Chapter Text
Nagisa always had a crush on Rei. It was the whole reason he had worked so hard to convince Rei to join the swim team! Rei was gorgeous. And Nagisa was smitten the moment he saw him, despite Rei’s obvious annoyance at Nagisa for sliding into the classroom just moments before the bell rang and whooping in victory. Still, Nagisa nearly swooned right then and there.
Nagisa never expected anything to come of it. Rei was perhaps a bit dorkier that he had first assumed-- he certainly gave off a cool, superior vibe those first weeks. But Rei was still way out of Nagisa’s league. Gorgeous, smart, athletic... Nagisa was lucky their classmates hadn’t wised up to what a phenomenal catch Rei was, or Nagisa would have lost Rei to a girlfriend for sure. And if that were to happen, Nagisa wouldn’t be able to take Rei on dates anymore.
Not that they were really dates in the first place. But Nagisa liked to pretend they were.
Nagisa fiddled with the penguin charm dangling from his phone. He pursed his lips as he checked the time again. It wasn’t like Rei to be late. I hope he’s okay, Nagisa thought. Maybe I got the time wrong… Nagisa pulled up his text messages from Rei, scrolling through to find the text where Rei has outlined their plans for the day.
Nope. Nagisa was right on time. After a moment of debate, Nagisa pressed the call button with urgency. Please pick up Rei-chan, he silently pleaded.
Across the park, he heard a familiar ring tone blair. He looked up immediately, scanning the crowd for Rei. Of course, there was a chance the ringing phone didn’t belong to Rei. But he imagined that there couldn’t be that many people with The March of the Penguins as their ringtone.
(And for the record, that had been a pretty awesome movie date. Nagisa had thought Rei meant Happy Feet when he said he wanted to watch “the penguin movie,” which Nagisa was obviously all for, but the documentary was actually pretty good. Plus Rei provided excited commentary the whole time. It was pretty damn cute.)
Nagisa grinned broadly as he found a familiar navy head of hair weaving through the crowd. He threw his hand up in the air and waved enthusiastically. He heard the quiet click of Rei answering his call. “Rei-chan!” he yelled.
“There is no need to yell Nagisa-kun,” Rei replied, his tinny voice sounding vaguely annoyed as it flowed out the speaker.
Oh yeah. Oops.
“Sorry Rei-chan,” Nagisa said at a more appropriate level.
“It’s quite alright.” After a moment’s pause, Rei added, “May I please end the call? I can see you from where I stand and my hands are rather full at the moment.”
“Oh!” Nagisa exclaimed, feeling instantly guilty for inconveniencing Rei. “No problemo, Rei-chan. I’ll see you in a few!”
“Of course,” Rei responded warmly. Nagisa waited until he heard the badoop alerting him that the call had ended before moving the phone away from his ear. He rocked from his heels to his toes, unable to control his need for movement now that he knew Rei was okay and nearby. He wondered what Rei could have possibly brought with him. Why were his hands full? Weren’t they just grabbing lunch? Rei alluded to having things to do that evening, which was a total bummer, but at least Nagisa had Rei all to himself for the next couple hours.
Nagisa broken into a wide grin as Rei exited the crowd. He fought the urge to run and throw his arms around Rei (but just barely), mostly because Rei’s arms really were full. It looked like he had some sort of tote slung over his shoulder, but Nagisa honed in on the box in Rei’s hands. Nagisa would recognize that signature pink box anywhere. It was from his absolute favorite bakery (in their city at least).
“Rei-chan!” Nagisa cried happily, ceasing his rocking once Rei was at his side. He lightly headbutted Rei’s shoulder affectionately.
“Nagisa-kun,” Rei replied in a half-hearted reprimand. Nagisa nuzzled against Rei briefly before pulling away, knowing that Rei’s tolerance for such open affection was low.
“What’s in the box Rei-chan? Why do you have a bakery box? Is that why you were late? Were there long lines at the bakery? There are always long lines because they’re the best bakery around,” Nagisa spoke at breakneck pace, pausing for just a moment to breathe before continuing his barrage of questions. “I thought we were getting lunch? Are we eating that for lunch? You hate it when I eat sweets for lunch. Or when I eat them before I eat my ‘real food’.” Nagisa made air-quotes enthusiastically before mimicking Rei pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Nagisa-kun,” he began in a deeper voice, “You’ll spoil your appetite if you eat all those vile sweets.”
