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Seeing him leap like a free bird had Reo entranced. His white hair is angelic against the afternoon sunlight. The sun is about to set, but in Reo's eyes glimmer that of a boy just about to rise—towards success, towards the highest peak of a mountain. Reo is not sure which, but he knows this boy will only go towards nothing but the top.
He shines in Reo's eyes.
I want him.
Nagi kicks like a genius, runs like a sloth, sometimes also runs like a genius. Reo is fascinated from the get-go, but he's falling dangerously deeper the more he spends time with him. Nagi is dangerous, but Reo is blinded by the amount of admiration he has for him. Reo lays his everything on Nagi's feet, the only person who made him do the things other people do for him.
Nagi is precious to Reo.
Is Reo precious to Nagi?
He never thought of it—not when Nagi being by his side is enough to fill the void in his life.
"So comfy," Nagi is almost like a permanent weight on Reo's back. His breath is like a ghost against Reo's neck that would never leave. Nagi might even have carved a space on Reo's shoulder if he can.
And Reo would let him.
"Reo limousine."
Reo tightens his hold on Nagi.
There's a popular saying that if you hold a bird too tightly, it will suffocate. If you hold it too loose, it will escape.
Reo wonders which one is Nagi, or if he's both.
Reo wonders what went wrong as he watches Nagi's back walk away from him. He always imagines the both of them going through that door, whatever doors, together. Reo always imagines going through this shitty project with Nagi by his side. It's always Nagi and Reo, not Nagi and Isagi, or Nagi and Bachira. Not even Nagi or someone else.
Reo swore to make Nagi realize that he's the one he needed.
Rejection is a foreign thing to Reo before Blue Lock. No one rejects him. If anything, they offer themselves to him—no, not to him, but to the Mikage heir. No one offers themselves to be with Reo. No one offers themselves to listen to him talking about the stock market, or about the recent movie he watched. No one offers themselves to him to study without the intention of getting inside information about his family's wealth. No one offers themselves to him to spend biking during sunset without wanting to ride on his limousine next.
There was one, but Reo figured Nagi's just the same way. Maybe Nagi's done with his use now. Reo has to learn that the hard way—through constant rejections, through the constant days of not getting chosen. In Blue Lock, he's not a Mikage heir. In Blue Lock, he's just Reo.
And no one wants Reo.
Blue Lock wins. Of course, they do.
Reo looks over his cheering teammates. He stares at Isagi, probably rendered as a superstar any minute from now. He stares at everyone watching Isagi with pure amazement. Nagi does the same to Isagi, too.
Reo wonders if he looked the same when he met Nagi before.
Reo wonders if he still looks at Nagi the same way Nagi does to Isagi.
He decides not to think about it. Isagi is amazing. That, he can admit. If Nagi finds Isagi as a better companion to get stronger, then Reo should move forward, too. It isn't Isagi's fault that he's phenomenal, and it isn't Nagi's fault that Reo is weak.
So, Reo steps away from his teammates to keep to himself for a while.
Maybe he'll treat himself to ice cream sometime. Reo thinks he at least deserves that for the work he's done today.
Once upon a time, Nagi was always with Reo. One could hardly imagine one without the other. They come as a pair, as others would say.
So, when he got an invitation from the others to hang out, Reo was stumped. Not in a bad way, no. He's just baffled. He never thinks anyone would want him outside of Blue Lock when no one wanted him inside of it. What are they supposed to talk about there in a cafe in Shibuya? Reo only ever had Nagi as a closest genuine friend. He knows he's being difficult to himself, but Reo doesn't want to fuck up this hangout and make others think that as much as he's anything but good in soccer, he's just as useless in hanging out with his teammates.
Ba-ya notices him fidgeting inside the car. Of course, she does.
"Is Reo-sama feeling alright?"
Reo's fingers stopped from picking on his sweater when he heard her speak. He looks up to see his attendant smiling at him. "Um," it isn't like Reo to get flustered, but someone just caught him squirming like a nervous child about to get his shot in the hospital. Still, he ignores the blush on his cheeks to ask his attendant, "Do I look okay?"
