Chapter One - The Theoretical Perfect Confession

Arms and legs should never lock…

Focus and steady eye contact is essential…

Deep breaths beforehand, plan ahead, and don't hesitate once you dive in…

The doorbell jolted Rei out of his intense concentration on his notes and books. At his jump, his red-rimmed glasses fell askew, dangling more around the tip of his nose and cheek. From the door came an enthusiastic greeting in a voice he recognized all too well.

"Rei-chan! Rei-chan, are you home?"

His heart skipped beats and an anxious sigh left him, already exhausted by the loud personality calling from the balcony. Repositioning the glasses to the bridge of his nose, Rei stood slowly and smoothed out his clothes. The doorbell rang again as he closed his notebook and placed it amid the rest of the books in his tightly-packed, though neatly organized bookshelf. He made a quick stop in front of the mirror to assure his glasses were on as straight as he assumed and that no stray hairs were out of place before making his way to the door to welcome his lively company. The sight of the shorter blond boy was no surprise. In fact, Rei had anticipated his visit. After all, it wasn't unusual for him to show up at his place on a Sunday, nor was it unusual for him to come carrying some sort of souvenir.

"Hi, Rei-chan!" he exclaimed, holding out a heavily sagging plastic bag, "I brought cake!"

His magenta eyes were brimming with excitement, begging Rei to let him inside as soon as possible so they, rather possibly he, could eat the sweet treat. Rei let out a sigh, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose again.

"Nagisa-kun, once in a while is fine, but you really shouldn't eat so many sweets," he said, "It'll catch up to you later, and Gou-san will never let you hear the end of it."

Nagisa's lips stuck out in a pout.

"That's a funny way to say hello," he mumbled, then wearing the familiar smile again as he slipped past Rei without a formal invitation and began taking his shoes off, "Besides, we swim enough that it's okay. Plenty of athletes load up on carbs. Gou-chan doesn't have to know what kind."

Rei ignored the intrusion and closed the door behind him.

"At least eat some fruit or vegetables once in a while," he said, "Noodles at the bare minimum. Healthier carbs than sweets. It's better to break those habits now so they won't hurt you when you're older."

"What, are you worried about me?" Nagisa asked teasingly.

Rei could feel his face redden and his chest contract as he prepared to defend himself in a flustered attempt at words, but Nagisa was already changing the subject as he hurried along to the bedroom.

"Oh! You already have plates out!"

"Of course," Rei said under his breath, "It's not like you don't bring something over every Sunday when you come to see me."

He reprocessed the last part over again and shook his head quickly, making a stop at the fridge to grab Nagisa and himself drinks before returning to his room, where his visitor had already made himself comfortable on his bed by sprawling out on his back and messing up the painstakingly smoothed out comforter. Again ignoring his friend's lack of ability to be a proper houseguest, he held out the strawberry juice box in his hand. Nagisa's eyes met it with a childish excitement before he looked up at him with a big grin.

"Oh, thanks, Rei-chan!" he cheered enthusiastically, accepting the drink graciously.

"Y-Yeah," Rei replied quietly, staring to the right at the edge of the cowhide rug.

He sat on the floor with his back against his bed, twisting the top off the bottle of barley tea and taking a quick chug to cool himself. It was okay, things weren't going so bad. In fact, it was going almost exactly according to plan, which he needed very badly this day. He stole a glance at Nagisa, who was puncturing a hole in the juice box with the straw, still laying upside-down. He was always so cute, cheerful, and carefree. What would this do to him? Would he retain that demeanor around him, or would this ruin the relationship they had? Or maybe just as bad, would he blow it off altogether? No. Nagisa had a way of pushing Rei's buttons and crawling under his skin, but it was all for the reaction. He never did it with malicious intent. He had once said if he was a girl that Rei wouldn't even be a consideration, but they were speaking hypothetically. Maybe he felt differently now. Or maybe he might consider it if he knew Rei was really interested. Or, of course, this could end in complete and utter disaster and leave him feeling uncomfortable and Rei devastated. He'd already committed himself to studying how to bring this up for so long. Any further prolonging would just give his cold feet a chance to run as fast as they could in the opposite direction, deeming all of this emotional turmoil completely pointless. Bringing up worst-case scenarios would just make it harder to speak, so he had to do it immediately.

