𝑴𝒐𝒃𝒊...~⭐️

So there they were, now sitting on the floor around a wooden table, writing down and discussing their own set of rules as if they were middle schoolers working on an art project.

They all took turns writing down a list of things they wanted to change around the house going forward, ranging from how long Isagi could hog the TV to how little clothing Bachira allowed to roam the house in (although the original rule was "Bachira must keep all his clothes on", but he argued against it).

Once they were done, they handed the paper back to Isagi, who then had the task of reading out all the rules to make sure they were all in agreement.

Rin, unsurprisingly, had the longest list out of the three—his rules taking up 60% of the page. Among his catalogue of demands was one rule he placed heavy emphasis on, out of all, written in bold letters.

Isagi stopped reading aloud for a moment, staring at the paper in confusion, his head tilted to the side. He brought the paper closer to his face while squinting to try to get a better look at what was written down.

"Hey Rin, what does this say?" Isagi asked, turning the paper towards Rin.

Rin looked at Isagi with a cocked eyebrow "What are you, blind? It says it right there on the paper."

Isagi looked back at the paper, giving it a good look, then back at Rin.

"Well, yeah, but your handwriting is really bad—like, almost illegible," Isagi stated bluntly.

Rin's eye twitched.

"Are you picking a fight?!"

"No, I'm serious!" Isagi raised his arms in surrender, "Bachira, you try reading it."

"Oki doki!" Bachira hummed as he took the paper from Isagi's hand.

Bachira stared silently at the paper for a few moments, his eyes dragging across the paper as he seemingly read every single word on the page with little effort, nodding along all the while.

Finally, he puts the paper down, "Done!"

"So,,, what did it say?"

"Oh, I have no idea; I didn't understand a thing!" Bachira said sunnily before turning to Rin, "Isagi's right, your handwriting is really bad!!"

"I'll kill you both."

"Yeah, that's cool and all, but before you do,,," Bachira holds up the paper to Rin's face, "Translation?"

Rin stared at the paper for a few beats with a gaze sharp enough to cut through glass before grumbling to himself. "Give me that." He hissed, swiping the paper out of the other boy's hand.

" "Do not bother me from 7:00am to 8:00am. -Rin" " Rin read out, jabbing his finger on the paper to emphasise each word. "There, you happy, dumbasses?"

"Oh, I see,, but what are you doing from seven to eight?" Isagi questioned.

"Nothing that concerns you, so piss off." Rin finalised as he got up and stomped away to his way to his room while Bachira and Isagi simply watched.

"I think that went well!" Bachira cheered before Rin slammed his door with a loud Bang! That shook the walls of the house.

"...As well as it could've gone, I guess."

-----

As the morning sun found its way into his room, Isagi rubbed his eyes as he groggily rolled out of bed and made his way to the living room.

He woke up earlier than he usually does today, wanting to use the TV before anyone else woke up and nagged him about it.

But as he dragged himself out of his room and into the hallway, he noticed that Rin's door was left open.

This immediately caught his attention, his body coming to a halt as he looked at the door cracked open.

Rin never left his door open—like, ever. Whether he was in or out of his room, his door was always closed. And it's not just something he'd forget, either; he was very particular when it came to his room. He hardly let anyone in and would side-eye anyone who would even lurk around the hallway near his room for too long, so him accidentally leaving his door open was out of the question.

Did someone break in? Was someone plotting to steal their stuff?? Was someone trying to kidnap Rin??!

The more Isagi stood there looking at the door, the more confused and anxious he got.

He knew that Rin didn't like it when people even came near his room without his permission, but this could be a do-or-die situation right now!

So with one mental apology to Rin, Isagi stepped towards Rin's bedroom and poked his head inside.

His eyes scanned all around the room—top to bottom and side to side, taking in all the posters hung on his walls, the single lamp that illuminated the dark room, the items that were left haphazardly on the floor, and much more, before his eyes finally landed on his bed where Rin was seated, looking down at some sort of book with Bachira sitting right next to him playing with his hair.

...

Bachira's sitting beside him? Playing with his hair?? And Rin isn't trying to poke his eyes out???

Shit, had Rin already been kidnapped and replaced with some imposter? This couldn't have been his Rin!

