Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You’ve looked a lot happier lately,” his mother comments over dinner. 

“Reki and I made up,” Langa says casually while picking at his vegetables. He can feel the small smile on his face just thinking about it. 

“Oh that’s great, sweetie! Why don’t you bring him over for dinner? I’d love to meet him.” Something about the way his mom says it puts Langa on edge. She sounds happy for him, almost too happy. 

“Alright, I can ask him,” Langa agrees hesitantly. 

“Great.” She claps her hands together. “I’m excited to meet the guy that makes you so happy all the time.” She gives him a knowing look and he flushes. 

“Just don’t be weird about it,” he mutters, looking away. 

She laughs. “Don’t worry, I won’t embarrass you.”

Langa nods even though he doesn’t believe her. 

---

“I’m kind of nervous.” Reki fiddles with his board as Langa unlocks the door. 

“Don’t be,” Langa says despite probably being far more nervous himself. His mother has a way of meddling even when she promises not to. Which she did. But, the assurance doesn’t comfort him much.

“Gee thanks, I feel much better now,” Reki says sarcastically. Langa rolls his eyes and they shuffle inside. 

“I’m home,” he announces.

“Welcome back,” his mother calls from the other room.

Reki clumsily steps out of his shoes and neatly sets them aside. 

“Here’s some guest slippers. You can put your stuff in my room.” He can hear his mother cooking in the kitchen, which they unfortunately have to pass by to get to his room. It’s not that he doesn’t want her to meet Reki, he absolutely does, Reki is important to him but he knows in his bones that it’s going to be embarrassing. 

Taking a deep breath, he leads the way into their living room slash kitchen. “Reki, it’s so good to finally meet you! Langa’s told me so much about you.” Nanako turns to greet him from the kitchen.

It smells like teriyaki. “Thank you for having me.” Reki smiles. 

“Dinner will be in half an hour,” she says while mixing something in a bowl. 

“Okay,” Langa says and begins to lead Reki to his room. 

“Leave your door open,” she calls out once they’re already down the hall. Langa cringes and hurries the rest of the way to his room in case she decides to elaborate. 

“What was that all about?” Reki says, dropping his backpack on the ground. 

“No idea.” Langa knows he’s bad at lying but he's betting on the fact that Reki will be too distracted by his room to notice. 

It’s a good bet to make. “Huh, your room’s a lot more plain than I expected.” 

Langa flops down on his bed. “I guess so. I haven’t really bothered with decorating.” He’s never really thought much about his room until now. He feels a little embarrassed by it when Reki’s room is so obviously a reflection of him. What does it say about him that his room is so empty? 

"You’re not planning on leaving anytime soon, right?” Reki asks, flicking at one of his few knick-knacks on his dresser. He glances up to see one of the mini skateboards that Reki gave him.

Langa pulls back as he turns to look at Reki confused. “No, of course not.”

“Then next time we go out I can help you pick out some posters!” Reki smiles. 

It makes the tightness he hadn’t yet acknowledged in his chest loosen. “Okay.” A silence settles over the room but it’s comfortable. Langa trusts that Reki will fill it if it gets awkward. 

When Reki’s done looking around like it’s some kind of inspection he sits down next to him on the bed. 

“What do you want to do?” His headband has gotten loose and his hair spills partially onto his face. Langa wants to fix it but thinks that might make Reki uncomfortable so instead he sits up and puts his hands under his legs. 

Langa hasn’t had to be a host for a long time. Not for at least two years, and certainly not since coming to Japan. What he really wants to do is hold Reki’s hand but he doesn’t for obvious reasons. He needs to think of an actual co-op activity because thinking about wanting to hold your best friend’s hand isn’t really on the table.

“I don’t know, we could watch some of those skate videos you were talking about earlier,” he eventually suggests. “Or I think I might also have my old console around here if you want to try and play some games,” he adds just in case Reki’s bored of youtube. 

Reki’s face lights up. “Awesome! What games do you have?” He didn’t think Reki was all that interested in video games but now he’s glad he suggested it.   

Langa walks over to his TV and turns on his old PlayStation. He set it up when he moved in and hasn't touched it since. “I have COD and Bioshock, but I also have Portal 2 if you’d rather play that.” 

“Whatever you think is best. I don’t play a lot of video games but everyone’s always talking about them.” Reki grins. 

“I don’t think anyone talks about these games much anymore.” The most recent game he has is at least five years old and it makes him just a little embarrassed that he doesn’t have anything newer to show him. He also gets weirdly competitive about shooting games and COD is sort of fast paced if Reki doesn’t play much. “Let’s play Portal.” He plugs in two remotes. 

“Okay!” Reki sits down on the floor next to him.

The game loads up and Langa realizes that Reki probably has no idea how anything works because all the explanations are in English. “You can press this button to jump and this one to shoot.” He says holding up his own remote. 

“Like this?” Reki asks, somehow hitting neither. His character walks off the edge of the platform. “Oh, my bad.”

Langa laughs. “Uh, no. This one.” He clicks on the X a few times on his own remote. The new level loads up.

Reki’s tongue pokes out of his mouth as he focuses on the screen. “This.” His character jumps up, and then keeps jumping forward until it falls off the platform.

“You’re really bad at this,” Langa snickers. 

Reki blushes. “It’s not my fault, I’ve never used this kind of remote before.”

All at once Langa is hit with the image of holding Reki hand over hand and showing him which button to click. It’s justifiable, isn’t it? Reki is really bad at it and clearly needs all the help he can get. Langa takes a deep breath. 

“Here.” He brings his right hand to rest lightly over Reki’s. Reki doesn’t pull away which is a good sign. “You press this to jump, and use this to walk around and then this to shoot,” he explains while pressing down on Reki’s thumbs. He looks up at Reki’s face, which is staring down at the remote like it holds the answers to the universe. 

Langa pulls back, not allowing his hands to linger even though he wants them to.

 “Okay,” Reki’s voice cracks and he coughs. “I mean, yeah I got it.”  

“Prove it.” He grins at Reki, hoping to pull away from the awkward mood that’s settled on them. 

Reki exaggerates puffing out his chest. “You got it, boss.” 

Langa watches as he shoots the portal gun and walks through only to fall directly off the platform on the other side of the room. The level restarts. 

Reki turns to look at him seriously. “Langa, I think I might actually suck.” 

Langa laughs. “Yeah, you might.” 

“Dinner’s ready!” His mom calls from down the hall.  

Langa stands up. “Guess we can try again later if you still want.” 

Reki chuckles. “I’ll try my best.”

---

“Reki, Langa tells me you helped him a lot with adjusting here. Thank you for always taking care of him.” His mom says as soon as they’re all sitting.

“It’s no trouble. Hanging out with Langa’s the best.” Reki smiles. Langa wonders if it’s normal to be enchanted by a smile. 

“You’re both in the same class, right?”

“Yep! And we also work at Dope Sketch together.”

“Wow, you two sure spend a lot of time together. It’s a wonder you don’t get tired of each other.”

Langa doesn't think he’d ever get sick of Reki even if they spent every waking moment together.

Reki shakes his head. “No way! Langa’s so chill, it’s impossible to get tired of him.” 

Langa feels his chest heat up. He likes it when he and Reki are on the same page. 

“Langa, your boyfriend is so sweet!” 

He drops his chopsticks.

“Boyfriend?” Reki chokes out.

His mother looks confused. Before he can jump in she continues, “Yeah, it’s the first time Langa’s brought anyone home who he's dated.” 

Langa didn’t know his face could feel this hot. “Reki’s not my boyfriend.”

“But I thought-”

“Why don’t you go grab something to drink?” He says too loudly. 

Langa notices then that none of their cups are empty. He quickly chugs all the water in his glass and hands it to his mother. “I’m thirsty.” 

