Chapter Five – The Theoretical Perfect Place
Penguins attract mates by offering rocks for nest building.
If they are successful, the two birds mate for life.
They remain close at all times, and sometimes engage in a behavior called allopreening.
He watched the weekly forecast for a third time after dinner, paying particularly close attention to the next day's weather. A small, grey cloud loomed over the thirty degrees Celsius reading, drizzling upon the number. Gloomy as it was, it had in fact been exactly what he needed. When it first appeared on the forecast earlier that week, he started to watch the weather almost religiously every day, his hopes rising the longer that grey cloud remained. Now that it was close enough, he could finally set his next step in motion.
As the weatherman moved on to the next day, Rei shut off the television and returned to his room to retrieve his phone. He had only returned to the apartment twenty minutes ago, and was hoping the hour wouldn't be too late for Nagisa. But this was necessary. Besides, he seemed to like surprises.
Rei selected Nagisa's name from his contacts and held the phone to his ear. After a few lengthy rings, the always-chipper voice on the other end responded.
"Hi, Rei-chan!"
"Hello, Nagisa-kun?"
"Good timing!" he replied, "You caught me just as I was getting out of the bath!"
"Oh, so you were about to go to bed?" Rei asked, now feeling guilty, "I'm sorry for calling so late…"
"It's fine, it's fine! I wasn't going to sleep for a bit anyway. What's up?"
Rei sat at his desk, peering up at the night sky through his window.
"Um… I apologize for the short notice, but I was wondering if you'd like to go on another date tomorrow morning?"
"Of course I would! Where are we going?"
"I was thinking we could spend the day at the zoo. I've done some extensive research on their establishment and they appear to house quite a variety of animals, fish, and insects."
"Ohh, I haven't been to the zoo in years! That sounds like a lot of fun!"
Rei smiled, internally patting himself on the back.
"It takes a while to get there by train, though, so we have to be up bright and early. What do you say we meet at the train station by seven-thirty?"
"Sounds good! I can't wait!"
"Then I'll let you go so you can get some sleep. I wouldn't want you dozing off on my shoulder on the train again."
"You say that, but you like it…" Nagisa's voice pouted.
"I don't like you drooling on my clothes," Rei stated with aggravation, then more shyly, "And… it's not good for your health to be in a constant state of sleep deprivation, so it makes me worry…"
"Aww. Okay, Rei-chan. I'll go to bed now so you won't worry."
"Thank you. U-Um… good night, Nagisa-kun. I'll see you tomorrow morning."
"Sweet dreams, Rei-chan! I love you!"
Rei's mouth fell open at the words, but not a sound came out. Not that it mattered, since Nagisa hung up immediately following his declaration. He released a little sigh, melting back in his seat. Though the rest of him lay still as he stared at the ceiling, his leg bounced restlessly. A week had passed since their karaoke date, the first notable perfectly executed outing. The three following dates went just as smoothly, finally setting them on a steady path. Things were going perfectly for their relationship.
Rei sat closer to the desk, reaching for the zoo pamphlet and flipping through it. He'd planned this date for weeks, far longer than he knew what to do with it, but finding the perfect use now. Every detail was so delicate, so carefully strategized, that the slightest change could unravel everything. All things considered, Rei knew he took great risk in trying to pull this off, but if successful… He smiled to himself, a picture of Nagisa's beaming face coming to mind. If he got it right, he would make Nagisa so happy. That alone was worth the risk.
As he showered that night, he tried to keep himself calm by running the schedule through his head step by step. He worked in as much leeway as possible just in case anything came up, but otherwise felt comfortable putting the plan into action. The longer he thought about it, the more he could work around obstacles that could threaten tomorrow. In the end, as long as just the two of them were together, he could steer things the way they needed to go and provide Nagisa with another flawless date.
Toweled off and in a fresh pajama set, he replaced himself at his desk once more and pulled out his notebook, which grew fuller by the day. His latest entries appeared drastically misplaced, which left him feeling unsettled, though he knew they retained relevance to the rest of the subjects. He flipped to the previous entry, staring at it for a long time. The longer he stared, the more aware he became of his own heart thumping inside his body. Abruptly, it launched against the wall of Rei's chest as his phone began to vibrate across the desk. The I.D. displayed Nagisa's name, and he scooped it up quickly to answer.
"Hello?" he asked anxiously.
Only silence came from the other line. Rei opened his mouth to prompt him again when the response came stuttering through.
"U-Um, Rei-chan, you know that I think you're beautiful, right?"
His face broke out in red and his heart skipped a beat. Where did that come from?
"E-Eh?" he asked.
"Your eyes and your smile are very beautiful. And the way you mess with your glasses when you get embarrassed is really cute."
He suddenly noticed that his hand fumbled with his glasses again, and he pulled it away immediately.
"I-Is that so?" he asked, a silly smile forcing its way onto his face as he felt himself slipping into euphoria over the praise.
"You're especially cute when you're not mad," Nagisa said.
The elation dropped like a ball of lead. He should have suspected this flattery wasn't out of nowhere.
"What did you do?" Rei asked irately.
"U-Um… I-I… might have mentioned to Mako-chan that I was going to the zoo with Rei-chan tomorrow, and he might have said that he hadn't gone to the zoo since he was little…"
"Nagisa-kun…"
"And I might have accidentally offered to let him and Haru-chan come with us."
Rei sighed, closing his eyes as he rested his forehead to his hand. Of course. Things were going too well.
"I'm really sorry, Rei-chan… It just sort of slipped out, and I didn't want to take it back…"
"No, I don't expect you to…" Rei groaned, "We'll figure something out…"
"We can go again just the two of us some other time," Nagisa suggested, a plea to make amends evident in his tone.
"It's all right," Rei reassured him, "This will be nice too. We haven't seen Haruka-senpai or Makoto-senpai since your birthday, so it would be nice to spend time with them as well. I miss seeing them every day, and I'm sure you feel the same."
"Yeah…"
Nagisa's voice sounded uncharacteristically dejected at the notion of spending time with their seniors. Rei smiled a little and did his best to relay it through his next words.
"Hey… Tomorrow's going to be a lot of fun, okay? I'm glad we'll get to share it with the others."
"Are you sure…?" Nagisa asked, uncertain.
"Of course. I'm sure they won't mind if we take some time for ourselves as well."
"Okay… Um… Rei-chan…?"
"Yes?"
"About what I said before…"
He trailed off. Rei tilted his head against the receiver, wondering if he missed something. Then came the rest,
"…I wasn't just saying that so you wouldn't get mad, I really meantitokayIloveyoubye!"
The last words blended together, followed by the click of their conversation disconnecting. Rei's mouth hung open as he deciphered the words individually. He chuckled at Nagisa's rare, but endearing fluster. Despite his confident air, Nagisa seemed rather embarrassed by this sort of thing. How cute…
The smile soon faded as he thought their conversation over, realizing its implications. Of course. The one thing he needed for this date was for the two them to be alone. But their senpai were reasonable men. He told Nagisa himself they would more than likely be willing to give them some time to themselves. They needed nothing more than twenty minutes. That was all.
In no less than a second after Rei set his phone down, it went off again. This time, the caller wasn't Nagisa. Rei answered it urgently, hoping for the best.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Rei?" Makoto's voice came through the phone gently, "I'm sorry for calling so late."
"N-No, it's fine," Rei stammered.
"I just got off the phone with Nagisa a little while ago and he mentioned the two of you were going to the zoo tomorrow and offered to let Haru and I come too. I just wanted to check and make sure that was okay with you before I called Haru about it."
Rei smiled, relieved to hear his words. He had such a polite senior. Though it was Rei's intention to have as few people around as possible, and Makoto was providing him with a gracious and extremely tempting escape from the mess, he wasn't about to revoke the invitation either.
"Yes, that's absolutely fine, Makoto-senpai," he said.
