Illogical Love {Free!} {Reigisa}

[truth]

This is my second fic on the forum! So some of you might know I have a Solangelo fic which I really need to update, but I got in the mood and wrote this whole thing in one sitting! It's not the most - er - good thing I've ever written, but I seriously needed to write sick Rei. I've added hints of MakoHaru as well, and I'd be happy to make that into a prequel, if anyone would like. This is probably the only chapter of this one. I might make an epilogue of sorts, if anyone is interested. Also - some cussing in Japanese is included in this fic bc why not.

"Heh-tchuh"

Rei Ryugazaki neatly caught his sneeze in his elbow, perfectly calculated, then blushed faintly and sniffled. His glasses had slipped slightly with the sneeze and he pushed them back up.

Sneezing wasn't beautiful and being sick certainly was not, either.

He just had allergies, though. The classroom window was open and the pollen count was high this time of year.

He would take some meds when he got out of class.

"Bless you, Rei-chan!" Chirped a voice from behind him, one that belong to the perky second-year, Nagisa Hazuki.

Damn it. Rei had hoped no one had noticed. His sneezes were generally on the quiet side. Wet, but quiet and easily concealed.

"Thank you, Nagisa-kun." Rei answered in a calculated voice as to not sound congested. He pressed the underside of his nose against his sleeve - horribly unsanitary - but it stopped his nose from dripping everywhere and hopefully from itching. It wasn't as if he had germs to spread, anyways.

It had been this way throughout the day. Sneezes at random intervals, nose stuffy and itchy. He had acquired a scratchy and very sore throat somewhere along the course of the day, too, and his head felt thick.

"You're not sick, are you, Rei-chan?" Nagisa's magenta eyes wavered with concern and he leaned forward in his desk to grab Rei's shoulder.

Rei turned around and answered a bit more curtly than he probably should have. "Of course ndot, it's just my allergies." He shook Nagisa's hand off.

"But all day you've seemed like -" The bell went off signaling the end of class and interrupting Nagisa.

Rei breathed a small sigh of relief. He had never taken 'saved by the bell' quite so literally until now.

Rei scrambled to pick up his things. He really needed to blow his nose and take some meds, but with Nagisa hounding him it wouldn't be easy to get away.

Nagisa was still putting his stuff into his backpack when Rei hurried out of the classroom.

There was a bathroom right around the corner. Hopefully the antihistamines would kick in quickly, he couldn't have them interfering with his swim practice. That wouldn't be beautiful at all!

"Reiii-chan!" Nagisa's voice seemed especially loud today and made Rei wince when the shorter boy ran up behind him. "You almost left without me - Where are you going?"

Rei had stopped in front of the bathroom, arms crossed over his chest.

"I have to take my allergy medicine." He gave a liquidy sniffle and turned to go in, but Nagisa caught his shirt.

"You can do that in the lockers. Silly Rei-chan. We have swim practice now."

Damn it, Nagisa.

Rei supposed he was acting a bit illogically, why couldn't just take his meds in the lockers?

Snot threatening to drip onto his upper lip reminded him. He had to blow his nose. That could not be done in public. It was not beautiful in the slightest.

"C'mon, Rei-chan." Nagisa said, tugging his shirt gently.

