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Isagi isn't very good at saying no to Bachira.
Chigiri is the first to call him out on this when they're in the middle of their post- U20 match break. They're meeting up at the café again, and Bachira is enthusiastically scouring the menu for something sweet.
"Isagi," Bachira calls out from beside him. He points to something on the menu– a parfait that's pink and horrifically swathed in whipped cream. "I want to try this."
"So buy one," Isagi says easily.
"But Isagiii," Bachira whines. "I'm so full already."
"Well, we can always just order it the next time we come here, right?" Isagi tells him.
"No, we can't," Bachira frowns. "We all have busy schedules and it's only a matter of time before we have to go back to Blue Lock. It's going to be a long time until we get to come back here."
"You could order one for takeout?" Chigiri offers from in front where he's seated in front of them.
Bachira shakes his head, explaining, "It'll melt by the time we get home."
"Okay, then…" Chigiri says airily, leaning forward with a cheek against his palm. "Maybe you can come back here yourself and order it? We don't all have to be together for you to visit this place, you know."
He says it good-naturedly, but it seems to rub Bachira the wrong way.
"I don't wanna come here if it's not with you guys," Bachira says, his frown deepening. "I like going places with my friends."
There's a slight shift in the atmosphere after that, but it's so miniscule that Chigiri doesn't notice. Isagi does, though, ever observant. Bachira's lips quirk in a strange way, likely trying to undo his frown. He keeps blinking his eyes, too.
Isagi reaches out, placing a hand on Bachira's shoulder. "How about we split the parfait, hm?"
Almost immediately, Bachira perks up. His lips stretch into a smile, and he tilts his head, black-blond strands of hair falling to the side. "Really?"
"Yeah," Isagi says, reaching out to tuck his hair back behind his ear.
To be completely honest, the parfait is pretty expensive, and he doesn't want to be spending too much money to begin with. Not to mention, he's already pretty full himself. But then he looks at Bachira's doe eyes, sees the hope and unbridled joy that grows within them, and he can't do anything but give in. "Sure, let's order one."
Bachira cheers and signals for a waiter; as he does, Isagi hears Chigiri snort.
"What?" Isagi asks.
"God, you're so… agreeable," Chigiri says, but then he shakes his head. "No, wait. That's not really right."
"Isn't it?" Bachira says brightly after he orders. "Isagi's very nice about everything."
"For you, maybe," Chigiri replies coolly. "Otherwise, he's plenty capable of saying no to other people." Suddenly, he snaps his fingers. "Ah, that's it!"
Pointing at Isagi, Chigiri says, "You're terrible at saying no to Bachira."
"That's…" Isagi says, brows furrowing. He thinks back to every time Bachira has ever asked him of something– to watch a movie together, to do some extra training, hell, even to sleep in the same bed– and promptly realizes: Chigiri is absolutely right.
Isagi has never once felt the urge to deny Bachira anything. In fact, he's starting to realize that it's practically a compulsion to say yes to him.
Without even looking at a mirror, Isagi knows that the tips of his ears are turning red.
"Well, there's no need to feel that embarrassed about it," Chigiri says, smirking. "It's just an observation."
"It's not…" Isagi starts. "I'm not embarrassed."
"Sure you aren't," Chigiri humors him, though they both know he's lying. "Ah, here's your dessert."
A waiter arrives and places the parfait on their table. Bachira immediately starts to dig in, paying no mind to the conversation that was happening just a second ago.
"Wow, this is really good!" Bachira says. He takes another spoonful and lifts it towards Isagi. "Try it!"
Isagi knows Bachira wants to spoonfeed him. He's done it a dozen times before, after all, and Isagi can only really remember one time that he tried rejecting the offer. It was after that match against Niko and Team Y, when they won and promptly received a hearty meal for the first time.
Back then, Isagi didn't know Bachira all that well. Not to mention, they were surrounded by people who Isagi was equally unfamiliar with. It simply didn't make sense to have some stranger feed him in front of a bunch of others.
But then, Bachira stopped being a stranger, as did everyone else in Blue Lock. Suddenly, it felt exceedingly right to let Bachira do as he pleased, whether that meant urging Isagi to give him a hug or feeding him a bite of food.
Isagi still wonders, though: when exactly was it that he stopped being any good at saying no to Bachira? Beyond that, is it really such an irrevocable compulsion?
He wonders: if he tried to say no, could he still do it?
Isagi looks at the spoonful of ice cream that Bachira is holding out. Instead of leaning in and simply taking the bite like he usually would, he reaches out and takes the spoon from Bachira's hands, feeding himself.
The ice cream melts in his mouth, soft and sweet. He turns to Bachira and smiles, saying, "You're right, it's really good. I'll ask for another spoon so we can share."
He looks up to call for the waiter, but he doesn't miss the way Bachira deflates. For some reason, Isagi is compelled to apologize, but it isn't like he did anything wrong, is it? His own feelings are confusing him.
