Work Text:
It all starts with a question by Nagi, from all people, in what was supposed to be a relatively peaceful afternoon of rest for Chigiri. Or at least as much peace one can achieve watching Reo happily combing Nagi's hair as the other boy plays on his phone. They've been in this domestic bliss moment ever since coming back from lunch and show no sign of getting bored with the activity. When it comes to these two, though, it is hardly a surprise: Nagi is a 2.0 iPad kid, only his screen is an heir with stubby eyebrows and a questionable taste in men. Meanwhile, said heir is obsessed with weird things of all shapes and forms, specially Pou-looking lazy forwards.
“Princess.” Nagi lazily calls between yawns, eyes still focused on his phone screen. “Are you and Kunigami in a fight?”
“Eh? Where did that come from? But not really.” Chigiri says, although he does not understand where does the question come from. After all, Nagi is usually not interested in relationship gossip, and ever since he and Reo made up, his “purple brain rot” went from already insane to “baby goose imprinting on a random pair of shoes” levels. “Whatever happened during the time he was on the Wildcard thing clearly affected him a lot. So, I guess it's a matter of getting used to this anti-hero version of him, sort of speak.” If only the guy actually engaged in conversations that lasted over 30 seconds, that would be nice… Alright, truth be told, Hyoma is more than a little bothered by this current development, but that's not Nagi's damn business either way.
“Eh…” Nagi considers the answer for a moment, and Chigiri almost goes back to his scrolling for NEL highlights, until- “So are you and Kunigami like me and Reo? Or at least used to be, before they made him into a Noa-Frankstein monster?”
He probably doesn't mean anything by it. After all, unless you have purple hair and a net worth with an extensive amount of zeroes, Nagi is typically pretty naive when it comes to the complexities of human relationships. And even when focusing on his and Reo’s “relationship”, their lack of mutual understanding was what got Chigiri the unofficial position of couple's therapist in the first place.
“We've been together ever since team Z, so it's only natural we're friends. He’s a chill and decent guy, which can be a breath of fresh air in this insane asylum.” Hyoma keeps the answer simple (discreetly emphasizing the friends part), and hoping that whatever spell Reo's head pats have are close to putting Nagi to sleep.
If only he could be that lucky.
“That's not what I mean. Is he your boyfriend? Husband? Wife?”
What. The. Fuck.
“Treasure-” Reo warns, although his voice doesn't carry any real weight. Fucking traitor. He better find someone else to get him tea while he ugly sobs in the bathroom. “It's not polite to prod around other people's love life.”
“Chigiri gets all over our business all the time.” Nagi answer like the petulant child he is, a tendency that skyrockets when Reo is around.
“Not by free will!-”
“So it's fair, Reooo~” Don’t interrupt me you- “-and also Chigiri can't be a wife, he's not sweet and attentive, and he would not look that great in white. Guess Kunigami is not any of these things anymore either, so they both have to be husbands. Both wearing black, though, their wedding is going to look like a funeral.”
“Lots of people wear alternative colors on their wedding attires nowadays, my treasure. I think blue or green would look great on them! A mute shade of blue would go amazing with Chigiri’s eyes. One of my tailors could send a few photo samples.”
“Just no purple, Princess, most of our decor will be purple, plus purple and white are our official colors.”
“Yeah, I'm this close to punching you both.” Hyoma warns, feeling a headache starting to develop. Maybe if these two homo disasters spent less time wedding-planning and more time training, they would actually win a fucking match for a change. “Nagi, look at me. Me and Kunigami are not dating. We never did, we never will. Ok? Ok.”
“But you wanted to? Before the emo virus? Or even after it?”
“I hope Reo leaves you for a woman.” Hyoma gives them both the finger before leaving the room. Dealing with those two is already a pain in the ass enough without them writing real-time fanfiction of his life. Maybe he’ll tell Chris that Nagi didn’t actually finish his last workout session.
“Ah, he got angry. I was trying to help, though.” Seishiro comments, sinking deeper against Reo's warmth now that they're alone (contrary to popular belief, they do keep their PDA on the decent side most of the time. His beautiful wife is shy, after all).