"N-Nagisa-kun—"

Nagisa immediately broke into a coughing fit, flipping over onto his stomach and covering his nose and mouth. Instinctively, Rei patted his back in a frantic but effective manner.

"Are you okay?!" he asked.

Nagisa nodded through his coughs, seeming to laugh in the process. His hand dripped with a transparent pink liquid. Rei sighed, picking up a napkin from the table and handing it to him.

"Don't drink upside-down," he muttered, "And get off my bed. If you're going to make a mess, at least do so on the floor so I can clean it up easier."

"Ff-Fi-Fine, fine," Nagisa chuckled through his coughs, pushing himself up to slide down the bed beside Rei on the floor, dragging half of the comforter with him to Rei's annoyance.

He cleaned himself up as he settled down, taking a sip from the straw to assure he wouldn't start up again. Rei sighed with relief, glad he was okay, but still weary from the excitement. At that point, he knew these anxious feelings would only get worse if things went as intended. After another sip of juice, Nagisa scooted closer until they were shoulder-to-shoulder and hip-to-hip.

"So," he said with a smile, "What are we doing today?"

Rei looked at the assuming boy questioningly.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, "You came over to my place."

"But I always come over to hang out with Rei-chan," Nagisa pointed out, "And there's always something to do. And don't say study math, that's boring."

"You want to study something else?"

"Boo."

"You're the one who-"

"We can start with cake."

Rei was only able to gape in a confused stupor as Nagisa pulled himself closer to the small table, retrieving the plastic bag. He was so quick to move on with conversation, and Rei was unsure of how to redirect the subject back to something he could work with to bring up his own topic. At that exact moment, Nagisa's priorities were with food. Trying to navigate away from that was futile. His only option was to humor Nagisa for the time being and hope for an opening once they had gotten that out of the way. To Rei's surprise, what Nagisa had brought over was of a smaller size than usual, and of a different color.

"You brought a vanilla cake?" Rei asked.

"Don't you like vanilla?" Nagisa asked quizzically.

"I do, but… I don't really recall mentioning…"

He trailed off, watching Nagisa carefully measure the cake's halfway point before pushing the blade of the butter knife through the nicely decorated surface. Rei took another sip of barely tea, letting out a sigh afterwards. Maybe this would be okay after all. Nagisa cared about his well-being for as long as they knew each other, and would likely care about it even more so now. Even if this didn't go favorably, he would still stay by his side.

"Here."

"Oh, thank you," Rei murmured, half-mindedly holding his hand out to accept a plate.

His hand hovered blankly, awaiting a surface that wasn't being met. As he turned his head to determine the issue, his lips met a small morsel of the cake being held out to him on a fork. Nagisa smiled at him expectantly. This wasn't terribly unusual for Nagisa to offer to feed him, but on this day it made Rei particularly uneasy. However, he wasn't trying to force it down his throat this time, but gently pressing it to his lips to coax his mouth open. For once, this was a cordial, sweet offer of food. The tone could only help at that point, so it would be best to take him up on the offer. Hesitantly, Rei accepted the bite off the fork, noticing Nagisa smile approvingly when he closed his lips over the prongs to slide it off. It may have been escalated from the faint bitterness of the barley tea, but the cake was extremely and pleasantly sweet. Normally, Rei wasn't fond of excessive sweetness, but this was an exception. What was with Nagisa's smile today? It was sweeter than the cake. He blushed as he swallowed the moist, spongy pastry, looking away so that he wouldn't reduce to a pile of mush looking at the blond's face.

"What do you think?" Nagisa asked, "Is it good?"

Rei knew better than to avoid eye contact when he answered, lest he looked like he was lying. Nagisa was clearly being particularly interested in how Rei felt about the sweet today for whatever reason, so he had to respond truthfully and politely. He managed to make eye contact again, feeling his shields crumble at the hopeful grin.