"Right." Rei sniffled again, then allowed himself to be pulled to the changing rooms.

~~~

The meds hadn't kicked in yet. The package said 'instant allergy relief!' but it was clearly false advertising. Rei would have to leave them a negative review on their website.

And he still hadn't blown his nose. Damn it. He really needed to, he was sniffling almost constantly now as the swim team stood at the edge of their pool. Makoto seemed to be catching on.

"Rei, are you alright?" Makoto reached a large hand up to Rei's forehead.

"I'b fide, Bakoto-Senpai. Thank you for your concern." Rei pushed Makoto's hand away and turned to face the water with a small 'snff'. It seemed his stuffy nose was also affecting his speech, 'm', 'n' and 'b' had slipped through the cracks.

"No, Rei-chan's got a cold. His voice is all funny." Nagisa accounced with a giggle, walking between the two and glancing up at them.

"Id's just allergies. By mbeds should be id affect sood. Id's nod even cold season. By chances of being sick are rediculously slim." Rei sniffled again, now very self-conciously.

"Hm. You must have gotten what Haru-chan had. I was at his place all weekend taking care of him." Makoto replied sympathetically, trying again to feel Rei's forehead, who answered by batting his hand away and pinching his nose shut with two fingers. That dreaded itch had returned in his nose.

Everyone now turned to Haru, who had been standing quietly behind Makoto this whole time.

"Mm." Haru scratched the underside of his nose and turned to face the pool. His eyes met Makoto's briefly and a light blush crept into his face.

"Heh-tchuhh." The sneeze Rei has been fighting chose now to burst out and was quickly covered by the bare crook of his arm.

Rei didn't dare move, he could feel the damp snot on his elbow and the strands that connected it to his nose. Damn it.

"Bless you, Rei-chan!"

He sniffled deeply and rubbed his nose against his elbow, sucking the mucus back into his nose - a disgusting but necessary task due to his current ugly predicament.

"Sorry, Rei." Haru said softly. He still wouldn't look at Makoto for some reason, but his deep blue eyes met Rei's now.

"Id's perfectly fide, I'b ndot sick anyways." Rei shook his head and sniffed yet again, then wiped his nose with his index finger.

"Even if you're not, you can't swim in your current condition." Haru spoke softly.

"But nationals are cobing ub! We must practice even harder thad we have in the padst. I will nod allow anything to get in the way of me exhibiting a perfect butterfly!"

It was now Gou chose to join their argument, holding out a tissue to Rei. "Here. And also - an athlete's health is just as important as how much he practices. Take care of yourself to get big strong muscles." She said thoughtfully.

Rei accepted the tissue gratefully and wiped clean his elbow, then dabbed at his nose with it, thinking about what to say next.

Honestly, he was tempted to give in, he felt exhausted and knew his swimming wouldn't be up to par today.

"I'll take you home, Rei-chan." Nagisa offered, grabbing Rei's wrist.

Rei shook his head angrily. "I cad do id just fide byse - heh - byself - heh - tchuuuh."

Rei gave a breathy sneeze into the crumpled tissue and didn't move it from his face.

"Rei-chan, you're coming with me." Nagisa insisted, tugging the taller boy by the arm and when he didn't move, Makoto took the opportunity to feel his forehead.

Makoto's hand felt nice and cool against Rei's skin and he almost sighed aloud.

"You've got a fever, for sure, Rei. You should get home. Your parents are home?"

Rei sniffled and his shoulders slumped in defeat. There was no way he was swimming today. "I'b hobe alone for the week. But I cad take care of byself, thank you."

"Okay, but I want to come, Rei-chan. Bye, Haru-chan, Mako-chan." Nagisa waved with his free hand and pulled Rei back in the directions of the lockers with the other.

"If you must." Rei sniffled, coming along. The truth was, as much as he pretended Nagisa annoyed him, he had quite a crush on the bubbly blonde and they both knew the feelings were mutual. But Nagisa respected that Rei knew crushes and things like love were highly illogical and had to be denyed at all costs.

~~

They were finally off the bus and Rei thought he might cry with happiness. Finally giving in to being sick - or at least minorly under the weather - meant he could collapse on his bed and just sleep. Nothing sounded more appealing then his matress right now.

Rei fumbled in his backpack for his keys, retrieved them and unlocked the door.

"Thadk you for walking be hobe, Nagisa-kun." Rei nodded to his friend, signaling that he could go.

"I'm not leaving you here alone, Rei-chan." Nagisa's eyes were filled with kindness. "I mean look- you can barely hold yourself up."

Rei had been leaning against the door to his apartment unknowingly.

"Righd. C'bon id. Ged sick ad your own risk." Rei grumbled halfheartedly, gesturing for Nagisa to come inside.

Nagisa went straight to the Ryugazakis' kitchen, calling behind him to Rei. "Ill make you some tea, you go lie down."