"Are you sure? He said he was going 'with you' so I assume the trip was your idea, and I don't want to impose if you just wanted to go with him."
Guilt started panging around in Rei's chest. Of course he didn't intend to exclude his friends from this trip, though he had fully intended for it to be a date. And—unless he had missed something—people didn't typically invite their friends to accompany them on dates unless they engaged in a double-date. But it had been awhile since he had had a nice outing with his friends as well. But this date was supposed to be really special. But this might be the last time he could go out with his friends to someplace special. But he was supposed to have Nagisa alone. He wanted to softly beat his head against his desk, though the noise might bring forth concern from his friend on the other line.
"N-No, it's nothing we had planned for a long time or anything, we just talked about it tonight," Rei said, "It's not an exclusive trip, so feel free to bring Haruka-senpai and whomever else you wish!"
…why on Earth did he say that?
"Really?" Makoto asked, his voice a little eager, "Then would you mind if we brought Ren and Ran, too? They would love to see the animals."
How could he say no?
"Not at all," he responded, "They're more than welcome."
"And we talked last time about meeting up somewhere, so we could ask Rin and Gou as well, if that's okay. Does that still apply to them?"
Why not at this point?!
"Absolutely, the more the merrier!" Rei said, somehow managing a light tone through an agonized grimace.
WHAT WAS HE SAYING?! JUST STOP TALKING!
"Great! So where and when are we meeting?" Makoto asked to confirm.
Rei lay his head on the desk, mumbling,
"Tomorrow morning, seven-thirty, at the train station."
"Alright, I'll let them know. And, Rei?"
"Yes?" Rei asked, wincing in anticipation of extra invitees in addition to the established eight.
But Makoto's response came through in an even gentler tone.
"Thank you," he said, "I think everyone is really going to love this. Especially Nagisa. He sounded really happy when I talked to him, even more than usual. I thought you might want to know."
The words picked Rei's head up, and his dread melted away. Leave it to his senpai to always know what to say. He swallowed a lump in his throat as he sat up straight again.
"Oh," was all he could manage as he pushed his glasses back up his nose.
Makoto chuckled.
"Never mind," he said, to Rei's confusion, "We'll see you tomorrow morning."
"Right. Good night, Makoto-senpai."
"Good night, Rei."
After hanging up, Rei finally closed and lay his phone to rest for the remainder of the night, leaning back in his seat with a long sigh. Well. Suppose this was as bad as it would get. Gou kept her business to herself fairly well and would likely want to spend the time with her brother, who was also a reasonable person and would know to keep his distance if asked politely. And with Makoto's little brother and sister in the group, he and Haru would spend a lot of time keeping a watchful eye on the kids. He and Nagisa would have no trouble balancing an outing with their friends and a date between the two of them by this logic. Rei allowed himself to smile a little. He had to believe what he told Nagisa before. Everything would be fine. As long as he could look at these circumstances with optimism, nothing in his previous plans would change.
"Oh! Gou, over here!"
Gou followed her brother's voice and found the group, finally completing the party of twelve at the train station.
"Hey, Onii-chan! Hey, everyone!" she greeted pleasantly, "Thanks again for inviting me! It feels like it's been forever since I last went to the zoo!"
"That's what everyone else has been saying too," Makoto said with a smile.
"Ohh! Gou~!" Momo and Seijuuro exclaimed in unison, each using their respective honorifics for the youngest Matsuoka sibling.
Gou's smile went from cheerful to strained in a flash, remaining polite but knowing what kind of day she was in for seeing the energetic red-haired brothers.
"O-Oh…!" she managed pleasantly, "Mikoshiba-buchou? and …Urashima-Tarou-san?"
"Close!" Momo exclaimed enthusiastically, "Different folktale! It's Momotarou! Like the boy born from the giant peach who slays all the ogres on the island with his animal companions!"
"How is that close to Urashima Tarou…?" Ai asked, beyond exhausted with his explanation.
"But you can call me Momo!" Momo went on, ignoring his senior, "My hobby is catching stag—"
"Oi," Rin said, stepping in front his sister to allow her some space, "Can you two lay off for the day? She just said she hadn't been in forever."
"I wonder how much the zoo has changed since we were little," Makoto mused.
"But they're still gonna have tigers, right?" Ren asked, worried at the very idea of their absence.
"And lions?" Ran added, equally concerned.
"I'm sure they'll have those," Makoto said with confidence.
"What about rhinos?" Ren asked.
"And elephants?" Ran asked.
"And monkeys?"
"And giraffes?"
"And capybaras?"
"And axolotls?"
"And okapis?"
"And pangolins?"
"And kappa?"
"A-At least some of those," Makoto stammered, overwhelmed by the increasingly obscure list of expectations.
"Either way, you two will have fun," Haru assured them with a paternal smile, "We all will."
"Yeah, and today's the perfect day to go, too!" Momo chimed in, "Not too hot, a nice little breeze, and sunshine for days!"
Rei glared up at the traitorous morning sky, where the only clouds to be seen were fluffy, white, and sparse. Aside from that, the sun shone brightly in the vast blue of the sky, and the air felt drier than chalk. And with summer vacation going on, everyone would want to enjoy this weather, which would have been perfect had it not been the exact opposite of what he had planned for. The rest of the group certainly seemed happy with it.
The noise alone already grated his nerves. He should have remembered during their previous plans that Nagisa requested the presence of their other Samezuka friends, but the thought had slipped his mind, and when an extra four party members arrived alongside Rin, Rei felt his cool exterior rattling. If only the small circle of friends and the children had come he could have handled it just fine, but Momo brought a whole new brand of energy that he didn't know how to handle. Between his and Seijuuro's attempts to court Gou, this was about to be a day-long headache. Even Ai already seemed worn down by their enthusiasm, but at least he was politely quiet. And though totally silent and barely present, it didn't appear that Sousuke felt that enthusiastic about the trip at all. Why did he even come?
In the midst of all the energy and clamor, Rei suddenly realized none of it had come from the one usually responsible for all of it. He looked down at Nagisa, who stared at his feet with a furrowed brow and gripped the straps of his backpack tightly. All morning, he had barely said a word, falling quieter with every person who showed up at the rendezvous point. The night before, he had been so apologetic for inviting along Makoto and Haru by accident, so he must have thought the rest of the group arriving was his fault as well. Rei spent so much time irritated by the noise, he hadn't even noticed that Nagisa felt upset. He could chide himself for his lack of perception all day, but doing so wouldn't fix the issue at hand.
"Nagisa-kun?" he said quietly, "Are you okay?"
The tension in Nagisa's shoulders tightened as he lowered his head further, surprisingly embarrassed.
"I'm sorry, Rei-chan…" he murmured, "I know you meant to have a quiet date with just the two of us, but because I messed up…"
"Don't," Rei interrupted softly, smiling to reassure him, "I don't mind spending time with everyone. As long as we cover everything planned, and as long as you're having fun, that's all that matters to me."
Nagisa looked up at him, his expression full of doubt.
"I promise," Rei said, "Today's going to be fun, no matter what."
At last, a small smile curled Nagisa's lips.
"Okay, Rei-chan," he said, "If you're sure this doesn't change anything, I know we'll have fun too."
"Nagisa-chi, you're finally smiling!" Momo exclaimed, running at Nagisa with excitement and crashing against him with an embrace, "We were just starting to worry you were sick or something!"
"I can't be sick for a zoo day!" Nagisa said with a grin, easing the last of Rei's worries, "Besides, this is the first time we'll be getting to hang out with Rin-chan's friends, so that makes today extra special!"
And just like that, Nagisa had completely returned to his usual self, running over to Ai and Sousuke to force his enthusiasm on them as well. Haru approached Rei with a gentle smile.
"Good call on the zoo, Rei," he said, "I think this will be good for everyone."