Ba-ya nods, "Reo-sama looks amazing."
"Not too much?" Reo asks, worried. "Like, you think they wouldn't call me pretentious or something with my clothes?"
"Why would they?" Ba-ya tilts her head. "They want you there because they want to have fun with you."
Reo blinks, not unlike a child discovering something amazing. He thinks back to the messages he received from them, asking him to come just to hangout. Maybe that's possible. Maybe it's possible that there would be some people that would choose him sometimes. It's hard to wrap that around his head, but he nods at Ba-ya, and by the way Ba-ya smiled at him, Reo thinks her worries lessened now.
"You're allowed to have fun with friends, Reo-sama," Ba-ya tells him once the vehicle stopped moving. She has this kind smile on her face that Reo grew up looking at, and it never fails to bring comfort in Reo.
"I'm surprised you're not asking about Nagi," Reo finally calls out the elephant in the room. He knows she's confused when Reo arrives without Nagi after they were given a short break from the Blue Lock Project. He knows she's even more confused when she has to give Choki, Nagi's pet cactus, to Nagi himself without Reo saying hi to his friend. But like a reliable attendant that she is, Ba-ya never asked Reo about it. If Reo had noticed the Ishigaki Beef Aitchbone served two days after Choki was returned to his “dad” out of nowhere, he never called her out for it, either.
Ba-ya hums, "Does Reo-sama want to tell me?"
Reo tries to smile and shrug. "It's nothing much. We're not just talking that much anymore." It's the truth. Saying it out loud seems to lighten the weight on his shoulders, somehow. He doesn't remember the last time he talked to Nagi. If things were still the same as before, he's sure he would have asked if Nagi could come with them to Shibuya, but things aren't the same anymore. From now on, Reo knows that things will change and will continue to do so.
And in tackling those changes, Reo is starting to see himself alone, without a certain white-haired boy on his back, on his side, or anywhere near him.
"Is that so?"
"It's fine, though," Reo laughs. He knows it sounds hollow, but Ba-ya smiles understandingly at him. "Of course. Reo-sama will be alright."
And Reo thinks this is enough for now.
Reo finds himself enjoying their company.
Aryu asked about how to start an apparel brand and before Reo could realize it himself, he had already shared business concepts and theories he learnt directly from his father and from the countless books he owned. He only realized how much he was talking when Yukimiya gently tapped his hand to gesture at his food that he hasn't touched ever since it was served.
"You sure are knowledgeable about business," Karasu whistled, impressed. Reo laughed lightly in return. It isn't a new impression on him, but hearing it from the people who were so focused on soccer and soccer only for quite some time makes it sound different.
"It's expected of me to do so."
Yukimiya leans in to smile at Reo, "I don't know what expectations they have of you, but you're clearly so knowledgeable about this. I'm sure you already surpassed those expectations by miles."
Reo is not sure about that. He thought once, too—that he had already met the expectations put on him. Reality presents itself to him when his parents didn't acknowledge his want to play soccer. In their eyes, Reo is probably born to be an heir only. Reo is not his own person. That's when Reo realized that he doesn't make many choices of his own because it was decided for him even before he could think of it. Slowly, he is molded as the child his family wants him to be.
Now that he thinks of it, Nagi might be the first choice he wanted so badly for himself. Nagi is someone not prepared for Reo to form shallow friendships with. Nagi is not made to revolve around him.
In the end, that choice didn't end well, either.
"Do you enjoy this, though?"
"Hm?"
"Talking money and stuff," Aryu waves his hand.
Reo hums to think.
"I learnt to like it, I think," Reo confessed. While it is true that he was exposed to that life from an early age, Reo did grow up to take genuine interest in it. His parents are quite lucky that Reo actually took genuine interest in business, commerce and trades. They must be elated that their only son is growing up the way they wanted to… at least, until their son decides to join a soccer project.
Sometimes, Reo wonders if his parents are taking him seriously. They must see him funny for trying to prove them wrong when the talks of business are running in his blood.
"Then, it should be fine, right?"
"Hm?"
