You wake up bright and early the next morning; despite it being a Saturday, and the fact that Nagi won't be up until at least midday, you're determined to look your absolutely best today.

You and Nagi have a tradition of going to the arcade every weekend (you used to go every other weekday, but his football practice doesn't allow for that anymore)- you'd never particularly enjoyed games, but they're something you've come to love when it comes to playing against Nagi, as it had initially been the only thing he showed interest in.

Now, however, he's starting to show interest in you, too...

So if you play your cards right today, you might be able to get somewhere with him. If not a date, then at the very least you might able to make him think about you all the goddamn time, because it's only fair seeing as Nagi Seishirou is on your mind 24/7.

You pull out all the stops with your skincare, going so far as to even wear a sheet mask beforehand to make sure your skin is glowing- which it is, if you do say so yourself.

You're not quite sure on what to do with your hair; Nagi's never really stated a preference, so you're torn between fun, bouncy curls and sleek straight hair. You decide on going straight, busting out your hair straightener that you only use on special occasions- well, today falls under that criteria- and running it through your hair till it's smooth and pin straight.

You take your time on your makeup, not wanting to mess it up. You go simple with it, nothing too extravagant, but definitely noticeable- you even add light blue glitter around your eyes, knowing that Nagi likes that colour on you.

Your outfit comes last; you'd picked it out last night, and you can't wait to show up to the arcade wearing it. You slip into your light blue crop top, paired with a plain white pleated skirt and baby blue Lolita-style pumps, paired with white socks and a small white knit cardigan.

You admire yourself in the mirror, confident that Nagi's eyes are going to bug out of his head when he sees you. And if they don't, well, you know you look good regardless. Though it would be nice to actually get a plausible reaction out of him, just one time.

You grab your handbag and leave the house, deciding to bus it to the arcade that you and Nagi usually take. Once you arrive, you aren't surprised to see that he's already there, seated at some fight game machine and tapping away.

He's wearing a baggy, oversized grey pullover hoodie with matching sweatpants, an outfit that you know he likes because it's comfy and requires minimal effort. He looks good, annoyingly- then again, you're so down bad for him, you'd think he looks good in anything.

You sneak up on him from behind, grabbing his shoulders with a "Boo!" and smiling from ear to ear as he startles.

"Oh, hey." He nods at you, never taking his eyes off the screen.

"Hi." You reply, waiting patiently for him to be done. You keep your hands on his shoulders, content with feeling his muscles bunch underneath your fingertips as he plays the game. He doesn't try to shake you off, either, which delights you.

Once he's done- and as always, has beaten the game high score, which was his own from last time you guys came- he turns to face you, and you can see his grey eyes widen as he takes in your appearance.

"You..." His voice trails off,  and you can practically hear the cogs turning in his brain as he looks you from head to toe. He even reaches out his hand to run it through a silky smooth strand of hair, amazed.

"I what?" You ask innocently, batting your eyelashes. Looks like your efforts weren't for waste.

"You look really nice," He says, staring at you, and you watch as his eyes travel all over your face.

"Thank you, Nagi." You reply, beaming from his praise.

"Like, really nice." He clarifies- not that he needed to, because his eyes do all the talking for him. "And you put this glitter on your face that's really nice, too."

"Is nice the only word in your vocabulary?" You say jokingly, mostly to distract him from the way you're blushing profusely. You'd hoped for him to like your outfit, but this reaction was something out of your wildest fantasies- the last time you'd seen Nagi's eyes blown so wide was when he'd drank far too much caffeine, and that is a very different thing to this.

"My mind's kind of gone blank now." He states, and he brushes your hair over your shoulder. "But you know what I mean, don't you?"

"Yeah," You nod, fidgeting with the hem of your skirt. "Yeah, I do."

"You always do." His voice is so soft that your heart melts a little, even if his face is as stony as ever.

"I always do." You echo, and you both just stare at each other as if in a trance; you're slightly towering over him for once, as he's sitting down, your knees touching.

"Uh, are you guys done with that?"

Your moment is interrupted by some random guy waiting to play the game that Nagi was, and the two of you jolt before apologising and moving out of the way, embarrassed.

Nagi's face is slightly flushed, a fact which delights you because it means that your plan worked.

"Have fun beating my high score." He mumbles under his breath, and you laugh.

"He won't be able to, Nagi."

"I know."

-

You're in the middle of a car racing game when you suddenly feel it, and you jump out of your seat in horror.

You examine the seat; thankfully, nothing's stained it, and you breathe a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing?" Nagi asks, eyes slowly shifting from the game to you. "You're going to lose if you- oh."

"What?" You blink rapidly in panic and quickly turn to face him, shoving your hands behind your back. "What's- what's wrong? Nothing's wrong! Right?"

He looks at you, biting his lip nervously as if he's trying to find the right words to say.

You already know what's happened, and screw your eyes shut as you fight off the inevitable tears.

"It's leaked through my skirt, hasn't it?"

"...Yep."

Of all days, why did you have to get your period today? Right now? On the one day you wore this white skirt? You could practically die in the embarrassment.

"Okay, okay, it's fine," You tell yourself, rummaging around in your bag for a spare pad- you close your fingers around it and pull it out triumphantly, standing with your back towards the game machine to avoid anybody else seeing the blood stain on your behind.

It's bad enough that Nagi's seen it; he's currently staring helplessly at you, his hands opening and closing as if he's unsure what to do with them.

