By the time you've returned home, you've worn yourself out by all the thinking you'd done.

Your parents are surprised to see you're back early; apparently, they thought you'd be spending the day with Nagi and Reo.

You wish that could've been the case, but a certain four-eyed tyrannical maniac insists on keeping them locked up in his football prison... You don't think you've ever disliked a person as much as you dislike Ego Jinpachi, and that's seriously something considering you know almost nothing about the man.

You're too exhausted to explain that to them, however, so instead you just tell them you've got to take a nap and head straight up to your room.

You place the box with Reo's necklace gently on your desk as you enter, flopping down onto your bed.

You can't help but stare at it, sitting so innocently, as if it's very existence and the meaning behind it hasn't threatened to make your life very, very complicated.

Because you've stolen my heart.

You tear your eyes away from it with a huff. Thinking about it only makes your head hurt, so you don't.

You sit yourself down in front of your mirror, ready to wipe off all your makeup, when suddenly your phone rings from where you're phone lays on your desk.

You push Reo's jewellery box to snatch your phone up, swiping immediately.

He appears to have just gotten out of the shower, damp white hair hanging in his eyes. He appears to be sitting back on his bed (which is far better than the one he had last time, you notice), a hand fiddling with the hair on the back his head, the muscles in his arm tensing slightly with the movement.

It's ridiculous how such a small movement has you practically drooling at the mouth.

"Hi, Nagi." You smile at him, nothing short of overjoyed that you're talking with him. "What's up?"

"I've got great news for you." His face is set in its usual neutrality, but you don't miss the way his eyes sparkle.

You perk up immediately, intrigued. "What is it?"

He opens his mouth to tell you, but is abruptly interrupted by somebody snatching the phone out of his hand.

The face that pops up is none other than Karasu's; he also appears to have just left the shower, his hair damp and laying flat on his head. His eyes glint with amusement as he peers down at you, lips stretched into a devilish smirk.

"So Yukki wasn't lying, huh?" Hes got a strong accent, and you watch him swallow as his smirk fades a little. "That cute chick from earlier really was yer girlfriend."

The compliment throws you off guard a little, but you thank him anyways. "Why, thank you, number six."

Karasu grins, practically from ear to ear, and gives you a playful wink. "So ya remember me then, love?"

You can see Nagi's face in the distance- he looks a little disgruntled, and judging by the way his phone is shaking, he's probably lazily trying to snatch it back.

The way he's ever so slightly jealous makes you smile, so you play along.

"Well, of course, Karasu," You wink back, and Karasu appears to be absolutely delighted. "You're pretty hard to forget."

"Give me that," Nagi snatches his phone back, and you hear Karasu cackle. "And get back to the team B room. We don't want you here."

"Aw, man," Karasu huffs out an exaggerated sigh, and Nagi rolls his eyes. "Ya know, I never had ya down as a buzzkill, Nagi."

"Ah, Karasu? What's brought you here?"

Judging from the way you hear the door swing open and the addition of a new voice, somebody has walked in.

But Nagi's seemingly impassive expression softens a little, so you guess this means that the new person is somebody who gets under his skin a lot less than Karasu does.

"Oh, you know, just chattin' it up with Nagi's girl," He snickers, and Nagi frowns. It's almost imperceptible, but you know his face well enough to catch it. "We're best buds, ya know."

Another face pops up into the corner of the screen, one with circular glasses and a head of dark wavy hair, which you instantly recognise as Yukimiya.

He smiles and waves. "Hi, I'm Yukimiya Kenyu. I saw you today."

"Me too," You joke, and he laughs- it's a lovely sound, just as refined and elegant as his appearance. "Actually, I see you a lot- on magazine covers and ads, that is."

He rubs the back of his neck, but you can tell he's pleased. "Ah, you know. Modelling brings in good money. You're pretty, you should try it out sometime."

You thank him profusely, heart swelling with such a high compliment. You tell him your name too, and you're actively aware of Nagi's souring expression watching the two of you talk in the background.

"Nagi, yer lookin' more and more like a squashed pug with every second." Karasu's remark makes you laugh out loud, but you take pity on your boyfriend and subtly rescue him from Karasu's teasing.

