defined units to begin with because much like Ego’s ranking system, the work he hands out to them is utterly arbitrary and nonsensical.
If they’ve entered their health unit, Reo doesn’t know, maybe doing a project revolving around football would make actual sense in this case and not whatever the fuck this is.
The project this time around and their lesson from yesterday was all about “the wonders of reproduction” as Ego had said in a completely bored voice. The blue lockers had to sit through an entire three hour lecture on things most of them probably learned in their junior high health classes.
That wasn’t what had bothered Reo and everyone so much though.
No, the real problem had been the constant jokes and expletives that left Shidou’s mouth every few seconds.
At one point, Ego had even let Shidou high jack the lecture and teach it.
The older boy did so through a truly astounding number of metaphors all of which involved the use of the word “ exploding.” At the very least, Reo can say that the older boy’s explanations had been very detailed and thorough, almost graphically so.
Suffice to say, there is now nothing left to be imagined for every and all participants.
By the end of it, Rin had to be escorted out, having threatened to beat the shit out of Shidou, and everyone else had been left amused but awkward.
It was at that point that Ego announced that they’d be doing their longest project yet.
Word for word, Ego told them that they “need to have babies” at which point the entire room had been thrust into confusion and mass hysteria. It took Anri a solid half hour to calm everyone down, which is when Ego finally took the time to explain properly.
As he should’ve done in the first place, if you ask Reo.
They have to take care of flour babies for an undetermined amount of time. Some of them would be doing it alone to simulate “single parenthood,” and others would be doing it in pairs. The number of flour babies they’d have would be determined by whatever random process Ego decides to undergo in his head.
That man’s mind is a complete mystery.
The spin of a wheel, the roll of a dice, and one fake marriage certificate later, Nagi and Reo are about to become proud(?) fathers of one, count it, one flour baby.
Around the room, all the other pairs and the people who were doing it solo worked on assembling their ingredient children to varying degrees of seriousness. Part of which, again, according to Ego, entailed a demonstration of basic genetics through the use of coin flips and punnett squares.
At the table next to them, Isagi is taking it very seriously, drawing up the squares as Bachira went ahead as usual, decorating the poor sack of flour until it resembled more of some kind of gremlin than either of them. Regardless, despite Isagi’s initial disbelief, Reo watched the way the dark haired boy smiled at his partner.
Though Reo fears for the safety of their child, he thinks that otherwise they’ll make good parents.
The whole thing is admittedly pretty silly, and while Reo doesn’t find himself thinking of it often, there’s a part of him that always has wondered what it’d be like to be married.
He has no time to dwell on the thought.
Next to him, Nagi lets out another sigh as he half heartedly flips a coin onto the table.
“Hm,”
To anyone else the noise would mean nothing, but Reo could discern the hints of satisfaction that peaks through.
“What’s up?” Reo asks.
Nagi is silent for a moment and Reo wonders if he’s doing that thing where he answers in his head but forgets to actually say anything out loud. As Reo makes to ask him once more, Nagi meets his eyes, shining slightly as he slides a paper closer to him.
The Punnett squares…
“Ah!”
“Mini Reo~” Nagi says with a lazy drawl, teasing him lightly as the corner of his lip curves upwards in the faintest of smiles.
Wanting to protest, Reo managed to get exactly zero words out before Nagi took the initiative, grabbed the flour baby and began to decorate it with a considerable amount of effort.
That’s another thing.
While everyone else had been slightly thrown off by the whole ordeal, Nagi had taken it in stride.
And maybe it shouldn’t be that surprising, Nagi has always been a pretty passive, “go with the flow” type of person, but it’s different this time. He hasn’t been waiting around for Reo to make decisions, rather, has been the one seemingly pulling Reo along as he’s yet to completely shake off the bizarre feeling this whole thing is giving him.
In fact, Nagi had been so enthusiastic about it that Reo thought perhaps it was all some kind of elaborate prank. That or perhaps Nagi was feeling ill.