"Y-Yes," he stuttered, "It's delicious…"

Nagisa beamed, curiously quiet for a moment before responding,

"So, do you take back complaining about it before?"

Rei let out a sigh, both exasperated and amused by the circle-back. Nagisa had a way of getting desired reactions, and Rei almost always went along with it whether he intended to or not. In this case, he was clearly happy about the cake and wanted someone to share the mood with him. Without faltering, he had succeeded again.

"Yes, I take it back," Rei surrendered with a chuckle, "But still, eat some fruit once in a while."

Nagisa giggled, delighted and pleased with himself. He popped the fork into his mouth, turning to grab the other plate and fork, but Rei's eyes were glued to the one from before. Had he forgotten Rei had just put his mouth on it? Did he even care? Decidedly not, as he turned around and offered Rei the full half of cake and the clean fork. This was an oddly generous offer from him, and Rei became wary immediately. Something was definitely strange about today. It couldn't possibly be his imagination could it? Why now? Why now would things seem different before he'd really had a chance to change anything?

"Rei-chan?" Nagisa asked, his smile gone, "What's wrong? Is it bad after all?"

His heart flipped over as the guilt overtook him.

"N-No, no, not at all!" Rei stammered, accepting the plate and fork automatically, "Th-Thank you."

With his smile back on, sunny as ever, Nagisa went back to his own partially-eaten half of cake and began digging away at it cheerfully. Rei ate much slower, savoring the flavors of each bite before swallowing. In addition to the vanilla, the cake tasted much more different today than usual. Often times, he found whatever Nagisa bought was slightly too dry, or had chewy bits of fruit or imperfections in the batter, but this treat was perfect and reminiscent of homemade sweets. His mother rarely baked sweets, but when she did make a cake for his or his brother's birthday, it often tasted much like the vanilla cake he so happily indulged in now. Since the whole pastry itself was already small, they both finished with their snack quickly, to which Rei was almost disappointed. Of course, he couldn't let Nagisa know he liked the cake too much, or it might become a regular thing and expand in size. After all, he was quick to latch onto certain minor things.

"That was tasty," Nagisa said through his last mouthful, dropping white crumbs down his shirt.

Trying desperately not to roll his eyes, Rei sighed and took the napkin to the boy's shirt, sweeping the crumbs onto the floor which he would have to take a broom to immediately following Nagisa's leaving. Amused by the act, Nagisa leaned his face closer to his.

"Do I have frosting on my face?" he asked innocently, "Could you clean that off, too?"

Rei's hand began to lift the napkin to the corner of his lips automatically, where of course he had a bit of vanilla frosting smeared. Suddenly, he registered the thought of touching Nagisa's lips and tossed the napkin at him instead.

"N-No, you're not a child," he stammered, "Clean your own face."

Nagisa pouted as he picked the crumpled napkin out of his lap and wiped his lips obediently. Come to think of it, he probably should have just humored him and wiped his face off during a time like this. It was something he would have to consider eventually. Speaking of which, with the cake out of the way, now was his chance to bring up his topic. But how to do it without abruptness would be another task entirely. At the same time, trying to lead in with something too casual would come across as awkward. He cleared his throat, trying to think of something.

"Um… sorry I didn't ask when you came in, but how are you, Nagisa-kun?"

It wasn't the worst thing he could have asked in that moment, but there were definite awkward undertones that made themselves unmistakable as Nagisa expressed slight confusion. Clearly, this was off to a bad start.

"I'm… okay," he said, "Why are you asking me that now?"

"I was just trying to ask how you were," Rei said, trying to sound offended so that his humiliation wouldn't show.

"Oh," Nagisa said. He looked off momentarily before turning back to Rei suddenly, his face suddenly lighting up, "Ah! I forgot to tell you! There's a new movie at the cinema I've been dying to see! It's a horror film, so Mako-chan and Haru-chan are out by default, but you're okay with scary stuff, so maybe the two of us could go together sometime!"