“The whole thing with Kunigami is complicated, Nagi, give him a break. Honestly, I’m surprised how Ego wasn’t sued for it yet.” Reo explains, hands enveloping Seishiro's chest. “But it's rare for you to care about these things.”
“I mean, Chigiri is kinda bitchy, but he's our friend, right? Plus…” The boy avoids Reo's gaze before continuing, suddenly appearing self-conscious. “He and Kunigami took care of Reo when you were upset. Relationships are a pain, but I wasn't there for Reo, so I should do something in return… They're going to be on our wedding party and all.”
“Nagi…” There's a moment of silence before Reo goes from cradling Nagi against his own body to squeezing his cheeks and leaving kisses all over his face. If being a matchmaker will make Reo spoil him even more, perhaps Nagi should do that more often. “God, you are the cutest thing in this world!! Alright, my treasure! I will be your ally in this quest!”
“Waaaaah, Reo is so cool. Why don’t we use one of Reo’s ideas, then? We can follow your plan to get these two together, after nap time, of course. Gotta use our private time in the room wisely.”
“To nap?” Reo cocks an eyebrow in doubt, but there’s already the shadow of a mischievous smile playing on his lips.
“Among other things.”
-----
For a while, the Kunigami topic is left quiet, and Hyoma thinks for once his teammates are being reasonable. But then, a few days later, Reo messages him about studying some plays in the media room, only for Hyoma to find Kunigami there instead. Attentively taking some notes, frown immediately growing once he registers the newcomer's presence. Ouch.
“Occupied. I'll be done in around 40 minutes.” Kunigami states, eyes not once leaving his notebook.
“I was looking for Reo, he probably mixed up the time because he was too distracted sucking face with Nagi. Same guy that told us he would crush the 'traitor' with his own hands, by the way. If I told what kind of crushing he's been doing, you would probably die of gross.” Hyoma is still trying to keep his word and act like nothing is changed between them, but fuck is it hard sometimes. Specially when there's nobody else around, no in-game adrenaline rush to serve as a distraction. Just the faint TV noise and the creeping, awkward distance. “It's that the recording from your game against Barcha? Pretty insane play from that Lavinho guy, huh?”
“He can be a pain in the ass. Show-off freak.” First non-aggressive response, and that's all Hyoma needs to plop right beside the other boy, grabbing the remote to rewind the footage. “You're still the same stubborn princess, huh?”
“And you're so not cute, you know? So at least we are both equally unpleasant now. Glad to share this blessed burden with you.” There's a glint of something… Familiar- and warm on Kunigami's eyes, but it's gone as quickly as it appears. He's not leaving or throwing Hyoma out, though, and for now this can be enough.
Maybe because even if Blue Lock is an insane place, he worries about whatever was done to Kunigami, that even becoming the best in the world is not worth losing yourself like that.
Maybe he'd like to sooth whatever is hurting, provide help and comfort to the same boy that always offered him kindness in their fleeting time together. The sweet hero, that under his rough appearance and intimidating physique, was a gentle soul.
Or maybe Hyoma is just a normal teenager with a stupid crush that not even soccer prison's antics can suppress.
Whatever is the answer, they watch the entire remaining match, and that warm, unnamed sensation keeps peeking from behind the curtains, bringing them closer.
“Nice studying session, gothic hero. Next time I'll bring some popcorn, so get us some drinks, alright?” Hyoma jokes, once the screen turns black and Kunigami gets up to leave, popping their little bubble of tranquility.
“Next time, get your own monitor room instead.” Kunigami rolls his eyes, but the words lack any real bite.
I'm not the kind of guy that gives up easy, Kunigami, you should know that by now…
That night, Hyoma sleeps with a nice weight in his heart, hoping for a better chapter on their story. He also bumps into Reo around dinner and makes him fall into Isagi's lap, sending Nagi into a crisis and probably giving him nightmares.
Payback is a bitch.