That still doesn't stop him from getting another spoon. At least this way, he's sure of it: he can still say no to Bachira, after all.
"Hey, Isagi," Bachira says to him one afternoon. "Is it really that embarrassing?"
They haven't been called back to the facility yet, but Bachira invited him to train at a nearby field. Isagi wanted to watch a movie earlier that day, but one call from Bachira had him changing into his jersey and cleats immediately.
So, still not very good at saying no, apparently.
"What is?" Isagi asks, hiking the ball up behind him and then shooting it into the ground to make it bounce forward. It's a cheap imitation of Bachira's lift, but Isagi figures that, for half an hour's attempt at doing it, it's not so bad.
Bachira grins at his effort. He pulls the ball towards himself and follows suit, though his attempt is clearly better. He's more graceful about it, the movements less disjointed from each other– he dribbles like he's dancing, and it's something that's always charmed Isagi.
"Like that," Bachira says. He doesn't bother explaining what he did differently. He isn't much good at explaining things to begin with, but beyond that he just believes wholeheartedly that Isagi will understand him no matter what.
He's right about that, of course, and that fact makes itself clear when Bachira says confidently, "And you know what I mean."
He doesn't say it unkindly, but Isagi stiffens anyways, like a child getting caught in the middle of some naughty act.
"Is this about me getting an extra spoon at the café?" Isagi clarifies.
"Sort of," Bachira says. "But generally just about saying no to me."
Somehow, it's only now that Isagi fully realizes Bachira had been listening back then. It didn't occur to Isagi that he was just keeping quiet; part of Isagi was hoping that he was too caught up in ordering his parfait.
"Well, it's not that it's embarrasing," Isagi says, because it isn't. After a couple dozen times of letting Bachira do as he pleases, why would he only be embarrassed now? Isagi continues, "It's just that– I mean, with feeding me– you don't really have to do it, you know?"
"I like doing it," Bachira says. He looks away, his lips twisting oddly. "Unless… do you not like it when I do that?"
Isagi shakes his head. "It's fine. I'm fine with you doing it."
So why didn't you let me do it last time? Isagi is prepared to hear Bachira ask, but Bachira, ever one to subvert Isagi's expectations, instead says, "You don't have to do the things I ask of you unless you want to, Isagi. If you're just putting up with my shit, then that's not okay."
"Woah, woah, woah," Isagi says, genuinely startled with such a sharp turn in conversation. "Where's all of that coming from? I'm not 'putting up with you'. I keep telling you, it's fine with me–"
"It's not fine with me," Bachira cuts him off. "You really are very nice, Isagi. I don't wanna take advantage of that."
Isagi is very badly thrown off by this sudden shift in the atmosphere. He's used to being able to read Bachira's mood, but right now he's entirely confused. How did they even get here? Just because Isagi didn't let him spoon feed him one time?
He finds himself getting frustrated, too. It's such a terrible thing to be accused of– that Isagi would let himself be taken advantage of.
"Why is this such a big deal to you?" Isagi asks, suddenly heated. "Does it really suck so much not to have me at your beck and call all the time?"
"What?" Bachira says, and there's something in how he manages to make one word sound so dejected that Isagi knows he fucked up. "Is that what you think this is about?"
"What else is it about?" Isagi says, ignoring the way his heart is sinking at the sight of Bachira's upset face. "You're being so confusing right now."
"I…" Bachira starts. Seconds pass with him still not saying anything, and eventually he just takes a deep inhale. "I'm sorry. You're right, I'm being confusing. Forget it."
He turns to grab the football that rolled a few dozen meters away from them. Isagi watches his retreating back and sighs, frustration dissipating.
He hates seeing Bachira upset, and it's even worse now that he's the one who caused it. He wipes a hand through his face, thinking. Isagi doesn't exactly feel like he's in the wrong, but he's slowly starting to realize how unlike him it is to get frustrated this easily.
He always understands Bachira, which is why it's so easy to get frustrated when Isagi doesn't know what he's thinking.
Bachira approaches him with the ball in his hands. Isagi walks towards him, takes it, and sets it down.
"Isa–?" Bachira starts, but he's cut off by Isagi pulling him into a hug. Isagi's arms are wrapped around his shoulders, but Bachira seems to be startled into paralysis. It's only when Isagi drops his head onto Bachira's shoulder that Bachira hikes his arms up Isagi's back, returning the hug.
"I'm sorry," Isagi says, muffled by Bachira's jersey but still audible. "I didn't mean to get mad. I'm sorry, too. Can we try this again?'
There's a short moment of silence between them before Isagi feels Bachira nod slowly. Isagi exhales, relieved, but he makes no move to pull away. He does, however, lift his head so Bachira can hear him better.
"Does it make you upset when I say no to you?" Isagi asks for a start.
"No," Bachira tells him. "I'm fine with you saying no to me. I'm even encouraging you to do it more if you want to."
"But I'm telling you that I don't want to," Isagi says. "So what's making you upset?"