Alas, it seems like neither is the case, not when Nagi had held Reo’s hand and proclaimed him as his husband in front of all of the other participants as well as the entire internet before the pairs had even been decided because, like some kind of freak, Ego had thought it best that their lessons, too, would get live streamed.
Reo tries not to think too hard about the way Nagi’s eyes seemed to shine as they signed the fake marriage certificate, how eager his partner had been to sign it himself, and now, how focused he seemed to be as he decorated their child(?).
Purple hair and big gray googly eyes, a mix of the two of them but leaning more towards Reo, though with an expression similar to the x-shaped pout that Nagi often defaults to.
Cute , Reo thinks, bringing a hand to cover up his giggle, only to stop and cringe at himself for thinking all of this about a sack of flour.
Within a few more minutes, Nagi looks over his work and nods, turning towards Reo with expectation and an air of pride.
“Nice job, treasure!” Reo says, ruffling Nagi’s hair.
“Things to say when you’re in bed!” Shidou says as he saunters over towards the two of them.
The older boy looks ridiculous, a sack of flour haphazardly strapped to his chest that sports similarly dyed hair, lashes, and eyeliner that could “cut a bitch” as Shidou likes to say.
“What do you want, Shidou?” Reo asks, unimpressed.
Not that Reo doesn’t like the older boy, but with how tired Reo is, he doesn’t think he’s in the right state of mind to be dealing with whatever tomfoolery Shidou is likely to get up to if they continue their conversation any further.
But Shidou seems to have a radar that tells him when he isn’t wanted, and like the harbinger of mischief that he is, is only encouraged to keep going by Reo’s clear tone of dismissal.
“Nothin’ just wanted to say hi to my future wife and step-son~”
Reo’s eyes immediately widen, caught off guard as his mind registers the words that have just come out of Shidou’s mouth, mulls them over until he’s certain that there must be a growing flush on his face.
There must be because otherwise, Shidou’s wolfish grin wouldn’t be growing even more, he wouldn’t be licking his lips either and Reo probably wouldn’t be feeling as uncomfortably hot as he’s starting to.
There’s no need for Reo to respond as Nagi interjects before Reo’s even had the time to calm himself down.
“Go away,” Nagi groans.
The words are spoken slowly as they usually are but with a tone of irritation, clear enough that even someone who’s not fluent in Nagi’s mannerisms the way Reo is would be able to hear it. The expression on Nagi’s face also betrays him, eyebrows drawn to a frown and jaw tense, Reo instantly goes into panic mode.
If the two of them get into a fight… Reo thinks the Manshine training has been very kind to Nagi, but Reo has seen what Shidou is capable of, and so he knows that if Nagi went up against him, he’d quite literally get destroyed.
Though he’s not fully recovered from Shidou’s advances, Reo figures now is the best time to intervene lest Nagi get his ass beat. Clearing his throat, Reo speaks, “Isn’t that kind of rude to say? Wouldn’t your partner get mad?”
Shidou smirks, walks closer to Reo and hooks a finger under his chin, raising it so that Reo is looking up at him, “I’m single,” he purrs.
“And we’re married—” Nagi says,
“Fake married!” Reo interjects quickly.
But he’s ignored and Nagi continues, “Back off.”
In one swift movement, Shidou is being pulled back, Nagi suddenly standing in front of Reo and carefully handing their flour child over to him.
Nagi stands up straight, puffing his chest out in an attempt to make himself look intimidating, but Shidou is unfazed, smirk still present and for a second Reo thinks “this is it, this is how Nagi dies,”
But to Reo’s surprise, Shidou throws his hands up in surrender.
“Can’t be getting into fights,” he says, patting the head of the sack on his chest, “Fatherhood really puts things into perspective, you know? Anyways, when you’re ready to be with a real man, hit me up bun-bun~”
The older boy finally leaves and Nagi’s shoulders droop immediately, turning to face Reo and leaning down to rest his face on his partner’s shoulder.
