Chapter Text
Chigiri prides himself on being a really patient man.
He has an older sister with a hot temper, and a beauty that rivals Aphrodite herself—he does take after her, after all the gorgeous genes run in the family, so he’s pretty much used to having to deal with her mental breakdowns every time a rat sewer man didn’t bring her flowers, or forgot the date of theirs anniversary, or completely flunked her gift for Valentine’s Day, but heavens above, his patience is about to be put on the test as he watches his best friend since high school, cries pathetically because he said no to marrying him.
“Why won’t you marry me?”, His very dear friend cried,“Is it because I’m ugly?”
“Babe, you know you are the prettiest boy I know”
“Then why?”, he sniffles
He let out a sigh before taking a tissue box out of his purse and handing it out to his friend, who took it all so gladly and started blowing out his nose, gross.
“You know I’m madly in love with Ren, and besides you don’t really wanna marry me now, do you?”
“No,” he answers, “but who else could I ask?”
Chigiri rolls his eyes, he’s really trying to be sympathetic, but Reo’s acting unreasonable now,” couldn’t you wait till— I don’t know , you find someone you like enough to marry?”
He hands him another tissue box as he observes the tears running down his face, which doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. He’s a little bit worried he’s going to be dehydrated if this keeps up.
” I don’t have the time for dating! Dad said I only have a week till I find someone suitable, or he’ll cut off my inheritance and force me to marry a random stranger he chooses” he continues with a sniffle, “ can you imagine me being married to some snobbish brat who has nothing going on in their head besides blowing out daddy’s money?”
You are a snobbish brat.
He thinks quietly as he glances at his friend, who refuses to touch any article of clothing that is not some high-end designer brand with a 5ft pole.
He brings a hand to message the bridge of his nose before answering,” How about Yukimiya? You two are good friends”.
“I already did! He said he’s not ready for commitment, and that he wants to focus on his career”
“Fair,” he mused.
“Being married to me is like— a free promotion!”
“Yeah, but you know how he is, being obsessed with authenticity or whatever” he waves a hand dismissively, “What about Shidou?”
His friend levels him with a glare as he says, “I don’t think asking your ex-boyfriend hand in marriage is a good idea, Chi”
“Oh right, also Sae would kill you”
He buries his head in his hands as he whines loudly, ” What should I do? At this rate I’ll never get married and dad will get disappointed, and cut me off, and I’ll get disowned and end up living on the streets!”, he screeches, “ On the streets, Chi”.
“Hey now, stop exaggerating,” he thinks a little before answering,” What about Kaiser?”
Reo lowers his hands in order to look at him with disbelief,” Kaiser? He’s literally a bitch, I can’t do that”
Chigiri snaps at the sheer audacity, ”You’re calling him a bitch now? After ditching me to go on that trip with him, you fucking cheater!”
“Oh my god drop it already, and you’re making a scene, calm down”, he looks frantically around them, a couple of people have already abandoned their conversation to listen on theirs, someone even raised their phone to film them. Next thing, he knows they’ll end up on the school’s list for worst-nasty break up to happen on campus. He already made it on the list once, and that’s enough for him.
Chigiri feels his blood pressure getting higher, before telling himself it’s not worth it, Reo is saying nonsense because he’s upset and stressed. So it’s up to him to act as the bigger person, so he calmly calls for the waiter to pay for their drinks and escort his dear friend to leave the cafe.
They walk around the neighbourhood, before choosing to sit on a secluded bench in the park. It's mostly empty, safe for a couple small toddlers who're too young to be in school and their respective guardians.
They sit in silence for a while, he sneaks a glance at his friend who’s clearly still distressed but appears to have calmed down a little, enough to stop crying at least. Crying Reo is the worst to deal with because he starts spotting nonsense. On top of that, he looks like a wet sad kitten that Chigir can’t help but to feel sorry for.
“What about Kunigami?” he said, raising his phone and getting ready to call.
Scratch that, that man does not deserve his empathy.
“Don’t you even think about it!”
Reo pouts a little but drops the subject when he sees Chigiri’s serious glare directed towards him.
He says after a while, “You know, I think I might have someone in mind”.
His friend turns to him with enthusiasm as he grasps both of his hands and gets in his personal space,” Really!? Who?”
He backs a little before answering,”Uh, you know Isagi right?”
The purple haired drops his hands to look at him disappointingly,” Really? Isagi?”
“Hey, what's wrong with Isagi? He’s a nice guy!”
“But he’s..” he winces, “ short ”
He snort at his friend’s statement, leave it for Reo to unintentionally destroy a man’s Ego, ”Yes but I didn’t mean him—I actually think him and bachira got together after the party at otoya’s place”
“No way!”, he exclaimed.
“Yes way bitch! People saw them leaving together and they we’re basically guled to the other ever since”, he says proudly.
“That’s great, I’m happy for him, he was really sad after Rin dumped him”
“I know right? I keep telling him he deserves better but he never listens!”