“I would never call your sweets vile,” Rei protested, eyeing Nagisa with some concern; Nagisa was always exuberant and ‘larger than life’, but he seemed particularly energetic today. His whole body was in motion, vibrating with excitement. “I may find some of your dessert selections cloyingly sweet, but vile is not an apt description of my opinion of them.” Rei carefully shifted the box into one hand and gently grabbed Nagisa’s shoulder. “Are you alright, Nagisa-kun?” Nagisa nodded, looking up at Rei curiously.
“Yeah, what makes you ask that? Do I look sick or something?” Rei shook his head, frowning slightly as he regarded Nagisa.
“No. However you appear… riled up about something, I suppose. Some part of you has been moving since the moment I arrived.” Nagisa jolted under Rei’s hand before freezing in place.
“Sorry,” he replied sheepishly. “I’ll try to be less fidgety.”
“No, no, it’s quite alright, it’s just… rather exhausting to watch. I have no idea where you find the energy.” Nagisa forced a smile. Rei’s deepening frown indicated the knew the smile was unauthentic.
“Must be all those sweets, eh, Rei-chan?”
“I suppose…”
“Now, where are we going to eat today? There’s that one diner that I told you about last week. Oh, oh! Or we could go to that one bistro you really liked. With the really good cream puffs? Oh, but you already bought cake, so nevermind, that’s off the list. Unless you really liked the food there, because we could still totally eat their real food and just not get desserts there. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that, wow, guess I really am obsessed with sweets. Oh, but there’s also-”
“Nagisa-kun,” Rei interrupted. “I already have our meal taken care of.”
“Oh! That’s great then. I shoulda guessed that you already had a place in mind. You always plan ahead. Did you make a reservation too? Is it the kind of place that takes-”
“No reservation was necessary because we are eating in the park.,” Rei clarified. Nagisa stared at him, blinking in confusion.
“At the park?”
“Yes, at the park. I spent this morning preparing a meal for us, which put me a bit behind in picking up the cake for you, but nonetheless,” Rei adjusted his glasses clumsily, trying not to upset his many bags. “I thought we might have a picnic in the park today, if that is alright with you.” Nagisa’s eyes widened as they lit up with excitement.
“Of course that’s okay with me, Rei-chan! That sounds awesome! I haven’t been on a picnic in years, not since I was little, oh wait, just kidding, we go to hanami every year and have a picnic, but that’s different, it’s a national tradition! I haven’t been on a picnic picnic in years, and definitely never with a friend or anything, just with my parents and sisters and maybe my cousins once. I never would have guessed you wanted to go on a picnic, I would have figured you’d think eating outside is unbeautiful or something because of all the bugs-”
“Nagisa-kun, we eat outside all the time at school.”
“Yeah, okay, but that’s different, it’s not a picnic when we eat at lunch. Or at tournaments. I dunno, it’s just different in my head I guess. Which is stupid, now that I think about it, but I wouldn’t call any of those picnics, it’s, like, offensive to picnics; picnics deserve better, and-”
“Nagisa-kun,” Rei interrupted. “Perhaps we should find a place to eat?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Hmmmm…” Nagisa spun around, scanning the park for a good place to set up. “We should probably stay away from the playground or some grubby kid will try to trick you into giving them my cake.”
“Nagisa-kun-”
“And you would totally fork it over, too. You’re such a sucker for kids, I bet they wouldn’t have to even ask, they could just look your way and you would be throwing it at them.” Nagisa started laughing. “Okay, but now I’m imagining you smashing cake into little kids’ face and now they’re crying, and you’re panicking, and their mom shows up and, woah, she’s really scary and, and-” Nagisa laughed harder, grabbing his stomach with one hand and waving the other in front of him excitedly. “Oh god Rei-chan, she is letting you HAVE it. And you- I can’t- Oh god- It’s so funny, Rei-chan!”
