TITLE: tying you down AUTHOR: mizuki (mzk_70) on AO3
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Nagi Seishiro hated things that were a hassle. Of course, that included dressing up in a stuffy suit and spending an evening in a high-class hotel, rubbing shoulders with a bunch of snakes at a corporate Christmas party. But Reo needed to attend, and since Nagi was Reo's partner, he was naturally going to go follow along as well.
As much as he hated it, though, he had an important job that night: he had to make sure none of those snakes got too close to Reo.
Unfortunately, Reo was not making his job easy.
Reo was already attractive enough normally - you would have to be blind to not see how beautiful, stunning, and gorgeous he was. And this evening, Reo just had to choose trousers perfectly tailored to showcase the shape of his lower body, and he just had to wear a dress shirt with a couple too many buttons open. Seriously, why was Reo allowed to have his collar open like that, while Nagi had to do his buttons all the way up and wear a necktie?
("I'm not going to let them have any excuse to look down on you." Reo had said when he helped Nagi get dressed and do his tie. "That's why I'm going to make sure you'll look cooler than anyone else there."
Nagi was well aware of what those vultures said about him. He knew that they considered him unworthy of Reo's affection, and that some of them called him "Reo's dog" or "Reo's toy". They were right about the fact that he belonged to Reo, but he was not a dog nor a toy; he was Reo's partner. And although he didn't care if they thought badly of him, he didn't like how they acted like Reo was a fool for choosing Nagi. He knew that these weasels and their ilk put a lot of stock in appearances, so if shutting them up was as simple as wearing a three-piece suit, then he was willing to put up with it.)
Nagi spent most of the night standing next to Reo's as he went around to exchange pleasantries with the other guests. Thanks to Nagi's death glare, no one dared to make any bold moves towards Reo. However, while Reo probably did not notice, Nagi was certain that several of the guests were undressing him with their eyes, and that annoyed Nagi to no end. To make matters worse, Reo had no sense of personal space, and he acted in his usual overly friendly manner towards the party guests. It was a part of Reo he normally loved, but tonight it was another factor that contributed to Nagi's mounting irritation.
So when Nagi stepped away to use the washroom for a moment and came back to the sight of a bunch of flies flocking around his Reo - their hands patting his shoulders and back, sometimes drifting dangerously close to his slender waist and behind - Nagi could no longer take it.
"Reo." Nagi approached his partner from behind, pulling him away from one half-balding old man that was acting too familiar with Reo. Nagi fixed the man with a stare. As much as he wanted too, it would reflect badly on Reo if he made too much of a scene.