It wasn't that Rei was okay with scary things. In theory, scary things such as ghosts and zombies were illogical and impossible, so he had nothing to fear as far as those went. More than anything, the reason he hated these sorts of movies was due to the disgusting forced gore and poor decision-making skills of the main characters, and, while he didn't like to admit it, the tense atmosphere of the movie and theater made him jumpier than the movie itself. But physically exposed to the unknown, especially if he was faced with them in a sketchy environment, like the abandoned rest house on the island where they had trained during the school year, he could tremble. He kept himself collected well in front of others. Better than Makoto, for certain, but he wasn't as apathetic towards horror as Haru. This, he knew Nagisa admired in him.

"Sure," he said, "What's it called?"

"Soul Reaping."

Ugh.

"That sounds incredibly terrible," Rei said flatly.

"Right? Isn't it great?!" Nagisa asked excitedly with stars in his eyes, bouncing up on his knees, "It's supposed to have a ton of fake gore in it too, so you know it's gonna be good!"

Grimacing, Rei turned back to the table, straightening the used plates, empty drink containers, and empty cake box into a neat pile to take to the kitchen. Nagisa continued to enthuse about the movie from the other room, going into explicit detail about some of the gruesome scenes described in online forums by amateur reviewers, further deterring Rei from wanting to accompany Nagisa to this abomination of a film. Of course, he would suck it up and go so that Nagisa wouldn't have to go alone, but he was still planning escape routes before a date had even been set. Just as he set down the dishes in the sink, it occurred to him that they had strayed from the point of the conversation again. How did that even happen? How had he lost focus on the one task he had to the whimsy of Nagisa's constant subject changing? At least it had redirected from his erroneous lead-in, but there had to be a way to take control of the conversation from here.

Rei straightened himself and returned to his room with a puffed chest. Meanwhile, Nagisa had moved on to rambling about his interest in the movie since the teasers went up online the year prior. As the talkative teen took a moment to breathe between sentences, Rei spoke up quickly before the chance would be lost again.

"U-Um…!" he started, "I-Is there perhaps anything else you might like to do when we see the movie? We could make an entire day out of it!"

"That's a great idea!" Nagisa exclaimed, "There's a lot we can do this time of year. We can finally hang out somewhere besides your place! Oh, speaking of which, Rei-chan? I haven't seen your mom around today. Is she out?"

Rei paused momentarily at the sudden inquiry. Redirected again?

"Both of my parents, actually," he said, "They've decided to take a vacation for the remainder of the summer, and I'm in charge of the apartment until they get back."

"They didn't take you with them?"

"No. I requested to stay home so that I would have more time to study and practice swimming with the rest of you. Besides, they hardly ever have time alone together anymore. I thought it would be good for them to have a sort of second honeymoon."

"Ahh, Rei-chan's so thoughtful."

"N-Not really…"

"I wish my sisters were on vacation too. Unfortunately, they're all still home with my parents and me, and they're bossing me around and picking on me a lot."

"Picking on you?"

"You know, taking my swimsuits and switching them out for theirs, saying mean things, being nosy…"

Rei felt saddened suddenly, hearing what Nagisa was dealing with at home. He had barely met Nagisa's older sisters, but the little he heard about them led him to believe Nagisa put up with their rough play on a regular basis. While he did not have this sort of relationship with his older brother, he felt empathetic. He already knew Nagisa saw his apartment as a sanctuary, but perhaps it would be better to open it up to him more as a home.

"Y-You know…" Rei stammered, sitting beside him again, "You're always welcome to come over whenever you wish… Since I'm living on my own for the next few weeks, I certainly wouldn't mind the company."

"So, four in the morning. Got it," Nagisa said, his tone implying he was actually making a special mental note to do so.

"Do NOT ring my doorbell at four in the morning!"

"Three in the morning, then."

"No!"

"How is it 'whenever' when you're telling me not to come over?"

"I assumed you would choose normal times or eleven at night at the latest!"

"Eleven at night it is."

Rei placed his hands over his face and sighed. It was absolutely like Nagisa to enthusiastically take him up on these kinds of offers, even if they were to a more extreme extent than preferred. He was likely just trying to get a rise out of him, and Rei knew he should know better than to give him that satisfaction. But this was how things were. It was always harmless playful banter, and Nagisa rarely ever ended up doing any of this. And both of them knew that if he showed up at Rei's door at four in the morning, he would let him inside without a second thought.