As Isagi was lost in his own thoughts at the confusing scene, Bachira noticed Isagi peeking through the door.

"Isagi, c'mere!" Bachira whispered loudly while gesturing for him to come inside.

Isagi immediately shakes his head to decline his offer. He hadn't even gotten permission from Rin to look inside his room; he'd kill him if he actually entered!

Bachira once again gestures for Isagi to enter, but more aggressively, only for Isagi to decline again.

After being denied twice, Bachira swiftly jumped up from Rin's bed and quickly made his way towards Isagi before grabbing both his hands and dragging him in.

"Bachira!" Isagi yelped as Bachira spun and threw him face-first onto Rin's bed. "What are you doing—"

"Shhh!" Bachira hushed, pointing at Rin, who was still reading... manga?

"It's 7:00am, that means we're not supposed to be bothering Rin!"

"Then why are we here??"

"To bother Rin!"

"Bachira—"

"Shh! It'll be fun!"

"I just don't think-"

"Shh!"

...

"I-"

"Shhhhhhh!"

"Would you stop that!!" Isagi yelled before immediately slapping his hands over his mouth.

Uh oh.

Bachira and Isagi immediately whip their heads over to Rin, Bachira with the biggest grin painted on his face, while Isagi was already thinking up ways to evacuate the house.

So imagine Isagi's when they looked over at Rin and saw that he hadn't even moved a muscle. His face was still stuck between his manga, his focus undeterred.

"He... didn't hear me?"

"Yeah, that's what I was trying to show you!" Bachira said as he took a seat next to Rin while Isagi sat upright on the other side of the bed.

"Check this!" Bachira called before pinching one of Rin's cheeks.

Out of instinct, Isagi reached out to swat Bachira's hand away, but he pulled back as he looked back at Rin.

...

Nothing.

Isagi stared, obviously confused.

"He really can't see us. Are we invisible or something?" Isagi questioned, starting to get comfortable as he waved his hand in front of Rin's face and snapped his fingers.

"Maybe it's like that cat's eye thing you guys were talking about, but like—with manga!" Bachira thought aloud, going back to playing with Rin's hair

"..You mean predator eye?"

"Canayda, Canahda; same difference."

Isagi stared at Bachira blankly for a few moments, debating on whether or not he should bother correcting him, but he ultimately decided it wasn't worth it.

Isagi began poking and prodding at Rin's face; touching his cheek, raising his eyelids, and booping his nose.

"He's so,,," Isagi started, trying to find the right word to describe Rin right now.

"Docile?" Bachira offered up.

"Yeah, it's kinda freaky."

"I know, right? He’s like a cat that just got its balls cut off!"

Isagi's face scrunched up in displeasure at Bachira's vulgar description, "My god, Bachira, don't say that." He paused as he looked at Rin, taking in all his features that were usually furrowed in annoyance that were now uncharacteristically relaxed.

He wasn't trying to claw his eyes out, he wasn't boring holes into the back of his skull, and he wasn't threatening his life because the day just so happened to end in 'y'.

He was all around just tamer. Just like... a neutered cat...

"...It's really upsetting how you're not wrong about that."

"Hehe~☆"

"Well, either way," Isagi started, trying to mentally shrug off the horrifying visual Bachira had unwillingly placed in his mind as he tore his hand away from Rin's face "we should probably leave now, you've had your fun—"

"I have an idea, wait here!" Bachira exclaimed as he jumped up off the bed and ran towards the door, giggling like a maniac.

Isagi sat in silence for a few moments, quietly seething about getting cut off more than once already.

"That guy..." he sighed as he looked back over to Rin. "What'cha reading there, Rin?" He asked to basically no one, as no one answered.

Expected, honestly. He just thought he'd try anyway.

He leaned on Rin's shoulder to get a look at some of the pages like the nosy bastard he is, hoping to identify it by looking at some of the characters.

He sees a pretty girl with long black hair and parted bangs, narrowed eyes, and a mole under her left eye...

Oh! Judging by the distinct art style, Isagi deduces that it's probably Tomie by Junji Ito.

He's never actually read the manga before, but if Rin's reading it, it must be a sweet story—

Suddenly, Bachira burst back into the room holding an armful of... tangerines..?

Bachira scuttles over to the open space beside Rin and places all the tangerines there.