Rei didn't need to be told twice. He hurried into his room and collapsed on his bed without even changing into bedclothes.

Taking the moment to himself, he grabbed a tissue off the box on his nightstand and blew hard, clearing his nasal passageways. It made a gurgling sound and Rei went through three tissues before he could breathe through his nose.

"Ah." He sighed and took off his glasses then lay them on his nightstand. His whole body felt like it was ten times heavier than normal.

He wondered if

~~

When Rei awoke, his mouth was hanging open and he was nearly drowning in a puddle of snot on his pillow. He couldn't breathe through his nose, probably the cause for his awakening.

Absolutely revolting.

Rei sniffled deeply and flipped his pillow over, then reached for a tissue and pulled it up to his dripping nose.

"Rei-chan." Rei jumped and yanked the tissue away from his face. Without his glasses, he hadn't seen Nagisa was sitting at his desk, watching him.

"Nanda ittai, Nagisa-kud." Rei spluttered, coughing softly and snatching up his glasses.

"Didn't mean to scare you, Rei-chan, sorry." Nagisa hopped up from the desk chair and walked over to the bed, sitting down next to Rei.

"How do you feel?" Nagisa plucked a bottle of tonic off the nightstand an squinted at the writing on its side. It was in English. "I think I'm supposed to give you a half dosage of this, based on your weight, Rei-chan."

Rei glanced at the bottle. "Nagisa-kud. Thad's by father's stool softener."

"Oh!" Nagisa blushed and put the bottle back on the nightstand. "I'm sorry, Rei-chan. My English isn't as good as yours."

"Doe worries." Rei sniffled, pushing his glasses up his nose. He was grossly sweaty and it caused his glasses to slip.

"Why don't you blow your nose?" Nagisa asked, getting up and bringing over a cup of tea to Rei from the desk.

"I's dot beautiful." Rei mumbled, pushing up his glasses once more and sinking back into his pillow. He wondered what time it was. Through his window, he saw the sky was dark.

"I don't care." Nagisa declared, holding out the tea to Rei.

Rei took a small sip. It soothed his throat nicely but the steam seemed to be making his nose leak even faster.

Nagisa now held out a stack of tissues. "Rei-chan, you'll feel better after."

Rei set down the tea, now sniffling every couple seconds, but he still shook his head, rubbing a finger under his nostrils.

"HEH-tchuuuh!" Nagisa was lightly misted as Rei miscalculated the angle he needed to hold his arm at in order to cover his nose explosion.

Rei's sneeze had come out much more powerful than his past ones, a sure sign this cold was only getting started, he thought with a feeling of dread.

Rei gave a small congested cough into his elbow.

"Tissues now, Rei-chan?" Nagisa held them out to Rei and two purple eyes stares back at them, torn.

"You'd still be beautiful to me, anyways, Rei-chan." Nagisa nearly whispered, turning his head away after he spoke.

Rei's free arm - the other one was still covering his nose - reached out and grabbed the tissues. A light red was on his cheeks and if Nagisa had to guess, he'd say it wasn't from the fever.

Rei covered his nose with the stack and drew in a sharp breath. "Heh- tchuuhh. Tchuuh. A- htchuuuh!" Three wet sneezes in quick succession were neatly caught, sending Rei into a doubled-over position.

After a silent moment, Rei gave a blow into the tissues - as gently as possible - and then another.

He mopped his nose with the tissues and tossed them into the trash.

"Bless you, Rei-chan." Nagisa said softly, rubbing the other boy's chest in small circles. Those sneezes looked like they had taken whatever energy he had gained from his nap back out of him.

"Thandk you, Nagisa-kund." Rei rubbed his reddening nose and it squelched. Rei sighed softly and tilted his head back, pinching the bridge of his sharp nose.

Nagisa pulled out his phone. "Rei-chan. I'm going to text Haru and have him get you some cold medicine from the store, okay? I want to stay here and make sure you're alright."

Rei made a small noise to signal he had heard the blonde, but his eyes were squeezed shut and his breath was choppy.

"Aw, Rei-chan, do you need to sneeze?" Nagisa giggled, glancing up from his cell.

"Mm- heh." Rei's breath hitched and he cupped a hand under his nose. Sometimes when he was really congested, sneezes just got stuck. It seemed the reverse of what it should be, logically. All the sniffling should irritate his nose to sneeze.

"You look so cute, Rei-chan." Nagisa giggled again, moving so he was straddling Rei between his legs.

"What are y- heh - he -" Rei struggled with his nose, scrunching it up in frustration.

"Shh." Nagisa bopped Rei on the tip of his nose and- "Heh - AH - Tchuuuuhh."

The force of the uncovered sneeze caused Rei's glasses to fly off and he groped for them, but it seemed he wasn't done yet. "Hehh - htchxuuuh! Atchggxtt!"

Two more sneezes, caught in Rei's cupped hands, ended his fit.