Yukimiya pushes his glasses with a shrug. "If you like it, then you like it. What the future holds for us is uncertain…" He stares up at the sky for a while, before staring back at Reo with a comforting smile, "But if you're having fun with those things now, then we can just enjoy it while we still can, right?" Reo is rendered speechless, so Yukimiya laughed a bit to gently nudge him, "What's something that interests you these days?"
Reo answers quickly, "Stock market."
Aryu leans in, eyes filled with curiosity to encourage Reo to speak about it. The feeling of being called pretentious and weird dissipated from Reo's fears.
Maybe he can babble about his own choices, too.
Reo won't say he's completely fine from what happened before their break, but he can confidently say that he's getting better. It's easier to interact with people when they're outside of Blue Lock, away from the pressure and away from the hunger to score.
So, when they bumped into the others in Shibuya, Reo took it better than he thought he would.
More hurt and emotionally constipated Reo might act so bitter and petty seeing Nagi and Isagi together, but Reo likes to think he's doing better now. Outside of that suffocating facility, they're all just boys that want to have fun. Here in Shibuya, Bachira isn't someone always being ordered by his monster. Here in Shibuya, Isagi isn't someone that got everyone admiring him. Here in Shibuya, Chigiri isn’t someone fighting for whatever his future holds for him. Here in Shibuya, Nagi just wants to play games.
"It's weird seeing you and Nagi separated like this…"
Reo turns just in time for Tokimitsu to realize he's speaking mindlessly. "Ah—ah! Sorry! I shouldn't have said that! Ah! I'm so sorry!"
The comforting laugh that Reo gives isn't as hollow as the one with Ba-ya. It feels empty, but it also feels… light. Freeing. Breathable.
"It's fine. We did always stick together before," Reo shrugs. He assures Tokimitsu with a friendly clap on his shoulder before the poor boy starts crying in fear. When Tokimitsu is calmer, Reo tilts his head casually to look at Nagi from across the room playing with Bachira and Chigiri. "We don't talk that much anymore."
That one isn't so hard to say, too. Reo smiles calmly as he watches Nagi with other people. Once upon a time, Reo would have clenched his fists in anger seeing Nagi being stolen by someone else, but seeing Nagi like this isn't so bad, too. Nagi looks happy when Reo stares at him from a far away distance like this. Nagi looks bright being surrounded by people he probably didn't expect to meet.
And Reo feels content without Nagi on his side, too.
Maybe this is just the way it is. They're both set to grow better as people, but not by each other's side.
"There's no way I wouldn't hit the bullseye in this one."
Reo turns away from watching Nagi to watch Yukimiya on the darts. Yukimiya is staring sharply at the darts in his hands, murmuring like he’s speaking about a conspiracy theory he’s going to prove right here and then, “No, I would definitely hit the bullseye!”
Reo laughs, joining him to witness a bullseye he's bragging about.
(Reo didn't see Nagi watching him from afar while they played darts, but Tokimitsu did.)
Chigiri is both a blessing and a curse.
Reo is way, way better than he was before, but it doesn't mean he can just go back to how he was to Nagi then. If anything, Reo felt like he couldn't go back to that kind of… whatever relationship they had going on, anymore.
Thank goodness Chigiri is with him in Manshine City. Reo doesn't think he can endure it if he's alone with Nagi because he isn't as close to the other players in the team, too. Not that he's close with Nagi now, but Reo could clearly see that Nagi isn't taking this as hard as he is and he would probably combust if Nagi just starts clinging to him like before.
So, yes. Chigiri is an angel (and looks like an angel) sent from heaven, only if he keeps his mouth shut.
"Did you two really break up?"
"Seriously?" Reo deadpanned. "Right as I finished using the bathroom?"
Chigiri shrugged his shoulders innocently. Reo can't believe he really waits for Reo to get dressed so he can interrogate him like this. Usually, Chigiri would have already taken a seat in front of a mirror to take care of his hair and braid it to perfection. The mere fact that Chigiri chose to not do that yet and instead wait for Reo to ask him… Reo doesn't know if he should be flattered or scared.