“Reoooo, I’m tired.”
As if Reo hadn’t just nearly witnessed Nagi’s life flashing before his eyes, his partner returns to his usual self, nuzzling Reo’s shoulder and trying to get some attention.
Sighing, Reo rubs Nagi’s back with one hand and holds their child in the other.
“Come on, let’s finish up the birth certificate and then head back.”
“‘Kay.”
“Hoki? Seriously, Nagi?”
“Hm… you should call me Seishiro now.”
“Nagi!!”
“Serishiro~” he corrects gently.
Reo groans, playfully ruffling Nagi’s hair as he stares down at the sack of flour in front of them. He had expected it to look a lot less messy than it is, but Nagi had surprisingly taken the decorating process very seriously.
Reo smiles and places the finishing touch, a name tag, around its “neck.”
It— he— dons an FC Manshine City uniform, number 11, a miniature version of Nagi’s and Reo can’t help but coo internally.
Oh god, Reo thinks embarrassingly.
His friends (read: Chigiri and Kunigami) have always likened him to someone in-tune with his maternal energy, but he didn’t think it was this bad.
“Let’s go back now,” Nagi says, making grabby hands at him.
“I can’t carry you if I have to carry Hoki too,” Reo says, hands on his hips.
While he’s certainly used to taking care of Nagi, and while these projects don’t actually seem to have any kind of influence on their ranks in blue lock, Reo would rather play it safe.
Just within the few hours of the project officially starting, poor Zantetsu who’s one of the few having to do the project alone has already managed to get FCPS (Flour Child Protective Services) on his ass for forgetting his flour baby in the baths.
Nagi fixed him a look.
“Hoki,” he says, making grabby hands once more, “I can carry him.”
Doing a double take, Reo considers Nagi for a moment.
Did he hear that correctly? Nagi, his Nagi , wants to hold their child?
Reo supposed that… It's not too surprising. Nagi, despite his constantly neutral outward appearance and general apathy for most things, isn't heartless at all. In fact, Reo would say that Nagi cares a lot, but only about specific things.
What immediately comes to mind is Choki. Nagi loves that little cactus and Reo can’t help but feel warm whenever his partner talks about him.
“Choki is a big brother now,” he had said, a glint in his eyes as he’d snapped a picture of Hoki to send to Ba-ya.
Very quickly, she responded with her own congratulations to them both, something that made Reo want to dig a hole and jump in it out of embarrassment but Nagi looked oddly satisfied.
Still, that Nagi has gotten this attached to a sack of flour is simultaneously endearing and concerning.
Sad .
Reo is once again reminded that Nagi used to spend a great amount of time on his own.
Smiling, Reo hands Hoki over, “Hold him carefully.”
Dutifully as always when it comes to Reo’s commands, Nagi obliges, reaching out with a touch as gentle, skilled, and effortless as his traps and grabbing hold of Hoki, looking at him with a sort of wonder that Reo can’t quite grasp completely.
It’s sweet.
“Let’s go, treasure,” Reo says.
Nagi nods.
And when Nagi wraps one arm around Reo’s waist, he doesn’t mention it, nor does he push it away.
Their first night as parents goes about as well as Reo thinks it can.
They “bathed” their baby, clothed it, fed it, and changed its diaper.
The works.
Completely normal parent things.
Only once was there a close call of it getting knocked over with a football, but Nagi had moved practically at the speed of light, trapping the ball before it could reach Hoki and with an aura of death around him, had come about as close as he could to scolding Chigiri for having endangered their child.
All in all, a pretty good day.
Reo had even written a short entry about it in his notebook.
Now, lying in bed across from Nagi and with Hoki in between the two of them, Reo’s mind begins to wander once more.
This project is certainly ridiculous, but even Reo will admit that at least it’s entertaining compared to most of the other work they’ve had to do so far.