"Nagi, wait here with my stuff, okay? I'm just going to pop into the bathroom for a sec."

You don't wait for his response, ripping your cardigan off your arms (of course, that just had to be white too, didn't it?) and wrapping it around your waist to try and conceal the stain, practically sprinting to the restroom.

Once you're nice and padded up- though your underwear had been drenched in blood, what a nightmare- you wash your hands and examine your behind in the mirror.

It's bad, worse than Nagi had let on; the stain has dripped down your skirt slightly, meaning that even your cardigan can't conceal it. You blink back your mortified tears, not wanting to ruin your makeup, but a few slip past, and you dab at them with a tissue.

You take a deep breath, willing the tears to go away, preparing yourself for the embarrassment of leaving Nagi early, knowing that the damage has been done and he's seen too much.

You open the restroom and yelp in surprise when you come face-to-face (or rather, your face to his chest, but the details are irrelevant) with Nagi, your bag slung over his shoulder as if it's his own- it's rather ridiculous, but also rather cute, admittedly.

"Are you okay?" He asks before you can say anything. His lips are slightly pursed, eyebrows knitting together in concern, and despite the horrible predicament you're in, your heart flutters in your chest.

"Yeah," You say, unable to maintain eye contact. "I'm fine. Just wish I had been more prepared, then you wouldn't have to see this and I wouldn't have to leave you."

"Why would you leave me?" You detect genuine confusion in his voice.

"I've literally got a huge blood stain on my butt and you're really asking me that?" Your voice shakes slightly against your will, and Nagi's frown deepens. "I'm going to go home now, and try not to die when people stare at me in the street."

Nagi doesn't respond. He removes your handbag off his shoulders and gently places it down by his feet, before pulling his hoodie over his head, exposing the simple black t-shirt he swearing underneath, stark against the pale skin of his arms.

He yanks his sleeves of his pullover taught, ripping your cardigan off from around your waist and slinging it over his shoulder. You don't even have time to demand what he's doing before he's tying his hoodie around your waist, the clothing easily long enough to cover your entire skirt and hide that stupid stain.

He hands your cardigan back to you, retrieving your handbag off the ground and slinging it back over his shoulder nonchalantly, as if nothing has happened.

You put your cardigan back on and stare at him, mouth agape, blood rushing to your face.

Are you dreaming? Did you die just now and go to heaven?

You cannot believe what's just happened.

"Come on," Nagi prompts, as casual as ever, but the slight tinge of pink in his ears gives him away. "I'll take you back to yours."

"Nagi-" Your voice wavers.

"It's fine," He cuts you off, taking your hand and pulling you behind him as he walks out of the arcade. "Don't thank me for something so small."

You let him pull you along, still slightly dazed. His thumb rubs circles over your hand, as if trying to comfort you; you really start to wonder if you're dreaming, because you don't remember Nagi always being as attentive as this.

"Nagi?"

"Yeah?"

"I know you said not to, but thanks." You smile at him, still slightly teary-eyed. "I really appreciate this."

"Anytime," He shrugs, and pulls you a bit closer to him. "I'm always going to be there for you, okay? So don't get embarrassed like that, it happens."

"Yeah, but..." Your voice trails off as you're unsure of how to respond.

"Always." He reiterates, so you just drop it and agree with him.

"Yeah. Always."

"Good." He gives you an approving nod. "Now that you've got that into your thick skull, let's get you home. We can just hang there if you want." 

"Hey, I'm not thick!" You protest half-heartedly. "But yeah, I'd like that."

"Okay, cool." Nagi nods again, and the rest of your walk is in a comfortable silence.

Once you get home, you're thrilled to find that your parents are out, meaning you and Nagi can have the whole house to yourselves.

He gets comfortable in the living room, and you bring him a snack whilst you go upstairs to change.

You look at his hoodie, running your fingers over the soft grey fabric wistfully. You take it downstairs with you and give it back to him, thanking him profusely once again, and his neck flushes slightly as he take sit back from you, pulling it back over his head and returning to whatever silly cartoon he's watching.

He gestures for you to take a seat besides him, which you gladly oblige with. You pretend not to notice when your thighs briefly brush against each other as you sit, even if it feels like an electric current had ran up your leg. You also pretend to be unaffected when he leans his head against your shoulder, his soft white hair tickling your cheek- your heart hammers away, so loudly you're positive he can hear it in your neck.

If he notices, he doesn't say anything, although the way he smirks to himself is suspicious.

One of the characters finds a four leaf clover and brags to the others about his new lucky item, and Nagi snorts.

"So dumb." he tells you, twisting slightly to look up you with those grey eyes of his. From this angle, you can count each and every one of his long wispy eyelashes, and he's close enough for you lean forward just a tiny bit and kiss him, if you really wanted.

"How is that silly leaf going to be lucky?" He scoffs, twirling a lock of your hair around his finger. "It's just a piece of grass."

"I don't know," You shrug, and the movement jostles him slightly. He buries his head back into the crook of your neck, adjusting himself on your sofa to get more comfortable. "It's the same way that you say that I'm lucky- I'm just a person, after all."

"Not just a person," He corrects. "You're you. That automatically makes you more special then that stupid leaf."

"Does it, though?" You laugh at his seriousness- of all things to believe in, a four leaf clover is where Nagi draws the line? "It's just about perception, right?"

"Nah," He shakes his head adamantly. "You're special. I know so."

The face that Nagi makes at you is so gentle, your heart skips a beat.

If only he could know how special he is to you, too.