Chapter Text
This may sound strange, but the first thought Reo had of his future lover was that he could've been dead while awake.
It was around noon, sun beating down on everyone unfortunate enough to go downtown, castle looming ominously in the distance. The occasional breeze whispering sweet words in the ears of anyone who would listen. Reo listened, leading him away from the sweltering heat and into a back alley. His parents would kill him if they found out, but thankfully they were at a meeting specifically for noblemen, such as themselves.
They told him to uphold the Mikage name in every aspect, clothing, manners, and the works. Reo took pride in it, in every way he could. He followed the motto as best could've possibly done, but days like today made him want to experience this spike of rebellion. To stray away from their expectations just enough for him to feel alive.
This led him to wrapping his light purple cloak around himself and venturing downtown. The footfall cascading around him was a welcome white noise as Reo took it all in. Just by looking around he felt as if he was peeking into windows of the lives of others. Two kids whining while their father presumably said no to a treat at the nearby vendor, a group of friends laughing as one of them tripped on a rock. Seeing these unassuming lives filled Reo with giddiness. It was so normal it made him ecstatic.
After around an hour of aimless wandering, Reo's stomach audibly grumbled and he was searching for something to satisfy his hunger. His eyes caught on someone selling what looked like cooked pork strips wrapped around warm breadsticks and his mouth started to water. Just as he was about to purchase it from the man, Reo saw a glimpse of white in his peripheral. Unsure if it was the sun playing tricks on him, Reo did a 180 and saw a glimmer of white in the alley behind him.
The pork roll momentarily was forgotten, Reo stepped into the dark alleyway, faintly aware of how his parents would react if he walked into a random alley off a whim. When he walked closer he found a boy in a dirty white cloak leaning against the wall, looking desolately at the sky. He couldn't have been older than 10 years old, so the same age as Reo. His eyes were black holes, contrasting with his snow white hair. He was a magic user! Everyone with unnatural colored hair or eyes—such as himself—could use magic. His powers haven't shown up yet but his parents were sure they would come. He had to believe them, though doubts constantly sprung up like weeds in his mind.
The two magic users shared the silence as they stared at each other, the business of downtown acting as background noise. Reo didn't know what to say and it seemed the feeling was mutual.
Eventually Reo asked, "Do you want some food?" The boy seemed like he hasn't eaten in days, with hollow cheeks and a skinny body that the dirty cloak was doing its best to hide.
The boy just kept looking at Reo with a blank expression, before sighing and slumping to the side.
"Too much of a hassle," He said, closing his eyes.
"Huh?"
"It's too much work to get up." The boy's words slowed as if he was already falling asleep.
"You can't- You need to eat eventually! How have you been surviving this long by yourself?"
"Dunno," he yawned. "People keep showing up and dropping off food so it's hard to starve to death." A chill ran through Reo, despite the sweltering hot day. The ease at which the boy said these words was terrifying.
"Where are your mom and dad?" Reo said, a slight urgency behind his words.
"They abandoned me a while ago. They said something about being a magic user, which is dumb because I can't even use magic well." To prove his point he twirled his finger and small chicken bones next to him did a half-hearted jump.
Reo knew he had to help the boy in someway. His lack of will to live was concerning at best, and staying in this alleyway was no way for anyone to live.
"Wait here," Reo said hurriedly. The boy didn't acknowledge him, too tired to keep up conversation.
Reo ran in the blistering heat, past the winding crowds, until finally made it back to the entrance of his house. He grabbed a comfortable fluffy blanket from his room and ran the entire way back.
Reo was huffing by the time he got back to the alleyway and the white haired boy looked as if he hadn't even stirred.
"I got…a blanket for you…to sleep on. " Reo's chest was rising and falling rapidly from exertion. The boy's eyes slowly opened as he took in the scene.
A look of dawning comprehension on his face as he grabbed at the soft fabric and held it around himself. "Thank you…" Reo smiled, satisfied, but his running trip made his hunger more pronounced, and he had another idea.
He dashed back into the streets, back to the street vendor he left around 20 minutes ago. Reo pulled out his overly full money pouch and the vendor wasn't able to mask his look of greed. Reo ignored it however, and bought four of the pork sticks. Reo turned back and walked until he could give two of the sticks to the white haired boy. It was genuinely the least he could do for another magic user who was struggling.
The two sticks were held loosely in the boy's hand, as if he couldn't believe he was holding food and his eyes were faintly grateful. He nibbled on the food more like a small animal than person as Reo was snacking on his own. A sense of peace washed over Reo, the world he left behind unable to disturb the bubble of comfort he'd created, as him and his newfound friend ate in silence.
When both of their sticks were bare of any food, Reo sat next to the white haired boy, back leaning against the wall. He could see the appeal of resting in the cool shade but he still had to get home soon. Reo shifted, as if he wanted to get up and and a loose hand came onto his wrist.
"Stay. Just for a little bit."
A small smile grew on Reo's face. "Okay, I'll stay. I also forgot to ask, what's your name? Mine's Reo Mikage."
"Nagi Seishiro."
The two shared the comfortable blanket between them and it became harder and harder to keep Reo's eyes open when he blinked. It was nice like this, stomach full, the warmth of another next to him, the weight of expectation temporarily lifted from his shoulders.
*
"Reo, wake up."
Reo's eyes flew open, he hadn't expected to actually fall asleep in such a place, and he was shaken awake by Nagi next to him. Reo's head darted to the entrance of the alleyway, taking in the sun's absence. Mom and Dad should be home right now, God he's going to be in so much trouble.
Reo shot up, shaking off the blanket and the last remnants of slumber. Right as he was about to run all the way home, he heard a faint voice behind him.
"Thank you, Reo." There was no smile on Nagi's face but the gratitude laced in his voice said it all.
Something small and warm grew inside of Reo's chest, spreading its tendrils throughout his body. He wanted to say something back but the words caught in his throat. Instead he just nodded, knowing that he was going to come back. He needed to, yet he didn't know if it was for Nagi's sake or his own.