Reo rolled his eyes. He walks towards their rooms, but not without playfully slapping Chigiri with a towel on his arm as he passes by him.
"Hey!"
"No breakup happened, princess," Reo scoffs. He hears Chigiri catching up to him until he can see red hair from his peripheral vision.
"Then, what's going on? You're giving space to each other instead of breaking up?"
Reo finally turns to Chigiri to laugh, "What breakup? No one's dating."
"You're not dating?!"
Reo doesn't know what to make of Chigiri's reaction. Chigiri is so shocked, Reo almost felt bad telling him the truth, but it's the truth. "Nagi and I are not dating, Chigiri." When Chigiri's jaw remains hanging, Reo tries to joke to snap him out of it. "Have you seen that person? I don't think he has an ounce of romance in his bones."
"For others, yes!" Chigiri hisses, "But not for you!"
Reo only laughs, clapping Chigiri’s shoulder before saying good night and retreating to his bed.
(Chigiri would have loudly mentioned that Nagi just miraculously popped out in the corner right after Reo left if Nagi didn’t pretend he’s not eavesdropping on the conversation. Chigiri knows he heard everything, because Nagi stares at a wall that definitely has Reo behind it, having an expression that even Chigiri could not explain. It’s the same expression he does whenever Reo uses Chigiri to talk to Nagi, or if Reo only ever participates in a conversation if Chigiri is between them.
If Chigiri is confident enough to judge the ever-intriguing Nagi Seishiro, Chigiri would say that it is Nagi’s way of telling he misses Reo.)
Nagi approached him in the middle of the match to tell him he needs him.
Reo sees the bird fly back to him—the bird he suffocated by pushing his dream and ideals onto. The bird who is too carefree to be caged with someone like Reo.
Nagi said soccer was fun with Reo.
Reo wonders if Nagi only remembers those memories of dribbling, passing, and kicking the ball for a goal, because Reo doesn’t. When Nagi said that soccer was fun with him, Reo remembers their first meeting. Reo remembers seeing Nagi leap and knowing immediately that Nagi is destined for greatness. Reo remembers carrying Nagi after practice, ruffling his hair for a job well done, treating him to good snacks in the late afternoon, riding his bike on sunsets. Reo remembers watching Nagi silently play his games. Reo remembers spending time with Nagi without a soccer ball between them—just two boys, hanging out—together.
Reo wonders when did soccer become so interchangeable with Nagi, that he both associates fun with them.
He still wants to win the world cup. If Nagi made a choice on how to achieve his dream, then Reo would just do the same. Nagi is asking for his help to win, and Reo wants to win.
Nagi probably does not remember Reo outside of this sport that brought them together, but Reo still wrapped an arm around Nagi’s shoulder.
"Let's play soccer."
Reo tells himself it’s for the world cup. Reo tells himself he’s making Nagi the best striker so he could win the world cup.
(Reo ignores the voice in the back of his mind telling him that Nagi would discard anyone who would be a setback to his dream, no matter how.)
(Reo doesn’t know Nagi’s dream is to bring him the world cup victory.)
There is a running gossip among the watchers of Blue Lock TV.
“Kunigami,” Reo nonchalantly answers to the camera. “I might survive longer if I’m with him,” he elaborates on his answer on who would he bring if he’s stuck on an island. Reo focuses back on practice after that so the camera has no choice but to back down and interview the other Blue Lock participants.
“The watchers are going to have a field day with that answer because, hey, Kunigami-kun and not—oops,” Bachira nervously laughs. Kunigami and Chigiri both stare at him unamusedly as they gesture towards Nagi who is sitting silently beside them. Bachira shyly scratches his cheek before offering an apologetic smile. To whom? No one knows.
(Definitely towards Reo, but no one is brave enough to say that outloud.)
It’s been one year since the Neo Egoist League concluded.
Everyone in the facility does not necessarily have to be chummy with each other. There’s a lot of them in there so it’s obvious that little groups would be formed and those where one can observe closeness and friendship.
Except if two players are known to have quite the history with each other.
