Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Nagisa was all too glad to leave school that day. All day, ever since he’d arrived, he felt like he was being studied by his fellow classmates and felt like they were picking apart his plan bit by bit and leaving him exposed. Every time one of them grinned or snickered softly in amusement, Nagisa would feel a bead of sweat on his forehead and drip down his temple, anxiety swirling in his gut that his classmates realized his true feelings. After all, it seemed like Korosensei had already picked up on it, so he feared that it would only be a matter of time before the rest of his class figured it out too, right?

So fleeing the school quickly and inconspicuously was the best decision he’d made all day.

By the time he got down the mountain, his nerves were still running high, but he’d at least managed to calm down just enough to not look like he was running away from the building. He kept his gaze slightly lowered as he began walking by the main campus building. He didn’t need to look up to watch where he was going, already very much aware of how many students were around him. Most ignored him, while some gave him disgusted looks, knowing he’d come down from the E-Class building. Around him, students chatted- mostly about their classes, the homework, their teachers, and being unable to keep up with their lesson plan, followed by hushed whispers and warnings about falling to E-Class.

This was normal to Nagisa. He didn’t care for it at this point. After all, their finals at the end of their first term proved that they could beat out even A-Class’ “Big Five” if they worked hard enough, thanks to Korosensei and his special lessons. Not to mention, they were tasked with something much bigger than just worrying about schoolwork. And they only had a few more months to do it.

Being the tail end of November, Nagisa was very much aware how their deadline was looming over them all.

However, what did catch his attention was a high pitched giggle followed by a playful “oh, you..!”. He blinked, his steps slowing to a halt as a female student grabbed hold of a male student’s arm as they walked by, both laughing over something the male student had said.

“It’s true! I even showed off the test afterwards and he was just so stunned..!”

“That’s so bad! He’s your friend!” The girl giggled.

Nagisa blinked slowly, and for some unfathomable reason, he tried to picture himself and Karma in a similar scenario. Karma talking about something or other and causing Nagisa to laugh as he clung onto him like a piece of arm candy. It felt…way too flirtatious and bold. Nagisa doubted he would ever get to do that- or if he even really wanted to. 

Nevertheless, his face turned bright red at the imagery and he quickly slapped his hands over his cheeks.

Calm down. You’re seriously getting ahead of yourself.

He took a deep breath in through his nose, and exhaled through his mouth, his eyes shutting as he did this a few times to calm himself. He knew that he was going to need to do something physical with Karma in front of his mother to sell the fact that they were dating. He knew that she would want to meet him. He would just need to discuss with Karma the best day to walk him home to introduce them before sending Karma on his way, and then do it a few more times to really sell that they were a couple to her. 

Logically, the best thing he would have to do would be simple hand holding, but he worried that his mother wouldn’t be completely satisfied with that.

Would clinging to Karma’s arm count as prolonged hugging? He suddenly wasn’t sure anymore.

Ugh…I’m just going to go home and do my homework. This is too stressful.

With a shake of his head, he continued to walk away from Kunugigaoka Junior High and to the train station.

Sure, he and Karma covered their general bases, but the situation felt so much more important and intimate than a simple “hey, pretend to be my boyfriend in front of my mother”. She would be asking questions, she would be reading their body language, and the ruse could easily last up to several weeks, or even months. It entirely depended on how his mother took the information and if she secretly truly wanted to be the one to choose Nagisa’s boyfriend.

Not for the first time, Nagisa wondered what Karma was possibly gaining from all of this. After all, if he liked Okuda, then what was the point in parading around pretending to be his boyfriend for his mother? Was it just so he could mess with his mother a little? He didn’t know. He’d thought about asking Karma what was in it for him, but he knew that Karma wouldn’t give him a direct answer.

But it wasn’t like Nagisa could give him a direct answer as to why exactly he didn’t trust anyone else with this. He could excuse Sugino and Terasaka and his gang, but there were many other guys in their class that he could have gone to. And Karma knew this. But he was going to let it go, so long as Nagisa didn’t ask questions of his own.

It made sense, but it didn’t make it any less frustrating.

By the time Nagisa got home, his head was starting to throb a little from thinking of all of the things he wanted to ask Karma about but knowing that he couldn’t without risking Karma asking questions of his own. 

“I’m home…” Nagisa called out, as per usual.

“Nagisa! Welcome back!” Hiromi sounded elated. “Come, sit down! I have wonderful news for you!” From where Nagisa stood at the doorway, he could practically hear his mother bouncing on the balls of her feet, and his heart dropped slightly in worry. Still, though, he took his shoes off and walked inside, peering over at his mother curiously.

“What is it, mom..?” He asked warily, spotting her walking over from the stove, holding her phone in her hands. She held her phone out to him, startling him enough to flinch back a bit. 