“I feel bad for Rin though, he was as devastated after the break up”, he mumbles in thought “ I wonder what happened”
He’s prepared to launch into another really well through analysis on their friend’s affairs that has absolutely nothing to do with them, but he’s reminded of said friend’s dilemma, who if left to his own devices, would probably get married to some gold digger who’ll end up stealing all his money and running away within a month of their marriage. He can’t have that, Reo still owes him that Balenciaga bag.
“ Hey stay focused! ”, he grabs his shoulders tightly and says,“ he has a roommate who he went to the same school with, heard they also played together on the school’ football club, and even won on national level! I’ve actually met him a few times, pretty chill and cool dude”
“And you think he’ll agree to marry me?”
“Absolutely! Trust me he’s a go with the flow type of guy”.
Although hesitated, and with a bit of doubts his friend still agrees, ”Ok”
“Great! I’ll call Isagi and tell him to arrange for you two to meet up”
He’s either about to get royally screwed or he’ll finally have someone suitable to marry, he quietly thought.
it’s probably the former but he’ll trust his friend just this once, if only to compstanste for him hearing him cry and whine for nearly an hour straight.
And besides, Chigiri has never betrayed his trust before, so it’ll be fine right?
——
It’s a Thursday when Reo meets Nagi for the first time, and that has to attune for something because Thursday’s are his favourite days of the week.
He doesn’t have a class until 10:00A.M. Which means he gets to peacefully enjoy his breakfast at home while some relaxing music plays in the background. He takes his precious time getting ready and performing the great ritual of 10-steps-Skincare routine that he regularly follows. He leaves his apartment in high spirits. Bid farewell to the nice lady who lives across the street, and stops by his favourite bakery for a fluffy chocolate croissant on his way to class. All in all it’s a good morning, and nothing is about to dampen it for him, not even the boring monotone voice of Mr. Ego as he explains finances to a room full of young adults who’d rather be anywhere other than in his classroom.
So when Chigir finds him after class to tell him that he’s arranged a meeting with his potential Husband to be, he doesn’t let his mind wander much, he’s probably some mediocre frat guy who’s obsessed with sport and nothing else. Worst case scenario he’ll reject his offer and Reo can go on his merry way to find another husband to be, preferably someone tall and with a good head on his board and nice shoulders that Reo can admire and mourn the sight of, long after they get divorced.
So colour him surprised when he’s subjected to the curious stare of the most gorgeous-drop-dead man to ever walk the grounds of Mother Earth, he sneaks a glance at Chigiri trying to convey his distress and absolute panic through his eyes alone. But the pink haired either got the message and is choosing to ignore him, or he’s as dense as a rock, he doesn’t know which possibility is worse.
“So, Nagi, this is my friend Reo, the one I told you about” said the pink haired with a smirk that will surely get him casted as a third rate villain for some cliche drama, “Reo, meet Nagi”
“Hey, it’s uh—a pleasure to meet you”, he says while cleaning his throat, why is it suddenly so hot in the cafeteria? Did the AC get broken again?
The man sculpted by the gods themselves only hums as a response, while sitting slouched in front of them. Looking completely uninterested.
Fuck, Fuck, he already looks bored, he must think I’m weird and crazy.
Thankfully, his friend takes the steer of the conversation, before he can get more lost in his own head.
”Reo has something important to discuss with you”, he elbows him in the gut, urging him to start talking, “ Reo…”
“Yes! Right I’ve got an offer for you” he can feel himself sweating, and his hands starting to shake from where he’s clasping them tightly under the table, his panic increasing even more as he watches Chigiri slowly get up and leave the scene, not before offering him a quiet good luck.
He close his eyes and breathes in, he’s got this, he’s fucking Reo Mikage, for god’s sake.
“My father threatened to cut my inheritance if I don’t get someone’s to marry by the end of the week, and I would very much like to not lose my privileges, or to get married to some random snob my father picks for me”
“So..”, he swallows before saying, ”Will you marry me?”
Upon seeing what he assumes is shock colouring the other’s complexion, he quickly adds, ” you can have your time thinking about my offer of course, but I need an answer before the end of the week”
He pulls a notebook from his bag, and hastily writes his number on a paper before sliding it to the still shocked and confused guy, ”here’s my number, I’ll see you later!”, he says before grabbing his bag and quickly escapes the scene, not looking back even once.
That was so humiliating, I should’ve just convinced Chigiri to marry me instead, I’m sure he’ll end up agreeing if I nag him enough.
Or maybe not, he thought as he saw the pink haired shit-eating grin as he passed by him after leaving the cafeteria.
“So—“
“Don’t even ask!”
