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After a few months of having Nagi Seishiro as a stable part of his life, Reo was able to notice a multitude of changes. Some of them were more obvious, like the so-called School Prince spending every possible second glued by the hip with a guy who considered walking a form of torture. But it was also in the small things, added steps to his routine, and how the changes left his chest warm instead of leading to annoyance.
Sending Nagi a good morning text, making sure he had breakfast, and no, lemon tea only was not an appropriate way for an athlete to start the day. His treasure would answer with stickers of an alien-like creature instead of words, and Reo got the habit of adding purple hearts to his messages when Nagi commented that always using proper punctuation was “kinda creepy”.
“It feels like I’m talking to Reo GPT or something.”
“Oh, generative AI chatbots are actually one of the fields that Mikage Corp. wants to invest in. Maybe I could make you a tester once we have a prototype.”
“Nah, thanks, I prefer regular Reo, you’re already pretty smart. Plus, Reo’s papa robot would be too hard and cold as a lap pillow.”
Yes, from his knowledge to apparently his thighs, everything was now an object of joint custody.
It was to the point that the only reason Reo was alone at that particular moment was because he was waiting for Nagi, as Reo had canceled practice that day since they won a big match that week. Being a good boss came with taking care of your talents, and today this meant getting Nagi a new game as a surprise for his good work.
He was sure taking his sweet time, though, so Reo decides to get a drink at the vending machine. Lost in his thoughts of strategies and English homework, he only realizes what he chose after noticing the plastic bottle with yellow and green lettering in his hand.
Lemon tea, instead of the usual can of black coffee. That too was Nagi's influence, as he was used to getting them drinks and always picked Nagi's one first. As if attracted there by the presence of his favorite beverage, his lazy genius appears in Reo's line of sight, dragging his feet like a child who didn't get his way. Adorable. Reo watches the white blob of hair get closer, taking a sip of the tea, laughing when the boy immediately uses his shoulder as a pillow.
“You sure made me wait today. I was almost leaving you behind.” It’s an empty threat, and both of them know that.
“Napped during class again. Teacher got angry and chewed me out for a bit before letting me go.” Nagi explains, backpack almost sliding off his arm. “What are we doing today?”
“Hm? There's no practice, remember?”
“I know. But Reo has that look that means he has something in mind.” Having someone able to read him so clearly should scare Reo, as he was used to having the upper hand in his social interactions. However, it was Nagi, so that only proved how strong their bond was.
“Aren’t you becoming good at this relationship thing? It's a surprise, so be patient, my treasure~”
“Just so you know, cancelling training just to drag me to your fancy private gym doesn't count as a surprise.” The pout only contributes to the spoiled child image, and Reo can't contain the urge to ruffle fluffy white hair. Not that he needs to, as Nagi loves getting headpats. “Give me some lemon tea too, Reo.”
“Right, right.” Reo hands over the drink, half-expecting Nagi to request him to put the bottle on his lips as well.
Sharing is yet another post-Nagi experience for him: as the only child of a wealthy family, Reo never had to worry about that, except for occasionally lending a pen or a book to a classmate.
But now everything that was “his” became “theirs” from Reo's lunch, and his ride home (limousine and bike alike) to his dreams and daily life.
And his heart too, but that was an issue he was trying to ignore for as long as he was able to, afraid of both the consequences for their performance and the possibility of losing Nagi. As a way to occupy his mind and not start spiraling about those feelings, the drink-sharing situation gives him a mischievous idea.
“Oh no, Nagi! It seems like you stole something from me.” Reo says, delighted at the confused expression (a small tilt in his eyebrows) on Nagi's face.
“Eh?”
Reo takes back and shakes the half-empty bottle, his playful smile growing along with Nagi's confusion.
“Indirect kiss. It was my first, you know? How bold of you, Nagi-kun, stealing the first kiss of the school prince like that.”
Cue to laughter and Nagi saying he's being a pain, or at least that's what was supposed to happen. Instead, Nagi is staring at him with his best pair of gigantic bug eyes, and Reo can see the tips of his ears getting red.
The voice that leaves Nagi's lips is uncharacteristically small.
“I'll take responsibility, don’t worry.” He says, as the small traces of embarrassment disappear and are replaced by something entirely unfamiliar. The closest comparison Reo can make is with those expressions Nagi displays when he's particularly focused on beating one of his games.