“Of course, sweetie. My mistake.” She takes his cup and heads to the kitchen.

Langa knows he should clarify things to Reki, but alternatively, they can sit in awkward silence until his mother comes back. If there’s one thing Langa is exceptionally good at it’s sitting in silence.

He glances over at Reki at the same time Reki looks at him. Reki’s cheeks are red and he quickly turns back to shovelling food into his mouth.

The rest of dinner is not nearly as eventful. When his mother returns, he purposefully directs the conversation to the much safer subject of skateboarding, although they don’t mention S.

“I can do the dishes,” Langa volunteers when they finish. He dreads returning back to his room.

“It’s alright, go hangout with your friend,” his mother says, giving him a knowing look.

He grimaces. “Fine.”

---

As soon as he and Reki have crossed the threshold and closed the door Reki turns to him. 

“Hey, so why did your mom think we were dating?”

Langa knows there’s no way he’ll be able to distract Reki with random trinkets long enough to get him to drop the question, but he’s sure as hell going to try.

“Don’t know. You like these right?” He says holding up the first thing his hand touches on his dresser, which just so happened to be a miniature ramp for the miniature skateboards.

“Yeah, I guess. But, what do you mean you don’t know?” Reki sits down on his bed.

Langa sets down the ramp and goes to sit on the floor by the controllers. “I don’t know. I talked to her about you when we were fighting and I guess she got the wrong impression,” he mumbles.  

“Oh.” Reki glances between him and the empty wall. “But, isn’t that- I mean, does your mom think you like guys?”

Langa feels his blood pumping in his ears and throbbing in his hands. He knows that Japan’s not like Canada. That a lot of people aren’t as accepting. He thinks Reki is. He hopes Reki is. “Well, yeah.” 

“So, you’re into guys then?” Reki asks. Langa’s bad at reading people, like spectacularly bad, but Reki’s normally easy with his expressionate faces. Right now, Langa can’t tell what he’s thinking at all. 

“Uh, yeah.” He feels a little like the only thing he can say is ‘yeah.’ He fiddles with the controller in front of him even though the TV’s not even on.

“Oh.” Reki looks like he’s trying to reevaluate his life. 

Langa hums in acknowledgement. What the fuck does “oh” mean? Langa feels a cold dread take root in his stomach. He looks up at Reki again who is staring intently at his legs.

“I don’t care about that!” Reki announces suddenly. Langa startles, flinching back. 

“Uh.”

“I mean, oh man, I am really messing this up.” Reki runs a hand through his hair. “That’s totally cool, that you like guys. I’ve never thought about that before. You liking guys. Not me liking guys, cause we’re not talking about that. Not that I like guys. Not that there’s anything wrong with liking guys! Because you do. Like guys.” Reki looks as red as his hair as he gesticulates.

“Yes Reki, I think we’ve established that I like guys,” Langa says, trying not to think about the fact that Reki just declared definitively that he does not "like guys." Crushing Langa’s dreams. Which is fine because realistically, he didn’t really have a shot to begin with.

“It doesn’t change anything, you know?” Langa feels the need to add. 

“I know that. You’re still my best friend, obviously. It’s just sort of taking a minute to click," Reki explains. It eases Langa’s worries when Reki calls him his best friend.

Reki’s eyes widen with realization. “This actually makes a lot of sense. No wonder you turn down all those confessions.” 

“Yeah, though I don’t have much interest in dating to begin with.” Unless it’s with Reki. 

“And your pick-up lines are really bad, that would never work on a girl,” Reki adds unnecessarily.

Surprisingly, he takes offence. “Hey! They could totally work.” 

“On a guy maybe, if he’s never heard of romance before.” 

“What’s wrong with ‘are you hungry?’ it’s the perfect segue into getting food.” Langa lets the controller drop from his hands.

“But not into having a conversation! In this situation, you’ve never talked to the person before.” 

“Why would I try to pick up someone I’ve never talked to before?” He tilts his head to the side in confusion.

“To date them! That’s the whole point of a pick-up line.”

Langa sniffs haughtily. “I don’t know about that.” 

“Oh my god Langa, do not make me look up the definition of pick-up line.” 

Reki sounds so exasperated that Langa can’t help but snort. Then Reki’s grinning back. 

“So, you want to play some more Portal?” Langa suggests.

“You just want to watch me fail,” Reki complains but he’s smiling. “I don’t even know what the objective of the game is.”

“We don’t have to play it,” Langa pauses, “if you’re a coward, that is.”

Reki jumps off the bed and sits next to him on the floor. “Oh, you are so on. I am going to make so many portals and walk through them.” 

“To be fair, that is actually the point of the game.” Langa subtly tries to give him some more space as he reaches to turn on the PlayStation. 

Reki does not get the memo and scooches closer anyways. “Then I’m already kicking your ass.”

“It’s a cooperative game.” Langa loads it up.

“Oh, well, then I’m going to make so many portals, I’ll be the best co-op player there is.”

You already are, Langa thinks to himself. Reki’s knee presses into his own. A subtle reassurance that everything between them is fine. It's comforting, even if his palms are still sweaty from nerves.

Reki does, eventually, figure out how the game works.

Then, apropos of nothing he says, “If you were my boyfriend I think we’d probably have to dress nicer.”

Langa’s mouth falls open. “What.” 

Reki looks shocked, like he can’t believe he spoke aloud. 

He flushes red. “I just mean, like if I was what your mom thought I was, you know, your” Reki hesitates, “boyfriend, I wouldn’t have come to dinner in my old hoodie.”

“I think it looks nice.” He does. Reki’s hoodies are so distinctively him it’s hard not to like them. 

“Oh, thanks.” Reki rubs the back of his neck. “But, like your mom probably thought I was some sort of delinquent, you know?”

“You are a delinquent.”

Reki smacks the back of his head lightly. “I go to class!”

“We’ve been chased by the cops at least three times. The P.E teacher legitimately hates us.”

Reki huffs. “Okay, fine, but your mom doesn’t know that.” Then suddenly panicked, he adds, “Wait, you didn’t tell her about that, did you? Oh man, what if she thinks I’m a bad influence?”

Langa chuckles. “Obviously I didn’t tell her.” He wants to tease him more but, this once he lets him off the hook. 

They play for another hour before Reki starts to yawn.

“I should go.” He sets down the remote and arcs backward cracking his back.

Langa stands up, stretching briefly. “I can walk you downstairs.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it, I know how to ride an elevator.” Reki grins and grabs his backpack. 

Langa walks him to the front door and hovers while Reki puts on his shoes. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Reki stands awkwardly for a moment then jumps on him, wrapping Langa tightly in a hug 

Langa has to take a step back to steady himself. But then hesitantly wraps his arms around Reki too. He doesn’t want to hold him too long and make it weird but Reki is really hanging on. It’s the comfort he didn’t even know he needed. His hands unsqueeze and he places them softly on Reki’s back. He lets his head fall onto Reki’s shoulder.

When Reki starts to pull back he lets him go. Reki smiles at him

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Reki repeats back. Then he’s leaving. 

Even if he can’t date Reki he can still be his best friend. It’s enough. It has to be.

Chapter Text

Reki doesn’t think much about it when he gets home. It’s not like it actually makes much of a difference if Langa likes girls or boys. Either way, he’s still an airhead and his best friend. 

But then they’re at school and their teacher keeps going on and on about English and Reki can’t help but turn to stare at Langa who is very subtly trying to sleep. 

He wonders what Langa dreams about. Does he dream about boys? Which boys? Who’s Langa’s type?

Langa gets confessed to by girls all the time, and for now obvious reasons, turns them down, but would he date a boy if they confessed? He doesn’t know. He thinks he wouldn’t. 

He feels an odd twist in his gut when he thinks about Langa cancelling plans with him to go eat ice cream with some other guy. 