Rei blushed a little at his senior's praise.
"O-Oh," he stammered, "I'm glad."
As much as he had wanted to spend the day with Nagisa alone, and as much as he didn't know how to handle the unfamiliar group members, he couldn't deny that he felt proud having put together an outing everyone would enjoy. Perhaps there was a silver lining to this change of plans after all.
The almost three-hour commute went by in a flash with Nagisa and Momo leading the conversation. The Iwatobi and Samezuka groups kept mostly to their separate cliques, aside from Rin and Gou who had friends on both sides. The time they spent in lively exchange brought Rei's nerves from before down to level out, to the point that he nearly forgot this was still a date with Nagisa. Nearly. For once, he considered himself grateful for Nagisa's physical familiarity with everyone, allowing the two of them to sit together cozily without anyone giving it a second glance.
The walk from the train station to the entrance of the zoo took little time and gave the group a chance to stretch their legs. To everyone's surprise, not a single person stood before the admission booths, leaving no wait for the large party. Rei smiled to himself, relieved that they wouldn't have to waste too much valuable time in a crowded line.
"I can't believe there's no wait," Ai said with surprise.
"It's probably because everyone else is already inside," Sousuke mumbled, possibly his first words all day which were dripping with pessimism, to Rei's annoyance.
"Aw, don't say that," Rin said, playfully bumping his massive friend, "Just look at it as we're lucky we don't have to stand in place for an hour."
Ren and Ran had been fairly patient along the way, but with the destination finally in sight, neither could hide their excitement.
"Onii-chan, we can be first in line!" Ran exclaimed.
"Hurry, hurry!" Ren cried as he and his sister pulled Makoto along, who stumbled forward as if their strength really had enough impact to do so.
"Alright, alright," he laughed, attempting to straighten himself.
Haru kept close to the three, followed by Momo and Seijuuro, and then Rin, Gou, Ai, and Sousuke. As Rei began to step forward, he heard a soft voice.
"Hey, Rei-chan."
Nagisa spoke to him in a hushed tone, and once Rei gave him his attention, he took his hands and gave them a little squeeze, smiling all the while.
"Let's commence our tenth official date," Nagisa said, his voice filled with soft elation.
Delighted, Rei's shoulders rose with the corners of his lips, pleased Nagisa was keeping count too.
"Right," he said with a nod, "I hope you enjoy what I have planned for today, Nagisa-kun."
With a little grin, Nagisa released his hands and bounded on ahead, keeping a close watch on Rei to assure he would follow. They joined the rest of the group in their small line at the booth, moving through smoothly. In exchange for the admission, each of them received neon-colored paper bracelets based on age and a paper directory of the zoo's exhibits, to which many of them began plotting out points of interest.
As Rei slid his and Nagisa's admission over the counter, a number of families walked through the exit in a hurry. He glanced at his watch with confusion, wondering why the visitors were already leaving at only ten-thirty in the morning. The crowd had caught the attention of some of the others as well, who watched them walk away suspiciously.
"That's weird," Nagisa said, "Why are there so many of them leaving?"
"Well… the fewer people around, the better, I guess," Makoto said reluctantly, "We can have a clearer view of the animals this way."
"Still, it doesn't make any sense why people would be leaving so early in the middle of summer…" Gou said.
"Maybe it's the heat," Ai suggested, fanning himself lightly with his map.
"Well that's not gonna get us down!" Seijuuro exclaimed.
"Nothing's gonna get us down!" Momo agreed with vigor as they began to head through the entrance.
Rei followed behind the group quietly, Nagisa keeping close to his side. Despite the concern among the others, he worried very little about the declining number of visitors. As Makoto pointed out, it only freed up the space in front of the exhibits more, just as he had needed in the first place. With that in mind, perhaps he could still follow through with the initial plan. Just then, the often silent Haru spoke up.
"I don't think it's the heat…"
The others quieted down and faced him with surprise. Haru had directed his gaze upward, and everyone followed, discovering sometime between boarding the train and arriving at the zoo, grey clouds had rolled in, blocking out any glimpse of sunlight. Aside from a bit of panic on behalf of the group outing, Rei felt a little happy to see the undesirable weather approaching. It seemed as though he would have at least two factors in his favor now. No one else, understandably, shared his relief with these circumstances.
"Did the forecast call for rain?" Gou asked, turning to him first.
"I… didn't check," Rei lied.
"That might explain why it's so quiet today, "Ai said.
"Do we have to go home if it starts raining?" asked Ran, upset by the very notion.
"No, there should be indoor areas to the zoo as well," Makoto told her, "Isn't that right, Rei?"
"Yes," he confirmed, "There's the aquarium, the aviary, the butterfly pavilion, and a number of restaurants."
The exact locations he had studied the most over the past few nights for this exact purpose.
"It's probably just a little overcast," Nagisa said to the others coolly, patting Rei's arm, "I'm sure it'll pass over soon en—"
His sentence broke off immediately, and he held his hand to his hair, then tilting his head toward the sky. One by one, the others began mimicking the same gesture. A sudden blur on one of Rei's lenses partially obscured his vision, but he could still see the ground speckling with dark spots. And then the sky let loose, an avalanche of rainwater pouring down in a single heavy wave, causing a number of the others to exclaim in surprise. A little late was better than never, but Rei felt a bit thrown into the next plan of action.
"Get over to the aquarium!" he directed, leading the way.
Most of the group bolted as quickly as possible to the nearest building, with the exception of Haru, who seemed all right with the weather and took his time, much to Makoto's frustration. Rei held the door open and allowed the others in ahead of him. The minimally lit aquarium enveloped them in an immediate cool, salty air often associated with the ocean. Over the roar of the pouring rain outside, the faint ambiance hummed calmly, reminiscent of deep waters. The air conditioning felt nice for all of thirty seconds before their damp clothes began to feel frigid and they were all shivering.
"Well," Rin said with a short sigh as he wrung out his shirt, "That was an unexpected start to this trip."
"I hope the rain didn't damage my camera…" Gou moaned, rummaging through her soggy bag.
A few of the others took notice to her worry and began checking their own devices nervously. Nagisa dropped his bag on the floor and dug through it, pulling out a fairly dry black case with relief.
"Thank goodness," he sighed.
Rei felt brief regret for putting Nagisa's and everyone else's belongings at risk, but seeing that no one lost anything to water damage, he let the worry slide. He peered out the glass door at the heavy downpour, pleased to see it had no intention of lessening.
"I wonder if it'll stop any time soon," Makoto said, also peering out.
"We can ask an employee if they have a better idea of the forecast," Rei said, "In the meantime, let's just take our time in the aquarium and give ourselves a chance to dry off. There are plenty of things to see in here, so it should pass by the time we reach the end."
As long as the forecast from last night remained faithful.
"Ahh!"
Makoto let out a shriek, grabbing a deadpan Haru to shield himself at Nagisa's sudden shout.
"Wh-What is it?!" he stammered.
"I just thought of a fun idea!" Nagisa said.
"What did you yell for, then?" Rin asked as Makoto relaxed and released Haru with an exasperated sigh.
"We should have a scavenger hunt!" Nagisa said, ignoring the question.
"In… the aquarium…" Sousuke said doubtfully.
"What kind of scavenger hunt?!" Momo asked, already on board with… whatever this was.
"An animal scavenger hunt!" Nagisa exclaimed, "A couple years ago, we went to a hot spring and Haru-chan told us what kinds of animals we would all be! We should go find our animals and take pictures with them! We'll find a dolphin for Haru-chan, and an orca whale for Mako-chan—"
"Nagisa-kun, I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Rei cut in, "But dolphins and orca whales, generally speaking, don't do well in captivity. So, this zoo doesn't have any in their aquarium."
