#anendlessaria

“Let’s get ice cream Rei-chan!”

The request, while unusual, doesn’t entirely come out of nowhere. It’s a Saturday, which means no practice and no school, and they had left Nagisa’s house in the first place in order to go on a date.

Rei had selected the location of the last date, so it was Nagisa’s turn to decide, but he hadn’t made a decision by the time that Rei had determined was the optimal time to leave, so they had ended up just walking together through the snow, holding hands. Simply walking around town wasn’t an ideal date, but Rei was alright with it as long as Nagisa was happy. But an ice cream date is another matter entirely.

“Nagisa-kun, you can’t be serious.”

Nagisa pouts, swings the hand holding Rei’s a little harder than he had been previously. “But Rei-chan, I am very serious!”

“It is snowing out, Nagisa-kun. Ice cream is cold, and therefore, should only be consumed during the summer months and perhaps in late spring. It makes no logical sense to have ice cream in late December when it is snowing outside.”

“It makes perfect sense to me!” Nagisa insists, “I feel like ice cream and anyway Rei-chan made sure I wouldn’t forget my jacket today, so I’m all warm even though it’s snowing outside!”

Rei sighs. It’s difficult for him to deny his boyfriend anything, but this request is a potential danger to Nagisa’s health, and if Nagisa gets sick, Rei is sure to catch it, which is a gruesome fate he fervently wishes to avoid. Being sick is just about the least beautiful thing Rei can think of.

“Besides,” Nagisa continues, heedless of Rei’s internal struggle, “you promised you’d let me pick where we had our next date, since you picked last time. And I pick an ice cream date!”

Rei sighs through his nose. The things he does for love. “Very well. Ice cream it is.”

“Yay!” Nagisa cheers, bounces a little, and tugs Rei all the harder in the direction of a parlor. “Ooh, I have to think about what sort of flavor to get!”

Rei grins. “I’m certain I can predict which flavor you’ll inevitably decide on!”

“Wooah, Rei-chan, but there’s so many flavors to choose from! How are you going to guess?”

Rei laughs. “Nagisa-kun, you have a penchant for continuing to select a certain flavor above all the rest. It hardly takes my superior detective skills to guess which flavor you will select!”

Nagisa grins, scratches at his cheek the way he does when Rei’s caught him red-handed. “Hehe, I guess I am pretty predictable, huh? But strawberry is the best flavor, Rei-chan!”

“It is simply what your individual pallet prefers Nagisa-kun. It is hardly the most beautiful flavor of ice cream.” Rei gets to the door first, and sweeps open the door for Nagisa with his free hand. Nagisa just giggles at his show of gentlemanly behavior, and tugs Rei inside with him.

Nagisa’s expression suddenly scrunches up with the cute little frown that means he’s thinking about something.

“Oh! I’m not sure which flavor of ice cream Rei-chan thinks is the most beautiful!” He looks distressed at this discovery, and he looks up at Rei with this terribly upsetting expression on his face. It isn’t as if he’s required to know everything about Rei to date him, but if it really bothers Nagisa not to know, it is Rei’s duty as a boyfriend to reassure him.

Rei glances quickly around the shop. There aren’t any other customers because all of them have the modicum of sense required to avoid ice cream in late winter, and although a bell had rung on their entrance to the establishment, as of yet, no one has come to the counter. Rei seizes his opportunity and gives Nagisa a quick kiss.

Rei usually dislikes public displays of affection, but it always makes Nagisa happy when Rei kisses him or holds his hand or does just about anything that could be construed as romantic in a public setting. Rei has become adept at completing these gestures sneakily so Nagisa can appreciate them without Rei having to suffer the embarrassment of doing something like that in plain view of anyone. It’s a satisfactory compromise, and his moment of panic afterwards where he has to make sure no one has actually seen them is worth it to witness the way Nagisa’s expression brightens and his face flushes after Rei has done something romantic.

“It’s alright, Nagisa-kun.” Rei tells him. “I’m not certain I’ve given the subject much thought myself.”

“You haven’t thought about it?” The question is a little more ponderous than Nagisa’s standard fare. It seems he’s still reeling a little from that quick kiss. Rei gives himself a little mental pat on the back. But, as always, it doesn’t take long for Nagisa to return to his usual self.“That’s not like you, Rei-chan! You should think about it. Ice cream can absolutely be beautiful!”

“I suppose I shall!” Rei replies, pushing up his glasses.

At this point, a woman has appeared behind the counter and Nagisa skips up to order his double scoop strawberry ice cream sundae with everything on it. Rei is still pondering the interesting dilemma of beautiful ice cream. When the woman hands Nagisa his ice cream, Rei goes ahead and pays for it, even though he intends to order his own as well, because this might take a while.

He then proceeds to go down the rows of ice cream requesting samples. Nagisa begins to demolish his sundae. By the time that Rei has finished taste testing every flavor the parlor has to offer, Nagisa has consumed the entirely of his ice cream, and has ordered seconds. Rei has still not decided which ice cream flavor he thinks is most beautiful, mostly because it is quite difficult to remember what the earlier flavors were like, but the woman behind the counter is looking frazzled and decidedly less amused than when Rei first informed her of his mission, so he decides he should probably stop while he’s ahead.