A gentle weight pressed against his shoulder and rubbed against it. Even behind his hands, Rei knew exactly the cause.

"But I want to come see you all the time," Nagisa said, nuzzling him with his forehead more cajolingly, "I don't want you to get lonely here all by yourself."

Despite his crumbling shields, Rei refused to lose composure and faced away quickly. At this point, it would be physically impossible to look at Nagisa with him snuggling up against him. It was a gesture he'd felt from him before, though something he received less frequently than one of their seniors. All that time, he watched Haru take Nagisa's nuzzles without batting an eye, completely unaffected by such an affectionate act. For so long, he battled with feelings of secondhand embarrassment for the behavior and a secret longing to feel it for himself. He remembered the first time Nagisa nuzzled his shoulder—the first time he'd been honored with that gesture previously reserved for Haru—how much his heart somersaulted for having been allowed this privilege, and how hard he had to stifle those feelings in front of the others. Those feelings of sheer elation and never wanting it to end, those feelings of wanting to return it but just not knowing how. How would he ever bring himself to return something so adoring without having spoken the words? The heat burning his face could only have left behind an ugly flush that would expose him immediately. Already, this discussion had gone awry in every way. How could he properly express himself looking less than beautiful? At this point, the silence was growing uncomfortably long, and he would have to say something eventually to—

It was silent.

"Nagisa-kun!"

At once, his friend stopped nuzzling him and sat up straight, taken by surprise at Rei's raised voice. He felt bad about his sudden blurt momentarily, but remembered back from his notes to keep moving forward once he'd begun. Before he could stop what he was doing, Rei faced his body toward Nagisa and took hold of his wrists firmly. Though he intended to keep them closer to his lap, Rei realized quickly that his arms were locking and brought them up to the height of his chest.

"N-Nagisa-kun…" he said again, trying to retain composure.

"Rei-chan…? What is it?" Nagisa asked, "Are you okay?"

Rei couldn't quite swallow the lump forming in his throat, and trying to keep his thoughts straight over the frantic racing of his heart became increasingly difficult the longer he waited. This was exactly what his studies were talking about; it would only get harder the longer he dragged this out. But even at this point, despite how many times he'd rehearsed it over the past week, he couldn't just say it. How was he supposed to begin? Something along the lines of, "I've known you for a while…"

"Rei-chan-" Nagisa said, at this point visibly uncomfortable with the silence.

"No! I practiced this speech! Why can't I remember at a time like this?!" Rei shouted in anguish, angry at himself, "All this stammering isn't beautiful at all. It's nothing like how I wanted it to be…"

"Eh?" Nagisa asked, "You've been practicing this? Can't you just tell me?"

"No, shh! I'm remembering!" Rei snapped, then realizing he was being short with him again and hushing his tone to something more gentle, "Nagisa-kun… I… I've known you for a while, and um…"

The phrasing he'd used in the rehearsals was turning into static as Nagisa put on a smile and scooted closer to him, leaning in eagerly to hear what he had to say. He wanted to tell Nagisa to give him space, but insisting upon pushing him away would be counterproductive in the approach. Rei looked at his hands gripping Nagisa's slender wrists. Perhaps he should have thought that out better and grabbed his hands instead. It couldn't hurt to correct something like that just in case. He let go of his wrists to place his shaking hands gently over his.

"Th-The thing is, um, you asking me to join the swim team wasn't the only thing that changed my life."

Uh-oh. He jumped. That part came later. What did he skip over? "I've known you for awhile-" "You asking me to join the swim team-"—what did he miss? Obviously, he had intended to incorporate Nagisa's asking him to join the team into the story, followed by the great times they had together in and out of the swim meets, both with Haru and Makoto, and just the two of them. Something about giving him a sense of purpose and, when he wasn't worrying himself sick over his well-being, being able to feel relaxed and safe around him. About the way he had changed his entire world and how he had Rei wrapped around his fing-

"Rei-chan," Nagisa said quietly, "Are you—?"