"Boo," Nagisa responded to him bluntly, then turning back to the group, "It doesn't have to be a live animal! For example…"
He pointed suddenly to the ceiling, where marine life models suspended from wires. Nagisa's finger aimed directly at a large model of a dolphin.
"I found Haru-chan's, so we can cross his off the list."
"Then what about the rest of us?" Rin asked, "It's hardly a scavenger hunt when we're only looking for three animals."
"Haru-chan had one for you too," Nagisa said, "Rin-chan is a shark. And since Gou-chan is your sister, that makes her a shark too. Ren-chan and Ran-chan are orca whales, so they can help Mako-chan look."
He hummed thoughtfully for a second before looking directly to Haru for assistance.
"Haru-chan! Make up animals for Sou-chan, Ai-chan, Momo-chan and Sei-chan!"
"Whale shark, duck, sea otters."
The response came out so flatly and automatic it caught everyone off guard. Haru merely stared back, seeming impatient about standing around the entrance for so long and wanting to get started. Rei admired his hidden enthusiasm, though suspected it had less to do with the animals and more with what they were swimming in.
"Had those in mind for a while, did you?" Rin asked, amused.
Sousuke seemed like he wanted to be annoyed with his selection, but couldn't find anything to criticize, so he merely folded his arms. Momo and Seijuuro seemed perfectly fine with their otters, exchanging a celebratory high-ten. Ai, on the other hand, appeared both confused and mildly displeased.
"Why am I a duck…?" he asked.
"Those are perfect, Haru-chan, good job!" Nagisa moved on, giving him an approving thumb up, (to which Haru responded with the same gesture but lacking the matching expression), "Okay, everyone, let's go find the animals!"
Ren and Ran cheered with excitement, eager to be the first to find their big brother's orca whale amidst the models. Momo began to charge ahead, with the others moving along at a more leisurely pace. Despite the previous reservations, they seemed to be getting into the idea of finding animals that supposedly represented their personalities or swimming styles. Nagisa quickly stopped Haru before he could move too far, positioning him at a proper angle with his model so that he could snap a commemorative photo. As Nagisa attempted to get Haru to smile for the picture, Rei's eyes followed along the stretch of the ceiling where all the models "swam" together in a cohesive group. His brow furrowed, realizing an issue.
"Oh well," Nagisa sighed, approaching Rei after his failed attempt to persuade Haru, "At least I know he's smiling on the inside. He's having a good time, even if his face doesn't show it."
As Rei brought his gaze back down to him, he realized it too, his smile fading with immediate guilt.
"Ah! Rei-chan, you never got an animal did you?" he asked.
"Haruka-senpai said I was a butterfly, remember?" Rei said, "Rin-san and I discussed what kind of swimming animal I might be a long time ago, but… the results were inconclusive. Of course, I still could only swim butterfly at the time."
"Then we're still looking for your animal too," Nagisa said, sunny once more, "Oh, hold on. Hey, guys?"
He caught the others' attention before they went off too far.
"Since Rei-chan's butterfly isn't in the aquarium, we need to be on the lookout for something for him, okay? Find something that fits Rei-chan!"
His suggestion warmed Rei's heart, reminding him once more why he had fallen for his best friend.
In the second room, the group spent about three to five minutes at each of the tanks set up in the room, containing sea urchins, anemone, clownfish, mandarin fish, and other small aquatic life. One of the more popular tanks among the group contained seahorses, slowly hovering around the water or clinging to the kelp.
"They're so cute!" Gou cooed.
The kids pushed up to the front, peering inside wide-eyed.
"Whooa, they're so cool!" Ren exclaimed.
"You know what makes seahorses special, don't you?" Nagisa asked.
"Oh!" Ran shouted, her hand shooting up as if to answer a question from a teacher, "The daddy seahorses have the babies!"
"I was gonna say that…" Ren whined.
Rei took a closer look at the seahorses, admiring the way they floated about. He hadn't considered them before, but now that he could observe them in person, he could easily make a list of similarities.
"Are you thinking you might be a seahorse?" Haru asked him.
"I'm not sure…" Rei murmured, "What do you think, Haruka-senpai?"
"I don't."
Rei expressed surprise at the quick answer, but Haru went on to explain,
"Seahorses are poor swimmers. You've worked too hard to be a seahorse."
Rei's heart swelled a little, feeling flattered by the praise. Knowing Haru felt that way about his efforts reassured him greatly. He looked to Nagisa, wondering if he also agreed, but found that Nagisa was too involved with the kids to have picked up on his and Haru's conversation.
The following room ended the line of models on the ceiling. Makoto and the twins encountered a gargantuan model of an orca whale on the ground, juxtaposed against a flat, oceanic backdrop for photo-ops such as this. Ren and Ran beamed genuinely for the picture, thrilled to have so quickly found theirs and their brother's orca. From there, the pathway led to a tunnel where the tank arched above them, allowing them to see the schools of brightly colored fish of all sorts of different patterns, shapes, and sizes swim by the glass walls.
"It's just like being in the ocean!" Gou exclaimed.
She approached one of the walls and looked further inside the tank.
"Oh! Onii-chan, I think I see a shark!"
"So you found one?" Rin asked, approaching the wall to look with her.
"See, in the far back?" Gou asked, pointing in the distance, "I think it's coming this way."
"Oh, I see it."
With a bit more interest than Rei had seen all day, Sousuke approached the two to get a better look at the shark. As Rin tried to point it out, a looming shadow cast over the group, catching everyone by surprise. From above, a massive creature swam toward the side of the tunnel where the three stood.
"What is that?!" Ren shrieked, hiding behind Makoto's legs.
"I believe that's a whale shark!" Makoto exclaimed, trying to coax his little brother out to look at it better, "I've never seen a real one before!"
"They're gentle giants," Haru reassured him, "They're not scary at all, see?"
"Isn't that what Sousuke's animal was?" Rin asked Haru.
"That's right!" Nagisa confirmed, "So we have to get a picture of you guys with the sharks. Let me see if I can turn off the flash on my camera."
As Nagisa fidgeted with the camera, Rei turned his attention back to Sousuke, whose flat expression had greatly softened upon meeting his whale shark, even more so as the twins began admiring it. Due to the distance between them, he couldn't be sure, but Rei could have sworn he smiled. Leave it to Nagisa to make sure everyone enjoyed themselves.
Once he had taken a couple of pictures for himself and for Gou, Nagisa came running over to Rei with a pleased grin, but something else seemed to catch his attention as it faded. More hurriedly, Nagisa approached Ai, who stood some ways behind the rest reservedly. Rei hadn't even noticed, but Ai seemed more downcast than when they had entered the aquarium. Nagisa never ceased to impress him with his perceptivity.
"Is something wrong?" Nagisa asked him.
"Not really," Ai said modestly, "I was just thinking about, um… ducks."
"The duck suits you really well, Ai-chan," Nagisa said, "Haru-chan hit the bullseye on yours."
Ai picked his head up, surprised by the immediate understanding of his concern.
"Hazuki-san… why do you think Nanase-senpai was right about that?" Ai asked.
Nagisa hummed thoughtfully for only a moment before delivering his response with ease,
"Maybe the way you follow Rin-chan reminds him of a duckling. But I'm guessing it's more because you never let Rin-chan's lashing out last year discourage you from staying at his side, like water off a duck's back. Haru-chan cares a lot about Rin-chan, so he's probably grateful for you being there for him when he couldn't be."
Ai's expression loosened and the tension in his posture released. He glanced toward Haru across the tunnel, then back at Nagisa, who retained his friendly smile and held out his hand.
"Come on," he said, "Let's keep looking."
"I don't know that aquariums generally keep ducks," Ai said, a bit deflated, "And trying to find a model or picture of one isn't likely since they aren't associated with the oce—"
"Not likely, but not impossible!" Nagisa interjected, then hooking his arm with Ai's and dragging him along despite his protests.
