A/N: Totally in a oneshot mood these days. A short, (hopefully) sweet story on NagiRei. The Season Two teasers inspired me like no other and somehow this erupted. Anyhow, please enjoy!
"Rei-chan. I like you."
The way his breath hitched quietly, the way he tilted his face up to look at him, the way he smiled so sadly…everything was imprinted in his memory. Burned into him like sweltering hot metal but he shivered because it was so, so cold.
It was after the big race with the four childhood friends. A couple of months had passed since then and winter was truly laying its icy claim on the city. They had gone back to their regular routine, occasionally meeting up with the Samezuka team to practice, getting in as much training as they could before the seasons turned. By autumn, it was already too cold to swim.
Distressed, Haruka-senpai had been in a bad mood for a while until Amakata-sensei managed to get a booking every morning at the nearby public pool. So they trained every morning.
That left afternoons quite free. Sometimes they would do some body building exercises, hitting up the gym or just doing a run around. Sometimes they were allowed to go home early.
Today was one of those days.
Amakata-sensei had declared it way too cold to do anything. Strangely enough, Gou had agreed, saying that they should take some time off and relax. Later, Nagisa told him on the down-low that it was because she had a date with Seijuurou-san.
Makoto-senpai and Haru-senpai had gone their way, off doing whatever it is they would normally do.
And so, it left the two of them.
It was normal for the blond and the bespectacled to be together but today, it seemed even more isolated. They sat in the train station, early since school let out, and watched the snow drift gently down on the tracks, putting down a layer of puffy whiteness that incited reverence. It was beautiful, a still, quiet beauty that Rei appreciated.
But today, it was too stagnant. Nagisa had insisted upon getting strawberry ice cream, despite being bundled in a swath of scarves and jackets, his amethyst eyes bright and happy and Rei had relented in the end. And yet, even so, the blond sat here, dispirited with the ice cream in his hands, untouched.
Rei fidgeted a little. Nagisa normally filled the gap so there was no need to talk but with this heavy atmosphere, he felt like he should. He coughed. "It's, uh, cold huh?"
Solid effort Rei. Let's all talk about the weather. It's like he read all those conversational books for nothing.
Nagisa smiled wanly. "Yeah." He let out a puff of air, watching it melt into the sky. "It's cold."
Silence settled once more. Rei wracked his brains for something to say and drew a big, fat blank. The weird feeling in his stomach wouldn't sit still and it tossed and turned, punching his guts to pieces. When the train pulled up, his relief was palpable.
"Nagisa-kun. Our train is here." He said, standing up. Hefting his bag on his shoulder, he made to move but turned back around when the blond didn't get up. "Nagisa-kun?"
The blond looked up and something in his deep, purple eyes combined with the snow melting in his golden hair, sparkling like diamonds made Rei's heart falter to a shuddering halt. He's beautiful.
"Rei-chan. I like you." His breath caught. The dark-haired male watched as the blond sat up a little taller, clutched his bag a little closer, taking a deeper breath. Watched as Nagisa peered upwards through gold eyelashes and snowmelt.
So beautiful.
Rei was…numb. Maybe it was the cold or maybe it was the three words that had tumbled seemingly so effortlessly from Nagisa's mouth. Those three words that he had been avoiding this whole time. Those three words that made his heart soar unbelievably, so unbelievable that it still seemed like he was on the ground, looking up and yearning for the bright, bright sun.
He opened his mouth, intending to say something, anything, only to have a dry, cracked noise come out.
No…! That's not what I meant for…that's not what I…
Nagisa smiled again, not as dazzling as his normal smiles and yet, Rei had never seen something more hauntingly lovely as that. The blond lifted his hand.
"Would you like some ice cream, Rei-chan?"
The dark-haired male blinked, spluttering ungracefully. "I, uh, yes, um, no, t-thank you I-" Nagisa had stood up, his smile still pasted on his face. His cheeks were ruddy from the cold and he looked a little lost as he gazed down at the ice cream.
"Go on ahead, Rei-chan."
He padded off into the snow, his boots crunching quietly and the white puffs falling from the sky obscured his view of the blond. He was leaving.
No…he can't leave. No…!
Rei let out a choked sound and let his bag drop to the ground, running after the blond, who had, somehow, managed to make it around the corner.
"Nagisa!" He yelled breathlessly. "Nagisa!"
Throwing his head left and right, he looked in search of the familiar flash of blond, only to see white, stretching before him. And suddenly he was there and Rei cradled him in his arms, breathing in his scent and smells and revelling in the feeling of him. Lifting Nagisa's face up, Rei brushed the blond bangs out of his eyes and he opened them, his violet orbs confused, sincere and still so, so bright.
Swiping the pad of his thumb over the tear tracks, Rei leaned in, hugging the blond close. "I like you too, Nagisa. I like you too." He whispered, almost lost against the wind. But he didn't care, because the one person who did matter heard it. And that's the most important thing.
Nagisa leaned in, a ghost of a smile touching his lips. "Are you telling the truth, Rei-chan?" He asked breathlessly. "Is it true?"
Rei pulled away, laughing. "It's true." He hesitated a little, watching the sparks fly in Nagisa's eyes, cherishing the warmth of his body against his and leaned in, planting a chaste kiss on his partner's forehead. "It's really, really true."
A/N: Hope y'all liked that. Please favourite and review and all that jazz and have a lovely day!