He also feels guilty about how he reacted last night. He doesn’t want Langa to think that he thinks it’s weird. He’s just never had a gay friend before. He wants to be supportive but feelings are hard.

For all that Langa looks and acts like a brick wall he asks a lot of questions about emotions and Reki never knows how to answer. He thinks it must be some kind of cultural difference between Japan and Canada. Maybe people are just more direct with their feelings there. He wishes he could just show Langa that he still thought he was the coolest guy he knew. 

When lunch rolls around he sits a little closer than he normally would, just to show him that everything is fine. Langa doesn’t seem to notice, focusing intently on his yakisoba bun.

“I found a pretty cool skate trick last night,” Reki pulls out his phone. “Let me show you.”

Reki scooches in closer so that they can both watch on the small screen. Langa moves back a little bit, probably to give him space, but he doesn’t want Langa to think he’s uncomfortable with him. So he moves closer again.

“Isn’t it neat?” He glances up to check Langa’s reaction but it looks like he hasn’t taken it in at all. “Are you even watching?”

Langa humphs. “I am.” 

“We can watch something else if you want.” Reki stuffs one of his little sausage octopus in his mouth.

“No. I like watching the videos you find.” Langa still stares down at the phone even though the part with the skating trick is over and the guy is just talking to his friends. It makes him realize that Langa hasn’t really looked at him at all today. Maybe he’s nervous, Reki thinks. He doesn’t want Langa to be anxious around him.

Reki plucks another octopi from his bento and holds it up to Langa’s mouth. Langa’s eyes flick down to it for only a second before snatching it into his mouth.

Langa looks him in the eyes as he chews. His eyes smile at him like he’s won a race and Reki feels like it’s a little disproportionate how happy Langa is from just a snack. It reminds him how easy Langa is to please in comparison to his other friends. Reki doesn’t have to strain himself to have conversations about things he’s not interested in or do things he doesn’t want to. Langa is perfectly content to just hang out. 

It makes him want to try harder to make him happy. 

Langa looks down at his bento and then up at him again with his puppy dog eyes.  Instead of telling him to eat his own bun like he usually does, Reki scoops out an egg roll and holds it up expectantly.

Langa eyes widen in surprise and delight as he takes the egg roll into his mouth. Impulsively, Reki feels the urge to feed the rest of his lunch to Langa to keep him smiling like that. He doesn’t because he has to eat too and gets the feeling that that might be a little excessive but it doesn’t stop him from planning a trip to the convenience store before their shift to get them both some snacks. 

---

Langa comes over for dinner on Thursday. Well, more accurately Langa comes over to watch Reki fiddle with his skateboard for hours and it gets so late that his mom forces him to stay for dinner. Eventually dinner turns into watching videos on Reki’s bed.

Langa stares as the guy on the screen flicks his skateboard up into his hand, spinning it as he does. “Can you pick up your board like that?” He turns to look at Reki and realizes they’re sitting much closer than he initially thought. Their legs are pushed together, but he had been so focused on the video he had hardly noticed. 

“Yeah, it’s actually a lot easier than it looks. It also becomes muscle memory pretty quick once you’re familiar with your board, you know?” Reki grins. His face is so close. 

“Can you show me tomorrow?” He turns back to the video to avoid blushing.

“Of course!” Reki elbows him and he can’t help glancing up. Reki stares at him like he’s looking for something and Langa squirms a little. He’s not sure what to do so he looks up and behind Reki’s head. 

“Do you want to watch something else?” Reki asks. 

He’s starting to feel tired but Reki is so warm. “Okay.”

Reki queues up another series of videos. All the while, allowing his arm to press into Langa’s side.

He tries to watch the video but not even half an hour later his eyes slip closed.

---

He wakes up with his face on Reki's shoulder and an uncomfortable crick in his neck. Worth it.  

Reki's head is similarly tilted on his, or it was before he pulled himself back. The clock on Reki's bedside table tells him it's 2am and he feels a stab of panic for forgetting to tell his mom where he is.

"Reki, wake up." Langa pushes Reki’s shoulder gently. Reki groans and moves closer into Langa’s side. Langa's cheeks heat and he feels grateful that the room is so dark. "Reki, get up. We fell asleep."

"Don't wanna," Reki moans, curling himself into the bed. 

Langa cannot stress enough how reluctantly he says, "I have to go." He detangles himself slowly from Reki. 

Reki grabs onto his arm. "No, don't. Just stay." His eyes open enough to squint at Langa. 

Langa would like nothing more than to do just that.

"We have school tomorrow." Langa realizes he's still partially in his uniform pants. "I don't have any pajamas."

"You can borrow mine just grab them from the drawer there." Reki's hand gestures vaguely at his dresser. 

Knowing he should go home and having the will to do it are two very different things. Langa has never had much impulse control. 

"Alright." He shuffles out of bed, trying his best not to jostle Reki, and pulls open his drawer. But even with his express permission, it still feels like he's intruding on Reki's privacy. He grabs the first set of clothes he sees. 

He changes out of what's left of his uniform and pulls on the soft cotton pants and t-shirt. The pants fit him well, even though they must be a little big on Reki, but the shirt is tight. He figures it'll have to do for tonight and crawls back into the bed, this time lifting up the covers. It's a difficult task with Reki sprawled out on top of the blanket.

It seems rude to let him sleep without it. At least that's what he'll tell Reki if he asks.

"Reki, get under the covers."

"Okay, okay," Reki responds sleepily and crawls in next to him.

He’s somehow, impossibly, closer than before. He should probably try and put more space between them so the morning isn't awkward, but the bed is too small to even bother trying to move away without falling off. 

Langa allows himself to sink into sleep with Reki’s leg thrown haphazardly over his own. 

---

Reki wakes up feeling more well rested than he has in weeks. He’s not usually a particularly bad sleeper, even if his sleep schedule is awful, but today he feels so perfectly comfortable he’s reluctant to get up. 

He notices that his pillow is strangely warm and it takes him a moment to remember that Langa slept over. It takes him a moment longer to realize that Langa is his pillow and that his head is on Langa’s chest and his leg is thrown over top of Langa’s own.

Luckily, Langa seems to still be sleeping as Reki quietly pulls himself away. He notices then that Langa is wearing his pajamas and a shirt that is...much too small. He feels a rush to his cheeks and Does Not Think About It. 

He starts to notice other stuff about Langa though, like how he sleeps with his mouth slightly open and his arms fanned out like a starfish. He looks ridiculous and Reki can’t help the small smile that grows on his face. 

As he stares at Langa’s face he suddenly recalls his dream. He was Cinderella again and Langa was the prince, but this time there was no Adam to steal him away. And they- Reki’s face flushes bright red. And they kissed . And they got married. 

How was he going to look at Langa? Langa, who held his face so softly that Reki could practically feel the ghost of the dream’s fingertips against his skin. Langa, who spun them around on a glass skateboard like Adam might have but instead of feeling scared all he felt was happy and free. 

He doesn’t want to kiss Langa though, right? Dreams are sometimes weird but they don’t have to mean anything. 

Reki looks down at Langa’s lips. They’re pink and chapped with sleep. They were just lips, nothing special, Reki tells himself. Could he lean down and kiss him? Possibly. Were they close enough that all he would have to do his shift ever so slightly? Yes. Would they feel warm? Would they be soft like they were in his dream? Maybe.

But he didn’t, and that was the real proof of interest, he tells himself. Because everyone has thoughts about wanting to kiss people sometimes. 

Besides, Langa’s objectively attractive and even Reki can notice that without being attracted to him himself. It's a true sign of his heterosexuality that he can acknowledge the angles of his face and the softness of his hair. Or the way he smiles at him and makes Reki feel like he’s the only guy in the room. Or the way Langa holds his arms and squeezes when he’s excited. Or the way he sometimes declares Reki to be the best inventor of all time without a trace of insincerity. 