—
Isagi Yoichi has been in love with Bachira since he was a kid. Isagi being the social justice advocate that he is, has helped him out when he first saw him getting bullied behind the school’s bleachers by a bunch of rowdy kids. He must’ve overestimated his strength though, because the fight ended up with him on the ground with a broken arm and a busted nose. So the kid’s with blonde streaks carried him out with a hand on his hips as they both stumbled back home, bachira was crying and apologising the entire way back, he kept saying that it was his fault and that he shouldn’t have helped him. But Isagi always was, and would be a stubborn kid who never knew when to give up. So the next day he went to the weird kid and sat with him at lunch, seeked him out between classes, and even played football with him after the last bell rang and everyone else had gone home. Thus, his feelings for the boy first blossomed.
Of course it wasn’t easy confessing his feelings for his childhood friend, it had taken him seeing Bachira crying his eyes out after being dumped at a party, counselling him through the break up for three whole months, and him helping him through a very persistent artist block for him to finally find the courage to tell him how he felt. In conclusion, Isagi love his boyfriend very dearly and would like to spend every waking moment by his side, but being a college student with a double major has to have it prices, after all, they haven’t seen each other for weeks, besides the casual hellos, and spending lunches on the crowded cafeteria in the short breaks between classes. They hadn’t had the time to truly be with each others, with their schedules being the complete opposite, and the art department being in a separate building from the rest of campus, seeing Bachira these days is almost like witnessing a skinwalker on a hike far up in the mountain—you blink and you miss it.
So finally, after the exams were done, he was planning to spend the whole evening with said sweet boyfriend.
“ Ahh, Isagi right there”, he moans, hips jerking with every movement.
“God baby you’re taking me so well”, he whispers against the skin of his neck, before giving it a kiss, tasting the sweet and raw taste of his skin.
“I’m close Isagi please please, I wanna come!”
“Come for me baby”, he groans as he thrust harder
“Isagi! I’ve got something to tell you”
Well, guess he didn’t account for his roommates to barge in on him while he’s ball deep inside his boyfriend.
“Nagi! What the actual fuck, get out”, he screams in horror, he was so close, just one more thrust and he’ll taste his first orgasm in fucking weeks, but no the socially unaware creature has to ruin it for him. Even worse, Nagi doesn’t seem to be all that unfazed, he just glances at them, and turns his back while muttering “hurry up” before leaving them be, he didn’t even close the door.
He’s snapped out of his fantasy of murdering his roommate, and throwing his body in a lake somewhere outside the town by his boyfriend giggling like a madman.
“ Meguru!”
“Sorry—I’m just”, he tries to stifle his laughter but fails miserably at the sight of his partner’s face, ”I’m sorry it’s just kinda funny, Nagichi looked really disturbed”.
He sigh before saying,” he better be, I don’t even feel like continuing with him in the other room”, he gives a peck to his boyfriend’s lips before pulling out of him,”sorry Meguru he’s not usually home at this hour”
“It’s ok, something must’ve happened right? It could be an emergency” he says while looking for his pants that Isagi picks from the edge of bed and throws at him.
“Thanks!”
He hums while pulling up his discarded shirt and heading to the door but not before turning around and grabbing his boyfriend by the waist and kissing him deeply.
“I’ll make it up to you”, he says, breath hotly brushing on the other’s lips.
“I’ll hold you to that”
They separate in order to head to the living room where they find Nagi, who’s slumped on the couch while he plays some game on his phone, judging by the shooting noise coming from it. He looks up upon hearing them approach and says, “Oh you’re done”.
“Yeah, what is it that you wanted to tell me that couldn’t wait until a more appropriate time” he says before sitting at the opposite end of the couch while Bachira makes himself comfortable on the loveseat.
Nagi is either truly that dense, or he chooses to ignore the obvious jab, properly the latter.
“Some rich hot dud asked me to marry him”, he says without taking his eyes off his phone.
“ What ?”, was said in unison.
“Mikage Reo? He’s friends with Chigiri”.
“Say yes!”, “just do it”
He looks at them judgmentally, being cockblocked must’ve fired the last brain cells they were sharing.
“He asked me to marry him, to be his husband, legally“ he explains slowly, emphasising each word.
They look at each other in disbelief before turning to him,” So?”
“If you don’t accept, I will”
“Meguru!”
“What? He’s the Mikage Reo”, he gestures widely with his hands.
“Mm fair”, he pauses before tuning in to face his friend,” But marriage is a big deal, especially since you’re weren’t dating”, he asks, ” you’re not right?”
“No”
“Well, take your time thinking about it, Reo is a good guy, although I don’t know why he’s asking you all so suddenly or what his motives might be, he might be using you for his own gain”
“What will he gain from me?” He frowns, finally abandoning his game to look at Isagi with disbelief.
“Uh, right, but still try to think about it some more”
“If you end up rejecting him though, let us know so I can have him instead”
“Jesus Bachira stop!”, he puts a hand to muffle any more nonsense his boyfriend is ready to spot.
“ You know he’s the heir to a billion dollar company right?”, he says seriously,” the world he lives in is completely different from ours, his perspectives, his lifestyle, everything….it can be tough, getting deeply involved with someone like that”
He opens his mouth to say more, but gets interrupted by his boyfriend who licks his hand and runs away, so he has no choice but to chase after him.