What now? Reo chokes on absolutely nothing, eyes matching Nagi's, mouth hanging open. He probably misheard it. Yes, absolutely, is the only possible explanation. Or Nagi is just joking back, and the red on his ears was a mere hallucination. Nagi can't be that innocent, right? To the point of thinking indirect kisses are a serious thing? Is Reo a bad person? Should he die a thousand deaths to repent right now?
He certainly feels like the end is coming; his heart is beating weird, like he can feel the damn thing in his trachea instead of his chest. His poor treasure, naive and inexperienced, now thinks he owes Reo something because of a stupid joke.
Reo has to fix this, fast, but his brain cells are working slower than needed, because when Nagi offers the bottle back, he automatically takes a sip, feeling like his skin is set ablaze by Nagi's gaze.
“Now Reo has my first kiss too. We're even.”
“Oh…” It is the only thing leaving Reo's lips, which feel strangely dry now.
Dry and unkissed… Nagi's first kiss being actually his… Their first kiss being with each other, and every other first, as if their bodies, hearts and souls were meant to be intertwined for eternity-
DAMN YOU, BRAIN!! Since when did he become so sentimental???
Nagi reaches for the tea again, his touch lingering for an extra second before taking the bottle away and drinking the remaining tea until the last drop. The look of subtle satisfaction he now brands is not helping with Reo's cardiac emergency.
“I'm happy it was actually your first kiss. Reo's so popular that I assumed I lost my chance to a past NPC. Kinda lame, but it wouldn't be your fault.”
What the fuck. What the actual fuck.
Taking a breath, Reo tries to organize his thoughts before either doing something stupid or kissing Nagi stupid.
1- Nagi didn't realize he was joking.
Sure, the side of his mind that begs the Reo in charge to scream “I love Nagi Seishiro and we will somehow find a way to have beautiful babies” from the top of Mikage Corp's building is always involved in these “jokes”, as they're the only outlet for his feelings apart from their totally platonic PDA. But he never thought this would make things sound real. It is either that or Nagi's hearing what he wants to, which takes him to the next point.
2- Nagi is into indirectly kissing him. Nagi is into guys? NAGI IS INTO HIM??
And is jealous too, of an imaginary rival that could've stolen Reo's first kiss? He never thought someone like Nagi had the ability to feel jealousy, but his words make Reo re-evaluate previous actions, the clinginess that increased when people tried to call Reo away, the face hidden on the crook of his neck, always in that exact sensitive spot that made him shiver…
Fuck.
Nagi is possessive and wants to have his first kiss.
What can he even do?
“Of course I didn't kiss anyone before.” Reo answers after his brief freakout break, finally noticing that the middle of the school, right next to a vending machine, is not the ideal place to have that type of conversation. Without a word, he takes the familiar route to the soccer club, as the closest private space possible, using each step to try to ease out his heart.
How can he not hope for more, when even now, in this strange interaction, Nagi still follows him, a gentle shadow watching his every step. Predicting another internal conflict between the turmoil that is his many feelings and fears, Reo decides to focus on the moment instead, and if Nagi notices that he’s avoiding his gaze, he doesn’t comment on it.
They sit side-by-side on the cold bench, and Reo takes the silence as a hint to continue his explanation.
“Yes, I never kissed anyone. It's not like I ever had someone that I liked, as in, romantically liking, you know? Some things in life have to be special.” And sure, his status could force many unpleasant situations on his daily life, but Reo still fought for his right to choose on topics he considered non-negotiable.
He refused to get a girlfriend just to keep appearances, or even to stop other people, girls and boys alike, from repeatedly confessing to him. Once his parents joked (more like tested the waters, no matter their poor excuses) about an arranged marriage to a business partner's daughter, and he threatened to either leak sensitive data from their company or run away to another country.
And that was all before Nagi, his desires of being together forever, and even his secret delight at people calling him a super elite caring wife (that was information Reo would take to his grave).
“Oh, Reo's a romantic.”
“G-Got a problem with that? Or are you saying that if you were popular, you'd go around kissing a bunch of people??” Just the idea of seeing Nagi with anyone else makes Reo curse the imaginary rival just as the other boy was doing moments ago. He was ok sharing things with Nagi not sharing Nagi with others.
