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Nagi is on his third consecutive high score when he hears a familiar voice from behind.
“Move over. I’ll beat your score.”
Nagi turns to meet Rin’s bored expression with an equally bored expression. He moves to the next seat without question, watching Rin grip the game, eyes staring intently at the screen as he nearly manages to beat Nagi’s newest high score.
The score that flashes across the screen is ten points below Nagi’s high score, but it still manages to pique his interest. “That was close.”
Rin throws him an annoyed look. Right. He’s not a fan of losing. Apparently, that extends to video games, too.
Nagi doesn’t blame him. Winning is a lot more fun.
“Try again,” Nagi says. “It took me three plays to get that score. If you can get it in two, that means you win.”
Rin appears to consider this before wordlessly returning to the game. He beats Nagi’s score by a single point, but it’s enough to pull at the corner of Rin’s lip.
Rin has a nice smile, Nagi absentmindedly thinks.
“We should see who can win the most arcade games,” Nagi proposes.
Rin had only stopped by the arcade to pass some time, but now that he’s been challenged, he can’t back down.
“What does the winner get?” he asks.
Nagi thinks about it for a moment before answering, “Whoever loses has to give the winner a reward of the winner’s choosing.”
⚘⚘⚘
Nagi loves playing video games.
Nagi loves playing video games, and yet, he can’t remember the last time he had this much fun while playing.
Rin is just as competitive in the arcade as he is on the field, and it sparks something inside Nagi, something that makes him not just want to win, but to conquer.
Rin’s hunger is contagious. He’s only happy if he beats the high score. Winning against Nagi isn’t enough for him.
There’s a strange feeling bubbling inside Rin. It’s almost like….he’s having fun. It feels a lot like the way he used to feel when playing soccer with his brother.
Before Sae came back.
Before everything changed.
Rin focuses all his energy on the games. He’s not interested in analyzing the warm fuzzy buzz inside his chest—that’s a problem for another time.
What matters now is winning.
Except, every time Rin gets ahead, Nagi catches up. It’s an impossible match, especially when it appears that there’s an even number of games in the arcade.
Nagi glances around, trying to find a game they haven’t played. They can’t end the day on a tie. Someone has to win.
Finally, his gaze lands on something they haven’t tried.
“We haven’t done the photo booth,” Nagi says.
“Does the photo booth count as a game?” Rin asks, skeptical.
“We can make it a game. The silliest face wins.”
Rin considers this. “How will we judge whose face is the silliest?”
“We can ask Reo,” Nagi suggests.
“Reo’s your best friend. Bachira will be a judge, too.”
“Then we need a third in case of a tie.”
“Isagi?”
Nagi nods in agreement. “Isagi.”
Once the judges are decided, they squeeze into the photo booth, shoulders pressed together as they press through the border options until landing on one with soccer balls.
“That one,” Rin says as Nagi selects the soccer border.
The photo booth begins counting down. Tongues stick out. Peace signs go up. Cheeks are puffed out. Each photo captures a different side of silly.
When the photo strips print, Nagi finds himself smiling at the pictures. He holds the photos out in front of him and snaps a photo, creating a group chat with the judges.
Group chat started.
NAGI ╰┈➤ [Photo Attachment] This is important. Whose face looks sillier?
The texts pour in immediately.
REO ╰┈➤ Are you with Rin right now?
ISAGI ╰┈➤ Where are you guys? Let’s meet up!
BACHIRA ╰┈➤ Cute (─‿‿─)♡
Of course their judges would focus on everything except the entire reason they’re needed. Rin and Nagi share a glance before returning their attention to their phones.
RIN ╰┈➤ Answer the question.
REO ╰┈➤ Why do you want to know whose face looks weirder?
NAGI ╰┈➤ Sillier
REO ╰┈➤ Is there a difference?
RIN ╰┈➤ Just answer the question.
BACHIRA ╰┈➤ I vote Rin-chan
ISAGI ╰┈➤ I guess Nagi? You both look silly! Seems like you’re having fun :)
NAGI ╰┈➤ Reo?
They stare at their phone for a good five minutes before concluding that Reo has decided to ignore them. There’s too much riding on this decision to wait around for an answer that might never come.
Reo has been removed from the group chat
Chigiri has been added to the group chat
NAGI ╰┈➤ [Photo attachment] Hey Chigiri. Whose face looks sillier?
CHIGIRI ╰┈➤ Nagi
Straight to the point, Chigiri breaks the tie.
Group chat deleted.
Something warm settles inside Nagi. It feels good to win.
Rin meets Nagi’s excitement with a scowl. Where there’s a winner, there’s a loser, and Rin has never been good at losing.
But he has to admit, losing doesn’t feel as bad when he catches sight of Nagi’s smile. It almost makes him want to smile, too.
The swirl in his stomach tells Rin everything he needs to know. He’s working on slowing the pitter-patter of his heart when he hears Nagi’s voice and all progress is lost.
“Hey, Rin.”
Rin grunts in response.
“Was this a date?”
Rin freezes before proceeding with caution. “I don’t know.” A short pause. “Do you want it to be?”
“I think so.” Nagi takes a moment to ponder. “Let’s go on a second one. That's what I want for my reward.”
“That’s a shitty reward,” Rin says.
Nagi shrugs. “It’s what I’m choosing.”
⚘⚘⚘
They attempt a second date, but what starts as a picnic in the park turns into an impromptu three-on-three soccer match.