He tunes the couple’s bickering as he tries to warp his head on the whole thing. Could Reo truly be trying to use him? But he looked pretty desperate and honest, he doesn’t look like someone who’d lie just for the sake of it. But, still appearances can be deceiving.
He sighs before getting up and retraining to his room, he’ll think about the issue once he takes a nice nap.
Getting married, huh? Doesn’t sounds so bad
Nagi falls asleep with the sight of amethyst eyes and an alluring smile consuming his thoughts.
—
Reo is a greedy man by nature, maybe it’s because of his upbringing or it's just the way he is. But when he sees something he desires, he doesn’t think twice before making sure it ends up as his. And what Reo wants currently is to have Nagi Seishrou as his husband.
Naturally, the universe hears his pleas and responds accordingly. Reo is just exiting his last class of the day when he receives a response from Nagi after two days of radio silence.
It's a simple : I accept. From Nagi, yet it makes his stomach flutter in a way it hasn’t before, he’s so full of energy and giddiness he nearly runs laps across the whole campus. After a bit of breathing exercises and him telling himself over and over— that he got this, he finally opens the chatroom and gives a response.
Great, let’s meet tomorrow at 4
Does that work for you?
He closes his phone and makes his way to the parking lot where his driver awaits him, he rests his head on the window once the car starts running and they pass by the usual scenery. He prefers walking on most days or just driving himself since his apartment is not really that far from campus, it's twenty-minutes by foot. But the days are getting hotter and he’s always been sensitive to the changes in weather. He let his mind wander a little about how the life as Nagi’s husband might look like, he knows it’s not a real marriage, that it’s merely a contract each party has reason to agree on. He wonders what might be Nagi’s reasons, he probably saw it as an opportunity to benefit from being close with a rich guy.
He closes his eyes and breathes in, he lets himself fantasies a little, about vows exchanges with love, about bouquets of flowers, about rumpled sheets and lazy mornings, about grey eyes and a sharp jawline and— it’s a fake marriage, get a hold of yourself.
—
When Reo met Nagi after class the following day, he looked no different than the first time he saw him. Yet, he almost trips over his own feet and embarrasses himself.
Still, even after his eyes has had enough time to get used to the sight of Nagi’s unworldly beauty. He still feels himself fidget every time those eyes look up at him with curiosity and something else he’s too afraid to name.
He clears his throat before speaking, “So, you agreed to marry me…?”.
The other hums in response,” that I did”.
He brings a hand to play with the sleeve of his shirt as he says, ”I’m glad you did”, he continues with a worn out smile, “I know marriage is a big step, but my father won’t go back on his words, and I wouldn’t like to test his patience, more than I already did at least”.
He brings a hand tentivally to warp around the other’s that lay unmoving on the wooden cafeteria table, ” I would take care of everything, that includes you”.
Nagi feels his breath hitching as Reo's warm hand gently touches his, upon hearing the last part he looks up to stare directly at those amethyst eyes that show nothing but honesty.
“You’ll only have to play the part as my loving husband, attend some galas and accompany me as a plus one for some events”. Reo looks for any sight of discomfort on the other’s face, it's hard to tell with Nagi usual unbothered demeanour, but at least he’s not bolting up and leaving him so that has to account for something.
“It’s fine, I don’t really mind”, he says after a while, eyes glued to their intertwined hands, “you’re weird Reo, choosing to associate with someone like me”.
Reo tilts his head to the side before saying, “What do you mean?”, he smiles softly,” Being with you seems like it’ll be lots of fun”.
—
They discuss the wedding planning some more, Reo told him he’ll pick him up after class on the weekend to meet his parents. Despite Reo constant reassurance and him telling him to just be himself, he still felt some nerves at the concept. From the little that Reo has revealed about his parents, they seem like the typical high-mighty upper class family that he sometimes sees bullying the poor heroine to leave the main guy in the dramas he sometimes watches. In this situation it appears he’s the poor heroine—that thought amuse him a little before he remembers that he has to impress his future parents-in-law for a happy marriage. So he outlines a plan in his head for that, the first step being ; to look for a suitable outfit, because first impressions are important.
So he texts the most fashionably expert person he knows—said person being Chigiri, who just turns out to be his future husband’s best friend. Nagi doesn’t believe in luck much, but if all these signs don't point to something, then he’s either ill or pretty much delusional.
Chigiri meets him at the parking lot of the mall—Nagi isn’t familiar with malls and crowded places, he’ll usually do most of shopping online and save himself the hassle. But Chigiri insisted and he doesn’t wanna push his luck with the pink haired, thus, here they are.
“So, you’ve got anything in mind”, said Chigiri while eyeing the stores.
“No, I was hoping you’ll help me with that”.
“Of course!”, the other hummed, all so excitedly before heading to some store at the far corner, not even looking back once to see if he was keeping up.
