Chapter Text
It was odd to see a new family move into the house across the street. The previous owners, from what Nagi heard from his parents, had been trying to sell it for months to no avail. Apparently, a family of three had been more than happy to sign the house under their name.
Saying his mother was excited about welcoming their new neighbors was an understatement. She had been practicing her greetings and baking a cake for the past few hours.
Nagi had asked if he could have a slice, but was gently denied each time. Instead, he opted to lick at the batter that stuck to the bowl his mother mixed the ingredients in. He slightly envied his new neighbors for being able to eat such a delicious cake without him.
The fleeting question of what the family would be like had crossed his mind once or twice. He hopes they aren’t bothersome. The two people who previously lived there had been much older than his parents– they were the oldest people Nagi had ever seen– and always pinched Nagi’s cheeks whenever they got the chance. It made Nagi break into a full sprint each time, which his mother had always laughed at– he hated running. He hopes the new family doesn’t trouble him to that extent.
Once his mother had finished frosting the cake, she helped Nagi change into his special clothes– a pastel yellow hoodie with a picture of a cartoon bear on it paired with white shorts. The hoodie was Nagi’s favorite. It had a large pocket on the front which made it perfect to hide the candies he snuck away from the kitchen jar.
The two of them walked across the street where his mother rang the doorbell. Nagi played with the strings of his hoodie while they waited.
It didn’t take long for them to be greeted by a couple, their initial surprise giving way to delight as they took in the two people at their door.
“Hello! You must be our neighbors, we’ve seen you in your yard a few times when we came to check on renovations,” said the man with dark hair.
Nagi’s mother introduced herself and handed the cake over for the man to take.
“And who’s this?” the woman with purple hair crouched down to nagi’s height, a gentle smile playing on her face.
Nagi never jumped at the opportunity to introduce himself and that certainly wouldn’t change now. He did the only thing one could do in such a situation: take cover behind his mother’s leg.
“Seishiro, don’t be shy,” his mother urged him to make his presence known again, “it’s not nice to ignore our new friends.”
“How about this,” the woman tried to peer at Nagi where he was hidden, “we have a son just about your age. He’s a bit nervous about being in a completely new place. It would make him really happy if you talked to him. Would you like to try?”
He glanced at his mom, trying to convey his displeasure. She didn’t get the signal and agreed in Nagi’s place.
Nagi wanted to do nothing more than run back down the street when his mom entered their neighbors home. He followed behind her helplessly, dreading to meet the couple’s son.
“Reo, honey, come down! We have guests.”
Not even ten seconds had passed before the sound of someone rushing down the steps could be heard. Nagi was almost impressed. Almost. He’s still holding a grudge over having to talk to someone he doesn’t know.
The footsteps belonged to a young boy, slightly shorter than Nagi with purple hair that nearly reached his shoulders. The boy’s– Reo, he remembers– eyes widened when they landed on Nagi.
“Are you our neighbor?” Reo asked in a voice much too loud for indoors.
Nagi nodded so he could get the whole affair over with quickly.
That, however, did nothing to deter the boy who had grinned like Nagi had said something profound.
“Wow! Your hair is so cool.”
Okay, that might’ve caught Nagi a little off guard. If anyones hair was cool, it’s Reo’s, who unlike Nagi, looked as if he actually brushed it after getting out of bed. But Nagi wasn’t in the mood to correct him.
“Do you go to school?”
Nagi shook his head.
“Hmm,” Reo looked like he was in deep thought over what questions to pester Nagi with next, “do you wanna see my room?”
He most definitely did not , but the three adults in the room were looking at him expectantly. Nagi sighed and ushered to Reo to lead the way.
Reo nearly skipped all the way there– Nagi doesn’t understand how someone could have so much energy.
“Ta-da!,” Reo yelled as he shot his arms out in the air, making jazz hands towards the inside of his room.
“My mom let me pick the color out myself. Do you like it?”
Nagi took in the new setting. The bright blue was certainly… a choice– one that Nagi would never make– but he didn’t want to be rude.
“It’s nice.”
“You think so?” his grin became wider, if that was even possible. “I chose it because it reminds me of the sky. Your hair reminds me of clouds.”
“Why?” Nagi really doesn’t get the comparison.
“Because your hair is white. And it looks fluffy,” he said before reaching out to ruffle Nagi’s head.
Nagi instantly recoiled– looks like his new neighbor would be more troublesome to deal with than the previous ones. He almost wishes they’d move back.
“Don’t touch my hair,” Nagi scolds as he pats his hair back into place.