“Oh, hello,” Reo greets first.
“Hi,” Nagi greets back.
Reo takes a seat two spaces away from where Nagi is sitting before looking up to watch the match playing on the screen across from them and taking a sip from his bottle of drink.
Silence ensues.
Nagi’s eyes are on the screen, but his ears are focused on Reo’s breathing. Reo’s breathing is still slightly ragged from the adrenaline of playing. Nagi had watched him earlier on the same screen they are watching from right now. Reo had been glorious in the field, and Nagi couldn’t take his eyes off of him. But he knows the real one is just here with him and Nagi is so tempted to steal a glance.
He gives in.
“Good game.”
Nagi contemplates if he should speak louder since Reo didn’t seem to hear him speak. His purple eyes are still focused on the screen, eyebrows a little bit furrowed. Maybe Nagi should really speak louder this time. It’s obvious he’s unheard of with how deep Reo’s concentration is in analyzing the current game they are watching.
So, Nagi awkwardly clears his throat, and speaks awkwardly louder, too. “Good game.”
That seemed to do the trick. Nagi watches fondly as Reo wakes up from his trance, blinking sparkling purple eyes before quickly turning his head to Nagi in a surprised voice, “Oh, sorry. You were saying something?”
Nagi feels relief settled on his chest when it’s confirmed that Reo didn’t hear him.
(Nagi feels relief settled on his chest when it’s confirmed that Reo didn’t purposely ignore him.)
It is due to this reason that Nagi didn’t feel annoyed at all to repeat his words for the third time. In contrast, he’s more than happy to speak again. “Good game,” he genuinely tells Reo. Nagi hopes his face does not look too happy seeing Reo splutter in surprise but as expected of Reo, he immediately composes himself.
Nagi holds his breath as he waits for Reo’s voice.
“You, too.”
And the conversation ends there.
Nagi had a thousand words he wanted to say, he thinks. He doesn’t know how they stacked up so high when he and Reo are in the same facility, but somehow, it did. Nagi was slow to realize things. He was too late when he realized that these words he wanted to say to Reo were stockpiled because he and Reo do not talk to each other anymore—at least, not like how they used to. Reo isn’t with him anymore when he plays games. Reo isn't with him anymore when they eat snacks in the late afternoon. Reo isn’t with him anymore whenever he sits mindlessly before taking a nap.
During those times they are together, Reo always speaks. Nagi is content with hearing his voice. At some point, he had Reo tell him a generic fairytale just so he could fall asleep on his voice. Nagi wished he spoke all those times, too, so it wouldn’t be hard to keep everything he wants to say, now that he can’t anymore.
Now, Nagi had to hear Reo being called by others, leaving the room, and warmly conversing with someone not him.
His thousand thoughts run in his mind, secluded in the four walls of the room, and Nagi can't give them freedom to reach the person they wanted to go to.
The realization is slow, but the pain is not gradual.
Nagi got hit by it all at once, like a truck running straight to his body.
His teammates jump on him because of their win, but his eyes are zoomed in on Reo standing while looking up at someone from the stands. Reo should be happy because they won, but his face looks devastated and he's crying—
Crying. Someone made him fucking cry.
Reo.
He barely hears the surprise from his teammates when Nagi frees himself to sprint towards where Reo is. He runs, ignores the burn on his thighs, doesn't care about how breathless he is, because he just wants to be with Reo—to punch whoever the fuck made his Reo cry.
But someone got there before him, and Nagi is reminded that…
Right. They're not the same as they are before.
Nagi slows down to a jog until he's a few feet away from Yukimiya and Hiori holding Reo's trembling fists. His anger flares up seeing the tears out of Reo's purple eyes. He tries to follow where Reo was staring at earlier, looking for a familiar face that would receive his goddamn fist. If he can't touch and embrace Reo through his sadness, then he could at least beat the person who made Reo like this—
It's Reo's parents.
Reo is crying, not out of happiness. Yukimiya and Hiori are looking at him sadly. The Mikages are here and they stare down at their son hardly. Nagi immediately connects the dots.