He takes his time to follow after him, upon entering the store he sees Chigiri talking to some employees and shuffling through some clothes. He sits at a nearby chair, while he watches Chigiri be at his natural habitat, after a good ten minutes, the pink haired finally comes to where he’s resting and shoves two shirts at him.
“Get up, you’re trying these”
“Do I have to?”, he groans
“Do you want to impress your in-laws or not”, he shoves the shirts at him again before stalking somewhere else.
He sighs before taking the article of clothings and heading to where he guesses the changing rooms are, he gets behind the curtain and pulls out his hoodie in order to try on the first shirt that Chigir had handed him. It’s a nice maroon button up, nothing too fancy.
He struggles a little with the buttons, it’s a bit tight on him, making his musclare and wide figure quite obvious, he hears Chigiri calling out for him so he steps out before he barges on him—which is something the pink haired would absolutely do.
“Mmm not bad, try the other one”, he waves him off
He sighs before returning to the changing room and putting the other shirt on, it’s a nice shade of blue, very light on his skin and a bit loose but not too much like the baggy clothes he’s so used to wearing, he gives himself a long look in the mirror, admiring how it hug his body in the right places, but also giving him a casual vibe. That's what Chigiri must’ve had in mind because after emerging again, he gives him a satisfied look before smiling and waving to the same employee to tell her to get it packed.
With the shirt successfully bought— it might’ve heavily dumped on his savings— but it’ll be worth it, he reminds himself. He was ready to bid the pink haired farewell and go on his merry way before he’s strongly pulled by the former with an evil smile that he absolutely does not shiver at the sight of.
“Where do you think you’re going?“, said the pink devil.
“Home?”, he asks, ”I already got the shirt”.
“ Boy, you’ve got to be kidding me!”
—-
He thanks Chigiri in his head and makes a note to buy him something nice the next time he sees him, because Nagi is no egoist, at least he doesn’t consider himself to be. But as he stares at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, he doesn’t quite believe that the figure staring back at him is his own, he looks like he came straight out of a magazine, or just escaped a fashion runway. Beside the shirt, they later got a black well-fitted dress pants and some leather shoes, he also borrowed Isagi’s nice expensive leather watch to go with the fit—who was more than happy to lend a hand, and even helped style the nest on his head when he heard of the occasion. He makes a quick review of his great plan to impress his future-in-laws.
Be nice and exchange pleasantries.
Make sure to smile, and shake their hands in a firm grip.
Straighten your posture.
Talk about stocks and finance, show them that you’re capable.
He takes a deep breath before checking the time, Reo said that he’ll pick him up at seven. Five more minutes.
He tries to pass the time by starting a game on his phone, but he is too uneasy for that. His hands are so sweaty, he keeps missing the shot and failing the simplest of missions. He checks the time again, another minute and Reo will be here.
He’s so startled by the ringing of his phone, he almost drops it on the ground. Nearly no one calls him, and judging by the timing, it could only be one person.
“Hello”
“I’m outside your door, hurry up”
“Mmm”, he hangs up in a hurry and scrambles to get out so as to not keep Reo waiting, he takes his keys at the last minute, almost forgetting to lock the door.
He takes the stairs two at a time, upon stepping down he sees Reo in all his glory waiting for him while leaning against the car’s door with a dashing smile, “Hop on, big boy”
He’s a little impressed by the new model fancy car that Reo is operating, but he’s even more impressed with the sight of Reo himself, he thought the purple haired couldn’t get any hotter, but he’s clearly mistaken. He’s wearing a white button up with little diamonds adoring the collar and sleeves, paired with simple grey dress pants and leather loafers. Nagi nearly smacks his head on the car’s roof while taking his seat. Reo, thankfully, doesn’t comment on his clumsiness, and starts the engine without another word. They spend the rest of the ride in silence, he’s a little bit too nervous to try and start any type of conversation, too busy reversing his strategy to leave the best impression on Reo’s parents to notice when Reo suddenly pulls to the side and turns to face him, unbuckling his seatbelt to comfortably reach out and put a hand on his knee.
“Hey, everything’s ok?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”, he questions while observing the hand that’s gently rubbing on his knee.
“You seem…. lost on your head”
“I’ve just been thinking”
“About?”
“Not much really, about your parents”, he whispers while turning his head the opposite way, ”You”
Reo let out a sigh before saying,”I know this is all kind of sudden,” he moves the hand that’s not holding into his knee on the air, ”But, it’s going to be fine, you’ve got nothing to worry about, my parents can be a little too much, but they’re not bad people”, he smiles in reassurance.
Upon seeing the frown still present on Nagi’s face he continues, ”I’ll be there, with you, I promised to take care of you”, he adds fiercely, ”And I intend to keep that promise”
Nagi, while looking at those eyes that promise him the world, can’t help but nod in understanding, he knows Reo will take care of everything.
The other gives his knee another squeeze before turning back and putting his seatbelt on, and starting the car again.
