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[ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ sɪx ]
𝐀 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃
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Nagi woke up to incessant calling, his phone lighting up with incoming messages and other lost calls. He felt around the nightstand while still half-sleep, ignorant to the reason behind the fuss being made at two am. Finally, he groaned, tapped his phone, and squeezed one eye shut at the brightness of the screen.
Different contacts showed up: his manager, the football association, Isagi, Barou, Chigiri... oh, shit, Chigiri.
As soon as he clicked on a link, tons of images showed up accompanied by exaggerated headlines about them and awful comments on Twitter. While Nagi had been sleeping, his team was flipped upside down. Shidou was talking shit in their group chat. Someone else tried to be friendly and congratulate them.
Nagi could only imagine how much damage control this would entail. He wanted to go back to sleep until the issue had calmed, but his stupid alpha — the feral part of him that seemed to doze off whenever he was off the football field — groaned at him, agitated. What the fuck did it want?
Right, Reo. Chigiri said he should talk to Reo to clarify that the rumors were false. His alpha agreed, upset at the thought of making his omega sad or angry.
Reo hadn't texted, though, so that was something Nagi could fix later, at a reasonable time of the day. He covered his face with a pillow, kicked the bed, and tried to the shush racing thoughts in his mind. Nagi wasn't one to let his alpha take control, anyway.
Actually, they tended to be very much off-sync outside of football. Before presenting, not having a voice in his head that verbalized his instincts was fine, and then he got one that seemed to find everything bland and unmotivating. Unlike other alphas his age, Nagi didn't get a nagging of claim, claim, claim. He was very much unaffected by other alphas looking for fights. And adults even described him as very self-controlled, although there were no impulses to control, that was it.
Regardless of the attitude problem, his body grew and changed like an alpha was supposed to. He could make commands now and had a big dick with the ability to knot. His fangs were bigger and sharper, his scent stronger. On the outside, he was like any other guy who had gone through a second puberty. But, on the inside, his alpha was numb most of the time.
Nagi found it more helpful than anything. That way, he would never succumb to his instincts. Playing sports worked his alpha up slightly, and he enjoyed its benefits, which was the better focus. All the disadvantages that came with presenting, he didn't feel at all.
Until Reo presented... and it bothered Nagi like nothing else. Reo was a friend, a close one at that. Nagi didn't like how instantly after Reo reached maturity, Nagi's alpha was all over the place like he hadn't been alive before. Suddenly Nagi was getting wet dreams about a friend, searching for his touch and scent days before starting his rut, thinking of mounting him, knotting him, and breeding him. It was disgusting. He found his alpha gross for the way it sexualized his best friend and didn't want to think about what it meant to see Reo that way, not Reo, who was the one person he didn't want to lose.
Nagi understood it was the one alpha thing he would have to suppress: his obsession over someone who he hadn't liked before, who he wasn't willing to hurt just to get his dick wet. So he made a line and refused to cross it, although he allowed himself small pleasures like scenting each other. And sure, he liked Reo now, after years of sexual attraction grew into an emotional connection. But why would he act on it when Reo had never looked at him that way? Why risk what they already had?
Besides, Reo would marry some big name, an alpha his parents would choose for him to form a picture-perfect family with. Nagi was okay keeping his heart at bay. He'd always considered himself quite incompetent at love. He did not want to face Reo's rejection, which would probably make things awkward between them, so he would also rather not be too apparent with his affections.
Nagi had ignored his alpha for some time now. What difference would some more years make?
His alpha growled though, persistent inside him. Nagi promised that; he would see Reo the next day if his inner beast let him rest tonight. He thought, tomorrow, tomorrow. I'll fix things tomorrow, until he fell asleep again.
•••
"You sure you aren't coming?" Isagi asked as he finished getting ready, putting his shoes on by the door. They were supposed to celebrate Kunigami's new deal with the German team, and Nagi would've loved to go... if it weren't for his best friend crashing at his house unexpectedly.
Nagi only nodded and waved Isagi goodbye. He went to the fridge and searched for the half-empty jar of ice cream at the top. Something extra sweet may get Reo in a better mood, and well, Nagi did prefer eating ice cream to getting drunk.
"What's that for?" his friend mumbled as he came up behind him, wearing one of Nagi's hoodies he stole from his room.
Nagi shoved some ice cream into his mouth and licked the spoon. "Thought today might be one of those days."