Now, Nagi wouldn’t consider what he said to be harsh– so he really doesn’t understand why Reo bursts into tears right then and there.
Within mere moments both his and Reo’s moms entered the room.
“Seishiro, what did you do?”
“Reo, what’s wrong?”
Before Nagi could open his mouth to explain the situation, Reo beat him to it.
“He’s mean,” Reo said as he wiped a stray tear from his cheek.
Nagi couldn’t believe his audacity.
“He’s annoying ,” Nagi spit back. That only made Reo cry even harder.
“Seishiro, you don’t say things like that,” his mother said before turning to Reo, “he didn’t mean what he said, right, Seishiro? Apologize to Reo.”
Reo looked at him expectantly.
“I didn’t do anything to him. He’s just annoying,” Nagi held back from sticking his tongue out at Reo, before sprinting down the stairs and heading home.
He was thoroughly exhausted after that entire ordeal. If Nagi could help it, he’d never see Reo again. That would be nice, he thinks.
“Seishiro,” he hears his mother call out to him. Oh, no .
He quickly tucks himself under his blanket, feigning sleep.
The second she walks into his room, he squeezes his eyes shut as tight as he can.
“I know you’re awake, Seishiro,” she sighs.
He continues to pretend.
“I can see your eyelids twitching.”
Oh. The jig is up.
He wrenches one eye open, assessing the situation. She doesn’t seem upset so he opens the other, too.
“What happened back there?”
“It’s nothing. He grabbed my hair and I told him not to. Then he started crying out of nowhere,” he pouted, “ like a baby. ”
“I’m sure he just didn’t understand that you aren’t comfortable with things like that. If you tell him nicely next time, he won’t do it again and neither of you will be upset. Okay?”
“Next time?” Nagi narrowed his eyes.
“Of course.”
“I don’t want to see him again,” he threw the covers over his face.
“You should at least apologize to him.”
“Don’t wanna.”
“Seishiro.”
He shakes his head under his blanket.
“No more candy until you apologize to him.”
Nagi groaned, “that’s unfair.”
“Rules are rules, mister. If you can’t follow them, don’t break them,” she said before exiting his room.
Nagi huffed. This was unfair and it was all stupid Reo’s fault. Nagi made up his mind: he will never, ever apologize to Reo.
He remembers the stash of candy he hid in his pocket. It will last him a few days at most if he’s careful. Perfect. That will be enough time for his mom, and hopefully Reo’s family, to forget any of this happened.
After Nagi had breakfast the next morning, he hurried to his room to pull out his DS. His father had bought it for him just last week so he was still trying to figure out how to work the thing.
The second he got comfortable, a knock sounded at his door.
“Seishiro, someone’s here to see you,” his mom said in a sing-song voice.
Nagi had no idea who it could be. From behind his mom, he could see a flash of purple. He suppressed the urge to groan.
“Remember what i told you yesterday,” she raised a brow at Nagi, “if he says anything mean again, let me know sweetheart,” his mom quickly whispered to Reo before shutting the door behind her.
Nagi couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His own mother had turned on him.
If Reo came here expecting an apology, he was out of his mind. They could sit here in silence all day in that case– Nagi won’t utter a word to him.
The other boy clearly doesn’t get the hint that Nagi doesn’t want to talk or maybe he does and opens his mouth anyway.
“I’m sorry about yesterday.” That certainly wasn’t what Nagi expected to hear. He raised a brow in confusion.
Reo continued, “I told my mom about what happened. She said I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Done what? Grab my head or lie about me being mean?” Nagi challenged.
“The first one. I should’ve asked permission before doing that.”
Nagi can’t argue with that, “yeah.”
“Do you forgive me?”
He shrugged, “I don’t really care.” Whether Reo apologized or not, Nagi still found him annoying.
“Okay! Can we be friends, then?” Reo tilted his head.
Nagi most certainly did not want to be friends with him. He didn’t even want to entertain the question.
Instead, he opted to stay silent, which had backfired on him greatly. Reo inched closer to him as if he was going to attempt to convince Nagi on why they should be friends. Nagi wasn’t having it.
He had to think of something quickly. His hand drifted to the candy stashed in his hoodie. Pulling one out– mint flavor, Nagi’s least favorite– he handed it to Reo. That should be enough to keep him shut for some time.
Reo’s eyes widened immediately and he took the offering excitedly. The candy did little to keep him quiet though.
“Thank you, Nagi!” he squealed before taking a seat on Nagi’s bed, without asking for permission.
If Nagi was petty enough, he would run straight to Reo’s house and complain about it, but he wasn’t— and quite frankly, he was too lazy to do it either way.