"I'M TRYING TO MAKE THIS MAKE SENSE! PLEASE STOP RUSHING ME INTO CONFESSING MY FEELINGS FOR YOU!" Rei insisted loudly.

He let out a small squeak as he realized his slip, hardly comforted by Nagisa's wide, sparkling eyes and agape mouth. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. He was supposed to tell him everything, everything he adored about him right then, but it was already in the open just because he panicked the more Nagisa spoke. It had to have been a combination of the sugar and his already-strained nerves that caused the slip-up. But this was supposed to be taken slow so he could communicate his feelings clearly and romantically. It wasn't over. He could still save this. It was already out in the open at that point, so he just had to run with it.

"THAT'S RIGHT," Rei said matter-of-factly, fully and shamefully aware he was shouting but unable to control the volume of his own voice, "I HAVE FEELINGS FOR YOU, NAGISA-KUN. YOU'RE VERY BEAUTIFUL, A-AND I LIKE YOU VERY MUCH, AND IF YOU SHARE THE FEELINGS, I WOULD BE—"

"I do."

The response caught him by surprise, the rest of his sentence escaping him in a soft, "Eh?" Nagisa beamed back at him, cheeks and ears reddening. He took his hands away from Rei's, only to throw his arms around him as he leapt into his lap, nuzzling his warm face affectionately into his neck. In a fluster, Rei stiffened and protruded his arms out awkwardly to hold onto Nagisa back, but not quite able to bend his elbows enough to complete the embrace immediately.

"I do share your feelings, Rei-chan!" Nagisa said with a laugh against his neck, the soft breath pattering against his skin along with the butterfly kisses from his eyelashes, "I like you, too! I think you're smart, and amazing, and beautiful! I like you a lot!"

Rei couldn't believe what he was hearing. After a week of stress and anxiety-riddled nights he spent awake editing and rewriting this speech only to completely botch it, Nagisa didn't mind at all that his confession wasn't at all perfect or romantic. He was even returning the feelings. What was supposed to come next? After he told Nagisa about his feelings, he was supposed to wait anxiously for his answer. But he already had it. What was the next part, again? Was something supposed to come next? He pointed his nose down to look at Nagisa as he continued nuzzling his neck, only to make contact with his fluffy blond hair. Though he desperately wanted to remember what he was supposed to do following the response to his question, the only thought that came to mind was how nice his hair smelled. It was sweet like a kid's shampoo, or maybe even a girl's, like fruit or a smoothie. How was he so fixated on his hair at a time like this? Nagisa had just returned his feelings and literally threw himself at him. He was often affectionate, but never quite to this extent. Maybe Rei should have read further on the theory of relationships past the confession stage. Oh, of course!

"Then…!" he went on excitedly, "W-WOULD YOU LIKE TO BEGIN FORMALLY DATING ME?!"

"No."

Rei froze. Did he just say "no?!" The heart beats that had been racing and skipping so fast had tripped and somersaulted in his chest, replacing his elated feelings with an open pit of despair. Nagisa returned his feelings, but he had no interest in dating? What happened? Everything was going in a favorable direction, and yet-? What did he do wrong?

Nagisa pulled his head out from Rei's neck and smiled at him sweetly.

"I'd love to date you."

Rei stared at him, lip trembling. He was stuck somewhere between anger for having been so cruelly toyed with and overwhelming euphoria for the positive answer. What was the proper response for that? Scolding him for being so insensitive, or smiling at what he had really said? Whatever decision Rei reached had to be made in such a way that he wouldn't remember back on this moment with regret and embarrassment.

Naturally, he began crying as he finally managed to close his embrace around Nagisa, pulling him closer so he could sob into his shoulder.

"R-Rei-chan!" Nagisa cried, immediately guilty, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry!"

He pulled Rei closer in attempt to comfort him, resuming his nuzzling.

"I'm sorry, Rei-chan. Don't cry," he said more gently, "I'd love to date you, really, I would."