“I would never shove cake in anyone’s face,” Rei said by way of response, mildly offended at the suggestion.
“Oh god, I’m crying!” Nagisa gasped in between laughs. “And I can’t breathe! Oh god, I need to stop. I need to stop laugh-” Nagisa broke into another fit of giggles. Rei shook his head with a soft smile and waited for Nagisa to calm down. Eventually Nagisa’s laughter subsided. “I’m sorry Rei-chan,” he apologized breathlessly, straightening back upright. He wiped the last few tears away from his eyes. “I hope the food hasn’t gone bad.”
“You weren’t laughing for quite that long,” Rei assured, “But I do have a location in mind for our lunch, when you are finished.”
“I’m finished! And I’m starving, so lead the way Rei-chan!”
Rei nodded and led Nagisa to a small hill away from the path, beneath a large tree.. He carefully placed the bags next to the tree and knelt down beside them to take out a blanket.
“Can I help?” Nagisa asked, rocking on his feet.
“That would be a great help,” Rei agreed as he stood back up. “We should find the place with the least roots.”
“Ummmmm,” Nagisa scanned the area, “right there looks good.” He pointed to a spot with a relatively flat surface.
“Perfect.” Rei handed Nagisa an edge of the blanket and they moved apart to open it up. After maneuvering themselves above the selected spot, they crouched down to lay the blanket out on the ground. Rei gestured for Nagisa to take a seat and made his way back to the bags. Nagisa plopped onto the ground, swaying slightly from side to side, watching Rei carry containers to the blanket. After a few trips, an assortment of food containers and drinks lay out before Nagisa and Rei was finally seated across from him.
“Did you really make all of this?” Nagisa asked, slightly awed. The amount and variety of food was borderline overboard. But then again, Rei was feeding Nagisa, so maybe the amount wasn’t all that off after all.
Rei nodded.
“That’s amazing Rei-chan. It looks amazing.” It really did. Rei obviously put a lot of consideration into the aesthetics of the meal. Nagisa hardly expected any less.
“With any luck, it will taste amazing, too.”
“If you made it, I’m sure it will.” Nagisa beamed at Rei. Rei looked back to the food, looking slightly flustered.
“Please, help yourself.”
“Thanks Rei-chan!” Nagisa eagerly grabbed a plate and began piling food onto his plate. Rei waited until Nagisa got his fill, then followed suit, albeit, with much more modest portions. “Itadakimasu!”
Nagisa moaned as he bit into the first dish, causing Rei to nearly drop his plate. “Oh my god Rei-chan, this is amazing!” He took another bite, again making noises of pleasure. He seemed completely unaware of Rei’s rapidly reddening face.
“Thank you, Nagisa-kun.”
“I’m serious! This should be on the menu of some five-star restaurant or something.”
“Now you are exaggerating.”
“Only a little! It’s really, really delicious, Rei-chan.” Nagisa popped another bite into his mouth. “How’d ya make it?”
“Don’t speak with your mouth full of food,” Rei scolded half-heartedly. “Itadakimasu,” he said quietly, taking a bite of his own.
Nagisa swallowed before continuing. “I’m serious, Rei-chan. How did you make this? I didn’t know people could cook like this, And you’re still in high school! ...I mean, I guess of course people can cook like this. But they go to school or whatever to learn how. They don’t just magically get good. I mean, just look at my mom; she’s a cooking disaster, and she has years and years of experience, though I don’t know if you can really qualify her failed attempts as experience, but I guess it would be unfair to just dismiss that either. But there’s a reason my dad does all the cooking, let’s just put it that way.” Nagisa paused to pick up more food with his chopsticks, but paused before putting it in his mouth, suddenly remembering Rei’s admonishment. “But really. How did you know how to make all this stuff?”
“It is a rather boring tale.”
“I don’ care,” Nagisa replied after swallowing. “I always thinks it’s interesting to hear how your mind works, even if I can’t always keep up.” He smiled at Rei’s reddening cheeks and picked up a bottle of aloe water that Rei brought for him. “So, lay it on me.”