“Wow, this tastes like toothpaste!” Reo giggled as he kicked his feet in the air.
Nagi agreed, but he wouldn’t say that out loud.
After some time, Reo shot off the bed. Finally , Nagi thought, he’s leaving.
“I’ll be right back!” Reo said before running out of his room. Nevermind.
Nagi thought about getting up and locking his door, but that required too much work. He turned on his DS again and tried to figure out the controls of his new game.
Within a few minutes, Reo was back, but he was holding something in his hands this time.
“Look what I got,” Reo shook a chocolate bar in front of his face.
Nagi held out his hand, ready to take the peace offering.
Reo shook his head, “my mom said you’re supposed to share,” he explains before dropping beside Nagi.
“I didn’t make you share my candy,” Nagi said before turning his attention back to the game.
“You can’t share candy, silly,” Reo laughed. “What are you doing,” he asked while looking down at Nagi’s screen.
Now he was sure Reo was stupid. It was clear as day what Nagi was doing.
Reo didn’t wait for an answer, though. He returned to his chocolate and started unwrapping it. Once he finished doing that, he broke the bar in two and tried to hand Nagi a piece.
The white haired boy just stared at Reo, making a show of the DS currently occupying his hands. There’s no way he could eat like this.
“Oh,” Reo nodded in understanding, for once. He looked at the two pieces of chocolate again, laying one onto the plastic wrapper he just removed. With one of the halves remaining in his hands, Reo started to break it into smaller pieces, following the indentation that divided the chocolate like a grid.
“We can share it like this instead,” Reo offered before holding up one of the tiny, rectangular pieces in front of Nagi’s mouth.
He didn’t know how to feel about taking food from a stranger– his mom always advised him against it– but the chocolate was too appetizing to ignore. With a defeated sigh, he opened his mouth, allowing Reo to feed him. He’s glad he did, this was better than any of the candy that currently laid
Nagi is glad he did. The chocolate was better than any of the candy that currently lay neglected in his pocket. There isn’t a lot he likes about Reo, but Nagi will admit he has good taste.
Reo went back and forth between popping a piece in his own mouth and holding one out for Nagi to eat.
“Last piece,” Reo called out while Nagi was too focused on the screen in front of him. He’d finish the level he was on and then eat the last one as his reward. That was Nagi’s plan, until he heard Reo chew on the chocolate intended for him. Nagi immediately shut his DS off.
“That was mine,” he furrowed his brow.
“You snooze, you lose,” Reo stuck his tongue out at him.
“That’s not fair. I was doing something.”
“It was going to melt if I waited.”
“No it wouldn’t. You just don’t want to share correctly.”
Reo burst out laughing.
“What?” Nagi questioned his behavior.
“I was just kidding, dummy, that wasn’t the last one.”
He picked up the wrapper and revealed the final piece that he hid. Nagi rolled his eyes.
“I don’t want it anymore.”
“Are you sure,” Reo drawed out the last word.
“Stop bothering me,” he flipped onto his stomach and hid his face on the pillow beneath him.
“Nagi,” Reo called out, “I’m about to eat it.”
“I don’t care.”
“Poor Nagi, he won’t get the last bite. My mom says the last bite is always the best.”
Nagi turned to his side to take a peek at the purple-haired boy. He currently held a hand to his mouth to stifle his giggles. Annoying , Nagi thought.
Pushing himself off his stomach, he signaled to Reo to put the piece in his mouth.
The second Reo’s hand got close to his lips, Nagi bit the tip of Reo’s finger.
“Ow!” Reo yelped before yanking his arm back. “Why did you do that?”
“Your finger was in the way.”
‘No! You did that on purpose,” Nagi noticed Reo’s face was turning bright red. If he started crying, that would quickly turn into a problem for Nagi.
“Hey Reo, look,” he fumbled for the DS he dropped onto his bed before, “do you wanna try?”
It was almost humorous how fast Reo’s face brightened up at that.
“Can I?”
“Sure,” Reo made grabby hands for it immediately. “Don’t break it,” Nagi warned.
“I won’t, I promise,” Reo held his pinky out, expecting Nagi to take it.
“Okay, just play.”
Nagi monitors Reo like a hawk, making sure he doesn’t press a button he isn’t supposed to. It almost makes him wish he just let Reo cry instead. That would’ve been easier to deal with than the constant: “Nagi, how do you move the character?”, “Nagi, can I change the clothes. These are ugly”— which Nagi took offense to because he chose the outfit— “Nagi, what does this button do?”
How someone could be so curious about so many things at once is completely beyond him. If he has to go through anymore of this, his brain might explode.