"Leave him alone, you pest," You reprimand sternly. "And go away."

Yukimiya grins. "He is a pest, isn't he?"

"That includes you." Nagi says, and Yukimiya raises his hands in surrender, backing away to what seems to be his side of the room.

Karasu doesn't leave; you can hear him settling onto Yukimiya's bed, but Nagi ignores him, focussing his attention back to you.

... But he doesn't say anything.

"Nagi, didn't you say you had good news?"

"Yep."

"So... what is it?"

"Oh, right," Nagi's as clueless as ever, and you hear Karasu snort in the background. "Starting tomorrow, we all get two weeks out of Blue Lock."

Silence.

He starts to look a little disconcerted.

"Um, are you-"

"NAGI!" You squeal, bouncing where you're sat in your desk chair, overjoyed. "This is so great! I'm so happy!"

"I'm so happy too." He does an extremely poor imitation of your voice, face as deadpan as ever, but the small smile concealed in his voice gives his true feelings away.

"Two weeks?" You're still in disbelief, and he nods. "Two whole weeks?"

"Yes," He sighs, but he's secretly pleased too, you can tell. "Two whole weeks."

"This is perfect, Nagi. Perfect." You can barely sit still, you're so ecstatic. "We've got school off for the next two weeks for term holidays- and you best believe I'm spending every minute with you."

"You better," The tips of his ears tinge pink. "Today was too short. Way too short."

"Tell me about it," You huff dramatically, rolling your eyes. "I really hate that Ego Jinpachi guy."

You hear Karasu and Yukimiya giggling in the background, which is slightly concerning- until Karasu decides to pipe up and say, "Is it 'cause he caught you two snoggin' each other's faces off, or-?"

You and Nagi pointedly ignore him, but you can feel yourself turning red- Nagi's ears flush, which only serves to make Karasu cackle louder in the background.

"We should make plans immediately." You tell Nagi eagerly, already mentally listing places to go with him. "I have so many things I want to do with you, you know? Seeing as you left so suddenly."

"I'll leave that to you." He smiles gently at you, a slight upturn to his lips which means nothing short of the world to you.

The door swings open yet again.

The newcomer bursts out laughing.

"Yo, Karasu, Yukki- what's got Nagi smiling and blushing like a goddamn girl?"

You can hear Karasu's smirk in his voice. "Just that, I'll tell ya. A goddamn girl."

"Bruh. Ain't no way."

"I ain't lyin' to ya."

"That chick Yukki told us about?" Your eyebrow raises slightly at that. Are you really that popular with these guys?

"Dang straight."

Nagi sighs, as if he's way too used to this kind of talk. "It's none of your business, ninja."

Ninja?

"Dude, move. I wanna see."

Nagi is abruptly shoved out of the way, and a new face pops up, peering down curiously at you. It's Otoya, with silky silvery hair (and a few strands of green) cascading over the screen as he leans in, squinting down at you.

He's really close.

"Damn." He whistles, turning back to Nagi with eyebrows raised. "You really bagged a baddie."

"Wow, thanks." You're make sure to keep your tone unimpressed- Otoya's whole demeanour just screams playboy, so you don't let yourself get flustered by what he says.

"Why're you in here, too?" Nagi protests, pushing him away. "This room is for team C only. Not you guys."

"Whaddya mean?" Karasu sniffs indignantly. "We're yer best buddies, right?"

"You guys barely even come close."

"Hey, what's team C?" You ask, curious. "You're saying all these teams but I thought you guys were Blue Lock Eleven?"

"Nah, we are, babe" Otoya shakes his head, brushing silky bangs out of his eyes. "But before Blue Lock Eleven, the six top dudes in Blue Lock were put into pairs, A, B, and C, get it? Those six were guaranteed to play on Blue Lock Eleven"

"Dude, chill," Karasu interrupts- he's suddenly sat himself right next to Nagi, arm around his shoulder. "She ain't yer babe. She's mine."

"You wish, Karasu." You shoot him down abruptly- but you'd be lying if you said all this attention didn't secretly please you. 

Nagi doesn't say anything, eyes blank- but is that a slight frown you're detecting?