Nagi feels so at ease he feels his eyelids getting heavy, it’s not long before he’s completely lost to the world.
—-
“We’re here”
Nagi wakes up immediately upon hearing Reo's voice, he yawns and stretches his long limbs with a grunt, which earns him an amused chuckle from Reo.
He follows Reo outside the car, he stands in place to admire the Beauty and sheer size of the Mikage’s mansion. It’s so huge—he can’t cover half of it with his eye vision alone, he’d probably need a map to manoeuvre the whole place.
So this is where Reo lives.
“I used to live here as a child, I’ve moved to a smaller apartment by the start of college”
Reo must be a wizard or a psychic.
“I’m not! your expression just says it all”, he chuckles, clearly having the time of his life teasing the other.
He brings a hand to his face to guess what type of expression he’s making, but it’s hard to tell.
“You’re a weird guy”, he mutters, following the other and matching his steps.
Once they reach the front door, an old lady opens it immediately and welcomes them.
“Reo-Sama, it’s good to see you again”, she glances at him,” and you’ve brought guests”
The other beams at her,” It’s good to see you too! Ba-ya, this is Nagi, he’ll be joining us for dinner”
The old lady whose name turned out to be Ba-ya nods at him and ushers them inside, Reo tells him how growing up, she was the one to take care of him, and that she’s like family to him.
Reo kept telling him little facts and stories about his childhood, and all the shenanigans he’d got into, it works as a distraction to what eventually awaits them at the end of the long hallway. But also, it’s kind of nice listening to Reo talks, his voice is so soothing Nagi can’t help but want to listen to him talk more about all kind of stuff.
They had previously agreed on a cover story, that they had met through a mutual friend and quickly became close, they agreed to share as little as possible and to keep it close to the truth for it to be more realistic. Still, Nagi can’t help the shiver that makes its way through his spine as Reo links their arms and introduces him as his boyfriend.
Reo’s parents sit all so eloquently on the long dining table, Reo’ father sitting on the head of the table while his mother takes his right. They stand once they enter from the door, Ba-ya leaving them to fetch the dinner.
“Hello, Father, mother”
“Reo!”, his mother hurries to smother him in a crushing hug and quickly fuss about his appearance.
“You’ve lost so much weight, dear! I know we shouldn’t let you move out”
“Mom, I’m fine”
“Oh honey, would you look at these eye bags! They look horrendous!”
“Mom—“
“And look at his skin! It looks as dry as a leaf! You should’ve just stayed home and let us take care of you!”
“Mom I—“
She grabs his shoulder and spins him around to face her husband, “Look at him honey! Call the doctor to come as fast as he can! We can’t have this now, can we?”, she continues to squish his cheeks and prods at his body with a frown on her pretty face.
His father finally steps in as he tries to calm his wife,” Let him go dear, I’m sure it’s nothing a good night of sleep can’t fix”, he adds as he steps from the duo to stand in front of Nagi, ”Also we have a special guest today”.
He offers him a hand, which Nagi is quick to take, ”Nagi Seishrou, it’s a pleasure to meet you”
“Mikage Kenji”, he tightened the grip on his hand, ”Likewise”
Reo’s mother who seems to finally have had enough obsessing over her son step in to introduce herself, ”Mikage Mitsuki, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you Seishirou”
Her smile is sweet and welcoming, Nagi almost lets all his guards down and sinks comfortably on the plush chair, but he can sense ever so slightly the judging and calculating looks the both of them are throwing his way, whatever they have seen in him must have satisfied their curiosity, because soon enough Reo’s father tells them to take a seat, he sits on the other side of Reo with his back straight, they ask him multiple questions about his personal life and habits that he's more than happy to answer. It’s to be expected, if he’s to marry into the family.
“ What is your parents occupation?”, Mikage Mitsuki asks in her sugary sweet voice.
“ Are they working overseas?”
“Will we be able to meet with them soon?”
“Are they aware of your relationship with Reo?”
“Would they be able to make it to the wedding?
They’re so persistent on their questions to the point he’s starting to get a little bit uncomfortable. He's never been a family guy, his relationship with his parents is akin to acquaintances. They visit a few times a year, send postcards on holidays, and that’s it. He’s never minded that, but as the frown on Reo’s parents get deeper the more he hesitates on answering their questions, he’s got a sense that something is absolutely wrong about the whole ordeal.
“Enough questions, you’re making him uncomfortable”, somewhat Reo catches on his inner struggle and speaks on his behalf. He throws a grateful smile on the other’s way before resuming his meal, Reo’s parents despite their earlier behaviour are quick to apologise and change the subject.
The rest of dinner went better than he expected, as time went on he could feel himself relax and almost lose himself in the easy conversation and the light jokes. Even Reo, after a while, sinks into his chair and is more than willing to give his parents updates on what’s been going on with his life. Nagi finds himself almost enjoying spending time with Reo and his parents that by the time the last course has been served and done with, he’s a little disappointed to call it a night.