Rei chuckled. Though he still longed to have time alone with Nagisa at some point during this "date" (if he could really call it that anymore) it made him happy to see Nagisa tending to everyone in the group. His determination to make sure everyone was having fun and smiling despite the odds against them made for an endearing experience on Rei's part.
The party moved along the stretch of the long tunnel until it ended with a large set of glass doors, leading into a larger, brighter-lit area which appeared to house a section of freshwater fish in an environment meant to resemble a grassy clearing by a pond. Upon entering behind the others, Rei heard a stirring at the head, and as he approached, he found a surprising cause. In no particular hurry, a mother duck led her small brood of ducklings along the floor out in the open. Ai stooped beside the family, gazing at them fondly.
"They really have them here?" he asked, "I thought we'd never find them…"
Nagisa knelt in front of them, taking aim with his camera.
"See? Told you it was possible," he said, "Say cheese!"
Ai barely had time to smile for his souvenir photo, but his face lit up more as Rin approached him afterward to share in his happiness towards the lucky find. Merrily, Nagisa made his way back to Rei's side, bumping him playfully with his hip.
"Did you find anything yet?" he asked.
Rei chuckled.
"Not yet," he said, "Nothing really stands out."
Nagisa's expression slipped, sympathetic. Instantly, Rei felt guilty for dampening his mood when he had been enjoying himself.
"Hey…" he said softly, "You know—"
"Hey, guys, they have a touch tank over here!" Momo announced from the next room.
"Ah, that's right, the touch tank," Rei said quickly, hoping to recover the situation from turning depressing, "Shall we go?"
It seemed to work, since Nagisa smiled again, leading the way and keeping a close eye on Rei to make sure he kept up.
By the touch tank, the first zoo employee they had seen since the entrance stood to supervise the handling of their live creatures. She greeted them pleasantly, requesting that before they participate to wash their hands before and after handling the animals. Everyone took turns washing up at the sinks, and meanwhile Seijuuro struck up a casual conversation with the employee.
"Any idea if the rain is supposed to let up today?" he asked her.
"I think I saw in the forecast it would be over by early afternoon," she said, "Though I didn't expect the rain to be so heavy."
"Has it been quiet like this all morning?"
"We had a steady flow of customers at opening, but I guess they left once the rain started. Yours is the first group I've seen since."
The statement had Rei's full attention. So they really were the only ones currently visiting the aquarium. He glanced at Nagisa, who playfully flicked the water off his hands at Makoto, who was less than amused. If they were truly the only ones present, his plan had officially begun meeting the proper prerequisites to pull this off. He had stopped considering the possibility since Nagisa had been occupied with the others for a large duration of the trip, but now that they neared the end of the aquarium, all he had to do was look for an opportunity to distance them from the others. This could really happen today.
"You've really been by yourself all afternoon?" Gou asked, approaching after drying her hands, "Well, thank you for waiting on us!"
"Thank you!" Ren and Ran echoed.
The employee, touched by the politeness of the group, offered to provide information on each of the animals inside the touch tank, able to more clearly communicate with individuals since they were the only ones around. Nagisa immediately pulled Rei up to the front beside the twins, presumably so they could hear the mini-lecture best. Maybe he knew Rei was more interested in the behavioral characteristics of the animals when looking to choose one. How perceptive.
Inside the shallow, rippling pool were various types of crabs, starfish, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers, as well as a couple species of rays and small sharks. Most of their friends were willing to put their hands inside the tank, Momo and Nagisa being particularly comfortable with the hands-on aspect of the experience, while Makoto, Ai, and Rei remained a bit more on the squeamish side of touching these particular animals. Ran felt initial concern that touching the animals would hurt them, but the employee assured her otherwise, showing her how to gently touch a ray with a flat palm.
"Woow! They feel so slippery!" Ran exclaimed as a ray brushed past her fingers.
"Rei-chan, it's a Ray-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed, "You should pet him!"
"I think I'll pass," Rei said, rejecting the very idea of touching something described as "slippery."
"Aww, don't be like that."
"Haru, you can't do that here!"
Makoto suddenly threw himself at Haru, yelling at him through a whisper, and yanked his shirt, which he had apparently began to strip off, back to his waist. Though silent, Haru was visibly annoyed at being stopped, staring at the tank with a determined expression.
"Honestly, you're so embarrassing to go out in public with…" Rin sighed.
"Maybe we should have known better than to bring him by an open touch tank…" Gou said.
Due to Haru's inability to appropriately handle an open body of water, the group decided to move along to the next room, which went back to the deep darkness of the ocean. The first tank they encountered contained a family of sea otters, providing Momo and Seijuuro with their long-awaited souvenir photograph. After the picture, they decided to stay awhile to watch the otters float along on their backs, holding hands with their mates so the other wouldn't drift away. For the first time in a while, Nagisa was not busy with one of the others. With few tanks left to look through, Rei had to either act that very moment or ditch his plan altogether. Assuming all else played out as intended, he could execute this flawlessly. It would be a waste not to seize such a rare opportunity. Clearing his throat, Rei finally approached Nagisa, his heart racing.
"Nagisa-kun…" he said in a low voice, "Would you come ahead with me?"
Surprised, Nagisa gaped with a single blink, glancing at the others reluctantly.
"Eh? Just us?" he asked.
"We won't be long," Rei promised, "I just thought you might be interested in what I wanted to show you."
Nagisa agreed to follow him, though clearly surprised by the secretive behavior. After letting the others know they'd be moving on ahead, Rei led Nagisa away from the group down the next hallway. Passing by tanks filled with unfamiliar sea creatures, Nagisa became visibly more confused and concerned by where they were headed and why they weren't stopping to visit the other inhabitants. Though Nagisa thought he wasn't watching, Rei smiled at him as he marveled silently at the aquatic life behind the glass as briefly as he could while passing them by without stopping. Knowing the others, they would spend some time at each of the tanks, and leave them be for a while. At least, as long as they needed. Taking a last look around to assure no other visitors would be present to notice, Rei laced his fingers with Nagisa's. Nagisa glanced at their hands before looking up at Rei, smiling back warmly at the one Rei shared with him.
"I see…" he said playfully, "Rei-chan just wanted me all to himself."
"Well, yes," Rei said, "But… I did have something specific I wanted to see with just you."
"What's that?"
"Close your eyes."
Without even questioning the request, Nagisa squeezed his eyes shut, tightening his hold on Rei's hand and silently entrusting him to lead the way.
They finally reached the last attraction of the aquarium: a large, round, dark blue room like the others but lit slightly brighter by the wide, white display behind the glass. Just as the map had said, it was the exact attraction he wanted to experience with Nagisa. Like most of the aquarium, the exhibit was empty aside from the animal inhabitants, who paid no mind to their visitors and went about their business casually. He couldn't have planned it better if he had tried. Perhaps the stars had finally aligned in his favor.
"Rei-chan, can I open my eyes yet?" Nagisa asked, now forcing himself to keep his eyes adverted with his free hand.
"Just a minute," Rei promised, leading Nagisa carefully up to the glass, facing him directly toward one particular species on the other side, and then allowing, "Okay. You can look now."
The moment he opened his eyes, they flashed open wider with an audible gasp as he pressed up against the glass.
"Rockhopper penguins!" Nagisa exclaimed.
Rei grinned as Nagisa dropped his bag on the floor and began excitedly following the penguins as they hopped from rock to rock, some diving into the water and zipping past them with ease. Some of the other species of penguins surfaced in front of them to observe the onlookers, only to join the race with the rockhoppers.
"Rockhopper penguins are my favorites!" Nagisa told him, beaming.