"Anyways," Yukimiya also climbs onto Nagi's bed, swiftly inserting himself into the conversation. "Team A was Rin and Shidou, because they were ranked one and two. Three and four were Karasu and Otoya here, so they're team B. And five and six was myself and Nagi, respectively, so we're Team C."

"Shidou?" You raise an eyebrow quizzically. "Isn't he that crazy weirdo from the U-20 team?"

"Crazy weirdo is one way to put it," Yukimiya agrees. "But that's where it got a little complicated. Itoshi Sae- I'm sure you know who that is- picked Shidou out of all us Blue Lock guys to play with for this match, which is why he was there."

"But I still don't get it." Yukimiya's long-winded explanation only serves to confuse you further. "Aren't you and Nagi just a pair, though? That's hardly a team. And what about everyone else?"

"We were just a pair- but we were also a team," Nagi takes over the explaining. "The other Blue Lock guys like Isagi and stuff needed to fight for their place on Blue Lock Eleven, so they'd pick to be on team A, B, or C and then play a match to show off their skills. People who performed best were picked for the final lineup."

"And if I'm being perfectly unbiased, Team C was the best team." Yukimiya pushes his glasses up his nose. "Nagi and I were the perfect duo."

The perfect duo, huh....

But what about Reo?

The question burns on the tip of your tongue, but you can't bring yourself to voice it.

But Reo had still been a part of Blue Lock Eleven today, which means he must've done good, regardless of what team he'd been on.

"Hey, so what team did Reo pick?"

The question is out of your mouth before you think, and you snap your mouth shut immediately- but it's too late, and it's not like you can take it back.

Nagi answers casually, and you study his face to see if he's hiding anything- but he truly does not seem to be that bothered about the question.

"He picked Team C."

"Figures," You nod, shrugging a little. "You and him always did work well with each other."

You know you're pushing it, but you wait with bated breath, anticipating Nagi's reaction.

But nothing happens.

He simply shrugs too. "Yeah, I guess so."

"You know who'd work even better together?" Otoya pipes up, and something about the look in his eye tells you he's about to say something incredibly stupid.

"Who?" Your suspicions are confirmed by Karasu's ginormous grin as he answers Otoya.

"You and me, baby." Otoya winks at you, blowing a kiss. "You and me."

You don't even get to turn him down yourself- Nagi treats him to a hard and precise kick to the back. Otoya is sent flying off the bed, followed by Karasu.

Yukimiya bursts out laughing, and you follow suit; Nagi sits back casually as if nothing's happened, chest puffed out slightly with pride.

"Well," Yukimiya wipes tears away from his eyes once he's calmed himself down. "That's one way to deal with them."

"Probably the most effective," You agree, wiping away your own- and then startling when your fingers are stained black. "Woah- what the heck?"

You show your fingers to the camera, and Nagi's eyebrows raise.

"Where'd that come from?"

"I didn't take off my makeup," You tut, reaching for the makeup cleansing balm you'd placed on your desk before Nagi had called. "I was planning to, but you called, see?"

"My bad, my bad," Nagi sounds nothing but unapologetic. "We'll have to go and eat soon anyways, so we'll end it here?"

"Okay," You agree, although a little hesitantly. "I mean, I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"First thing in the morning."

Yukimiya wrinkles his nose. "That sounds kinda creepy, Nagi."

Nagi blinks, once, twice, considering. "How?"

You huff out a laugh, shaking your head. "Don't worry about it, Nagi. Enjoy your meal and I'll catch you later."

You can hear Karasu and Otoya dimly discussing something in the background, and Yukimiya waves goodbye at you before going to join them.

"I'll see you later."

And with that, Nagi hangs up his call.

Your heart races as you think of the two weeks you're going to spend with him, and you reach for the makeup remover once again.

But despite your excitement, something continues to gnaw at the back of your mind.

Unfortunately, you know exactly what it is.

What are you going to do about Reo?

-

Yes, this chapter was a flaming pile of rubbish, I'm sorry but also who doesn't like meaningless character interactions?? Not everything is abt the romance okay (stubbornly ignores the name of this fic)

Okay, I haven't updated in a HOT MINUTE so accept this filler chapter for now while I work on the good stuff... (how long have I been making this excuse for now omds)