The sound of a camera shutter takes Reo back to reality and once he’s regained his composure, he looks off to the side where Nagi lays, the barest of smiles on his face as he waves his phone in the air.
“Got ya’” he says, turning the phone over so that Reo can see.
A picture of himself with Hoki in his arms and Reo can’t help but think that it’d make for a cute sight were it not for the fact that Hoki is, well, a literal sack of flour. Still, Reo finds his heart warming at Nagi’s eagerness to capture the moment.
A voice that sounds suspiciously like Chigiri also tells him to raise his standards, but Reo is, by now, a professional at ignoring that voice.
Reo prides himself on knowing Nagi the best, but finds himself getting surprised still.
Nagi has a nurturing side to him that usually only comes out towards things that don’t really have a consciousness. He attaches himself quickly to inanimate objects and Reo knows that it’s probably something his partner should seek help about, but it’s a terribly endearing quality all the same.
When Nagi cares, he does so with all his power, and that, Reo thinks, is very special.
Reo smiles to himself and lets his eyes shut, resting them but not yet ready to go to sleep, he listens to the sound of Nagi’s game in the background.
Chigiri is in the German stratum with Kunigami tonight, “for the baby,” Chigiri had said, but Reo has seen enough to call bullshit, the redhead just wants an excuse to see Blue Lock’s resident hero.
That leaves the two of them — three of them—Reo corrects himself in his mind, alone.
It’s nice.
Cracking one eye open, Reo looks across the bed.
Nagi is in a world of his own, completely engrossed in completing his daily missions with Hoki on his chest.
It’s like at this very moment, the only ones that exist are himself and his treasure.
And their flour son.
In the past, whenever Reo has asked Nagi about his trapping, his partner has always just responded with a shrug.
A natural genius, a true one-of-a-kind talent, Nagi says that he lets his body do what it wants, his brain telling him to act and he simply does it .
It’s a fascinating thing, instinct.
A feeling that Reo has had run-ins with before, but so much of himself as a player and as a person hinges on his constant surveillance and monitoring of his own thoughts and actions, moving based on instinct alone doesn’t come as easily and isn’t something he can just copy unfortunately.
But right now, Reo wouldn’t be able to explain it if someone were to ask him.
No, his body just moves on its own, easily but also too fast for Reo to process what’s happening until the sound of the shutter is going off and Nagi is looking at him with big eyes, phone suddenly limp in his hands as his speakers ring out a clear “game over.”
Reo doesn’t often move on instinct, every action, every word, and every breath calculated to perfection, but Nagi’s always had a way of knocking him off his feet. Still, with all those years of putting on the act of flawless Mikage heir, Reo doesn’t often move on instinct but he does think quickly.
And lately he’s been working harder on training himself out of the occasionally awkwardness he feels sometimes, keeping a clear head constantly.
It’s exhausting but beneficial.
In a matter of milliseconds, Reo is running through the scenarios.
Apologize to Nagi for snapping a picture without his permission (even though Nagi has done the same many times before.)
Apologize to Nagi for making him lose his game.
Playing it off like it was an accident (Nagi will know it’s not, but won’t call him out on his bluff.)
Instead, Reo goes with something else.
“Got ya’ back!” He says with a wink, repeating Nagi’s words from earlier.
Nagi doesn’t say anything immediately, his only response being his eyes growing even more wide if it’s even possible.
They come to life, sparking with interest as he holds Reo hostage in an impromptu staring contest.
“Send it to me.”
“Wha?”
“Send it to me,” Nagi licks his lips, “the picture,” he adds as if to clarify.
He’s been working hard on his communication skills at least.
“…Sure,” Reo says, airdropping it quickly and then standing up to make his way towards the light.
“We should go to sleep now,” Reo says, flipping the switch just in time to hide his warming face, “Just cus’ we have this project, doesn’t mean Chris is gonna let us wake up late!”