Rei's heart fluttered. Nagisa really wanted to be with him after all; that much was genuine. Even though he had treated the situation somewhat lightly, his words were sincere. This was all just part of his personality, keeping everyone laughing and smiling. He probably knew Rei was scared out of his mind and wanted to help ease his anxiety, and he seemed legitimately sorry for provoking the wrong reaction. Maybe even he was frazzled by the confession and the careless comment was just a reflex. But Rei was still justifiably mad.

"Sometimes when you open your mouth, you're not very beautiful," he pouted.

"Ehe, I know, my bad…" Nagisa said with a sheepish chuckle, then pressing his face to Rei's hair firmly and whispering, "But you more than make up for what I lack."

Rei lifted his face from Nagisa's shoulder, peeking at him through the bits of steam on his glasses.

"You really… want to be with me…?" he asked, just to be certain they were on the same track.

"Mm-hmm," Nagisa responded with a nod, rubbing his face against his hair.

"What made you change your mind?" Rei asked, "I mean, back then, you said you wouldn't date me because I'd nag you all the time."

Nagisa faced him, blinking in surprise.

"You still think about that?" he asked.

"A lot…" Rei admitted.

Nagisa was quiet, looking around a bit with a confused, yet vaguely frantic expression.

"But… Rei-chan, you already nag me all the time. It wouldn't be any different than it is now."

"Ah… fair enough, I suppose."

"I know you care, though."

"Y-Yeah."

Nagisa smiled and wiped Rei's cheek with his hand.

"You still want to be with me knowing your nagging will get you nowhere?" he asked slyly.

"More than anything…" Rei said, then catching the comment, "A-And I only bring up valid concerns for your safety! You should listen to me more often, especially if I'm going to be responsible for you as your boyfriend!"

Nagisa's smile transitioned back into a grin as he laughed, throwing himself against Rei's chest once more and nuzzling at him harder as he squeezed him tightly.

"Rei-chan's my boyfriend!" he cheered happily.

For the first time, Rei processed the word as Nagisa said it aloud. Boyfriend. The title coming from him was brimming with warmth and affection, bringing a smile to Rei's lips. He tightened his hold a little, burying his face into Nagisa's hair as he brought a hand up to stroke it gently. His wavy, golden mop was even softer than it looked. Now that he thought about, it definitely smelled of strawberries. If not for the physical impossibility of the duration, Rei would have held him like this forever.

"Hey… Rei-chan?"

The voice was notably quieter than it had been before, and Nagisa's fingers had curled tightly against the fabric of his shirt. His hold tightened, and his face nuzzled him more slowly and meaningfully.

"We're gonna have a lot of fun together, aren't we?" he asked, softly but filled with excitement, "I can't wait to go on dates with you…"

A silly grin made its way to Rei's face at the notion of spending entire days with him, following carefully detailed schedules that would grow more elaborate as time went on and they grew closer. Being able to make Nagisa happy with thoroughly-studied and perfected romantic gestures, and showering him with all of the affection he deserved, each time being able to witness that beautiful smile of his; he looked forward to all of it. Slowly, he nuzzled Nagisa back, flatting his palms against his back and rubbing him affectionately.

"I can't wait either," he responded.

His eyes flashed open as the words left him, suddenly taking Nagisa's shoulders and quickly pulling him away to face him.

"Wait, what am I saying?!" he cried, "We can go on a date tomorrow! I-I mean-! Would you accompany me on a date tomorrow?!"

Briefly stunned by the sudden request, Nagisa's smile and blush were only slightly delayed.

"I'd love to!" he laughed.

Rei grinned, taking a hand away from Nagisa to wipe his eyes. After the several hiccups in his plan, this was going like a dream. All that was left was to court him with a date that was also like a dream. But in order to do that…

"Th-Then…!" he stammered clumsily, "W-We should probably turn in early tonight so we're ready for tomorrow!"

Nagisa appeared confused by the sudden dismissal.

"Eh? But, Rei-chan, I just got here," he said, "It's only three o' clock."

Rei clammed up in his embarrassment. What was he thinking?

"A-Ah, you're right…" he stammered, "S-Sorry, I guess I—"

"That's okay," Nagisa said with a smile, sliding out of his lap, "It'll take me some time to get home, and I wanna make sure I'm completely rested and ready for our date!"