It hurts. Too much pain. It's everything all at once.
(Nagi cries, too.)
Blue Lock's announcement of Reo's premature retirement caused an uproar in the media.
The internet goes wild. Sports and business magazines have their own spreads of the news. It's a chaotic time for the legacy of Blue Lock TV, especially since Reo is one of the most followed and popular athletes known by the general public. Some said it should be expected with his family being Mikage Corporation itself, some said it's cruel to snatch Mikage Reo his dream of winning the world cup.
Nagi decides to leave the chaos there.
He settles for the silence he shares with Reo in the empty cafeteria.
Nagi thinks he's still slow at processing things because it still didn't feel real. Even when Reo is already wearing clothes without that stupid Blue Lock logo, Nagi still can't wrap his head about the fact that he's leaving.
Reo is leaving him.
All at once, Nagi feels.
And he can't stop himself from feeling.
"You promised to stay with me until the end."
Reo, for the first time since their fallout, reaches out for Nagi's hand.
One touch from Reo and that's all it takes for Nagi to crumble down like a sandcastle swept by the waves in the ocean.
"You promised me, Reo," Nagi breathes heavily, hissing, should be accusing but he knows he sounds like he's begging. The tears on Reo's cheeks washes him away, takes down his sand-made walls, and Nagi doesn't know when or how but he's suddenly speaking against Reo's knuckles, hoping that their promise would be engraved on Reo's skin so Reo would remember, "You promised, Reo. You promised me."
Two words, and Nagi is embracing Reo tightly against his chest.
"Sorry, Nagi…"
Nagi breathes in his hair, overwhelmed by the feeling of smelling that ridiculously expensive hair treatment that Reo uses. It's been so long since Nagi was able to touch him like this, and Nagi tries to comfort himself on the knowledge that he gets the chance to feel Reo before he leaves.
It's okay. It's okay. It's okay.
"I'll wait for you," Nagi breathes out, the ten thousand words fighting to let themselves out from his lips. He presses his forehead against Reo, directly staring at his tearful eyes to declare, "I'll wait for you, and we'll win that goddamn World Cup together."
Nagi doesn't know what a breakup feels like. He only ever gets the gist from the movies he watched, or when he hears stories from others.
He does know that Reo would define it for him at one point, seeing as to how he's the only person that Nagi ever loved like this. Reo defined it when they started drifting apart, and now Reo is spelling it out for him by sobbing and shaking his head and whispering through a broken and pained voice, "Nagi, no… don't wait for me."
Nagi leans in closer, voice hushed in an attempt to comfort Reo (or himself), "Reo, don't worry! I can. I just have to wait for a few years—"
"Nagi," Reo begs. "I won't come back."
Maybe this isn't actually a breakup. This is worse than that.
"But," Nagi stammers, eyes trying to catch Reo's. "The World Cup, Reo—"
"—is not happening, Nagi," Reo hiccups. Nagi panics when Reo steps out from his embrace. "Not for me. But for you, it can happen."
"Bullshit."
"I'm sorry," Reo whispers. Nagi is starting to hate those words. "I'm so sorry for making you like this, Nagi…"
Nagi doesn't say anything afterwards, nor does Reo. Even when Reo steps out of the facility, no words are exchanged between them.
The hundred thousand thoughts in Nagi's mind cry out for freedom.
"You were seen browsing through a jewelry store last week. Does that mean that Manshine City's Seishiro Nagi is off the market now?"
"I've always been off the market." His blunt answer has his teammates choking in laughter beside him, but Nagi can't understand what's so funny, so he just continues to answer the reporter's question for him. "It will stay that way until I die."
The press conference room fills with gasps. Clicking cameras immediately followed while an overly enthusiastic reporter asked, "Is Seishiro Nagi married?!"
"Ah," Nagi pouts. "Hopefully soon. It's been years, see? I won the World Cup, after all. Well, not from Japan, but eh, he didn't mention anything about the victory coming from Japan, so…" He's sure Ego would have his head after this interview, but Nagi just shrugged. "He'll give me his answer once he arrives later tonight from his trip to Las Vegas." He raises up a peace sign with his hand, "Pray for me."