“Do you have to go home soon,” Nagi asked.
“Maybe,” Reo quickly answered, barely paying attention to Nagi's question because he was so focused on the game.
He decided to employ a different strategy, “I have to charge that.”
“Oh,” Reo fixed his posture and held out the DS for Nagi to take, “here you go.”
As Nagi stuffed the device under his pillow, Reo asked another question, “can I play again tomorrow?”
“If it has charge, I guess.”
“Make sure you charge it before I come over,” Reo pointed a finger at him before hopping off the bed.
Nagi’s definitely not going to charge it tonight.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,’ Reo waved at him, “bye!”
Nagi hummed noncommittally.
The second he was gone, Nagi decided to take a much needed nap.
Reo showed up much earlier than yesterday. Nagi had barely finished breakfast by the time the purple-haired boy strolled into his house.
His mom asked Reo if he’d like to eat anything to which he politely declined. Something about eating already, Nagi wasn’t really listening.
It was weird how quickly his mom had taken a liking to Reo. He doesn’t really get it. Doesn’t she find it annoying how he barges in without warning?
The fact of the matter is that Reo being well liked by Nagi’s mother made it infinitely harder to get the boy off his back. He misses the peace he had just two days ago and yearns to have it back. If he’s only here for Nagi’s DS, maybe he can just let Reo keep it so he stops bothering him.
Nagi eventually had to lead Reo to his room.
“Did you charge it?”
Nagi dropped onto the beanbag that sat beside his bed.
“I forgot.”
“What? How did you forget that?” Reo whined.
He simply shrugged. Hopefully this is enough for Reo to go back home now.
Reo fell face-forward onto his bed and sighed dramatically.
“What are we going to do now?”
Nagi certainly wasn’t going to give him any ideas.
It didn’t take long before Reo jumped up, “I know! We can play hide and seek.”
“There’s not a lot of hiding spots here. It won’t work.”
“Hmm,” Reo contemplated that, “how about we use both of our houses,” he smiled like he suggested the most genius idea in the world.
Hide and seek, Nagi thought. The game gave him an idea.
“Sure.”
Reo seemed surprised at how easily he had agreed, but didn’t question it.
“Yay!” he pumped a fist in the air. “I’ll count first and you hide,” he covered his eyes with both palms.
“I want to count first,” Nagi almost whined. His plan can’t work without it.
Reo shook his head, stubborn as ever. “I suggested the game so I get to go first.”
“That’s not a rule.”
“It is. Now get to hiding.”
Nagi rolled his eyes before leaving the room. He wanted to get this over with as fast as possible.
His gaze roamed around the area before landing on the perfect hiding spot. It wouldn’t be difficult for Reo to find, but it also would look like he put in some form of effort.
He crawled under the kitchen table and situated himself in between the legs of a chair. A minute later, Reo’s footsteps could be heard running across the hall. It looked like he was taking the game very seriously. He meticulously checked every crevice— even ones Nagi couldn’t possibly fit in— before finally making his way towards the kitchen.
It was only a matter of time before his eyes landed on Nagi huddled up under the table.
“I found you!”
“You did. Your turn now.”
Nagi made his way back to his room where he dropped right into his bed. He could hear Reo open the front door to hide in his own house. Perfect.
If things went according to Nagi’s masterclass plan, Reo would eventually give up on hiding and accept that Nagi lost. He booted up his DS to play Mario Kart— the one he had in fact charged the night before, Reo didn’t need to know that thought.
A grand total of twenty minutes had passed before tiny stomps sounded outside his door. Nagi quickly stuffed the device under his pillow and shot out of his bed.
“Nagi! Why are you still here? You don’t want to play with me, do you?” Reo asked, brow furrowed in a way that almost made Nagi laugh.
Before Nagi could respond, Reo stomped back out of the room.
Nagi sighed, he’ll have to deal with this now before their parents could hear Reo’s twisted side of the story.
“Reo,” he called out.
“I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Why?”
Reo abruptly paused his steps making Nagi nearly bump into him.
“You’re still mean. I don’t want to be friends with you anymore.”
That— that didn’t sound too bad. Actually, to Nagi, it sounded perfect.
“Oh,” was his only response.
“You can still say sorry,” Reo offered.
Nagi shook his head, “I’ll just be mean again.”
“Right,” Reo sighed. He looked a bit sad, Nagi thought distantly. That wasn’t any of his concern though. “Bye, Nagi.”
Reo walked out the door and gently closed it behind him. That was the last time they spoke for the rest of the year. Nagi didn’t mind. He finally regained his semblance of peace and quiet.