Bachira sighs, weary and sort of forlorn. "I'm upset because I used to think you liked doing things for me, like I like doing things for you. So now that I'm finding out you were just tolerating them, I…"
He trails off, which is all the better for Isagi, really, because he's going to need a minute to unpack all of that. He tightens his grip on Bachira for a split second, before eventually letting go of him to look him in the eyes.
Isagi finds that they're glassy. He also finds that he hates that.
That's the real reason he doesn't say no, isn't it? Not just because he hates seeing him look so crestfallen, but because what he usually sees is Bachira's smiling face. Bachira's grace when he dribbles is charming, but Bachira's smile when he's well and truly delighted is nothing short of breathtaking.
And it doesn't even take much to delight him. Going to the movies, hanging out at a café, and sharing food– all Isagi has to do is say yes to those things, and Bachira's over the moon.
That's why he doesn't say no. Not because he can't, but because he's never once wanted to, not when the prize for saying yes is the sight of Bachira's lovely smile.
"I'm not tolerating anything," Isagi finally says. "You weren't wrong. I like doing things for you, too."
I like making you happy, Isagi thinks but doesn't say.
"But you got embarrassed when Chigiri pointed it out," Bachira says. "And now, when I ask you if I should stop, you say it's fine. Just, fine. Like, you don't want to, but you just won't stop me."
"Okay, yeah," Isagi says. "I'm sorry about that, too."
"That doesn't help me understand," Bachira says. "If that's how you feel, then what's so bad about not saying no?"
"It's a very stupid reason," Isagi admits, and he can already feel his face burning up. "I swear, it's nothing huge. It's just very, very dumb."
"Just tell me," Bachira says, staring at Isagi with eyes that look honey-golden under the sun. "Please?"
And Isagi could say no, but it isn't like he wants to. It isn't like he ever does.
"Fine," Isagi acquiesces, and letting Bachira have what he wants feels a little like the universe is correcting itself. "Chigiri said I was terrible at saying no to you, so I… I just wanted to see if I could. It's like– testing my limits. I don't like being told I'm terrible at something. I wanted to prove him wrong."
Isagi can't look at Bachira after having just confessed that. If he wasn't embarrassed before, he sure is now. God, this really was so stupid of him.
"Pfft," Isagi hears suddenly. He looks up to find that Bachira is laughing. "Like 'testing your limits'? What is this, Blue Lock?"
Despite himself and all the embarrassment he feels, Isagi can't help but laugh too. Bachira's cheer has always been incredibly infectious, not to mention hell of a lot better than his sorrow.
Stepping closer, Isagi says, "I told you it was stupid."
Bachira follows suit, taking a step forward. "You were right."
Bachira keeps walking until he's right in front of Isagi, and he places a hand on top of Isagi's head. "For what it's worth, egoist, I'm also pretty terrible at saying no to you. Don't tell me you haven't noticed?"
Isagi never paid enough attention to notice, but now that it's being pointed out to him, it becomes clear as day. Whenever Isagi asks to meet up, Bachira always replies within the minute. When Isagi asked Bachira to teach him how to do his lift, Bachira immediately agreed.
Even now, when Isagi had hugged him and asked, can we try again? Bachira nodded and hugged him back.
In some ways, it's comforting to know that Bachira is just as happy to do things for Isagi as Isagi is for him. For the most part, though, Isagi's just glad that they can put this squabble behind them.
"I do now," Isagi says. He takes Bachira's hand off of his head and pulls him forward into another hug, quicker but no less comforting. "Also, just so you know, when I was saying 'it's fine', I just meant that it's normal. It didn't mean I was putting up with you– it meant I was used to us doing things like that, so whether you like doing those things or not, it's–"
"--fine," Bachira finishes for him, looking like he wants to laugh again. Good, Isagi thinks. He should always be having fun. "I get it, Isagi, you don't have to write me an essay or anything."
"I just want to be sure!" Isagi defends himself, though his tone is tinged in laughter too. "It feels awful to have an argument with you."
"I know," Bachira says, nodding. "I usually understand you right away. This was weird. Let's never do it again."
"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Isagi says. "Having this talk means we understand each other a little better, right? So even if it felt bad, I'm still sort of glad that we got to do it."
"I guess that's a nice way to look at it," Bachira says. He takes the ball from where Isagi set it down. "Since it's settled now, though, let's go again?"
"Absolutely," Isagi says, eager to learn. Before they start, he adds, "By the way, there was a movie I wanted to watch. Wanna come over later?"
"Of course!" Bachira says, throwing the ball at Isagi's feet, and they pick up where they left off.
(They return to Blue Lock eventually, and when they have dinner with Chigiri one night, Bachira offers Isagi a piece of chicken.
Isagi leans forward and bites it off of his fork.
Chigiri rolls his eyes. "I'm glad you two are still getting along so well."
Bachira smiles sunnily. "I'm glad, too.")