Rei studied him for a moment, then began talking about researching typical picnic foods, which lead into critiques of cooking blogs, and something about the science of cooking, and Nagisa tried to follow along as best as he could, truly, but he got distracted by Rei’s eyes. He got distracted by the way they lit up with excitement as he recounted finally finding the recipe he wanted. And then he got distracted by the way Rei used his hands to illustrate the story. Which led to him thinking about how Rei’s hands felt, and how they felt on him. He thought about the warmth that bloomed whenever Rei touched him. His eyes were drawn to Rei’s lips, mesmerized by the way they moved to form lips. But before he thought too much about those, he realized Rei was calling his name.
“Nagisa-kun?”
“Rei-chan, I like you,” Nagisa blurted without thinking.
After all Rei had done that day, he just couldn’t help it. The feelings had been welling up inside for months and they just bubbled over the edge. Rei stared at Nagisa for a moment, a stunned look crossing his features.
Nagisa began panicking. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. It just sorta came out and I didn’t mean it. Well, okay I did mean it, but I didn’t mean for it to make things weird between us and-”
And then Rei began laughing. Nagisa felt his stomach drop and his anxiety levels rise. Rei was laughing at him. He didn’t really expect Rei to return his feels but Rei was laughing.
After a moment, Rei seemed to realize the rudeness of his laughter and quickly added, “No, no, Nagisa-kun, please don’t be upset. I apologize for laughing, it’s just the absurdity of it all.” Nagisa shrunk further into himself. “Not that your confession is absurd! It is perfectly natural to confess to a male friend. I have done the research, and homosexuality is much more common than one might think. The prevalence of homosexuality within other animal species certainly fortifies the argument that-”
“I’m sorry I said anything. You’re right, it was stupid. Please just forget about all this.”
“Nagisa-kun, did you hear anything I just said?” Rei looked amused. Nagisa felt sick.
“I heard that it was absurd for me to think there was a chance,” Nagisa replied sullenly, looking dejectedly at Rei’s shirt. It really was a lovely color on him. “I bet you can’t even look at me anymore-”
“Nagisa-kun,” Rei interrupted gently, bemusement still painted on his face, “I am looking at you right now, am I not?”
“But things will never be the same again! I ruined everything!”
“You are correct that things will be different now.” Nagisa hadn't thought that he could feel any sicker, but the way Rei smiled softly at him as he spoke those words made the twisting of his gut infinitely worse. He squeezed his eyes tight and tried not to cry. “And the only thing you ruined was my confession.”
“See! I knew it! I ruined ev...erything,” Nagisa trailed off as Rei's words clicked. He opened his eyes and stared at Rei in disbelief. “Wait. Please tell me you said what I think you said.”
“I did,” Rei confirmed with a slight laugh.
“You’re lying.”
“I assure you I am not lying. I had asked you to accompany me today with the intention of confessing to you, however it seems you have beaten me to the punch.”
“And you were confessing that you like me?”
“Yes, Nagisa-kun, I was confessing my feelings for you.”
“You really like me?” Nagisa asked again.
“Yes, I really, truly like you, Nagisa-kun,” Rei assured, his eyes softening as he smiled. Had he ever looked at Nagisa like that before? It was making Nagisa feel all fluttery and he had to look away because it was embarrassing.
“Okay, but are you sure because I’m kinda really annoying and not all that smart and wouldn’t you rather be with someone serious like the track captain or-”
“Nagisa-kun,” Rei said firmly, gently taking Nagisa’s hands into his own. “I am certain that you are the one I want to be with.” Rei’s smile started to fade. “But perhaps I am not the one you would like to be with…” Nagisa could feel Rei’s hands shaking slightly.