The family escorts him personally to the front door, telling him to come visit whenever he likes and to keep in contact, Nagi agrees almost immediately. Growing fond of the whole affair.
He finally snaps out of his haze when the car stops in front of his apartment complex and he’s expected to leave, Reo out of politeness walks him to the front door. He looks at the purple haired who’s wore a soft smile throughout the whole ride, skin glowing under the moon, shadow casting over him in the right angels, making him look unreal, like he’s something out of Nagi’s wildest dreams. But even his brain would come short, unable to truly comprehend the beauty the other’s holds. He’s tempted to reach out, to touch the soft skins and make sure he’s real, to feel the warmth emanating from said skin, to feel his heartbeat beating against his chest. But he doesn’t have to, as Reo himself reach out and wrap his arms around him, pulling him into a hug that is so loving he can’t stop himself from sinking into it, he closes his eyes and inhale the scent of lavender, he brings his own hands to hold the other, warping around his slender waist and feeling him shudder a little. All too soon, the moment ends and Reo lets his hands fall from their place on Nagi’s shoulders as he steps back.
“Thanks for today”, Reo says softly, smiling at him.
He wants to invite him over, to extend the moment even more, to reach out and brush the long strand of hair behind his ear, to say something to keep the other from leaving. But words have always been his sworn enemy, so he only hums in response.
Reo seems a little disappointed by his lack of answer, judging by the slight twitch of his eyebrows, Nagi is so desperate to make things right with him, his mind going crazy trying to formulate something, he’s a little worried smoke will start coming out of ears. Reo, not giving him a chance to embarrass himself any further, takes a step back and another, until he reaches the car’s door and is ready to leave.
He threw a quick,” I’ll see you around ”, before opening the door and starting the engine, leaving Nagi in his dust.
Nagi stands outside some more, feeling the cold night air brushing his cheeks as his eyes keep staring at where Reo last stood.
He sighs in defeat before turning around and taking the stairs to his apartment. He doesn’t ponder the hollow feeling in his chest any longer.
—
Reo texts him a few times to ask about his opinions on some details concerning the wedding, the text start as a mean to organise things, to ask about the guests list and the themes of the wedding, and weather he’d like it to be outdoor or to be held inside, they start slowly turning into questions about how he’s doing and what he’s been up to as of late—which turns into complaining about classes and assignments and annoying professors, and before he knows it they’re talking until three in the morning on a school’s night.
He hears a yawn from the other side of the call and is ready to call it a night and hang up, he doesn’t dare to mess with Reo’s perfect sleep schedule, but the other surprises him as he says, “Tomorrow we’re going to try weddings suits, I expect you to be there!”
Lately he’s been finding it harder and harder to say no to Reo so he agrees, even though he knows he’ll have to skip a nice afternoon nap for the occasion.
Reo finds him half asleep outside the business’s major building, backpack open and textbook scattered on the floor around him.
“Hey, sorry for making you wait, Mr. Ego suddenly wanted to discuss last week's paper with me”, he greets the other apologictly before crouching down to gather his textbooks and offering them to him with a bright smile.
Nagi is so mesmerised by him, he catches himself staring more than what’s considered appropriate. He clears his throat before taking the books, his hands all so slightly make contact with Reo’s soft one and he desperately tries not to shiver.
“Thanks”, he mutters before shoving them in his backpack and zipping it shut.
Reo starts walking as he lists all the shops he wants to visit, name and details escapes him as he’s busy admiring the way the sunlight shines on Reo and makes him glow, he wonders if he’d look even more beautiful wearing a wedding gown, as he walks down the aisle towards him. He feels his cheeks heating as he loses himself in his fantasies. Luckily Reo doesn’t notice, or if he does, then he’ll easily assume it’s due to the unforgiving heat.
They soon reach Reo’s car and he’s quick to hop in, happy to escape the hot weather.
Reo turns the AC on after putting his seatbelt on, he offers to step by a cafe to get something to drink. Nagi, the greedy creature that he is, gladly accepts the offer. They stop at a small cafe near campus that Reo tells him is his favourite, he feels somewhat elated knowing that Reo is willing to share a special place with him.
They enter the cafe, and the cashier— a lovely woman in her late thirties— greets him with the familiarity akin to someone greeting a close friend or relative.
“I’ll take the usual”, he mirrors her smile with one of his own as the both of them exchange pleasantries, he then turns to him and asks, “ What would you like, Nagi? I’ll pay”
He glances at the menu before settling on today’s special—which just happens to be his favourite drink.
After paying, the both of them head on to sit on a table near the window. He wouldn’t take it for Reo’s usual spot if not for the purple haired taking him here himself. Not to say the place is trashy, but it’s definitely not somewhere he’ll expect a rich heir to frequent in his free time. The whole place is on the smaller side, with a couple of tables and stools that face the wide windows, it’s painted a light pink colour, there are some plants and flowers hanging from the shelves on the walls, it’s cosy and quiet, nothing too fancy, aside from them, there’s a group of teenagers occupying a table with their textbooks open, clearly in the middle of a study session, a businessman with his laptop opens and a small notebook in his hands he keeps frowning at. He considers stopping by sometime after his classes end, and he has enough energy to waste.