“Look! What do you think? Isn’t he handsome?” She gushed. On her phone was a picture of a kind looking boy with soft brown hair and green eyes and large glasses. He was attractive, Nagisa had to admit, but just from looking at him, he could tell that he wasn’t really his type. 

“Yeah. He’s good looking.” Nagisa replied, not wanting to appear completely disinterested and cause his mother to lose her patience.

“That’s good! I’m glad!” Hiromi held her phone close to her chest. “This is actually my boss’ son. He just turned eighteen last week, so he’ll be graduating high school in March, but he can help you get into the high school of our dreams!” She leaned over, almost as though she were sharing a conspiracy. “To tell you the truth, he actually goes to Kei U! He can tell you what to expect on the entrance exams!”

Nagisa cringed slightly. Sure, the age gap wasn’t too terrible, given Nagisa had just turned fifteen a few months ago, but it still wasn’t really ideal, and he would much rather prefer to avoid dating older guys. Maybe if he himself was older, he wouldn’t mind as much, but…

“A-Actually, mom…” Nagisa spoke up, his voice wavering slightly.

“Can you believe our luck, Nagisa? I have a feeling he might be the one for you!” Hiromi placed a hand on her flushed cheek, looking ecstatic. “My boss even told me that his son doesn’t care about gender and would be happy with your boyish charm.”

Boyish charm? I am a boy, though…

“Mom…” Nagisa said again, a hint of exasperation added to his anxious tone.

“Not to mention, he’s the valedictorian of his grade and will be the one giving a speech during graduation! He’s also a member of the Student Council, and does volunteer work! He’s perfect for you! Oh, I’ve truly outdone myself securing you a date with him..!”

“Mom, hold on!” Nagisa stood up fully, his palm flat on the table. His mother finally stopped gushing to stare at him expectantly, as if waiting for him to ask questions about this supposed new boy she got ahold of. “Look, we really need to talk. I’m sorry, but I can’t be doing these dates anymore.”

Hiromi froze.

“I…th-the truth is…” Nagisa looked down at his hands, unable to keep the slight stutter out of his voice. “I…I appreciate what you were t-trying to do for me. Really…but I can’t keep quiet about this any longer.” He lifted his head to look at his mother, trying to gauge how she was feeling. “...I have a boyfriend.”

Hiromi stared at her son blankly for a moment, before barking out a soft laugh. “Oh, Nagisa, really. What kind of lie-”

“It’s not a lie,” Nagisa quickly cut her off, feeling a bit guilty as he did so. “We’re dating and…I can’t keep doing that to him. It doesn’t feel right. I really, really care about him, mom. I’m sorry that I kept it from you, I just…didn’t know how to bring it up. You were always so happy making these dates.” He hoped fervently that by appealing to her as the dutiful son, that she would ease up on him. Though he could tell from the way her eyes darkened that she wasn’t pleased.

“Really…” Hiromi asked, her tone deadpan. “And when exactly did this happen?”

“T-two days before the first day of our school festival,” Nagisa stammered. “B-but I…I’ve had a crush on him for a long time now.” At least that bit wasn’t a lie.

Hiromi’s eyes narrowed then. “Ohh. So you’re telling me that he’s in E-Class,” she said flatly, voicing it in a way that made it clear that she wasn’t asking, she was confirming.

Nagisa nodded a bit.

“Absolutely not.” Hiromi said firmly. “I’m letting you stay because I can understand why you want to be there when the class does amazing things, but you need to focus on your future too. The grades of your classmates will bring you down.”

“He isn’t like that!” Nagisa immediately defended. “He’s actually really smart. Smartest not only in the class, but among the top in the school. Did you know that for our midterms several weeks ago, he placed second? In the whole school.”

“Second?” Hiromi’s eyes bugged wide a little. “And yet he’s still in E-Class?”

“He’s…absent a lot,” Nagisa said, looking away from his mom guiltily. It wasn’t technically a lie, since Karma did enjoy skipping school whenever he felt like it. But he didn’t have so many absentees that he was forced to stay in E-Class. “He gets sick really easily, that’s all. Some chronic illness that he deals with.”

“Oh…” Hiromi’s face changed from suspicion and shock to pity. “That sounds awful. I had no idea.”

“R-right, so it’s really not a big deal that he’s in E-Class, you know?” Nagisa rocked back and forth on his feet, his fingers fidgeting together. “He’s a great guy, he just has some health issues. Maybe when he’s doing well, he can walk me home and you can say hi.”

“Oh, don’t be silly. If he’s going to walk you home, then just go ahead and invite him over for dinner!” Hiromi said with a growing smile.

“D-dinner?” Nagisa’s eyes widened.