Langa shifts slightly. He's afraid he’ll be caught staring but all Langa does is throw an arm around his waist. Which Reki immediately realizes is much, much worse because now he can’t move without waking Langa up. His perfect and warm arm holds him against his chest. It's his burden to bear. 

Reki knows he shouldn’t but he lets himself relax. He briefly glances over at his alarm clock and notes they have about ten minutes before they have to get up and get ready for school. 

A minute before the alarm is set to go off Reki leans over Langa to his nightstand and turns it off. Langa’s arm shifts off his chest but the moment he lays back down it returns. 

Then Langa is blinking the sleep out of his eyes. 

“Mornin’,” Langa mumbles, apparently uncaring of his arm still over Reki’s chest. He yawns.

“Morning,” Reki blushes and hopes that Langa’s too tired to notice.

“What time is it?” Langa shifts, pulling his arm back and stretches it above his head.

“Almost eight.” Reki sits up.

Langa flops back down onto his pillow. “It’s so early.” 

“Come on, we have to eat and get ready and stuff.” Reki gently shoves at his shoulders. “Then we can take a nicer route to school since you’re already here.” 

Langa hums. “Okay, fine.” 

It feels oddly domestic as they brush their teeth next to each other. How their arms brush as they stand next to each other. How their eyes meet through the mirror and Langa smiles fondly. 

The warmth blossoming in his chest grows when he sits next to Langa to eat breakfast. 

“Wow, this looks so good. I usually just eat cereal,” Langa says as his mom sets the eggs and rice in front of them. “Thank you for the food.”

His mom chuckles. “I’m glad you like it.” 

Langa’s already stuffing the egg into his mouth.

Reki looks at him from the corner of his eye. “How are you always hungry?”

Langa shrugs. Reki sighs but it’s fond.

As they’re leaving, Reki's mom hands them both a bento box and Langa looks stunned.

“Thank you.” He smiles brightly at his mom, who looks pleased at having someone appreciate her lunches. 

Reki pushes him out the door. 

---

“I don’t get it. Why don’t they name it after the actual flavours? How's anyone supposed to know what ‘Christmas’ flavour means?” Langa says, looking at Reki’s ice cream cone.

Reki contemplates this for a moment. “I guess it’s meant to be festive, sort of a draw in for customers.” 

Langa’s eyes narrow and he stares at the store. “But why would they order it if they don’t know what it tastes like?”

“I don’t know man, they probably associate it with Christmas and good times or something.” Reki takes a bite of his cone. 

“Is that why you ordered it?” 

Reki looks a little uncomfortable at being interrogated about his ice cream flavour so thoroughly. “Kind of? I guess I thought it would taste like gingerbread and mint and that seemed pretty good.”

“Does it?”

“Does it what?”

“Taste like gingerbread and mint?” Langa looks deeply invested. Reki chuckles.

“Here.” He holds out his cone. “Try it and you tell me.”

Langa beams at him. He takes a bite.

“Well?” Reki asks, bumping his arm gently against Langa’s.

“You were right.” Langa looks at his own cone.  “Do you want to try mine?”

“What is it?”

“Cotton candy.” 

Reki doesn’t particularly like cotton candy but for some reason he finds himself saying yes. 

It feels nice to share this with Langa. 

“Hey, aren’t they in our class?” Langa points at a group of guys walking towards them down the street.

“Dude, you really got to learn people's names. It’s been like four months at least.” 

Langa hums. “It would be easier to remember if we talked to them more, but I don’t really care either way.” 

“Hey, Reki!” One of the guys calls out as their group nears.

“Hey, Seiji, what’s up?” Reki’s not all that close with Seiji but they have been in the same class for the last three years. 

“Nothing much. What about you?”

“Langa and I are just getting some ice cream.” Reki feels a sudden flare of paranoia that Seiji might think this looks like a date. Which is dumb because reasonably friends should be able to go for ice cream together. But maybe he saw them sharing their cones earlier. Could that be seen as romantic? Could they tell Reki wanted to-

“Nice. I was thinking about bringing Kazumi here on a date.” Seiji rubs the back of his neck.

“I don’t think it’s very romantic,” Reki blurts. He cringes internally as soon as the words leave his mouth. 

Seiji looks surprised. Reki can’t even bring himself to glance at Langa. 

“Oh, why not?” Seiji asks. 

“I-well, there’s nothing to do after you get the cones. It’ll be awkward if you’re just standing around,” Reki bullshits.

Seiji nods and seems to think this over. “You’re right. I’ll have to plan somewhere else to go after. Maybe the arcade or something, girls like games right?”

Reki regrets bringing up this avenue of conversation. “I don’t know, probably.”

Seiji glances back at his friends who are hovering impatiently. “Well, it was good seeing you,” 

“See you later.” Reki waves. After Seiji has walked down the block a bit, Reki turns his gaze back to Langa.

He has a mouth full of ice cream. Langa swallows. “I like yours better.” He eyes Reki’s cone longingly.

Reki looks at him unimpressed. “Do you?”

Langa nods.

Reki really wishes he were a stronger man. “Fine. One more bite.” Langa leans in for another.

“Thanks, Reki.” Langa smiles at him fondly. 

Reki feels his cheeks sting ever so slightly. “No problem.”

That night Reki lies awake belatedly realizing that he shared three indirect kisses with Langa.

---

“Reki!” Nagata calls out. There are only a few more minutes until lunch is over and Reki hand aches from having spent most of it rushing to finish the homework due next class. The only thing that makes him feel better is knowing Langa is in the same boat.

“Hey, Nagata, what’s up?” He puts his pencil down to look up at him. 

Nagata rubs the back of his neck. “We’re having a mixer next Friday and we were wondering if you could convince Hasegawa to come?” 

Langa sits, quite literally, right next to him. But somehow he's managed to get the reputation of Langa’s secretary or something. He noticed recently that his classmates seem to be under the impression that Langa will turn them down unless it’s coming from Reki himself. 

“Uh, I don’t think he’d be interested.” Last week Reki would have asked Langa and maybe even begged him to go, but knowing what he knows now he doesn’t bother. 

Nagata crosses his arms. “You don’t know that.”

Reki feels a spark of annoyance. “Then just ask him.”

“You’re just trying to keep him for yourself,” Nagata says petulantly.

Reki laughs nervously and hopes it doesn’t sound too forced. “What?”

“Everyone knows you spend all your time together dude, just ask him to come. It's not like you're kissing him, right?” Nagata jokes. 

Reki feels a flare of panic jump in his chest. How does he know? All the paranoia he feels about wanting to kiss Langa comes to the forefront of his mind. “Gross, of course not,” he says impulsively. 

He can’t stop his eyes from darting over to Langa. They immediately make eye contact and Reki feels a stab of guilt at the hurt he sees reflected on Langa’s face. But Langa quickly turns away looking down at his phone. Reki wants to tell him that he didn’t mean it like that but he figures it’ll only make things more awkward. Guilt settles in his stomach, but Langa understands, right?

“So, you’ll ask him?” Nagata says drawing Reki’s attention back to their conversation. 

“Whatever, man. I’m telling you he’s not interested.” 

Apparently taking that as an affirmative, Nagata slaps his shoulder. “Thanks, Reki! You’re the best.” He doesn’t feel like the best. He tries to make eye contact with Langa again but he’s playing something on his phone. 

Then the bell rings and he resigns himself to talking to him after school.

--

“Gross, of course not,”

Langa can’t hide the hurt and shock he feels fast enough. Reki catches his eye and he quickly turns away to look back at his phone. He doesn’t have any games on it so he quickly downloads the first thing he can find on the app store. Anything to make himself look busy. 

It’s a rhythm game and he doesn’t have his headphones but he doesn’t care. He leaves his volume off and opens the first song he sees so he can mindlessly tap at the screen. 