"Nagisa-kud." Rei's voice cracked with unexpected tears. "Tawagoto. I feel awful." He moaned, face in his hands, any pride he had dissolving for this moment.

"Oh, Rei, I know." Nagisa whispered softly, dropping the '-chan' for once. His hands moved up to play with Rei's hair and massage his head.

Rei sniffled into his hands, seemingly on the brink of tears. His tense shoulders relaxed as Nagisa massaged them gently, pressing his fingers down in forceful but calming circles.

After a minute of this Rei drew his hands away from his damp face and Nagisa handed him a sheet of tissues, which were soaked with guilty gusto and crumpled into a ball next to him.

Nagisa picked up Rei's glasses and placed them gently on him.

They were nose to nose now, Nagisa's small one brushed against Rei's longer one - it was damp and pink.

Nagisa tilted his head slightly to the right and closed the gap between them. His cool lips met Rei's, who's were hot and soft and tasted like chamomile.

Rei reached up and grabbed the hair at the back of Nagisa's neck, pushing him closer to his feverish body. He had never kissed anyone before. It was nice and despite what logic said, was one of the best feelings he had ever experienced. It was beautiful. Beautiful beyond compare. Nothing else mattered but Nagisa and now, mouth to mouth and just the feeling of him.

After a moment, however, something became increasing appearant. Not only could Rei not breathe, but he really had to sneeze.

His nose quivered and he pulled away from Nagisa, gasping in as much air as his lungs could take. The most intimate of Rei's young life, ruined by a goddamn cold.

"Heh- heh - TCHXUUHH!"

Nagisa giggled and kissed Rei's sweaty forehead. "You're so cute, Rei-chan."

Nagisa smiled and said it easily- "I love you.

It was illogical. It denyed reason and common sense. But somehow it was beautiful and Rei knew it was true.

"I love you, too, Nagisa."

[NameTaken]

((Heyyy, where are all you Free! fans at? I know you're out there!!))

Just wanted to say that the extent I know about Free! is stuff I've read from this forum and the occasional tumblr post, but I've sort of garnered a soft spot for these two.

This was suuuper adorable and fluffy and ahhh the kiss was just so sweet. These nerds are so into each other. Thanks for sharing, really enjoyed reading this!

[Dye]

My Free! knowledge is the same as yours, NameTaken, and goodness if it wasn't so adorable.

Rei is a huge nerd, sneezing during his first kiss. Amazing. <3 I love it.

[Koumii]

Oh gosh, these two They will be the death of me XD You wrote them so well too; I can't tell you how many times I was grinning through the whole thing! Nagisa's the biggest sweetheart ever, and Rei's embarrassment is so adorable >w< Thank you so much for sharing this with us!! I needed this in my life somethin' fierce XD

[shingetsu]

Awww~ This is so adorable, I just might die :DDD Rei is so very Rei, (of course he'll calculate the angles of covering up and think nose blowing is not beautiful at all Haha~!) and everyone else is characterized perfectly too~ I'll impatiently look forward for more fics like this one

[Natto]

Ahh, that was fantastic!! Thank you so much for writing about this character. We have a lot of great Free fic on this website but pretty much nothing about Rei, and that's a crying shame since he's my favorite character!! This was an absolutely adorable story. I love Rei's insistence that he can't possibly be sick. It doesn't even make sense since it's not like allergies are LESS gross or MORE beautiful, but he definitely seems like the type who wouldn't want to admit to being ill. I like that Nagisa just immediately saw what was happening and so did Makoto and no one believed him at all. And I love that, since he's got medicine with him that he can take between classes, that means he really DOES have allergies, they're just not necessarily the problem right now! Also, I love that Rei wants to leave the allergy medicine company a negative review on their website. That's hilarious, and totally him. (I like to imagine him maintaining an extensive Yelp profile...

The caretaking part at the end was utterly sweet. I like that Nagisa is fairly calm and laid back here, and isn't hyper or demanding or anything. I feel like a lot of writers have Nagisa constantly at his peppiest, which ends up reducing his character and making him seem one-dimensional. You actually showed him reacting appropriately to the situation, which was great. Also, the kiss at the end was adorable. I like that Rei was too out of it and emotional to even care about contagion at that point--at another point, without the development you did, he'd have been yelling about it, but here it made sense.

Over all, really great, really in-character fic. I loved reading it, and I hope to see more from you in the future!

[JQLovesSneezes]

This is the single cutest Free! fanfiction I have ever read!!! THE KIIIIIISSSSS!!!!! I LITERALLY CRIED IT WAS SO SWEET!!!! You should DEFINITELY write more of this story, whether it's a prologue, epilogue, or just another chapter. This story is too beautiful to be stopped here!