“Of course! I would love to officially meet the boy who’s making my daughter happy!” Hiromi said cheerfully, clasping her hands together. “How about on Saturday? We’ll need to deep clean the apartment to make it look nice and then I’ll also need lots of time to prepare our meal…”

“Y-you know, you’ve actually already met him?!” Nagisa stammered out, hoping futilely that this would work. “I-it’s Karma-kun! You know- red hair, came over once with Sugino?” Normally, when Nagisa and Karma hung out, Nagisa avoided bringing any friends over out of fear of how his mother would react. It was a deep-seated fear that his mother would blow up at him over something mundane while he had guests over. It would be utterly humiliating to be screamed at by his mother in front of them, after all. For both him and them. Thankfully, his friends never seemed to mind him avoiding his own home when they hang out, and never really asked questions before. Well, he supposed now that didn’t really matter when they’ve already heard her screaming at the top of her lungs before. Still, with Karma’s general knowledge of how his mother was, inviting him over for an evening felt unthinkable.

“Oh,” Hiromi’s eyes lit up in recognition. “I always thought that he was rather handsome. My, he seemed to be in great health last time I saw him.”

Nagisa nodded nervously. “H-he had a good week at the time, so we were just celebrating.”

“Well, take care of him tomorrow so that he can come over on Saturday!” Hiromi ordered, “I’ll be sure to cook him something that will help with his health. In the meantime, just make sure he can show up!”

“Th-that’s really short-notice though? He might be busy with other things!” Nagisa pleaded with her. It was already Thursday, and to give Karma as much of a heads up as he could would require him to message him right away. He doubted Karma really had plans on Saturday, but his mother never seemed to care if other people were busy, she just wanted to do something whenever she wanted.

“Oh, Nagisa. Don’t be ridiculous.” Hiromi smiled darkly. “I need to meet him. So run along now. Dinner should be ready in about half an hour.”

Nagisa sagged his shoulders a little, letting out a soft sigh. He knew there was no point in arguing with her at this point. Unless Karma couldn’t come, she would not give up. But if Karma did decide against it, or he simply didn’t show up, then how would his mother react? He worried that she would lose her mind. If they had a legitimate excuse, she might be a bit more understanding, but if Karma just…didn’t show up? Nagisa genuinely feared that his own safety would be compromised. He touched his hair lightly as he trudged to his bedroom, flinching a little as he recalled the many times his mother grabbed his hair and yanked in pure rage.

While his mother seemed to have genuinely improved in some areas and tried to keep her temper in check, she still had her moments, and it was utterly terrifying. It was as if she were warning him that she could force him to do whatever she wanted if he kept disobeying her, but was deliberately holding herself back. In a way, it felt like the power imbalance grew even worse, now that Nagisa had tasted a sense of freedom.

In his room, he threw his bag onto his desk chair and sat down on his bed, pulling his phone out and immediately messaging Karma.

Nagisa

Hey, so my mom wants to meet you officially. She wants to have you over for dinner on Saturday.

Sent at: 17:46

It didn’t take long for Karma to respond.

Karma

I get to actually meet your mom??? And use my wits to charm her??? wwwwwww

Sent at: 17:50

Nagisa

It isn’t funny! This is serious. I didn’t expect this to happen…I just thought if we showed us off a little, then she would accept it, but I didn’t think she wanted a whole evening getting to know you.

Sent at: 17:52

Karma

Well, what’s done is done, right? I knew something would come up as your fake boyfriend, so don’t sweat it. I didn’t have any plans on Saturday anyway.

Sent at: 17:55

Nagisa

Still…no last second cancellations, okay? Please. Don’t do that to me.

Sent at: 17:56

Karma

You sound rather flustered over the phone, Nagisa-kun.

Sent at: 18:04

Nagisa swallowed slightly. With how long it took Karma to respond, he was worried that Karma was overanalyzing his previous message. It was either that, or he’d been in the middle of something at home. With Karma, it was always impossible to tell.

Nagisa

Just don’t do it, okay? But are you really down for dinner with my mom and I?

Sent at: 18:05

Karma

Yeah, I’ll be there wwwwww don’t get your panties in a twist.

Sent at: 18:06

Nagisa

Not funny, Karma-kun.

Sent at: 18:06

Nagisa watched as the Delivered messages flipped to Read. But this time, the little dots did not appear, signalling that Karma was done with the conversation. He let out a shaky, heavy sigh, flopping backwards on the bed and staring up at the ceiling, his eyebrows furrowing. This had escalated in a way that he truly hadn’t anticipated…and yet, at the same time, he felt like he should have anticipated such events. He’d been so anxious about the prospect of pretending to be in a relationship with his crush that the logistics of it kind of flew over his head.

He lifted his phone up to skim through the conversation again, his eyes narrowing slightly at Karma’s initial response.

Just what is he planning..?

He would have to seriously talk to him tomorrow and make sure they were on the same page. That had been one of the rules anyway, right?

Surely Karma had a plan and was going to confide in him…

Swallowing a sudden, heavy lump in his throat, Nagisa rolled over onto his side and stared at his phone, unable to quell the nausea that was rising rapidly within him.