Isagi opened his mouth—

"Shh!"

Okay.

Bachira climbed back onto the bed, getting himself comfortable before grabbing one of the tangerines and turning to Isagi.

"Watch this."

Bachira slowly stretches his arm forward, tangerine in hand, with the eyes of a man on a mission.

And with the precision of a professional lego builder, he elegantly places the tangerine atop the target's head without error.

Bachira immediately put his hand down, folding his arms as he admired his own work.

"Its beautiful...." Bachira said in awe as he turned to look at Isagi expectantly.

Unfortunately for him, he was so focused on his do-or-die mission of putting a lamer orange on his future murderer's head that he didn't notice that Isagi was already halfway out the door.

"Isagi, where ya going??" Bachira cried out as he quickly followed after Isagi.

"To go do literally anything else."

"Don't be a party pooper!" Bachira grabs Isagi's hand, pulling him back inside the room. "It'll be fun, I promise."

Isagi raised an eyebrow, "Stacking oranges—"

"Tangerines." Bachira corrected.

"...Stacking tangerines on someone's head in 'fun'?"

"Yeah!"

They both stare at each other for a while, with Isagi waiting for Bachira to realise the absurdity of his statement while Bachira was just thinking about how many more tangerines he could stack on Rin's head.

"Cmon, just try one!" Bachira pleaded as he grabbed one of the tangerines from Rin's bed, placed it into Isagi's palm, then wrapped his hands around his. "Please?"

The sudden plea pulled on Isagi's heartstrings in a way that surprised him.

Isagi looked down at the tangerine, then at Bachira's hand, then back at Bachira before letting out a long, drawn-out sigh.

"Fine... I guess it wouldn't hurt."

"Yes!" Bachira cheered, pumping his fist in victory as they both sat back down on the bed.

Isagi copied Bachira's exact actions; he got comfortable and slowly but surely stretched out his arm as he focused on nothing but the tangerine.

And although not as sharp or elegant as Bachira, he successfully places the second tangerine on top of the first.

Something in the universe shook that moment—no, exploded.

Isagi gazed upon his masterpiece, magnum opus, with nothing but pure awe.

It was enough to make a grown man cry.

It's like everything fell into place. The puzzle pieces finally fit.

He was meant to stack that second tangerine. It was his destiny, and he had fulfilled it to the highest degree.

It was absolutely beautiful...

"Whoa..." Isagi said, still admiring his work while Bachira wrapped an arm around his shoulder, "Right?"

"Right." Isagi nodded before tearing his eyes away from his greatest achievement to look at Bachira.

"Bachira, grab me another tangerine."

"Yes, sir!!"

----

The two boys kept working up as they continued carefully stacking tangerines on Rin's head, making sure that they stayed as steady as possible.

Bachira was now standing on Rin's bed with his arms stretched wide to prevent any tangerines from falling.

"How many have we stacked so far?"

"Like... six or seven." Isagi answered as he stacked another.

"Let's shoot for ten!"

"I don't know... It looks a bit unstable."

"It'll be fine, gimmie one!"

Isagi tossed Bachira a tangerine, which he caught with ease before reaching out to stack the other one on top—

"What the fuck are you doing."

They both went stiff.

Isagi glanced at the clock across the room.

It was already 8am.

"Shit, it's already been an hour?!" He thought to himself.

They both stood in silence, not daring to move a single muscle.

Unfortunately for everyone, Bachira's body is apparently allergic to silence. "Aa— Achoo!" Bachira sneezed, directly in front of the tower of tangerines, causing them all to fall and scatter across the room.

.

.

.

"Whoopsie..."

Rin stayed deathly quiet as he slowly raised his head, now glaring at the boys in front of him.

That was all it took for Bachira to grab a hold of Isagi's hand and book it straight out of the room while laughing.

"Get back here, you dumbasses!!!" Rin shouted as he jumped out of bed to chase after them.

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White noise was ringing through his ears; he was tasting shapes and colours, seeing sounds, and he swore he could feel his organs actively failing.

Did he get hit with a flashbang or something?

Did he die? No, that couldn't be it, he could feel his heart beating—no, pounding in his chest, so loud you would've thought he just came back from running the Boston marathon. So loud he wouldn't be surprised if everyone could hear it echoing around the room.