So he was willing to leave early after all. Maybe it was for the best, since trying to spend time alone together after a confession of feelings might make thing between them a little awkward.

"So… where should we meet?" Nagisa asked.

"I was thinking downtown," Rei said, "Where we meet when we go to shop for swimsuits."

"That sounds like a good place. What time do you want to meet?"

"How about eleven in the morning? That way the shops will be open, and we'll both have ample time to get there and be ready for a full day."

Nagisa grinned.

"A full day, huh?" he asked, "I guess I really do need to make sure I'm rested."

He stood and helped Rei to his feet so they could walk to the front door together. All the while, Rei noticed how much quieter Nagisa had become since his confession. While it unnerved him a bit, he remembered during moments when Nagisa expressed some of his deepest, most honest feelings, that he was considerably toned down from normal. If he had figured this correctly, the change was not a cause for concern, but actually a very comforting sign. Maybe he really did harbor the same feelings for Rei. The thought alone sent his heart fluttering.

"I wonder what Rei-chan has in mind for tomorrow," Nagisa mused as he slipped on his shoes, glancing at Rei playfully.

"I assure you, I've left nothing to be desired," Rei promised with a confident smile, "I've carefully scheduled nothing less than the perfect date for our first of many."

The blond boy beamed, ears and cheeks glowing.

"I can't wait," he said softly.

Before the silence of smiling that followed grew too lengthy and uncomfortable, Rei cleared his throat.

"So… I'll see you tomorrow at eleven, right?"

"Downtown at eleven," Nagisa confirmed with a grin, "Got it. I'll see you then."

He opened the front door and stepped outside, waving a shy farewell to Rei before heading across the balcony and descending the stairs to the ground. Rei waited until he saw Nagisa's blond hair disappear past the stairs level with his line of sight before closing the door. Leaning against the door, he finally allowed himself to absorb the moment. It went as planned. Sort of. Aside from his horribly botched speech, he had achieved the desired results. His best friend was now his boyfriend. Nagisa Hazuki, the pure embodiment of sunshine and innocence, wanted to be by his side as Rei wanted to be by his. The smile that had spread across his face never faded. Even the sweet taste of the cake Nagisa brought that afternoon still lingered.

The thought jerked his head up suddenly. There was something special about today, as he had begun to realize before but never concluded. Nagisa always brought sweets for the two of them, but the flavor was usually to his own liking. The vanilla cake wasn't with both of them in mind at all. Rei immediately bolted out the door to catch Nagisa before he had left. Luckily, he had only just reached the ground.

"Nagisa-kun!" Rei called down the balcony, "Thank you for buying the cake! I really loved it!"

Nagisa looked up at Rei with surprise initially, then grinning as he laughed.

"Oh, I didn't buy it!" he said, "I made it last night! It was my third try, so I'm glad that one worked out! See you tomorrow, Rei-chan!"

Waving once more, Nagisa turned on his heel and took off happily. As the distance between them lengthened, so did Rei's smile. He covered his mouth and laughed softly. This truly was the start of a beautiful romance.

But that night, after texting Nagisa goodnight, the anxiety set in. Though he had hoped Nagisa's acceptance would calm his anxiety, he felt a new pressure entirely. This date had to be perfect in every way. For the sake of their relationship, and for Nagisa's. He deserved the best, and Rei would have to put every effort into making that happen. Now that they were a couple, it was up to him to keep Nagisa happy enough to stay. As long as he could do that, they would be just fine. Would it be so easy as that?

His phone blipped with an incoming reply from Nagisa. He reached for it and slid it open to a bubbly message.

Goodnight, Rei-chan~! ＾▽＾ I sure hope I can sleep 2night, im so excited for our d8 tomorrow! ;) See u then~!

He had to read the text through three times before processing it and smiling again. There was nothing to worry about. As long as he kept everything according to plan, they would have a perfect, beautiful, and ideal relationship. He prided himself on his ability to plan ahead, and he had put together what was sure to be a perfect first date for Nagisa. Absolutely nothing would get in his way.