“Rei-chan, how could you even say that!” Nagisa bounced onto his knees and squeezed Rei’s hands tightly. “I just told you that I like you!” He scooted closer to Rei. “Of course I want to be with you!” he laughed. “I’ve wanted to be with you for forever. I just can’t believe that you really-”
“Nagisa-kun,” Rei interrupted. “I would like very much to kiss you right now.” Nagisa felt his face heat up and his heart skip a beat or two. Rei’s cheeks colored as well. “If that would be alright…”
Nagisa nodded, mouth suddenly very dry. Rei leaned forward tentatively. He pulled his hands free from Nagisa’s grasp. “Nagisa-kun,” he breathed, gently tilting Nagisa’s chin upwards. Nagisa’s breath caught in his throat. “I like you, too.” Rei closed the small gap between them and pressed his lips against Nagisa’s. As soon as he did, Nagisa froze. Rei kept the pressure for a moment, but when Nagisa didn’t respond, he pulled back abruptly.
“Did I do something wrong? Was I not supposed to kiss you?” Rei gasped, cheeks flushed as he dropped his hand from Nagisa’s chin.
“No,” Nagisa began, drawing out the word. “You were supposed to kiss me, well, I mean, you asked to kiss me and I said yes, well, nodded really, so it’s not like you didn’t have permission, but it’s not like you HAD to kiss me just because I like you and everything.”
“I like you too,” Rei interjected.
“Okay yeah, you say that but, I’m, um, I’m, well, I’m me, but, like, that’s not the point right now. The point is, well, oh my god I can’t believe I’m actually going to say this, but like, I haven’t kissed anyone before, well, I mean, I’ve kissed someone on a dare maybe like one or two times, but it’s not like it was anyone that I actually liked, so does that even really count?, but, yeah, I know I’m terrible at kissing and I panicked because you’re you and you’ve probably kissed a million girls already and here I am-”
“Nagisa-kun,” Rei interrupted with a small laugh, “first of all, it is highly improbable that anyone would kiss so many people, let alone a teenager such as myself, not to mention the sheer outlandishness of your claim. Why on earth would I even intend to kiss so many people, and so many girls at that!”
“Oh, okay forget the girls, I guess, but you have all this experience kissing boys then-”
“Nagisa-kun, where on earth did you get such a ridiculous theory?” Rei asked with awed amusement. “I have never kissed anyone before this moment, boy or girl or anyone in-between.”
“For real?”
“Yes! I cannot figure out why you think so many people are interested in kissing me-”
“On Valentine’s Day-”
“I received exactly three boxes of chocolate, one of them being from Kou-san.” Rei smiled warmly at Nagisa. “I am not sure where you got the preposterous notion that I am some suave casanova, but before I met you, I had no interest in kissing anyone. Relationships seemed unnecessary, illogical, and far more effort than they could possibly be worth.”
“But not anymore?” Nagisa asked timidly.
“Of course not,” Rei reassured, finding Nagisa’s hand with his own. “Meeting you changed my life, Nagisa-kun, in far more ways than I could have possibly imagined when I first agreed to attend swim practice.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am without a doubt.”
Nagisa felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment.
“Is that the reason you froze when I kissed you? You were worried about your inexperience?”
Nagisa pulled his hands from Rei’s and covered his face. “Maybe.”
Rei chuckled. “Nagisa-kun, I have less experience than you. Perhaps I am the one who should be nervous.”
“Are you?”
“I was. Not as much at the moment, however.”
“Oh.”
“Nagisa-kun, please look at me.” Nagisa shook his head, and continued to hide behind his hands. “Am I truly so unappealing that you cannot look upon me?” Nagisa’s head whipped up at that.
“You’re gorgeous!” he assured. Rei’s cheeks pinkened, his expression slightly startled by Nagisa’s emphatic response. Nagisa’s eyes widened as he realized what he said and began to raise his hands to his face again. Rei deftly caught Nagisa by the wrists and tried to gently push his hands back down.
“Please do not hide from me, Nagisa-kun,” Rei pleaded softly, causing Nagisa to stop resisting. Rei kept hold of Nagisa even after his hands came to rest on his knees. Nagisa fidgeted slightly from side to side, not sure what to say or do next. He felt Rei’s eyes on him, but he stared at where Rei held his wrists. Rei gently adjusted his hold so that his hands lay atop Nagisa’s, fingers curling around to brush Nagisa’s palms.
“I had a speech prepared,” Rei admitted with a slight shake of his head and a small sigh.
“Of course you did,” Nagisa laughed softly, glancing up at Rei. “And I’m sure it’s beautiful.”