God, he was dazed. Is this what being drunk feels like?

His heart was racing at 100 cph (Chigiri's Per Hour), his head felt akin to a Beyblade with the way it was spinning, and his body felt like those inflatable tube men you see outside gas stations.

It was weird, super weird, but also...nice?

Nagi was radiant; he always was (to him, at least), but more so now than ever.

The short, fluffy pigtails; the cute, black ribbons; the absolutely adorable black and white maid dress that hung below his knees? The pretty little white stockings??

Dammit, he might actually die. It's too heavenly for a mere mortal like himself!

He looked like an actual angel; he was honestly surprised Nagi hadn't sprouted wings yet.

Nagi with wings as white as his hair. Ugh, just the thought of it is spiking his heart rate up to 200cph!

Just imagine it— Nagi in all white, with a halo, huge fluffy wings, maybe even a–

"Oi! Reo-chan, ya just gonna stand there? Don't you know it's rude to ignore your lover?" Shidou said with a devilish grin, snapping Reo back into reality before shoving him towards Nagi.

Reo stumbled forward, almost falling flat on his face.

Reo looked up at Nagi.

Nagi looked down at Reo.

"Reo... What are you doing here?"

"W-what am I doing here? What are you doing here??" Reo sputtered in disbelief.

Nagi's eyes drift down to his feet, his bangs covering his face as he places a hand on his neck.

"...Working. I'm working."

"Well, I can see that, Sherlock Holmes! I'm asking why you are working, and here of all places?? "

"Chigiri recommended it to me."

"Chigiri.??"

Nagi shrugged, using his eyes to direct Reo to where Chigiri and Isagi were both seated while watching this entire fiasco unfold.

Chigiri and Isagi lock eyes with Reo.

Noticing that Reo was boring holes into their skulls after spotting them, they quickly took cover under the table.

"Chigiri!" Reo yelled while marching over to where the two boys were hidden.

"That little snitch..." Chigiri cursed under his breath before both he and Isagi were yanked out from underneath the table by the back of their collars and held up like two misbehaving kittens.

"Care to explain what's going on here?" Reo interrogated, eyeing Chigiri as if he had just committed a crime.

Chigiri shrugs. "Nagi got a job, it's as simple as that."

"'Nagi' and 'job' shouldn't even be in the same sentence!"

Chigiri rolled his eyes as Reo kept scolding him before looking back at him with a smug smirk on his face.

"I don't really get why you're complaining, from what I saw, it looked like you were enjoying yourself~" he said in a lowered voice, only he, Reo, and, unfortunately, Isagi could hear.

Reo paused.

His ears were slowly turning a shade of red as his brain computed Chigiri's words.

He quickly lets go of Chigiri's collar; Chigiri drops to the ground, letting out an "oof!" As he looked up at Reo with annoyance mixed with pride that he managed to get under his skin.

"Ugh, I don't even know why I bothered asking you of all people." Reo sighed while the other boy playfully knocked himself over the head as a show of innocence. "You, on the other hand,,," Reo started, turning his head towards Isagi menacingly.

Isagi smiled sheepishly, "Hi, Reo..!"

"What are you doing here?"

Isagi stayed silent, trying to think of a reply that didn't result in him getting executed right where he stood.

He could practically feel the murderous intent radiating off of him.

"Hey, are you deaf or something? I'm asking what you're doing here!" Reo scolded, impatiently waiting for an answer.

Isagi looks to Chigiri for help, but Chigiri simply smiles at him before turning his head away.

"That little shit!" Isagi mentally cursed. It was Chigiri and Nagi who dragged him along; he didn't even want to be here! He should be at football practice right now, not getting accosted for something that wasn't even his idea!

"Chigiri and Nagi asked me to tag along with them! " Isagi offered up, hoping to appease the boy who was still holding him up by the back of his collar.

But apparently, Isagi had picked the wrong dialogue option, as he noticed Reo's face darken further.

Why would Nagi ask Isagi to come but not him? He's only known Isagi for a month at most, while he's known him for almost a year! What made him warm up to Isagi so fast when it took him ages even to suggest that the two of them might be friends?

Reo gritted his teeth.

"What the hell am I doing wrong?" He muttered to himself, his voice breaking a bit.