Rei chuckled, knowing that fact full-well for so long. Not that it was any sort of secret at all, or anything Nagisa was willing to let any of his friends forget, but Rei had kept it in mind for a long time. It wasn't until more recently, the week before actually, that he did any research on the species for the sake of this day, which he found more fascinating than he had expected. Nagisa had fixated on a fascinating creature. Rei stood closer to him, watching a mutual rockhopper penguin that stood cutely with its wings spread out.
"Did you know rockhopper penguins are actually aggressive?" he asked, "Hard to believe, considering how cute they are."
"Yeah, they're not as social as other penguins, but they do it out of protection for their babies," Nagisa said enthusiastically.
Rei looked down at Nagisa, surprised by the follow-up trivia.
"Oh," he said, "Y-Yeah, that's right. Do you know about their peculiar breeding habits?"
"They lay two eggs instead of one," Nagisa said, "The first egg is smaller and usually hatches after the second egg, if at all. A lot of the times, the first egg doesn't make it, so they take better care of the second one because it's bigger and stronger. The first egg is usually positioned as a decoy in case a predator tries to steal it. Every once in a while, both babies end up making it."
Nagisa was better-versed in rockhopper penguins than Rei had anticipated, though it shouldn't have come as a surprise, considering they were, indeed, his favorite animal. It did put a slight set-back in Rei's plans for a lead-up, but he could still work with it. He had to at least try to make his move. Rei checked around at the penguins on the rocks, trying to find a suitable pair. With miraculous timing, one of the rockhoppers bounded towards another, making sure to acknowledge its partner before nibbling at their feathers.
"Oh! Those two are allopreening," he said.
Nagisa looked up at him questionably.
"Allopreening?" he asked.
"The act of mutual preening," Rei explained, glad to have something to teach, "It's a common behavior between rockhopper penguin partners. Apparently, it's quite a loving gesture."
"Ohh, I didn't know there was a name for it!" Nagisa said in awe, gazing back at the penguins, "That's so cute!"
Rei smiled, his eyes falling on Nagisa's beautiful, golden hair. He lifted his hand to place against it, intending to stroke it lovingly and catch his attention. The moment they met eyes would be his signal. Just as his fingers reached for a lock, Nagisa enthusiastically redirected his attention to some swimming rockhoppers passing by and it slipped out of his grasp.
"Hey, this one looks like he's swimming butterfly!" he exclaimed, "Maybe Rei-chan could be a penguin with me!"
Rei's smile weakened, amused by Nagisa's endearing enthusiasm but slightly frustrated by the change in subject. He could still redirect it.
"Th-The ones over here are still allopreening," he said, "Maybe they're mates."
"Rockhoppers mate for life," Nagisa said, still occupied by the swimming penguins, "They even return to the same breeding ground and use the same nests if they can! They're romantic lovebirds. Just like you, Rei-chan!"
Rei's face exploded in heat, composure lost. Such an unexpected flirt, and he was caught completely off-guard, his silence allowing time for Nagisa to change the subject again.
"I wonder if the zookeepers ever feed you guys squid," he mused to the penguins, "If they don't, I wanna bring you some."
This was getting too far off topic.
"It's amazing how fast they swim!" Nagisa exclaimed, his voice trailing away as he ran off after the racing penguins, "If we could swim this fast, we'd never have trouble making it to nationals! I bet they're almost as fast as Haru-chan and Rin-chan!"
There was absolutely no hope of reminding Nagisa of the allopreening penguins at that point. This attempt was spiraling downward quickly.
"Hey, the ones back there are hopping! That's the signature hop of the rockhoppers! It's so much cuter in person!"
He had completely blown his chance. If only he had acted sooner, before Nagisa could have had time to pull away. He would have to plan out another scenario that would be equally as romantic, something else that was special to Nagisa, under entirely new circumstances and new scripting. But what could he possibly plan more perfect than this?!
"Hop, hop, hop! Rei-chan, come here, quick! You're gonna miss it!"
He managed to get the two of them completely alone, with luck and a rainy day on his side. Even with the rest of their friends, and friends' friends, and younger siblings all tagging along, he got the two of them alone! He couldn't have made this more perfect up until that fatal slip!
"Aw, they stopped. Rei-chan, you missed the rockhoppers hopping. It was cute, too…"
There was no way he could plan a better time or place… He was sure this had to be it. Even if he tried to bring Nagisa back some other time without the others, there was no guarantee they'd be alone. It wouldn't even have the same meaning or effect if he dragged Nagisa back just to look at the penguins another day. What was he supposed to do? Nagisa came running back to his side, tailing the rockhopper penguins as they soared through the water with ease.
"They never get tired!" he said, "Penguins are amazing! I wish I could swim like that!"
He looked up at Rei with a smile, meeting his eyes.
"Rei-chan, you really—"
The rest of his sentence was known only to heaven as Rei took his face into his hands and pulled him in to close the distance between their open lips. He wasn't entirely sure he remembered acting on this, yet here they were. That had been the plan all along, right? But Nagisa was so quiet and still… With his eyes closed, Rei wasn't sure what to make of how this was going, but he was terrified by the lack of response. It certainly got him to settle down, but was there ever a time Nagisa was completely silent and still? He wasn't even returning the gesture. According to his studies, the perfect first kiss should be mutual. Did he bring this upon him too quickly? What if he wasn't ready? Oh, God! What if Nagisa wasn't ready? Did he just steal his first kiss for real? This was just cruel. It wasn't what he had intended at all. He couldn't fix the mistake, but the least he could do was stop committing the unforgivable and repent for his actions. Just before he could release him, Rei felt a hand rest lightly against the back of his head and grip his hair, gently pulling him closer to Nagisa's firming lips. It was a mutual kiss? It was a mutual kiss! He had succeeded! Something was going right! Now—this posed a question—how to figure out if this was too long for a first kiss. How long did these things last normally again? Was this exceeding the limit? Out of caution, he pulled away slowly, pleased with himself for doing so with but a soft smack of the lips and no trace of saliva, which would certainly not be beautiful. He watched as Nagisa opened his eyes, staring back into his. He didn't even crack a smile, to which Rei grew nervous. Was the kiss unsatisfactory after all? Perhaps he pulled away too soon? He began to ask for his input, but Nagisa's lips met again as soon as his mouth opened, hooking his arms around his neck and bringing him down closer to his height. A warm breath filled him from Nagisa as he sighed, tightening his hold as if he never intended to let go. No. The kiss hadn't been satisfactory. He'd clearly pulled away too soon. But it felt like it had lasted… so…
Rei's self-critical thoughts trailed off as he melted into Nagisa's kiss, letting out a sigh of content. It almost didn't matter if their first hadn't been as perfect as he'd thought. What he felt from this kiss was overwhelmingly wonderful, warmth spreading through every part of his body. His arms found their way around Nagisa and drew him closer, indulging in the feelings that both excited him and eased his tension. Nagisa cuddled his face against his with the deepest affection, and Rei lifted a hand to stroke his hair back gently, reveling in the feel of it. This kiss was beautiful and perfect in every way he could have hoped, feeling even better than he had expected. He would never forget a single detail: the rapid fluttering of his heart inside his chest, the warmth of the baby-soft face against his, the sweet taste of his breath, and the absolute peace of mind to accompany his bliss.
Nagisa pulled away first, leaving behind a slightly louder smack and a touch of wet at the corner of Rei's lips. It didn't end nearly as cleanly as he would have preferred, now creating a debate of whether to wipe it away and risk offending Nagisa or wear the trace of their kiss with slight discomfort at leaving something wet against his face. Despite that, Rei was able to look him in the eye with a smile, and Nagisa beamed back.
"You kept me waiting, Rei-chan…" he said softly.
"I-I know…" Rei murmured, ducking his face in shame, "I'm sorry…"
Nagisa shook his head, then nestling it beneath Rei's chin affectionately as he leaned against him.
"Don't be," he said, "It was worth the wait."
