Chapter Text
Nagisa has just come back from heaven.
Well, maybe that's a slight exaggeration. And technically not even true. In fact, he's still lying in the bed that he and Karma share, with the redhead beside him. Pushing sweaty hair from his eyes, Nagisa flips over and opens his mouth to express how awesome that was, when he's interrupted by a beep from the kitchen.
"Noodles are done," Karma says. Then he leans over, presses a wet kiss to Nagisa's forehead, and pulls himself out of bed.
Nagisa watches Karma as he wanders about the room, collecting articles of clothing and putting them on. He bobs his head absently to the music blasting from the living room before dragging himself up as well.
Karma tosses him his boxers and leaves the room, presumably in the direction of their tiny shared kitchen. Nagisa pulls on clothes and follows him.
"That was awesome," he states, finally voicing his thoughts as he grabs napkins for them from the cupboard.
Karma throws him a grin, then turns back to the two bowls of instant ramen before him. "Spice or no spice?" He motions to the packets in his hand.
"Spice for sure. What do you want to drink?"
"Hm," Karma glances at him. "Maybe just water? Unless there's still Gatorade left over."
"Mhm," Nagisa hums, and swings open the fridge door to grab the drinks for the both of them. The phone rings.
"I'll get it," Nagisa says, beverages in hand. He makes a grab for the phone.
"Hello?" He answers, balancing it between his shoulder and ear as he begins to set the table. He kicks Karma's sweater and his scarf off the couch, a mess resulting from their earlier escapade.
"Nagisa?" A voice crackles through the speaker. "It's Rio!"
"Oh, hey Nakamura. What's up?"
She giggles. "Don't you 'what's up' me. Have you and Karma decided when we should all come over? Kayano's dying to see you two! And I'd like to check out your new place."
"Hey Nagisa, have you watered Koro today?" Karma calls from the kitchen.
"I'm on the phone!" He shouts back. Then, quieter, "Sorry, Nakamura. I think probably within the next week we'll be ready, but right now -" He pauses to push a sock off the couch with his toe "- it's a mess in here."
"Another whole week? You two are lazy. Why don't you just clean up?"
Nagisa frowns. He takes the phone off his shoulder and continues to set the table one-handed, holding it. "Well, we could..."
"...But?" She picks up where he'd trailed off.
"But we've been busy, I guess." He finishes sheepishly. The clothes strewn haphazardly across the room were proof enough of that.
Over the phone, Rio whines.
"Oh, how's the sorority?" Nagisa starts with a smile.
She tsks at him for the sudden change of topic, then answers. "It's good. Really nice seeing everybody again. As opposed to just every couple months, I mean. Kurahashi's got a new boyfriend, actually. She won't shut up about him. Says he wants her to move in with him, and she's really thinking about it. Kinda like what happened with you two, I guess."
"Uh, that wasn't..."
"Maybe I should push all four of you together and you can go on double dates and do other couple-y things. Yuck!" Her audible smirk fades away to a sigh. "God, I'm so sick of not being in a relationship. If only I was as lucky as Kurahashi or you two -"
"- Karma and I aren't in a relationship -"
"- or even Hayami. I haven't dated anyone in three years, Nagisa! I'm getting bored, y'know?" She breaks from her rambles for a breath of air, and Nagisa takes this time to drop to his knees and crawl toward the Blu-Ray player and press the On button.
"Um, first of all," He inserts the disc of Friends into the player and sits up, "Karma and I aren't dating. We never have and we probably never will... We're just sharing an apartment to cut our living expenses for college. We're just friends who are living together for a while. And since I kinda had no place to stay after my mom kicked me out, it worked out it pretty well in that respect too."
"Pretty sure you two stopped being 'just friends' the minute you shared your first orgasm." She says without hesitation.
Nagisa feels heat flood his cheeks at her bluntness. "Well, that's just a nice bonus...?" He tries, but it comes off as more of a question than a statement. Rio laughs.
"So, you were saying?" She continues. Karma walks in then, balancing two plastic bowls. He sets them down on the coffee table and drops down on the couch.
'Who's on the phone?' He mouths, reaching for the TV remote. Nagisa holds up a finger to indicate that he still needs a moment. He turns back to the conversation at hand.
"Sorry Nakamura, Karma's just walked in and we're about to eat. I'll text you later, ok?"
"Yeah, 'course. I'm sure you two have a romantic dinner all planned out, and who am I to cockblock?"
Nagisa gives a nervous laugh.
"Yeah, if you'd call instant noodles in front of the TV romantic."
She sighs dramatically. "Oh well, close enough. I'll be seeing ya, hopefully this week." Then, with a final whisper, "You two are totally gonna get married," she hangs up.
"Who was that?" Karma inquires from his spot on the couch. Nagisa sets the phone down on the table and goes to join him, shaking his head.
"Nakamura says hi," he says.
-
Nagisa is lying on their shared bed reading over his essay when Karma walks in and drops a cardboard box in front of him.
"What's that?" Nagisa asks, not looking up.
"You tell me," Karma replies. His shadow looms over the bed, hands on hips.
"Huh?" Nagisa does look up at that, reaching behind him to tie back his now shoulder-length hair. He'd cut it after graduating from 3E, but had decided to grow it back out again after moving in with Karma nearly a year ago. He looks up to find the taller boy staring down at him.
"I found this in the back of the closet while I was cleaning."
"You were cleaning?"
Karma smirks. "Very funny. Yes. Anyway, it's got your name on it, so I thought you might want to take a look. It has some... questionable contents."
Wondering what on Earth that could mean, Nagisa pushes aside his homework and pulls the box on to his lap. His name is written across the top in messy cursive with Sharpie marker, in his mother's handwriting. Feeling his way over the gaps in the cardboard, he slips a finger under the lid. The masking tape is cleanly cut, as if with an Exacto knife. He glances up suspiciously.
Karma's smiling amusedly, watching him.
Nagisa pulls open the lid and reaches in, hands sifting through soft fabric. He pulls out an article of clothing and holds it up, brow creasing. Huh.
The box is filled with women's undergarments. Mostly panties, but there's other things too; lace bras, fishnet stockings and garter belts. Jesus Christ, who does she think I am, a stripper?
He visibly cringes, then raises his gaze to Karma once more. "Why are you showing me these?" He asks, voice even.
"What do you think of them?" Karma replies innocently.
"I think... my mom's an idiot."
Karma's smirk broadens. "I think you'd look good in them."
Nagisa gapes. "Is that what this is about?" He throws a bra at the redhead and huffs. "There's no way in hell I'm wearing these."
Karma backs off, raising his hands in defeat. "Alright, alright. It was worth a shot." He chuckles. "I think those navy tights would look especially good on you, though."
He ducks as Nagisa whips the aforementioned item at his head.
There's a bemused look on Nagisa's face then as he jumps up and throws the box's remaining contents at him, and Karma's laughing as he runs out of the room shouting, "No, you'll get them all dirty!"
It's not until all the clothes have fallen to the floor in a snowfall of cotton and linens that Nagisa flops back on to the bed with a sigh. A wave of affection rolls over him. Pulling his homework back on to his lap, he closes his eyes and allows the memories of the past five years come rushing back to him.
He smiles.