The reporters immediately murmur among themselves, trying to rack their brains on who is arriving tonight.
One who covered a bunch of business and commerce news perks up, "Oh, Reo Mikage is reported to arrive tonight!"
The name immediately put a smile on Nagi's face. Once again, he ignores the chaos between the reporters and their noisy cameras to stare at one and wave, "I won the World Cup, boss. Hand in marriage later, 'kay, babe?"
When Reo said he wouldn't come back, he wasn't lying. Reo never came back dribbling, passing and kicking the ball. Reo never came back wearing his uniform with his team's logo plastered on it. Reo never came back with his hair tied for training. Instead, Reo comes back wrapped in an expensive coat. Reo comes back carrying the air of a confident businessman about to seal a good deal with another company. Reo comes back with his hair down but tucked behind his ear, looking gorgeous and untouchable.
Nagi loves him all the same.
Nagi told him so. The time of their reunion years ago wasn't enough for the infinite number of words he would like to tell Reo.
Undeserving as he was, Nagi was generously given more time to tell Reo more.
Long distance relationship is a whole lot of work, but they pulled through. Amazingly, even. Sometimes they spent the entire month together in a country one of them is temporarily residing at. Sometimes, they wouldn't be able to see each other for half a year. It was crazy, but Nagi wanted them to work out. Reo wanted the same. They both wanted each other for their lifetimes.
"What the hell is this?"
Nagi sees Reo, his gorgeous Reo, raising an eyebrow at him. He was sitting on the couch of Nagi's apartment, with all the poised of a dignified person dressed so simply yet elegantly, pointing the remote on the television playing Nagi's now-trending interview.
"Not even an I miss you, Reo?"
"I got swarmed by those reporters, Seishiro," Reo deadpanned. Nagi chuckled, prompting Reo to throw a pillow on his face that didn't hit. Nagi takes a seat beside Reo, throwing an arm behind the couch, and lifting a hand to lazily play with Reo's hair, "You'll get swarmed by them with or without that interview, Reo."
Which might be true. Reo's name has both been a buzz on both the business world and sports media for a while now (because of a certain rising white-haired striker not so subtly expressing his love to a certain childhood sweetheart who took a different path now but he promised he would win the world cup for on live television, what the hell) that his arrival in the same country where Nagi is at would be enough to cause an uproar.
This is more chaotic than usual, though.
"What's up with the marriage proposal?"
"Hm?"
Reo deadpanned, again, "We're not dating, Seishiro."
Ah, Nagi forgot about that part.
Unfortunately, despite the nature of their relationship, Nagi and Reo didn't have an official name to their relationship yet. Wait, no. Nagi has, but he knows Reo's still scared from the scar he did years ago, so it's been harder for him to once again give everything to Nagi in fear of being left again. It's not a problem. Nagi doesn't mind waiting for him, even for eternity. Besides, the lack of name to their relationship does not stop them from continuing whatever they have. If the media already knows that they are somehow together without the dating part and they both had this silent agreement that they're exclusively for each other, then who's really winning here?
"I was hoping we could skip the dating part," Nagi shamelessly smiles. Reo breaks into a smile before lightly tapping Nagi's cheek, "You lazy ass."
No one speaks after that. It's a comfortable silence like the ones they usually share during late night video calls. Nagi spends his time fiddling with Reo's hair, hearing his breathing, and smelling his cologne and the scent of his hair products. It can't be helped. Nagi always does this whenever they spend quite some time apart. He gives in to the temptation of reaching for one of Reo's hands and leaning in to nuzzle at the side of his head.
"Missed you, Reo…"
"We managed to not meet for a year before. We only didn't get to meet for three months this time."
Nagi clicks his tongue, "One year, three months. Same bullshit if it's without you."
He hears Reo snorting. Nagi mindlessly plays their hands together before Reo intertwines their fingers into a gentle squeeze.
"Congratulations on winning the World Cup, you monster."
"You won," Nagi insists. "I haven't entirely won yet."