“I’m not,” Rei confessed, squeezing Nagisa’s hands gently. “I practiced in front of the mirror at minimum a dozen times; nearly every attempt was a disaster.”
“I’m sure that’s not true, Rei-chan.”
“I suppose I should be grateful you spared me that embarrassment.”
“What makes you think you’re spared? You gotta tell me your speech!”
“Right now?”
“No, at our wedding.”
“WEDDING?!” Rei screeched, pulling back from Nagisa abruptly as he fell backwards.
“Oh my god, Rei-chan, I was joking,” Nagisa laughed, crawling after Rei. He draped his arms over Rei’s shoulders and leaned forward onto Rei’s chest. Rei’s arms wobbled slightly at the unexpected weight, but he kept them both upright. Of course he did. Rei had amazing upper body strength. “So, if it’s too soon to talk about commitment, is it too soon to ask if this means we’re dating?”
“That sort of commitment is a far more appropriate topic at this stage,” Rei agreed with a small smile. “That had been my intention, yes, if you have no qualms about it.”
“Hell no. I’ve been dreaming of this since I saw you jump.” Rei looked completely taken aback, mouth gaping.
“That long?” he asked in disbelief. Nagisa blushed faintly, realizing belatedly that perhaps that info should have been kept to himself for a while still.
“Yes?” he admitted hesitantly. “But it’s not like I only became your friend because I wanted to get into your pants. I thought you were good looking, yes, and would I be lying if I said that wasn’t a factor when I first asked you about it on the train, probably, but in my defense I asked just about everyone so I probably would have asked even if you weren’t hot, but you were, which was a nice bonus. And then you joined the team and I got to know you, and then I found out you were a massive nerd, which I found endearing, so I knew I was in it for more than just your hot bod, and now I want to die because I admitted way too much. Please stop me from talking.”
Rei obliged, leaning forward to seal Nagisa’s lips in a kiss. Nagisa tensed up momentarily, but quickly relaxed into the kiss. It probably wasn’t the greatest kiss, objectively speaking, given their inexperience, but Nagisa’s anxiety over that was quickly quelled when Rei started moving his lips. Nagisa followed his lead, until he felt lightheaded and had to pull back for air. He took gulping breaths, staring at Rei, who looked completely unfazed.
“Breathe through your nose,” Rei suggested, tilting his head forward slightly, touching their foreheads together.
“I thought you said you were new to this.”
“I did some research.”
Nagisa rolled his eyes. “Of course you did.”
“Nagisa-kun, as enjoyable as it is to finally be able to kiss you, this position is not particularly comfortable for extended periods of time.” Nagisa hummed in response. He pressed a quick kiss to Rei’s lips, then pulled himself off Rei.
“Finally, huh? So how long were you waiting?” Nagisa teased. God, Rei was cute when he blushed.
“I would prefer not to comment.”
“Reiiii-chaaaaaan, tell meeeeeeee.”
“No.”
“Please?”
“No.”
“But you gotta!”
“No.”
“But I’m your boyfriend! That means you gotta tell me everything now!”
Rei smiled softly at him. “My boyfriend,” he repeated.
Nagisa nodded, feeling a blush creep onto his cheeks as well. “So you gotta,” he added with a small pout.
“A while,” Rei admitted. “But that is all I will say on the matter.”
“But Rei-chaaaaaan-”
“We should start cleaning up.”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“It appears you haven’t yet eaten your desert. I thought it was your favorite.”
“It is. But I’m not-”
“It would be a shame to have to throw it away, but if you have no interest in eating it-” Rei reached for the plate.
“Touch it and you will never run again, Rei-chan,” Nagisa threatened, grabbing it before Rei could.
“Eat, Nagisa-kun,” Rei urged gently. “I still have more planned for us.”
“I thought you had plans tonight,” Nagisa countered around a mouthful of cake.
“That was my escape in the event things went poorly. However, things are going quite well, so…”
“So…?”
“So eat. Once you are done, we can continue with our first date.”
Nagisa felt something in his stomach flutter. First date. Rei was taking him on an actual date. He smiled to himself as he took another bite.