A warm smile returned to Rei's lips, and he held Nagisa closer. When they faced each other again, Nagisa brought his hand to Rei's face to caress his cheek before gently rubbing the corner of his lips with his thumb until he had left no trace of their kiss behind. Once they released one another, the two turned to the penguin exhibit again where Rei finally shared in Nagisa's enthusiasm for the water birds. Eventually, the rest of their group caught up to watch the penguins with them. Ren and Ran struggled to get a better look at the ones on the rocks, to which Makoto and Haru were more than willing to lend their shoulders to prop the siblings up higher. When a rockhopper penguin was willing to face the group, Nagisa requested Rei take a picture of him with his favorite animal, finally completing the collection of Iwatobi's and Samezuka's animals to be found in the aquarium. They chatted happily amongst their friends in a familiar and comfortable routine, enjoying each other's company. Yet, it was those occasional stolen glances that defined the time as theirs alone. Amidst all the aggravations, none of that took away from what Rei had intended to give Nagisa. To see him so happy with all of them together, and to see that he was happy with him too, made everything worthwhile.
The downpour had calmed to a light drizzle, hardly noticeable as the party walked outside, discussing their next stop. As they began listing their options, Nagisa made the sudden request to visit the butterfly pavilion next.
"I think that's at the other side of the park," Makoto said, looking at the map, "It might be better if we stop there on the way around. That way the rain should let up by then."
"But we all found our animals," Nagisa protested, "We didn't find one for Rei-chan in the aquarium, so he should see his butterflies now."
"That's your reason?" Rin asked.
"I-It's okay, Nagisa-kun," Rei said with a smile, "We don't have to go out of our way for that. We'll get to the butterfly pavilion eventually."
At this point, it was clear that Nagisa was distressed by the idea of not visiting the pavilion immediately. Though he wasn't sure why it really mattered to him so much, Rei felt at war with himself over making Nagisa happy and making sure he didn't inconvenience the others. It wasn't fair to have them walk across the entire park just for his sake, but to see Nagisa so disappointed on what was seeming to flow as a nearly-perfect date…
"I'd like to see the butterflies."
Haru spoke up, catching everyone by surprise.
"After all, this trip was Rei's idea," he said, "Like Nagisa said, he never found something in the aquarium, so we owe it to him to make sure he sees the butterflies."
For the third time that day, Haru had touched Rei's heart with his praise. But when the rest of the group agreed wholeheartedly, the feelings overwhelmed him so much he could have cried. Makoto led them across the zoo, passing by the other exhibits without even slowing to glance, all the while their friends anticipated seeing all the different beautiful butterflies. Nagisa matched Rei's pace behind the others, brushing his hand against his and sparing him a knowing smile.
Inside the pavilion, they were immediately greeted by a vivid display of flashing color as the butterflies danced about gracefully. Minding their step, they navigated around the area, in awe over the exotic species of butterflies as well as native ones, many of which none of them had never seen in person. Momo identified many of them without difficulty, catching the interest of some of the other group members who wished to know each species by name. While Rei wouldn't have minded it himself, Nagisa quietly pulled him aside and asked him an important question.
"Which butterfly is yours, Rei-chan?"
Rei hadn't considered it, but Haru never gave him a specific butterfly, leaving him with the entire pavilion to choose from. He meandered around awhile, comparing every butterfly, each more beautiful than the last. But very quickly, his eye was drawn to a single swallowtail rested upon an iris. He stooped down to take a better look, and Nagisa knelt beside him, eagerly staring him down.
"Is this the one?" he asked.
Rei looked it over thoroughly, though the answer had already cemented itself in his heart. While the swallowtail wasn't an uncommon or exotic species, there was no denying he identified with this one. He nodded to answer Nagisa's question, staying beside the butterfly for a while to appreciate every beautiful feature, from its iridescence to its large eyes.
"You know… I noticed something about the swallowtail…"
Rei looked at Nagisa, who stared at the butterfly intensely.
"Haru-chan didn't give you a specific butterfly, but I'll bet he would choose this one too," Nagisa said, "Before, you never saw yourself swimming, and when you did, you swam butterfly. If you look at a swallowtail from the tails, it looks like the head of a manta ray. So, in a way, even though you're the only one whose animal doesn't swim, you still hide something special and unexpected. Instead of just one animal, you're two. You get to be the best of both worlds, and I think that's pretty amazing."
Rei couldn't hide a smile as his face went red. Turning back to the swallowtail, he looked for the shape of the manta ray. Maybe it was a bit of a stretch, but he took Nagisa's words to heart. At the very least, it offered him the peace and sense of belonging he had begun to doubt that day. Nagisa knew it had been on his mind all day, despite trying to hide it, and had spent the entire trip so far trying to help him find that belonging through any means possible. What had he done to deserve someone this wonderful in his life?
He heard the faint sound of a shutter closing and looked to Nagisa again, who lowered his camera from eye level and began clicking through the camera menu. When he finished, he handed Rei his camera and moved closer until their hips met, watching the screen with him. The picture on the screen displayed a dark room, with Haru staring blankly back into the camera beside his dolphin model. Nagisa tapped a right button with his finger, guiding Rei to scroll through the collection of photos. Makoto smiling brightly with his siblings beside the orca model; Rin, Gou, and Sousuke smiling together in front of the shark tank; Ai kneeling beside the duck family with a pleasant smile; Momo and Seijuuro flexing enthusiastically in front of the otters; Nagisa beaming in front of the penguin exhibit with his rockhoppers…
The last photo caught Rei's attention as it displayed. He recognized himself kneeling in the same place he knelt now, gazing at the same butterfly before him with an adoring smile, with at least seven variously colored butterflies on his head and shoulders. Aside from the location, there was a clear differentiation between the photos from the aquarium and this one. As he inspected its details, Nagisa leaned in a bit closer to his ear.
"That one's my favorite," he whispered.
Rei turned to face him again, and a cloud of vibrant colors passed him by, evidently the butterflies which had perched on him in the photo. As softly as the caresses of the butterflies' wings themselves, Nagisa eased in and pecked the corner of his lips, drawing away without gathering attention from the others. He gazed contentedly at the butterflies fluttering around them, particularly fond of the friendly swallowtail that did not appear afraid of him as it lingered in front of him awhile. Rei's heart melted inside his chest as he smiled at the sight, studying it so he would never forget this moment. He had found his favorite, too.
Once again, Rei returned Nagisa home as the stars began to appear in the sky. The walk from the train station had been their only time alone together since the butterfly pavilion, as they spent the rest of the day visiting each of the zoo's exhibits with their friends. Though his feet ached and he knew he would sleep heavily that night, Rei felt fairly satisfied with the way things transpired that day. Not everyone had been in lifted spirits that morning, but by the end of the day as they went their separate ways at the train station, they all wore smiles due to the collaborative effort by Nagisa and himself, and he could take pride in that.
Nagisa faced him with a different kind of bliss that night—an almost overwhelmed joy, but far quieter than Rei had seen after previous dates. He, too, seemed tired, but this did not seem to affect his manner. Rei had no questions about this emotion, for he felt it too.
"Everyone had a lot of fun today," Nagisa said, "Mako-chan and Haru-chan really liked showing Ren-chan and Ran-chan all the animals. I think Rin-chan and Gou-chan liked being able to see each other, and I think Momo-chan and Sei-chan missed each other too. We even got Ai-chan and Sou-chan smiling."
"I think you were responsible for everyone's smiles today, Nagisa-kun," Rei said, "You worked hard to make sure the trip was worth everyone's while."
Nagisa looked at his feet, embarrassed.
"Um… I'm sorry again that I messed up this date," he said, then facing Rei again, "But I'm glad it all worked out so well for everybody. I'm glad that it didn't mess up what you wanted from it…"
"Me too," Rei said, shy.