With Nagi’s small noise of affirmation, Reo makes his way back towards his own bed, the lamp in the table between illuminating things slightly.
Just short of making it under the covers, Nagi makes another noise. To anyone else, nothing significant, but as always Reo can hear the hint of displeasure. Leveling Nagi a confused look, Reo waits for his partner to use his words.
Taking some time to gather his thoughts, Nagi finally turns to stare intently at Reo once more, eyes alight with the same intensity that Reo has grown accustomed to seeing on the field in the midst of a heated match.
“Reo isn’t gonna sleep with me?”
It’s like all of the training Reo has done to strengthen his mental state goes flying out one of Blue Lock’s few windows.
“What?” Reo chokes out.
“Reo isn’t going to sleep with me,” Nagi says again, less of a question this time, straightforward as if he’s stating a fact.
Reo opens his mouth, but the words get stuck in his through as he looks at his partner. It’s dim now, the light from the table lamp doesn’t give enough brightness to completely read Nagi’s face, but he’s turned on his side, propping himself up on his arm as he continues looking at Reo.
Not knowing what to say, Reo’s mouth shuts slowly and he begins to gnaw at his bottom lip.
A flurry of movement catches Reo’s attention once more and Nagi is no longer alone in bed anymore. He’s brought Hoki to rest on his hip, it’s big gray googly-eyes creeping Reo out slightly.
“Sleep with me,” Nagi says.
Demands is a better word.
“Huh?!”
“Sleep with me,” Nagi says again, slight irritation tainting the ends of his words, his partner never did like repeating himself.
“With us,” Nagi says, wiggling Hoki around and turning to him, “What’s that? Hoki wants mama to sleep with us? You’ll cry if he doesn’t?” He turns back to Reo, “You hear that? You’re gonna make Hoki cry if you don’t sleep with us.”
Ah, so that’s it.
Reo lets out a sigh of relief. In the end it seems like Nagi was just saying it without other intentions. Reo should’ve known, but even for Reo it’s difficult to interpret some of his partner's words and actions sometimes.
Smiling, Reo makes his way over to Nagi’s bed, looking hesitantly before crawling in, letting the embarrassment ebb away.
Before he knows it, Hoki is being placed between them and Nagi is turning over to face Reo again.
“So,” Reo starts, “When did we decide that I’m the mother?” He says, raising a brow while trying to suppress a smile. Ultimately, Reo is unable to hold back from flashing a grin.
It must be infectious because Nagi’s lips quirk up a bit too.
“Reo is the mom,” he says confidently, leaving no room for argument.
“But why though?”
“Because Reo is like a mom,” is what Reo half expects to hear.
After all, Reo is self-aware, he’s perfectly cognizant of the fact that his habits of trying to look good in front of everyone oftentimes borders on people-pleasy. Towards the people that he cares about though, like Nagi and certain other blue lock participants, younger ones like Bachira, Rin, and Niko, his behavior can seem a bit… maternal (“mother-hen” as Chigiri likes to say,).
The answer he gets is nothing like he thought it would be.
Nagi yawns, pulls the blanket up to cover Reo and then Hoki and then high enough that it covers his mouth, but Reo can see the way there’s a slight mischievous glint in Nagi’s eyes and every so miniscule, they form the vaguest of crescents.
“Because Reo is my wife,” he says easily.
Reo’s eyes almost pop out of their sockets but try as he might, it’s too late to coax an answer out of Nagi. Not when his partner plays dead better than anyone, closing his eyes and not moving as Reo vigorously shakes him. In the end, it must’ve all somehow been enough to put Nagi to sleep because shortly after, his treasure is snoring softly and Reo has no choice but to think about his words until he’s too tired to think anymore.
Note to self: talk to Nagi about it later.
Also, look into getting him a therapist, his attachment to inanimate objects is slightly concerning.
If Reo dreams of wedding bells and their futures, it’s no one’s business but his own.