"I literally saw you holding the trophy on live television, Seishiro." Reo doesn't mention that he was crying while watching Nagi.
"The trophy is not the real prize here," Nagi groans. He pulls away from breathing in on Reo's hair to look at his thumb rubbing on Reo's ring finger. "There, hand in marriage."
"You're so insisting about this."
"The tabloids always telling useless rumors about you getting married to some boring businessman are getting annoying."
Reo can't help but laugh. Granted, Nagi's passiveness had gotten better through the years but Reo still finds it adorable sometimes when Nagi goes so assertive, you'd hardly think he was the lazy and passive high school boy in Hakuho years ago. Reo stares down at their hands, too—at Nagi purposely rubbing his thumb on where a ring should rest on. It's not like Reo doesn't imagine it. Sometimes, Reo wakes up and sees a gleaming jewelry on his finger and Nagi's face is the only thing in his mind.
Their relationship is… unconventional, in a way, but even Reo knows that his lifetime will be spent together with his high school sweetheart.
Reo buries his face on the crook of Nagi's neck, sighing happily when he feels Nagi's arm wrap around his shoulders immediately. He basks in the warmth he wasn't able to indulge himself in for months, and thinks back how far they had come along. When Reo left the sports for good, he thought he'd leave Nagi, too. But Nagi proved him wrong. Time and time again, like that one time he entranced Reo in their first meeting, Nagi continued to mesmerize him. Nagi chased him wherever he was, keeping his fondness for the sport he thought would forever haunt him. Reo might not get to pass and kick a goal himself now, but Nagi always has him in his heart and mind during games and Reo was never left behind, ever again.
It's hardly their first kiss—given the countless times they've gone intimate—but their hearts still beat loudly in their chests when their lips pressed together. The noise from the television is muted in the background, powerless to disturb the two when they're stuck staring at each other's eyes and worlds.
"You're gonna be the one to talk to Dad… just to tell him. We don't need his approval."
"Your father's goofy," Nagi casually trash talks his soon-to-be father-in-law. "Despite not wanting his gorgeous and talented son to be an athlete, he does generously invest in sports programs like that one uncle you only see in holiday's season." Reo hides his laugh on Nagi's shoulder, not stopping him from dissing the head of the Mikage Corporation. "Well, guess I should thank him. If it wasn't for the people like him, I'm not getting the bags myself."
Reo bursts out laughing this time. "Dad's gonna have your head if he hears you saying that."
Nagi snorts, "Well, I got his son's hand in marriage, so who's really winning here?"
"That damned Nagi Seishiro got engaged?!" Kunigami screams in the video. "Reo, you should've given him at least seven more years before saying yes to that cactus dad!"
"Are they even officially dating," Karasu blinks. Yukimiya's head suddenly pops out in the frame of the video, "Reo! Congratulations! I'll see you soon!" It is followed by Zantetsu peeking and adding, "See you soon, Reo!"
Bachira laughs from behind the camera. Immediately, the camera moves to him, and Bachira waves enthusiastically to greet his friends, "Reo-kun, Nagicchi, tell us when, okay?! I wanna give gifts to my dear friends! Yoichi-kun, you'll come with me to go shopping, okay?!"
Isagi's laugh can be heard behind the camera before the frame moves up and down.
From the background, Kunigami can be heard screaming, "Reo, it's not yet too late! Think this over!" While Chigiri sighs, "Let our son leave the nest, will you?"
Gagamaru shows up beside Bachira, prompting the camera's view to be raised in accordance to Gagamaru's height. While Bachira is seen jumping up and down to get his face seen in the frame, Gagamaru raises his hand, "What if we all crash the wedding with a huge bear—"
Nagi closes the video entitled: BLUE-LOG #152: BLUE LOCK REACTING TO AN IMPORTANT NEWS!!! (spoiler: wedding bells)
"I'm not inviting them to our wedding."
"Seishiro, behave."
Nagi pouts, sulking. He lets Reo stop him from erasing the names of their Blue Lock friends on the invitation list. He gets a kiss from Reo in return, though, so that's a very good compensation.