Isagi watched awkwardly as Reo went from flustered to angry to frustrated all in thirty seconds as he wondered when Reo would be so kind as to drop him already.

Luckily for him, the maid from earlier walked up to them, "Good afternoon, master! Has our maid found a table for you three, yet?"

Reo quickly drops Isagi, switching into his prince charming voice, "Oh, these four were actually just about to leave, so a single table is fine." He said with a fake smile, trying to shoo the others out so he could seize the opportunity to have some alone time with Nagi.

"Oh, so now you want to stay?" Shidou teased as he and Charles found their way back into his personal space

Reo's eyebrow twitched.

"I just... Changed my mind is all. " He rubs the back of his neck while stealing glances at Nagi ", so you all should just leave already—"

"No way! We came all this way, it'd be a shame not to at least get drinks~!" Charles injected before turning back to the maid, "A table for three, please!"

"Make it five!" Chigiri said, hooking an arm around Isagi, who was trying to sneak out the exit.

Reo turned his head towards him so fast he nearly got whiplash. "Chigiri!" He barked.

"What? We were here first." Chigiri responded, holding up a peace sign.

"Oki Doki! Nagi-chi, show these five to their tables, kay?" She looked over to Nagi, who had been watching from the sidelines as if this whole thing were a soap opera.

Nagi's eyes dragged as he observed the five boys before stopping at Reo, his gaze lingering on him just a little too long for comfort. "Oh... Yeah, I'll do that."

Shidou and Charles cheered as if they had just won the lottery. Chigiri turned to Isagi with a smile on his face, and Isagi returned with it with a much weaker smile, all while Reo wished that the building would just explode already.

———

So there they were, sat on a long, blue, cushioned seat around a pink table, with Charles and Shidou on one side and Chigiri, Isagi, and Reo awkwardly huddled up on the other, drinking milkshakes—or in Charles and Shidou's case, chugging them.

Despite the light atmosphere the café had carefully constructed with all its pastels, plushies, and smiles, Reo's mood remained unchanged as he gnawed on the straw of his milkshake in frustration.

"Jeez, Reo, try not to look too happy," Chigiri remarked sarcastically, resting his head on his free hand while the other stirred his drink.

Reo hissed, "Shut up, Isagi."

"I didn't even say anything!" Isagi exclaimed, throwing up his hands while Chigiri let out a snort.

"Are you always this stressed?" Shidou started, setting down his cup after scarfing down all its contents, "It ain't good for your health, man. You and Nagi are gonna have matching hair colours at this rate!" He said with mock sympathy.

"I wouldn't be if I wasn't stuck with you idiots."

Shidou continued teasing. "Whoa, someone's cranky, you hungry or something?"

"With the quality of the food here? Probably not." Chigiri commented.

"You haven't even tried any of their food." Isagi countered.

"Trust me, I can sense it. Their Omurice smells like plastic. It's like all their budget went to their maids."

"Well, I guess they are the main attraction."

"I think their milkshakes are pretty good!" Charles added, both the milkshake and the glass fully disappeared from his side of the table.

"Everything tastes good when you're not paying for it, Charles." Isagi counters once more.

"I am paying for it, though!"

"With Loki's credit card?"

"...Whoa, how'd you know?"

"Lucky guess..." he sighed.

The more chatter that filled the table, the more Reo felt his composure giving out.

Right across the room was Nagi; his Nagi—yet he wasn't even looking at him. No, he was serving some nobody, weakly bearing his teeth at them in an endearing (to him, at least) attempt at a smile, while he was sitting in some random side of the café, wishing he were the one talking to Nagi.

Christ, he was starting to feel like those obsessed K-pop junkies who pay an absurd amount of money just to shake their favourite idols' hands with their sweaty palms. What is this, a Nagi-chi meet and greet? For heaven's sake, that's his best friend over there! He should be able to talk to him whenever he wants!

Reo honestly couldn't even explain why he was angry. Yeah, he got a job without telling him, but he's his friend, not his mom. Plus, isn't it a good thing that he got a job in the first place? He always of encouraged him to be more active and social; this was basically a training ground for that! He was talking to people—well, more like people were talking to him and he groaned out a reply, but that's still miles ahead of what he's usually like!