Reki thinks he’s gross.

Reki thinks he’s disgusting. 

His eyes sting a little but he’s not going to cry. He’s not. He tries to focus on the squares as they slide onto the keyboard below. He knows he’s missing most of them.

Of course, Reki wouldn’t date him.

Of course, Reki thinks it’s gross.

That he’s gross. 

HIs throat aches and the burn behind his eyes gets stronger. He wills himself not to think about it right now. After school, he promises himself. Just get to after school.

He tries to tap at the screen but his thoughts keep getting pulled back. He focuses on his classmates. He doesn’t understand why they won’t just talk to him. They talk about him to Reki like he’s not even there, like he doesn’t understand them. Thinking about it does the opposite of making him feel better. 

If Reki tries to talk to him he doesn’t notice. Then the bell is ringing and class is finally starting.

Langa has never been so eager to listen to a lecture and think about something else. He tries harder than he probably has all year to focus on math. When his thoughts start to wander he focuses on the equations on the worksheet. But he can’t stop one thought from popping back up. 

Reki thinks he’s gross. Quadratic equation. Reki thinks he’s gross. Sine and Cosine. 

He wants class to end so that he can go home but he’s filled with a nervous energy at the thought of having to talk to Reki.

Uncaring of Langa’s dilemma, time moves forward and soon they’re packing up their things. 

He can’t avoid Reki forever but he hoped he’d have a little longer.

“Do you want to go to the skate-park?” Reki asks. It’s almost awkward. They always go to the skate-park and they never talk about it beforehand.

He wants to go home and lie in his bed and think about all the things he’s done wrong. And more importantly, he doesn’t want Reki to see him cry.

“My mom wants me to come grocery shopping with her today,” he lies. He can’t look at Reki. What if he looks in his eyes and there’s disgust? Instead, he stares down at his hands and twists his fingers together. 

Maybe Reki knows that his mom isn’t going to be home for another four hours. Maybe Reki knows that most evenings Langa stays out with him so he doesn't have to sit by himself. But if he does, he doesn’t call him out on it.

“Oh, okay.”

Langa risks a glance at him. Reki looks like he wants to say something more but then turns and drops his board.

“We better get going then.” Reki smiles at him. 

Langa takes a deep breath and nods. “Yeah.” 

When they split up at the pole it’s awkward even though he tries so hard not to be. 

---

When he gets back into his apartment the ache in his throat returns with a vengeance. 

He drops his bag and lets himself flop onto his bed. 

Why would Reki like him? 

In the fantasies he sometimes entertains when his mind starts to drift, Reki holds his hands after he’s fallen off his board and while he puts bandages on his scraped palms he tells Langa that he likes skateboarding with him because Langa makes it special, because that’s how Reki makes Langa feel about skateboarding, and then Reki kisses his palm and tells him that it’s supposed to make it feel better. And sometimes Langa lets himself dream that after Reki kisses his palm he kisses his cheek too and that if turns his head just right quick enough they catch each other's lips. And it’s all so stupid because obviously Reki doesn’t like him like that. He just likes skateboarding. People don’t even kiss each other in public in Japan. 

And Reki thinks it would be gross to kiss him. Reki probably thinks it’s gross to even hold his hand. 

He feels a cold tear slide down his cheek. He’s just relieved that Reki doesn’t have to see him like this. 

Reki always tells him how everyone thinks he’s cool or princely. Langa has never felt even close to that but it felt good knowing that Reki thought he was interesting. But Reki also thinks he’s gross. Doubt creeps into his thoughts and he begins to second guess their interactions. Could he have been making Reki uncomfortable?  

His chest tightens. It's too much. Just this once, Langa wishes that he could go back to feeling nothing at all. 

Chapter Text

Reki and Guilt are old friends. They meet up on the regular, at work, at school, at home. By now apologizing should be second nature. But it’s hard. 

He doesn’t want to bring it up in case Langa’s not even thinking about it, because then he’d only make it more awkward. But the guilt rolls around in his stomach and he knows he has to do something to make it up to him.

He reasons that if Langa thinks that Reki thinks that kissing him is gross he’ll just have to touch him enough to show that he doesn’t think that.

The next day Reki sits extra close to him at lunch. Well, he tries to. As soon as his arm brushes against Langa's, Langa subtly adjusts himself so that they’re sitting a little further apart. Which shouldn’t be a big deal, but it so obviously is. 

The sun beats down on them from above. Sweat drips down the back of his neck. If his hoodie wasn’t such great padding when he inevitably falls off his board he would have left it at home today. 

“I brought calamari,” he says, opening his lunch box. 

Langa stares at it hungrily, like he always does. 

“You want some?” Reki picks a piece up with his chopsticks.

Langa looks at it longingly before declining. Declining? 

Reki’s mouth falls open in shock. “Huh? Are you sure?”

Langa nods hesitantly. He lips twitch down. He avoids Reki's analyzing gaze.

Reki holds it up to his mouth anyways. At last Langa looks at him.

The hesitation is all to plain to see. “Maybe a little.” Langa takes the proffered bite. But he doesn’t want Langa to feel any hesitation.

Langa chews happily on it. “Thanks, Reki.” He smiles sweetly and Reki’s palms feel sweaty. Because of the sun. 

“No problem.” His throat feels scratchy. “Do you want another?” Reki plucks up a piece from his bento.

Langa thinks for a moment too long before nodding. He opens his mouth expectantly, so Reki obliges. He loves how happy Langa looks when he’s eating. Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last, Reki has to hold himself back from feeding Langa his entire lunch. 

But the distance between them remains, no matter how many times Reki tries to subtly fall into Langa’s side. He doesn’t know what to do to close it. 

---

Reki figures his best chance is at S.

When another guy challenges ‘Snow’ to a race, Reki patiently waits at the end watching on the screen as Langa absolutely obliterates him. Langa skates unlike anyone he’s ever seen, it’s so uniquely him and it’s so beautiful.  

At the end (which Langa won by a landslide, literally,) Reki throws himself at Langa and pulls him close to his chest. But instead of hugging him back like he usually does, Langa’s arms remain stiff by his sides. He doesn’t want to let him go but they’re rapidly approaching the maximum amount of time a hug can last before it gets weird so he lets his arms fall. 

Langa steps back first.

“You were amazing,” Reki gushes. He’s not even trying to flatter him because it’s true. 

Langa smiles shyly and swallows. “Thanks, Reki.”

He takes another step forward to grab his arms and tell him what he thought about all the flips he did (which are all variations of incredible,) but Langa quickly steps away. 

“I told Joe I would talk to him after the race,” the words rushed out of his mouth.

“Oh, okay.” Reki frowns, then quickly fakes a smile. “Don’t take too long.”

Reki watches as Langa walks away.

“What was that?” Miya says, popping out of nowhere. God, someone needs to put a bell on this kid. 

“Nothing.” His shoulder hunch inwards.

“Uh-huh.” Miya nods at him skeptically. “It didn’t look like nothing. You two have been acting weird all night.”

Reki doesn't really want to talk about it. Not with Langa and not with Miya. But the guilt weighs more now. He sighs. “I messed up.”

Miya looks unsurprised. “What did you do?” 

He scuffs his shoes against some debris in the warehouse. “I said something I shouldn’t have because it’s not true,” he says vaguely, feeling a little like he’s being reprimanded by his principal.

“What did you say?”

Reki hesitates. “I can’t really tell you without compromising Langa’s trust, but it wasn’t good.”

“So let me get this straight, Langa told you something that’s too personal for you to tell me, and you threw it back in his face?”

It wasn’t quite like that but it also wasn’t not like that. “Yeah. That’s about right.” Reki feels like garbage.

Miya smacks him upside the back of the head. Reki lets him because he deserves it.

He sighs. “Just tell him you’re sorry and that you didn’t mean it.”