“Thank you for assistance.” Rei says politely. He hands her a generous tip and steps away from the counter.

“Well?” Nagisa asks, from his side, “Which flavor is the most beautiful to Rei-chan?” His cheeks are quite flushed from the combination of the chill outside and the ice cream he’s been consuming, and he saves Rei from having to answer by shivering violently.

Rei sighs and quickly removes his scarf from around his neck, and wraps it around Nagisa instead. “Honestly, Nagisa-kun, this is why I told you ice cream wasn’t a good idea. You’re going to catch a cold!”

Nagisa accepts the scarf, and then proceeds to snatch one of Rei’s hands. “Rei-chan, feel how cold I am!” His hand is positively freezing, likely from holding the ice cream all this time, so Rei really can’t be blamed for shrieking and leaping backwards. Nagisa descends into peals of laughter as Rei’s face heats up and he desperately attempts to pretend like the woman manning the parlor didn’t notice, which quickly becomes impossible, since even she starts laughing at his misfortune.

Rei has been stripped of all dignity, so all he can do to try to save face is turn tail and march determinedly out of the parlor, ignoring Nagisa’s calls until he’s a ways away. The cold air is already helping to cool his very red face, and he shivers a little. Bereft of his scarf and what shelter the parlor could provide, Rei is feeling significantly colder.

“Aww, Rei-chan, don’t be like that.” Nagisa calls, finally having caught up to him. “Here. You can have the rest of my ice cream. You didn’t even have any yourself!”

“I had plenty. More than enough, in fact,” Rei replies. Despite the fact that this place was a small parlor, they had quite a flavor selection, so Rei thinks the amount of ice cream he has consumed is probably equivalent to the one scoop he would normally order. He would run the calculations, but he’s promised Nagisa ‘calculation free dates’ and he is determined to prove he is indeed capable of such a thing.

Nagisa takes another bite of his sundae. “You never answered my question, though. Which flavor did you like best?”

Rei frowns. “I was unable to determine which flavor is most beautiful. However, I will admit that ice cream in general is relatively pleasing to the taste. Some flavors more than others, of course!”

Nagisa wrinkles his nose. “Rei-chan, this is kind of a terrible date, isn’t it? You don’t have to pretend to like things just because I do.”

“W-What? Nagisa-kun, this is not a terrible date. I’ve never once had a terrible date with you.”

Nagisa flushes and beams, “Gosh, Rei-chan! Even after the flying popcorn at the movies?”

“Okay, I will admit that was not the most enjoyable of our dates. Getting ejected from the theater was not my idea of a good time. But, regardless, the time we spend together means a lot to me, even if it means eating ice cream in late December.”

Nagisa’s face has gone almost entirely red. He fiddles with Rei’s scarf, and Rei would be concerned, except that Nagisa’s grinning, and Rei has seen him react this way a fair amount in response to any sort of compliment Rei pays him.

Rei peers around. There’s an intense-looking businessman across the street. It doesn’t matter. He leans in and gives one of Nagisa’s bright red cheeks a kiss. “Come on. We can walk around while you finish your ice cream. It’s important to stay in shape even in the off-season.”

Nagisa nods, reaches for Rei’s hand, and then thinks better of it, since he needs two hands to be able to devour his sundae. Somehow, Rei doesn’t mind. He just slips an arm around Nagisa’s waist instead. He’s getting pretty good at this romantic gestures thing.

They stroll for a while, browsing the shops. Rei is currently trying to work out what to get Nagisa for Christmas. It has to be perfect, after all, since it’s their first Christmas as a couple. He knows, logically, of course, that Nagisa is extremely predictable and therefore should be relatively easy to shop for, but that doesn’t stop him from being nervous about it.

Nagisa is his happy-go-lucky self of course, skipping merrily at Rei’s side. It doesn’t take him long to finish the ice cream and dispose of it so that he has a hand free for Rei to take. However, this gives him the ability to more effectively drag Rei places, and soon they end up ducking into all sorts of little shops. Rei supposes thinking about what to get Nagisa will have to wait, because shopping with Nagisa requires all of Rei’s attention.

Nagisa is the type to want to buy everything that strikes him as cute and he has even been known to purchase something even if he thinks it is weird, simply because it’s weird. It drives Rei a little crazy, and he wears himself out trying to corral Nagisa.

This time, Nagisa’s eye has fallen on yet another stuffed animal. At least this time it seems to be a bunny and not another penguin. He hugs it to his chest and gives Rei the cutest look in his repertoire. Rei is going to be broke by the end of the day, he just knows it.

Just as soon as they’ve escaped from the toy shop, Nagisa’s tugging him a different way, bunny tucked under his other arm, and oh god, it’s a candy shop.

“Nagisa-kun! This is ridiculous! You’ve only just had two ice cream sundaes, which I remind you, are made up of two scoops of ice cream each! There is absolutely no reason why you should be still craving sugar!”