...Miles ahead of what he's usually like with him.

That's when Reo's composure finally snapped.

After hours of having his patience thinned down to a string of yarn, then used as a fucking jump rope for two chucklenuts to play with, he finally broke as he slammed his fist on the table "God, I'm sick of this! I don't want food, I don't want a stupid milkshake, I don't want any of this!! I just want to be with—!"

Reo found himself unable to complete his sentence as if his conscience had grabbed him by the tongue just to get him to shut up.

Reo looked around to find that the entire café had gone silent and was just... staring at him; the customers with confusion, the maids with concern, and Nagi—Nagi with the bangs that rested adorably on his forehead.

Nagi has the same charmingly uncontrollable bed head that remained even in pigtails. Nagi with the same unreadable expression that he always had on—the one that he was always desperate to make look his way, but in this moment, Reo felt like he would die if he felt those eyes looking at him for just a second longer.

Reo's eyes dart back to his table, which had a shocked Isagi, a concerned Chigiri sitting next to him and over on the other side of the table, a very amused Charles and a satisfied Shidou.

"With?" Shidou questioned expectantly with a cocked eyebrow.

Reo's face burned bright with embarrassment, enough to make him unclench his fist and shyly bury his face into the table.

Embarrassed didn't even begin to describe how Reo felt right now. Not just because he had essentially just spent his day being made a fool of—that, he could handle.

He could deal with getting dragged out of school like a dog that had somehow found its way onto a football field.

He could deal with being carried across the street like a disgruntled toddler on their way to kindergarten.

He could deal with getting cramped on a train with two shit pickles messing with him the whole time.

But having Nagi—his heart, soul, and universe seemingly be willing to do anything that doesn't involve him being hurt, his heart more than he would ever admit.

He just wanted to talk with him, play football with him, ride home with him.

Reo wanted to be with Nagi,

and Shidou could tell.

Shidou leaned back on the soft, cushioned seat before letting out a contented sigh.

"Maaaan, that milkshake sucked!" He huffed, interrupting the awkward silence that had filled the table.

Isagi glanced at the cup, then back at Shidou, "You literally downed the whole thing..."

"Yeah, not big on wasting food or whatever, but I've honestly drank better out of a toilet bowl." Shidou shrugged before getting out of his seat.

"This place is lame as hell! Charles and I saw some dudes setting up stalls on our way here—"

"We did?"

Shidou shot him a glance to tell him to just go along with him before Charles caught on and got up from his seat.

"Oh yeah, we did!"

"See? We're gonna go check 'em out, and you two are comin' with us~"

"And why exactly would we do that?" Chigiri questioned.

Shidou grinned before looking off to the side, using his eyes to direct Chigiri and Isagi to where he was looking.

They looked to their right, wondering what Shidou was trying to silently verbalise.

And what looked back at them was a pair of grey eyes still staring at their table from moments before—no, still staring at Reo with the same longing in his eyes that he always had, noticeable to everyone but him.

...

"Ohhhhh." Chigiri and Isagi thought to themselves.

Chigiri paused for a few moments, looking at Nagi, then back at the ever-miserable Reo, then back at Shidou.

"Well, it's not like there's anything else to do here." Chigiri huffed while getting up from his seat, "Cmon, Isagi, let's go." He said, pulling Isagi up and attaching himself to his side.

"Can't I just go home?" Isagi groaned.

"And leave me with these two? Some gentleman you are." Chigiri remarked before turning back to Reo who was still wallowing in pity with his head glued to the table.

He knocks on the table to get Reo's attention before speaking "Yo, Reo, we wanna check out the food stalls outside, so we're gonna be leaving now—"

Reo immediately raised his head of the table. "Really?!"

"...Yeah, you could at least try to look sad about it."

"I'm devastated." He replied, like a lying liar that lies.

Chigiri simply looked at him before letting out a little laugh, "Whatever, dude. Don't miss us too much." He ruffles Reo's hair.

"See you later, Reo-chan~" Shidou sang in his usual teasing voice, wiggling his fingers and giving him a cheeky wink, all while Chigiri silently mouthed for him to "Go For It!" And Isagi simply gave him a thumbs up and a smile for good luck before they all followed after Charles, who had already bounced out the café.

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