Reki stares at his shoes. “It’s not that simple.”

Miya hits him again. “Uh, yeah it is. Why are teenagers so difficult?”

“Because what if…” Langa thinks he’s being too sensitive, or wasn’t worried about it at all, “I don’t know.”

Miya rests a hand on his hip. “You’re ridiculous. Don’t you want to fix things?” He hates it when Miya sounds like the voice of reason.

“Obviously, but I can’t just tell him.” Reki waves his hands around. 

Miya cocks an eyebrow at him, unimpressed. “Why not?”

Reki groans and slides a hand over his face. “Haven’t you ever fought with a friend? You can’t just talk about it sometimes. You have to like...make it better.”

Miya, somehow, looks even more displeased. “I don’t understand you at all.”

Reki foolishly hoped that this conversation would make him feel better but all it did was make him more anxious. 

“I’m going to go find Langa.” Reki turns to walk away.

“Tell him you're sorry,” Miya calls out. 

Reki waves at him instead of responding. 

It takes a surprisingly short amount of time to find Joe, who is clearly not with Langa.

“Hey Joe, have you seen Langa?”

“Nice to see you too, kid,” Joes teases. Reki can't even bring himself to crack a smile. Cutting to the chase, Joe says, “He came over here for a second before some other guy came up to talk to him. They went over that way I think.” He points to the back door of the warehouse. 

A breeze blows through the building and Reki shivers in his hoodie. How the hell Joe manages to go every night without wearing a shirt is beyond him. 

“Thanks.” He speed-walks to the edge of the building. Maybe it’s rude to end the conversation there, but an urgent twisting in his gut pushes him forward. Why would Langa be talking to some random guy?

Near the woods behind the building, he catches a flash of blue hair. He forces himself to slow down to a casual stride even though Langa is facing mostly away from him. Talking to some guy. 

He's tall. Taller than Langa and definitely taller than him. He’s also buff, like some sort of gym rat. And he has a dumb white t-shirt that makes his muscles look bigger. 

He puts his hand on Langa’s arm, but it's not a rough grab, more friendly or even... Reki suddenly realizes what’s happening. It sort of feels like confirming his worst fears. Which is stupid because why would he be scared of Langa getting a confession? Langa gets confessed to all the time.

He can see Langa’s jaw moving but he can’t hear anything over the sound of the wind and the din of the general S population. 

So he walks closer. Reki swears he didn’t intend on interrupting initially, really, he was only going to listen.

But then the guy takes a step closer to Langa, and Langa looks like he’d like he doesn't know what to do and Reki feels the weird stirring in his gut spike and then he’s rushing up from behind Langa and throwing an arm over his shoulder.

Langa jumps, and turns to look at him. For a moment, Reki fears that Langa will reprimand him, but he lets out a sigh of relief and relaxes. 

“Hey man, there you are. I’ve been looking for you.” Reki smushes himself right up against Langa’s side.

“Reki.” Langa smiles at him.

“Who’s this?” He practically whispers into Langa’s ear. He tilts his head so that it rests on Langa’s shoulder when he gives muscle man a Look. Capital L, because Reki can’t explain it but he does not like this guy at all. 

Langa hands twist his shirt. “He wanted to talk to me about something.” 

“Oh sorry, I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Reki says innocently, knowing full well he was interrupting something and feeling altogether quite good about stopping it. 

“No, it’s alright. I think we're done here,” the guy, whose name Reki doesn’t know and hopes that Langa will never mention it again, says. 

Langa nods, jostling Reki who refuses to let go just yet. The guy walks towards the warehouse but then suddenly pivots back towards them.

“In case you change your mind.” He passes a small slip of paper to Langa. Without waiting for a reaction, he walks back into the building.

Langa shoves the paper in his pocket without opening it. 

“What’s that?” Reki moves slightly behind Langa so he can put his chin over Langa’s shoulder.

“What’s what?” Langa says. Reki knows he’s not that oblivious.

But two can play at this game. Reki sneaks a hand to wrap around Langa’s waist and reach into his pocket. Aside from a sharp intake of breath, Langa makes no motion to stop him. “This.”

He holds it up and glances at Langa’s face.

“He asked me if I wanted to go out with him." Despite the light blush on his cheeks, Langa sounds unruffled. 

“Oh.” Reki slips the paper back into Langa’s pocket even though he has the strangest impulse to crumple it up and leave it out here with the rest of the trash. “What did you say?”

“I told him I wasn’t interested.” Langa looks back towards the warehouse when Reki tries to meet his gaze. 

Reki hums, knowing that Langa can probably feel the vibrations through his shoulder. And because Langa hasn’t pulled away yet, he wraps his arms around Langa’s midsection. 

“Langa, I’m cold,” he says honestly. Because he is cold. And Langa is warm. So, so, warm.

“You’re wearing a hoodie,” Langa says in that pointedly dry way he does when he’s exasperated with Reki, but Reki knows he’s not actually annoyed. 

“But, I’m still cold,” Reki moans. “You're Canadian so you probably wouldn’t get it.”

Langa scoffs, but it’s fond. “I don’t think my nationality has anything to do with understanding temperature.”

“Not true! You never wear any coats or anything, even when it’s freezing out.” He pokes his finger into Langa’s stomach. Langa smacks his hand lightly and Reki returns it to holding his other hand around Langa’s chest. 

Langa finally turns to look at him, although it’s a little tricky because Reki refuses to move his chin off of Langa’s shoulder. “That’s because it’s always warm out.”

“See! You think it’s warm but it’s not.”

Langa hums at him skeptically. It’s quieter out here but that doesn’t mean it’s silent. Reki contently listens to the sounds of leaves rustling in the wind, bugs and birds chirping, and Langa’s soft breaths. 

“We should probably head back soon,” he eventually suggests. 

“Probably.” Langa doesn’t move.

There’s an odd tension building, odd because Reki doesn’t know how he feels about it aside from being nervous and excited. He glances at the side of Langa’s face from the corner of his eye. He understands why that guy confessed to him because even purely aesthetically speaking Langa is gorgeous. And that guy doesn’t even know Langa like Reki knows him. He doesn't know that Langa’s so much more than pretty. He’s kind, and passionate, and a bit of an airhead, and a good listener, and a really good friend and he certainly deserves better than some muscly skater whose t-shirt is really plain (a sign of a boring guy,) and who’s way too tall (objectively speaking.) 

Langa catches his gaze and smiles at him. For some reason, Reki glances down at his lips. It almost feels like a dream, and exactly like in his dream, Reki wants to kiss him.

Which is crazy because he doesn’t have a crush on Langa. So what if he wants to kiss him? And maybe he wants to cuddle him too? And give him lots of gifts-

Oh my god, he has a crush on Langa.

His heart pounds in his chest. He quickly glances back at the warehouse.

For better or for worse, Miya has impeccable timing.

He races towards them. “Slime and taller slime!” he calls out. “Guess who offered to make pizza?”

Reki lets his arms fall away from Langa’s torso and steps back. The heat from Langa’s body lingers in his chest and in his hands.  

“We have names, you know?”

“So you’re just going to ignore the part where I mentioned free pizza?” Miya looks at him knowingly, glancing between him and Langa.

“No, tell us more about it,” Langa says. 

Reki snickers.

Miya looks at them slyly. “Come on. Shadow said he’d give us a ride to Joe’s.” 

Reki can’t argue with a ride and free pizza, and he certainly can’t argue with the way Langa grins at him. So they head back inside. 

----

Reki is being...clingy. More than usual. At first, Langa thinks he’s projecting. Seeing what he wants to see. But there’s no way that Reki touched him this much before. The way his arm loops into his when they’re at work or when Reki wants to show him something. The way his leg always seems to rest over his own. He would remember if Reki was like this before because he would have already had a heart attack, a destination he is rapidly approaching.  