“Not for me, silly! For you! You didn’t have any ice cream, not really. And you must know what the most beautiful flavor of candy is, right?”

“Nagisa-kun, not all of us possess your frankly worrying craving for sugary snacks. I’ve had just about all I can for today. I’d much rather we found a market with some fresh vegetables instead.”

Nagisa makes a face. “Did you even like candy as a kid? That’s so sad. Don’t tell me you’ve never liked candy, Rei-chan! Every kid likes candy!”

“There were certain flavors of candy I found…tolerable.” Rei admits, “But very few. Chocolate was much too sweet and the fruit flavored candy never actually tastes like fruit at all! Cakes and cookies can be good, depending on the ingredients.”

Nagisa frowns. “Rei-chan, how am I supposed to spoil you if you don’t like sweets?”

“Spoil….huh?”

“Er.” Nagisa fidgets. “Whoops.”

“Why on earth would you want to spoil me?”

“Because you’re my boyfriend? Especially because, you know, you always buy me all the things I want on dates, or at least most of them, even though you make that sour grapes face every time.”

“I do not have a sour grapes face!” Rei barks back, embarrassed, because oh god, he can’t see his face and maybe his expression is actually revolting, but Nagisa just laughs. Rei recovers enough to push his glasses up his nose and return the conversation to the topic at hand. “Nagisa-kun, you don’t need to spoil me.”

“Yes I do! And anyway, I want to!” Nagisa is practically pouting.

“Alright,” says Rei, squeezes Nagisa’s hand. “You can spoil me. But maybe candy isn’t the best way to go?”

“Yay!” Nagisa cries, and drags Rei in another direction. “I know you’ll like this place!”

Nagisa takes him to a little hole in the wall bookshop. Rei is impressed and smitten at once. Rei has been known to spend hours in a place like this and a bookshop is perhaps the only place where Rei’s frugal nature collapses. He’s constantly having to rearrange his bookshelf, both for aesthetic value and because he needs to be able to fit all of the books he keeps purchasing. 

“Are you sure you won’t find it boring if we sit in here for a while?” Rei asks, concerned.

“Rei-chan, I didn’t take you here so you could turn around and leave right away!”

Rei acquiesces and starts scanning the shelves. Once he’s found a few he’s interested in, he takes a seat in a corner. After all, he has to see if they’re worth his money before he purchases them. Nagisa is all too happy to sit with him and he even rests his head in Rei’s lap, still clutching his stuffed bunny to his chest. It’s quite pleasant. Rei lets himself get drawn into the first book he’s selected, since Nagisa seems contented for now.

He’s awoken from his reading daze by Nagisa nuzzling his side with his head. “Rei-chan,” he whines, “we’ve been here for hours.”

“Nagisa-kun! Why didn’t you say something?” Rei cries, and leaps up, disturbing the pile of books he’s encased himself in.

“You looked happy.” Nagisa admits. “Anyway, if you finish the books, then there’s no point in buying them, right? Come on, I’ll buy them for you!”

“N-Nagisa-kun, you shouldn’t! You only have a small allowance, and you should really save it for food and necessities!”

Nagisa gives him a look. “Rei-chan, I’m supposed to be spoiling you, remember?”

“Right,” Rei sighs, but he sneakily places a few books back on the shelves before they get to the counter. Being spoiled is all well and good, but he can’t allow Nagisa to spend all his allowance on buying Rei books.

It’s later than Rei realized, and when they step outside, it’s growing dark out. “I suppose I ought to go.” Rei says, regretfully. “My parents will want me home for dinner.”

“Oh. I guess so.” Nagisa says. “Did you have fun Rei-chan?”

“I did,” Rei replies. “I always do.”

Nagisa blushes at the compliment and his fingers fidget in the fur of his stuffed bunny. “And you’re sure you don’t want me to walk you home?”

“No sense making you late.” Rei gently removes his hand from Nagisa’s and straightens Nagisa’s scarf, which he belatedly realizes is his own. Well, it’s alright. He’ll see Nagisa soon. He’ll let Nagisa have it for now. “I’ll text you when I get home, alright?”

“Okay. Can I have a kiss goodbye?” Nagisa scrunches his eyes shut and pouts his mouth. Rei leans in and pecks his boyfriend on the cheek.

"Hey!" Nagisa cries, "Not fair! I didn’t get to kiss you!"

Rei bends his knees a little and Nagisa leans up to give his cheek a kiss in return. 

"Thanks for spoiling me," Rei tells him, smiling.

Nagisa winks. “Anything for Rei-chan!”

Rei blushes, pushes up his glasses. “Very well then. I’ll see you soon.”

Before he can convince himself to stay a little longer, Rei heads off towards his house. He switches his bag of books to his other hand to keep it warm now that Nagisa is no longer holding it. It was kind of a nonsensical date, but Rei enjoyed himself, and he has to laugh when he gets home and he receives a text from Nagisa that reads Rei-chan kissed me three times today! <3<3 AND I got to keep Rei-chan’s scarf!