They’re navigating the awkwardness of a date, knees pressed together while they eat sandwiches on a blanket when Nagi spots Chigiri and Reo walking a few feet away from them.
Nagi considers trying to hide. There’s a tree nearby, they could duck behind it—
Reo’s gaze lands on Nagi’s and his plan is foiled. There’s no running now. Confusion filters through Reo’s expression when he notices Rin, but it leaves as quickly as it comes.
He can feel Rin scowling next to him without having to look. He softly taps his knee against Rin’s.
“What are you guys doing here? I thought you had plans today?” Reo directs his last question to Nagi.
“This was my plan,” Nagi says simply.
“Oh.” Confusion pulls Reo’s eyebrows together, like he’s trying to figure out why Nagi and Rin would be hanging out and just can’t figure it out.
Nagi glances at Chigiri and finds that at least one of them knows how to put the pieces together. He’s contemplating telling Reo that he’s on a date when two more familiar faces join the mix.
Isagi’s beaming smile closes in on them. Bachira is holding a soccer ball under his arm.
“What are you guys doing here?” Issgi asks, unaware that the question has already been posed.
“We just ran into Nagi and Rin,” Reo says.
Nagi opens his mouth to say we’re on a date , but Rin’s words come out before he gets the chance.
“We’re eating lunch.”
“Cool,” Isagi says. “We were about to practice. You guys should join us. We could make it a game.”
Bachira catches Rin’s gaze and gives him a knowing grin. He tosses the ball at him. “Rin, Nagi, and Chigiri against me, Isagi, and Reo.”
Rin’s heart is racing as he tosses the soccer ball back. “You’re on.”
The adrenaline of the game washes away his nerves. His thoughts fall away, the pieces in his brain moving to solve the puzzle of the field. The opposing team scores first, but they’re quick to tie the game. Rin and Nagi move down the makeshift field until a goal is scored for their team, shot into the net by Rin, who finds himself looking at Nagi immediately after the goal is made.
It’s the way he used to look at Sae when they were kids. A look that says, did you see that? A look that seeks to be recognized.
It takes another hour for the game to tie again at two points, and Rin finds that as much as he wants to win, he’s also just…having fun.
This isn’t like playing in Blue Lock, where the stakes are high and every move is calculated. This is a kind of soccer that Rin thought he’d left in his past—the kind that makes him happy. The kind that exists when he gets to play with people he cares about.
For the first time in a long, long time, Rin stops playing to win. He looks at the faces of the people around him, everyone smiling and laughing as the ball makes its way around the field, and his heart clenches at how much he’s missed this.
Soccer is better when he’s not playing out of spite.
“You look happy,” Bachira says as he dribbles the ball.
“Shut up,” Rin says without heat, blocking him from making a pass.
Bachira just grins, slithering around Rin and shooting the ball across the field toward Isagi.
Except, Nagi gets to the ball first.
Rin’s body moves on instinct, following Nagi down the field, positioning himself in the perfect spot for a goal. Nagi avoids Reo’s block and kicks the ball to Rin, who shoots it into the net, scoring the third and final goal of the game.
Full of adrenaline and the excitement of winning, Rin turns to meet Nagi. His heart is pounding, and it’s not just from the game.
Nagi’s smiling, and Rin’s heart won’t stop pounding, and before he can fully process what he’s doing, his lips are pressed against Nagi’s.
The kiss lasts an amazing ten seconds before the sound of Reo’s voice brings Rin back to reality.
“Wait…are they together?”
Reo is looking at Bachira, Isagi, and Chigiri for confirmation. Bachira and Chigiri seem unphased, but surprise is written all over Isagi’s face.
Rin can’t help but enjoy the fact that Isagi is standing there clueless. Guess he can only put the pieces together when it comes to soccer.
“It was pretty obvious,” Chigiri says.
Rin disagrees. How were they obvious?!
“I’ve never seen Rin smile at someone the way he was smiling at Nagi earlier,” Bachira adds.
“I just thought they were talking about soccer,” Isagi admits.
Rin snorts. He’s surprisingly okay with everyone knowing about him and Nagi.
Except…does he even know what they are?
They kissed—does that automatically mean they’re together?
They’ve gone on two dates, so that means they’re dating, right?
Rin has absolutely no experience with anything relationship-related. He’s used to shoving his feelings aside, not actually doing something about them.
“Sorry for interrupting your date with a game,” Chigi says. “It looked fun.”
Nagi shrugs. “This was fun too.”
“You’ve got about an hour of sunlight left—we’ll get out of here and let you guys enjoy it,” Bachira says.
Reo still looks perplexed as the group departs, leaving Rin and Nagi alone.
“You scored the winning goal,” Nagi says once their friends are out of earshot. “That means you get to choose a reward.”
Rin raises an eyebrow, his eyes flashing down to Nagi’s lips.
Rin never gave much thought to kissing, but now that he’s kissed Nagi, he has a feeling he’ll be thinking about it a lot more.
Rin opens his mouth to tell Nagi that his reward is a second kiss, but Nagi beats him to it.
“Don’t waste your reward on a kiss,” Nagi says, closing the gap between them.
Yeah. Rin’s is definitely going to spend a lot of time thinking about kissing.
“A third date,” Rin says when they pull apart, his heart knocking loudly in his chest. “For my reward.”
The upward curl of Nagi’s lip causes the knocking in his chest to grow louder, but he’s too happy to care.