Reki's head rests on his shoulder at lunch. Again. That’s not to say that Langa doesn’t love it, because he does, he really, really, does. But, it’s starting to give him ideas about Reki, more than usual.

He’s drawn back into the video when Reki cringes as the guy face plants, his back curving in a particularly nasty way.

“Oh, that’s gotta hurt.” 

Langa hums.

“Langa, would you still be my boyfriend if I wiped out like that and couldn’t skate anymore?” Reki comments idly. 

Langa’s eyebrows furrow as he considers the question. The answer is of course, yes. Then the words catch up to him, destroying his soul in one fell swoop.

“Boyfriend?” he says without a shred of calmness. 

Reki jumps off his shoulder and waves his hands around wildly. “No! I meant best friend, oh my god.” Reki flushes all the way to his ears. Langa figures they must look pretty similar in that regard. 

Langa desperately wants to tease him but if Reki so much as says anything back to him he might combust, so he settles for nodding. 

“I would still be your best friend.” 

Reki keeps looking at him for a maximum of one second only to glance away and look back at him not a moment later. “That’s cool. I would be too. You’re best friend that is. Because I didn’t say that earlier and we are not mentioning it again.” 

Langa feels like a small army of butterflies are trying to escape his rib cage.

He was going to drop it. But Langa knows better than anyone how cute Reki gets when he’s embarrassed. 

“About the paralysis thing or the you being my boyfriend thing?” he teases. 

Reki smacks his arm. “Shut up! You know exactly what I’m talking about.” 

Langa snickers at him. “I don’t know Reki, this is the second time you’ve mentioned being my boyfriend.” 

Reki looks like he’d thank someone if they offered to shoot him on the spot. “Langa,” Reki stretches out his name. “That’s not even relevant! And I don’t want to be your boyfriend so it doesn't matter.” 

Cool, cool, cool. Except for the fact that none of that is cool and it is, in fact, completely devastating news. 

Langa keeps his face perfectly impassive as he nods. “That’s fair,” he says, because he has no idea what else to say to that. 

Reki flops down onto the concrete rooftop. His red hair fans out on the floor. From this angle, Langa can more clearly see the dark roots of his hair growing in. It reminds him that he needs to dye his own. And also that Reki has no interest in dating him. He stops that thought in its tracks and saves it for later.

“We should dye our hair,” he blurts. 

Reki looks at him curiously, the intense blushing having faded a bit. “But, it already is?”

“Yeah, but your roots are growing in and so are mine.” 

Reki’s eyes widen in understanding. He sits up. “That’s a great idea! I always have to force Koyomi to help me but we can do each other’s.”

Langa nods. Reki’s enthusiasm is always infectious, even if Langa’s still feeling a little like his heart is bleeding out on the pavement. 

“Let’s do it this weekend. We can pick up the dye on our way home.” Reki grins.

What else is Langa to do except helplessly grin back?

---

Reki washing his hair was not an experience that Langa put very high on his bucket list. It wasn’t actually on the list at all, but after today he’ll be sure to add an amendment. 

“Is the water too hot?” Reki asks, as he runs his fingers through the blue strands.

“No. It’s fine.” It’s hard to hold onto thoughts when Reki’s running his hands so gently across his head.

“You’re going to look so cool.” 

“It’s the same colour, Reki.” Langa sighs contently. “I’m going to look the same.”

“Nah, it’ll look better because it’s all touched up.” Reki twirls a strand of his hair under the water. “Not that anyone will be able to tell from a foot below you, I guess” 

“I’m not that tall. You’re just short.” 

“Ouch. At my eulogy they’ll read, ‘here lies Reki, he was "just short".’” Reki snickers at his own joke. Langa wishes he could see it, but he keeps his eyes closed in case of chemicals. 

“I’m almost done.”

Langa wishes he wasn’t. He could lay like this all day, even with the uncomfortable crick in his neck from laying over the tub for so long.

“Okay, you can sit up now.” Reki places a towel around his shoulders. 

“Thanks.” Langa quickly lifts it up to dry it. Scuffing roughly at his scalp.

“Woah, you’re going to destroy your hair like that. Let me,” Reki says, grabbing the towel from him. 

How could Langa say no?

Unlike when he was bent over the tub, Langa can see Reki’s face as he pads at his hair. His tongue sticks out slightly as he concentrates. Like a little reptile. 

He still has the dye in his hair (and looks a bit ridiculous truthfully,) but only fuels Langa's desire to wash it out. Another thing to add to the bucket list, he’s sure. 

“That should be good.” Reki pulls back. “You should brush it though before it dries weird.”

“Thanks.” Langa quickly grabs a brush off the counter and runs it through his hair. “Okay, your turn.”

Langa turns the water back on and runs his hand underneath to check the temperature. “Alright, lean over the tub.”

Reki complies. It’s then that Langa realizes that there are four benefits to this whole hair dyeing thing. One: dyed hair, two: Reki touches his hair, three: he gets to touch Reki’s hair, four: Reki cannot see him if he stares at his ass. 

Langa is a simple man. There are only so many things he can resist in a day. When he starts to feel like a creep, which is very fast, he grabs the shower head and holds it over Reki’s hair. He begins lightly brushing his fingers through it

When his eyes start to drift downward he pulls them right back up. Because it's rude and it makes him feel gross. But Langa he's also a teenage boy and there's only so much he can take. A mistake or two or three can be forgiven.

Reki's hair feels coarse as he rinses it, but after applying the shampoo and conditioner he can easily slide his hand through. He wonders how long he can keep brushing it before Reki asks what’s taking so long. 

“That feels nice,” Reki comments sleepily. 

Langa hums in response. After Langa is certain Reki’s hair has been more than thoroughly washed, he grabs him a towel.

“You’re done.” He sets it around his shoulders like Reki did for him.

“Thanks.” Reki pads lightly at his hair. Langa would very much like to offer to dry it but also knows that he dries his hair like someone will take the towel from him if it’s not done in a matter of seconds. 

“How does it look?” Reki asks, bringing the towel down from his head. 

Reki’s hair is sticking out at odd angles, ruffled up beyond belief. That’s when Langa knows he’s in deep. Because Reki looks perfect.

Langa clears his throat. “Looks good.”  

Reki spins around to look at himself in the mirror. “Awesome! I knew you’d be better at this than Koyomi.”

It’s such a small compliment but Langa’s chest warms. 

“You did a good job too.” 

Reki beams at him. “Want to hit the skate park while there’s still daylight?”

“Obviously.” 

---

While Reki is busy trying to land a flip jump, Langa figures he’ll try and practice on the half pipe. He’s getting the hang of it, sort of. But like Reki once told him, bailing is a part of boarding. 

He’s not even distracted. Sometimes you just mess up. 

He wipes out. Hard. His palms ache with the impact and sting enough that he knows he’s bleeding. He really, really, doesn’t want to look. Reluctantly, he pushes himself up.

“Langa, are you okay?” Reki hovers over him. When did he get here? 

“Yeah.” Morbid curiosity and self-interest has him looking down at his own palms. Yep. He’s bleeding. 

“Langa, Langa, hey, look up, buddy. It’s going to be okay.” Reki grasps his hands. It gives him something to focus on because Reki’s holding his hand. 

It’s like a dream straight out of Langa’s fantasies except his palms hurt way more. 

He tries to focus on what Reki’s doing instead of thinking about his own injuries. Reki drops his hand (which sucks,) and pulls out his first aid kit. 

“Deep breaths, buddy.” Reki takes his palm again. He dabs it with disinfectant. 

Langa tries to breathe in but his breath is coming in shorter and harsher than normal. Luckily, sort of, the sting of the alcohol is enough to keep him grounded. 

Reki snickers as he puts a bandaid shaped like a skateboard over his wound. “You’re such a drama queen.”