“You know that's not true, it would be a massive pain. People get all weird when they have crushes, that mess is too complicated to fit in an easy life.”
“Is that so? Sounds about right for you hahahaha.” If Reo's laughter sounded more forced, he would have enunciated each separate h and a in repeated slow motion. What was Nagi's deal today? Saying all that shit, making him hope for something more like a moron, only to backtrack? Was he having fun watching Reo make a fool of himself? “And here I was thinking you wanted to kiss me for real.”
Add that to the list of things he ended up sharing with Nagi without thinking twice: his most embarrassing thoughts that previously, Reo would so easily keep locked away to be analyzed in the privacy of his home. Now instead of that, he has to deal with feeling mortified while Nagi stares at him with that unbothered, stupid, squishable face.
“But I do?”
“You just said-”
“Reo's not a random crush. You're my partner, and we'll be together forever, so kissing you would not be a pain.” Nagi's body language screams “Isn't that obvious?” which, added to Reo's heart feeling less stabbed by rejection, leaves space for fond annoyance, a paradoxical feeling only brought by adorable prodigies.
“If that's true, why haven't you done anything before?”
“Eh? Haven't we been doing a lot more than kissing?”
The dialogue that rapidly follows that question is straight out of a shitty romantic comedy, starring a slowly-turning-into-a-tomato Reo and a slightly confused Nagi.
“Excuse me???”
“You give me piggybacks all the time.”
“That's just as friends and because you’re lazy?”
“Even the part where my face is always on your neck?”
“You do it to hide your face from light, r-right?”
“Even at night? What about that time Reo called me darling, holding my arm in front of everyone?”
“I was j-just being playful!”
“The bike rides? Massages? Reo messing with my phone with his arms around me? Feeding me all the time and letting me nap on your lap? Calling me good boy-”
“Enough, please, I'm going to die…”
“Wah, Reo's been playing with my feelings~ How cruel.”
“I would never do that, dummy!!” Reo finally gets a moment to breathe, his face burning as if he played an entire match in the scorching sun without sunscreen.
The whole situation is ridiculous and perhaps a little insane, so it's not surprising that with any other person his first instinct would be to make an excuse and get out of there as soon as possible, work on a damage control strategy, and all that.
Instead, Reo laughs, loud and carefree and a little hysterical, the corners of his eyes getting wet. Do those tears come as a consequence of his laughter? A response to the overwhelming feelings taking over his body? All he knows is that Nagi reaches for his face, trying to clean a tear rolling down his cheek, and Reo uses the opportunity to push their lips together.
Just a touch. Just a couple of seconds and shared air.
Just what he's been missing his entire life without even knowing.
No wonder people destroy themselves for love. Right now, probably looking stupid and disheveled, he'd do everything to taste the faint hints of lemon tea on Nagi's lips again.
“Is that still playing with your feelings, Nagi-kun?” He teases, noticing that the red on Nagi's ears is spreading in a lighter tone on his face. Without seeing a reason to control himself any longer, Reo kisses the tip of his nose, each of his cheeks, the top of his head. His lips again, lingering for longer, but not too long, just in case a teacher passes by and catches them using the club space as a makeout spot.
“That depends. Is Reo going to try to no homo his way out of kissing me too?”
“No what?”
“Forget it.” Nagi scooches closer, resting his head on Reo's shoulder and a hand on his waist. “So, was that your surprise? Cancelling training because of a scheme to kiss me? Reo's so strange.”
“Who are you calling strange-”
“That's okay. I like Reo exactly like this.”
Easy as that, Nagi kills any witty comeback before it even appears in Reo's brain. Nagi likes him. Likes! Him! Reo!! Not just as someone who makes his life convenient or a soccer duo or even a bother he can’t get rid of!
Although his actions already pointed in that direction, actually hearing the words makes Reo immediately answer.
“I like you too, my treasure,” and just because he knows the other person too well, Reo adds, “Can I spoil you forever, my pain in the ass of a prodigy?”
“You have to. In return, Reo won't ever be bored with me.”
“Ohh~ and how do you intend on making that come true, besides soccer, my lazy genius?”
“I can work hard if I try.”
Big words, especially when Reo’s life is so complicated, their time together so short with a dream so big to chase. But that’s ok.
He wants to share that uncertain future with Nagi too.