Reo didn't ask what he meant; he didn't need to. There were times they simply sat in each other's company, remained silent, and shared dessert, whether sugary treats or ice cream or gummy bears. The first time must have been at fifteen when they weren't sure they would go to the same school next year. And the most recent occasion had been when Nagi was called for the national World Cup's lineup and felt so close to achieving his dream that he was buzzing with excitement as well as anxiety, a feeling he wasn't truly used to.
"It wasn't so bad," Reo said but still took the cutlery and dug into the jar as if he hadn't been at a banquet early on. "I fought with my dad, that's it," his brows knitted in frustration, "And some prick picked on me, I don't fucking know."
He ranted a lot, and Nagi liked to hear him. When he was younger, he had nothing better to do, and would sometimes tune Reo out to play on his phone or stare at some birds. Then, when he presented, he liked to watch Reo talk and talk because he was pretty even when he was mad. At some point, however, Nagi simply listened, finding all of Reo's monologues interesting. He was just so different from how Nagi was, how Nagi operated and saw the world... Where Nagi was practical, Reo was sensible; was it weird that he found him a little fascinating?
Sure, sometimes they fought thanks to their differences. But those differences were precisely what made them so compatible, what made routine with Reo less boring than any other routine he's ever felt trapped in.
Nagi was only a bit surprised when Reo didn't elaborate on his day. Lately, he's sensed some sort of barrier between them, as if Reo was holding back. He had only noticed it a week or so ago but knowing himself, it could have been going on for longer under his radar. Some things he wasn't as good at reading.
Before Reo could eat the last bit of ice cream, Nagi took his wrist to direct the spoon to his lips instead and stole that bite from him. Reo groaned with spite, pulling away as soon as he could and holding the silvery spoon against his chest as if Nagi had committed a federal offense.
"You're too tense to enjoy the ice cream." Nagi argued with his mouth half full, "Which means you don't deserve the last scoop."
Reo was only speechless for a minute before he frowned, "That's the worst excuse I've heard. It was only polite for me to have it."
"Too late anyway." Nagi stuck his tongue out, showing off his empty mouth, "I've already swallowed it."
"You're a fucking child."
"That's a nasty thing to say about the guy whose house you're visiting," Nagi said while Reo put the spoon away. "Whose house you're probably going to sleep at, too, and whose ice cream you were taking."
Reo shook his head, disagreeing. "Well, you offered, and I could go if I'm interrupting. And this could hardly be called a house when it's more of a hole with a view to the city-"
"Uhm, not everyone's filthy rich, Mikage."
"You're one to talk with your football player salary," Reo smiled slightly, teasingly. "With all that money you and Isagi have, you should both be ashamed of living in a place where wifi can't even reach both rooms at the same time."
That goddamn accusation all over again. But, Nagi groaned, "It was one time that the connection failed. I'm not even surprised you haven't let it go."
"I never let anything go." Reo raised an eyebrow, "And if we weren't face-timing, then I wouldn't remember, but we were in the middle of some juicy gossip when the call cut off, so of course, I'm not letting it go. You left me hanging and then forgot. "
"I had just moved, okay? So your point ain't valid anymore. It has... What's that smart word you use? The legal one."
Without realizing it, Reo was grinning already, "Prescribed?" he guessed.
Nagi nodded, "Yeah, that. The event has been prescribed. Let's never bring it up again. From now on you're forbidden from complaining about my wifi."
Reo agreed yet pretended to analyze the apartment's living room, eyes roaming all over the place. "And what about your indoor decor, do I have permission to criticize it or...?" he chuckled.
"Well," Nagi gently grabbed Reo's chin and tilted his head upwards to get a better look at him. Reo flushed a bit at the attention, and if it weren't for the the mess in his head, he would have been happier about it. "You're more relaxed and smiling a little, so I guess mocking my kitchen is allowed," Nagi said, letting go. "Do not mess with Isagi's choice on cushions, though. He was going for a vibe, or so he says."
Reo looked away, smile dimming as soon as it had beamed. Something was eating him up inside, and he didn't want to share it. Nagi couldn't understand what it was or how he could've triggered it, but he wasn't one to pry and force others to tell. Instead, he sighed and squeezed Reo's shoulder, attempting to be reassuring.
"Let's play Fifa; see if that lifts your spirits a bit." Nagi went for a small smile to try and be there for the other anyway. "Better yet, Mario Kart; only 'cause it's your favorite."
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