Langa has never been described as a drama queen in his life. He’s been called unexpressionate and apathetic. He’s even been described as other royalty, ice prince for instance. He likes this name much less. 

“Don’t look at me like that, you’re the one who’s losing it over a little blood.” Reki gently applies another bandaid to his other hand. He rubs his thumb over his knuckles. 

“Blood is supposed to be inside the body,” Langa manages to get out. It comes out less harsh than he wants it too. 

Reki’s still holding his one hand as he packs up the rest of the first aid kit. “Yes, I did pass biology.”

Langa humphs. 

“What? Do you want me to kiss it better?” Reki says teasingly. 

Yes. Yes. Dear God, yes.

“No.” Langa snaps his neck to look at the rest of the empty skate park. His cheeks burn.

Reki pulls at his hand. He glances back to see Reki’s face approaching his palm. Like he’s going to…

“What are you doing?” Langa asks, even though it’s obvious what Reki’s doing. 

“I’m kissing it better, you big baby.” Reki grins at him. 

Just as Reki’s lips are about to touch his skin he blurts, “But isn’t it gross?” he says it quickly and quietly and immediately regrets it. He prays Reki doesn’t hear it and the wind simply carries it away. Because for some god forsaken reason he can’t let himself have this one thing without ruining it. 

Reki flinches back.

“Nevermind,” is what Langa wants to say. Cut Reki off before he can lie to him so obviously with pity in his eyes. Or worse, tell him that it is gross and that Langa made it weird. But he lets it hang there in the air. He can’t deny it because the little part of him that’s been growing louder by the day needs to know and can’t live wondering what Reki thinks about him anymore. 

Reki stares at him for so long that it’s obvious to Langa what he thinks. 

Langa hopes that he’ll pretend he didn’t hear it at all and spare them both (but mostly Langa, ) the humiliation. 

But then Reki squeezes his hand and Langa realizes that he’s still holding it. 

“Langa, I’m sorry about what I said to those guys. I didn’t mean it. I don’t think it’s gross to…” Reki flushes red, “to kiss you,” He mumbles out. Reki won’t look at him, staring intently down at their palms. 

Langa feels as though a weight's been lifted from his shoulders even if he knows Reki is likely only saying it to make him feel better.

“Okay,” he says, for lack of a better response. 

Reki squeezes his hand again and this time he looks into his eyes. “I mean it. I think any guy would be lucky to date you.” Except me, Langa hears the unspoken in the air. 

He twists a loose thread around the bottom of his shirt. 

“You don’t believe me, do you?” Reki mutters.

Langa shrugs.

“I’ll kiss you and prove it!” Reki announces in the same way he does when he’s about to try a new trick. Full of determination and passion.  

“What?” Langa’s head snaps to look at him. He’s blushing. It would be a funny joke if it wasn’t so cruel. If he wasn’t so in love with him.

Reki laughs nervously. “Just kidding.”

“Oh.” Langa deflates. He tries not to. He tries to act unaffected, but he knows he falls short when Reki looks at him, panicked and guilty. His throat is too dry. 

“Wait- I mean, uh, maybe we could? If that would make you feel better?”

It’s a terrible idea. Reki’s clearly offering out of sheer fucking pity. It’s a terrible plan that’ll plant terrible ideas in Langa’s head.

It’ll reopen Pandora’s box and let loose the worst demon of all, hope.

But he doesn’t want to wait too long in case Reki gets nervous enough to withdraw his once in a lifetime offer but also, what if Reki hates it or it makes it weird or-

“You want to kiss me?” he settles on. 

Reki flushes such a vibrant red he blends in with his hair. “You can’t just ask that.”

It makes Langa frown. Reki’s always weird about what questions he can and can’t ask. “Why not? You offered.”

“But, I, it’s embarrassing.” 

And yeah, Langa understands. It would be embarrassing to kiss him. “It’s okay. You don’t actually have to kiss me.”

Reki rubs his one hand in his hair, messing it up. He groans. “Stop deliberately misinterpreting things.”

“Then just say what you mean.”

Reki looks a little like he’s having a conniption. Which is partly funny but mostly nerve wracking. 

Reki drops his hand. Then both his hands are gripping his face, warm and calloused and Reki . 

Langa stares wide-eyed as his face quickly approaches his own. Then Reki’s lips are on his lips.

He thinks it’ll be a quick peck but Reki’s lips move against his own. So he moves his back. He lets his eyes fall shut. 

Too soon, Reki pulls away and drops his hands from his face. Langa's lips feel numb, but in a good way.

If Langa thought he’d seen Reki embarrassed before it was nothing compared to this. 

Reki swallows. He looks down at his hands. “Do you feel better?”

“I don’t know,” Langa answers truthfully. If he had any idea what the fuck was going on he might be able to tell him something more cohesive. “Maybe.”

Reki says nothing. Which is a great sign for their friendship. 

But Pandora’s box is already open now and there’s no going back. Unless he’s seriously misinterpreting some sort of Japanese custom, Langa thinks that maybe Reki might like him.

Mustering up every ounce of courage he’s saved up over his life, Langa stutters out, “Maybe-uh, maybe you should kiss me again, just in case.” 

Reki’s eyes snap up to meet his gaze. Langa feels like someone's stolen all the air from his lungs.

Reki nods. “Okay.” 

This time when Reki leans in, open eyed, Langa meets him halfway. His lips feel soft and chapped. Although, he’s becoming increasingly aware that he doesn’t know what to do with his hands. But then one of Reki’s fingers lightly brush his own. 

And Wow. This is so much better than anything Langa could have imagined.

When Reki pulls away for air, (Langa might have let himself suffocate if he was being completely honest,) Langa’s in such a daze that if not for the thundering of his heart he’d be certain he was asleep. 

“That was good,” Langa says. It's a wildly inadequate statement for what he's feeling but he's operating at significantly less processing power.

He hopes that he and Reki are on the same page with this kissing thing because he would very much like to do a lot more of it. 

“Yeah.” Reki's lips quirk up into a smile. 

Do it. Tell him you like him. Tell him. Now, Langa’s brain chants. 

“I-” Both he and Reki say at the same time. 

“You go first,” Langa’s quick to add.

Reki rubs the back of his neck. “I like you. A lot.” 

If Langa wasn’t red before, which he was, he definitely would be now. He stares at Reki in awe.

But Reki’s not done, “I really like skateboarding with you, and doing homework together, and eating lunch and actually I like doing everything with you.” Reki looks a bit sheepish. “You probably get better confessions than this all the time.”

“No!” Langa jumps in, “That was good. Better than good. The best one I’ve ever had.” Reki looks at him skeptically. “I like you too.”

Reki looks like he might pass out. “Oh, well, that’s good.”

“Yes. It is.” Langa nods awkwardly. He looks away to the sun setting over the ocean. “Does that mean we're dating now?” 

“If you want to?” Reki sounds strained and Langa is starting to realize that Reki might have the emotional bandwidth of a butter knife. 

Langa smiles at him. “I want to. Do you want to?”

“Yeah. I want to.” 

Langa grins at him. A laugh bubbles up in his throat. And because he can’t stop teasing Reki he says, “You want to be my boyfriend.”

“Stop looking at me like that! I know what I said.” Reki shoves him. 

But Langa keeps looking at him like that. And then he can’t hold it in anymore, a laugh pours out of his throat. 

Reki tries to hold back a smile of his own but he can’t, not for long, and then he’s laughing too.

The sun sets but Langa feels like it’s a new day. A better day. Maybe even the best day he’s ever had. 

“Do you want to come over for dinner?” Reki asks eventually.

“Yes, please,” Langa says, because of course he wants to go to Reki's house. His boyfriend’s house. Because he has a boyfriend now. 

Reki smiles and Langa’s never been so glad that he moved to Okinawa.