The cashier brings their drinks herself—even though he can see another employee just hanging behind the register bored out of his mind. Reo thanks her and gives her one of his dashing smiles. Nagi, for some reason, feels a sinking feeling in his chest as he watches the both of them make small talks and the way the cashier flutters her eyelashes at Reo, and laugh obnoxiously at his jokes, he ignores them in favour of taking a sip from his iced lemon tea, it taste better than he anticipated, and it must’ve shown on his face because Reo smiles knowingly at him as he takes a hold of his coffee after the cashier— thankfully leaves as the bell rings signalling the arrival of new customers.
“The drinks here are amazing, I found this place on a whim while exploring the town when I first moved out”, he says as he takes a sip from his coffee.
“It's good”, he nods in agreement, taking his time savouring the cold drink
Reo pulls out his phone and scrolls at it for a while before saying, “ do you have something in mind? For the suits?”
“No, I don’t mind wearing whatever Reo picks”
“Really? But it’s your wedding as it’s mine”, he adds, “I don’t want to be a pushover”
“It’s fine, I don’t mind”
Reo gives him a weird look but doesn’t question him any further, they finish the rest of their drinks in comfortable silence.
They leave the cafe after that, and Reo takes them to a fancy boutique that’ll probably kick him out on sight if he wasn’t accompanied by one Reo Mikage . The guards open the door to them as they enter. And Nagi can smell money coming from every person in said boutique.
An employee soon finds them, Reo, naturally takes the lead and tells her of all his preferences. The young woman nods eagerly at him and gestures to a door at the far end for them to wait at, they walk there and are welcomed to what he assumes is a changing room—only it’s the size of his entire room. Nagi heads to the couple of chairs near the wide length mirror and sinks on one of them, while Reo looks closely at some of the clothing that hangs at the far end. Soon, the women from before came back with a couple of bags slung over her arm.
“This is what you asked for, sir”, she gives them to Reo who thanks her quietly. She asks if they need any help putting the suits on, but Reo tells her that they’ll be fine on their own. After she leaves, Reo walks to him and puts one of the bags in his laps with an expected smile.
“It’s time to try your wedding gown, husband ”
He swallows before nodding at him, he stands on shaky legs and slowly opens the bag to reveal a three piece suit, Nagi takes it on his hands to observe closely, the fabric is soft and clearly expressive, it probably costs a fortune.
“Do you want me to help you change?”, He hears from behind his shoulder where Reo stands and watches carefully.
He turns around, “I’ll be fine”
Reo nods at him before leaving him to be. After the door closes behind him, he takes his time unravelling each piece and putting it on with at most care, afraid of damaging the fabric or making any tears, Reo would probably have it covered if he does, but he doesn't want to inconvenience the young heir more than he already did.
The suit is gorgeous yet simple in it design, it’s mostly white— his favourite colour— how did Reo know that he has no idea, the vast is light grey along with the pants, it’s a little tight on him, he can’t move freely on it, but they probably can get it adjusted. He looks at the black tie in contemplation, before leaving it be, he never learned to tie a tie, there was never an occasion.
He hears knocking before Reo voice calls from the other side of the door, “Nagi, are you done?”
“Yeah, come in”
He turns around upon hearing the door open. And he’s completely left speechless at the sight of Reo, walking towards him with a similar suit, only his is purple instead of grey. He’s suddenly aware of every breath he takes, of every sound and sensation he can feel standing in that room. He might’ve thought that he died and gone to heaven if not for the rapid beating of his heart. Reo stands in front of him, smiling with cherry coloured cheeks as he takes him in.
“Do I look that good?”, he asks, clearly meaning to tease him.
“You do”, he breathes out immediately
Reo checks get impossibly darker as his eyes look frantically at everything except the stunned man in front of him, they eventually fall on the discarded tie and he scrambles to get it.
“You didn’t put the tie on”
“I don't knows how”, he shrugs
“ God, you’re helpless”, he shakes his head fondly, stepping closer to him, he pulls the collar of his shirt, and his hands with swift motion slips the tie on, pulling the longer end and pulling it through the loop, creating a perfect knot, his hands smooth over his chest, making sure everything is fine and flawless. They stutter in their movements as he takes him in, pure amethyst eyes staring intensely at him, like he’s a sight to be admired, like he’s something worth burying in one’s memory.
“There you go”, he whispers, tightening the knot one last time before stepping back. He then turns around and leaves the room, probably looking for the employee to discuss payment with her. Meanwhile, Nagi is struck with the realisation that he’s about to marry the most beautiful man he’s ever seen— fake marriage, he’s only marrying you to not lose his inheritance.
He feels a bang in his chest, and he’s aware of the source of it, but as Reo said, he’s completely helpless.