A short silence followed, and Nagisa bounced a bit with anticipation. Of course. Now that they had shared their first kiss, Rei would be able to properly kiss him goodnight every night. Still new to the idea, Rei cleared his throat and shifted his feet uneasily. The first time they kissed was already a blur since he had acted solely on emotion instead of his notes. Maybe now, he would benefit from resorting to the prior method.
"Nagisa-kun…?" he asked quietly, "Do you mind if I kiss you the way I intended to the first time?"
Nagisa's smile widened, and he leaned in a little closer, eager as always. After a deep breath, Rei visualized his previous strategy again, beginning with their eye contact. To catch Nagisa's attention in the first place… He placed his hand to his hair, caressing it slowly. The magenta irises flitted to where his hand touched, and the smile from before had faded into a much gentler expression at the contact. Beneath his hand, Rei felt warmth from Nagisa's cheeks, which now nearly matched his eyes in color. They fixated half-lidded on his lips, his own parting in anticipation. Rei swallowed before parting his as well, allowing his eyelids to fall halfway as he leaned in. He first nudged the side of his nose against Nagisa's—an initial, intentional nudge to assure he wouldn't make the mistake of spoiling the moment by doing so accidentally. Then, slightly tilting his head, Rei closed his eyes and pressed his lips against the pair before his. He felt him inhale softly, then exhale as he leaned into him, filling him with that same sweet breath. From the first experience, he learned that Nagisa preferred a longer kiss, and made a slight adjustment in timing. Even though he felt far less nervous about this kiss, his heart still raced out of control, gushing over with warmth. The sensation of Nagisa's face snuggling against his, the warm touch of his hands slowly stroking his back, the smoothness of his lips against his, and the soft sigh he let out as Rei nuzzled deeper into it—all of it felt perfect. The exact perfect he wanted for their first kiss.
Slowly, he allowed their lips to separate in their own time as both parted away, breathless. Upon opening his eyes, even through the dark, Rei could see Nagisa's face had flushed a deep red. His eyes broke contact immediately upon opening his own, blinking at Rei's chest shyly.
"Wow…" he said softly, his hands curling around the fabric of Rei's shirt, "That… that would have been an amazing first kiss, too…"
A twinge of guilt ached inside Rei's chest. Nagisa had truly loved that kiss, and he couldn't help but wonder if he would have preferred it. No. He definitely would have preferred a perfect kiss over whatever that last-minute act delivered. If only he'd just kept his composure a while longer, that could have been Nagisa's first kiss. And after everything Nagisa had done for him that day, he deserved that perfect and more. Their eyes met once again, and Nagisa's flashed open as he noticed Rei had withered.
"Ah, Rei-chan, I didn't mean—"
"Well, that settles it," Rei interrupted with a smile, "I'll just have to study more about kissing to try with you."
After a brief pause of surprise, Nagisa smiled back.
"Or…" he started playfully, "You could just practice with me…"
Rei chuckled, embracing Nagisa's waist and touching his forehead to his.
"I'd like that very much," he said.
Nagisa giggled softly, hooking his arms around his shoulders as Rei leaned him back against the house's siding and pressed in for another kiss.
Out of seemingly nowhere, the faint voice of a girl urged Rei by name to take a step further, citing something rather specific and lewd. The audacious suggestion severed the kiss on both ends immediately, and Nagisa, to Rei's complete surprise, appeared just as dreadfully mortified. He broke their embrace to throw the front door open with fury.
"Onee-chan!" he wailed inside toward the window, "What are you guys doing?! Don't spy on us!"
"Oh, come on!" presumably one of his sisters whined, followed by another's laughter, "It's going so well, though!"
"It's not going to go well if you tell Rei-chan to do embarrassing things like that! I never messed with your boyfriends!"
"Aww, we're just having a little fun with him!"
A girl with sienna hair tied up in a low bun came stumbling to the door, leaning on Nagisa and pinching his cheeks, causing quite a bit of visible annoyance.
"Come on, Rei-chan, you know you can't resist this face," she cooed.
"Stop it, Onee-chan," Nagisa groaned, trying to shove her off.
Another girl of close age with deeper sienna hair followed the first, placing her hands on Nagisa's shoulders while giving Rei an eerily familiar mischievous smile.
"Yeah, all you needed to get past was that first kiss, right?" she asked.
"Well done on that, by the way," chimed in a third girl who appeared a bit more mature and had a much blonder brown hair in a looser bun. She then narrowed her eyes intimidatingly, hissing, "But seriously, if you ever try anything like that on our baby brother, you'll have us to deal with."
Suddenly, Rei realized the other two sisters had also given him the same glare. He trembled slightly, unsure if he was really being threatened or if this was a classic Hazuki "difficult to tell if they're joking" situation. He looked to Nagisa, who, to Rei's distress, looked ashamed by what was happening and was apologizing profusely through his eyes. All of this because Rei couldn't have chosen a more appropriate place to kiss Nagisa than right outside his front door. Suppose it had been his parents to show up instead. He tried to find his words, but his brain was short-circuiting as a result of the embarrassment and the four pairs of eyes staring him own. Barely able to make eye contact with Nagisa, he adjusted his glasses and tried not to look at the sisters. The very least he could do was spare Nagisa further embarrassment and leave immediately.
"I-I, um…" he stammered, "I should… um… I'm sorry. Good night, Nagisa-kun. Excuse me…"
Quickly, he turned and hurried away, keeping his eyes forward as the girls exploded into laughter.
"Rei-chan, we're totally kidding, come back!" one called after him.
"Don't run away!"
Despite what appeared to have been an attempt at hazing, Rei kept his pace quick and his head low, trying to cover his blush as he ducked out of their sight. Of course this would happen. He had only met one of Nagisa's sisters before, so he had to leave this sort of impression on them so early on. And more than likely, they would tease Nagisa about this relentlessly. How could he be so careless after a day of careful planning?
"Rei-chan, wait!"
Nagisa tore around the corner after him, catching him by the hand. When Rei turned, Nagisa buried his face against his chest.
"I'm sorry…" he muttered, "I didn't think they'd do something like that… Please don't be mad…"
Rei smiled gently and stroked back Nagisa's hair, and he looked up at him with concern.
"I'm not mad," Rei assured him, "I'm just sorry I wasn't more careful about this. I promise I won't embarrass you like that again."
He pressed a light, brief kiss to Nagisa's cheek. When he pulled away, he could only see pain in Nagisa's expression, only further discomforting him. But at this point, nothing else could be done or undone.
"I'll text you when I get home," he said, "And, um… please apologize again to your sisters for me. Good night."
He pulled his hand away and walked off, his pace slower than before, but his gaze on the sidewalk just as intense, refusing to look Nagisa in the eye.
-I've just arrived home. I'm sorry again about earlier, Nagisa-kun.
-no im sorry! （ＴДＴ）it's my sisters fault for harassing you like that! i gave them a good scolding after you went home ι(｀ロ)ノ they said they were sorry and wont spy anymore so dont worry about it!
-I appreciate it, but I think it's best if we remain cautious from now on. I'd hate for your parents to find out this way.
-i guess… (; - ;) but i'll still send u a digital kiss! (ʃƪ ˘ ³˘) good night rei-chan! i love you!
-Good night, Nagisa-kun. Sweet dreams.
Rei read over their text conversation again before settling in for the night. No amount of Nagisa's reassurance would ever fully convince him that his negligence hadn't caused him the embarrassment, but he seemed forgiving at the least. Though he was the one at fault, Rei couldn't help feeling disappointed he would likely not kiss Nagisa goodnight again until he could do so with more discretion. He ran his fingertips tenderly across his lips, warm memories of their last kiss putting him at ease. Had he known what he was missing, and if he had the courage, he might have kissed Nagisa on their first date after all, or perhaps even before then. Practicing now would prove difficult, but he would find a time again. All of his studying and particularity made that experience worth every second. His dreams that night truly were sweet.