Work Text:
Reki stood in front of the door to Sia la Luce contemplating whether he should knock or not, noting the 'sorry, we’re closed!' sign hung up. He checked his phone; it was 11:42pm on a Friday, nearly an hour since the restaurant closed for the night.
‘Joe must’ve already finished closing everything, doubt he’s still around at this point.’. Reki thought woefully. He considered maybe ringing the bell to his apartment which was secluded behind a tall bush beside the entrance. Concluding that his presence would do nothing more than impose, he was about to turn and start his trek to some other location he’d figure out along the way. That was until he heard the door to the restaurant open.
“Kid? What are you doing out here this late? And all by yourself too?” A soft yet gruff voice asked. Reki’s head snapped and looked to the source — Joe, he’s still here. Thank God. “Joe, I thought you’d gone up and closed…” he muttered, trying to conceal how his breath hitched at the older man’s presence.
He let out a chuckle in response. “Did you not notice the lights were still on? And I always stay behind late, I’ve come to expect spontaneous company at this hour.” He shifts his gaze to Karou who’s planted in his usual place at the bar, whisking a glass of wine in his hand and feigning indifference — as if he wasn’t obviously eavesdropping.
Kojiro shook his head with a fond, yet exasperated expression and turned to look back at the redhead. “I saw you standing outside the door. Usually you’d barge right in, or at the very least have Langa glued to your side. What’s up kid? You alright?” he asked, concern lacing his voice as his eyes focused on the boy in front of him, trying to pick up on any queues of distress.
“I– uhm.” Reki croaked, his gaze pinned to the ground as he starts picking at the red skin peeling around his nails from his anxious nail biting habits. It was quite obvious to Kojiro that the kid wasn’t doing well, all things considered. Suppressing a frown to not make the kid feel even more uncomfortable, a reassuring smile took its place instead.
“Come in, Reki. Karou’s here too if that’s okay. If not, I can shoo him out of here no problem” he offered, opening the door even further to let the boy inside. Karou let out a loud huff in response, but he knew he’d be ready to leave and head up to their apartment immediately if asked.
“No, no, it’s okay. Cherry can stay, it’s just…” his voice trailed off as he followed Kojiro inside. He shook his head, gripping his hair in frustration as the words just couldn’t seem to leave his mouth.
“Hey, hey, hey” Kojiro tutted gently, grabbing his hands and pulling them away to prevent any further damage. “It’s okay if you can’t talk right now, you don’t have to explain anything if you don’t feel up to it. How about I heat up some leftovers for you, yeah? You don’t look to have your board on you, if you walked all this way you must be tired and hungry. You can sit up at the bar with Karou or at your usual booth, whatever you’re comfortable with. Just take it easy, okay?” He spoke lightly.
Reki nodded in response, still refusing to meet Kojiro’s gaze. With the older leaving to go prepare his food, Reki slowly trudged towards the bar and sat a stool apart from pink haired man. Upon sitting down, he immediately slumped on the table, his head turned away from Karou, not sparing a single word or glance. Karou, however, had been observing the boy from the moment he pointed out his presence to Kojiro, having noticed him standing outside through the large windows beside the door.
Reki was usually so full of energy and life — if not literally bouncing, he’d be talking everyone’s ears off, especially if Langa was by his side. And he almost always was, the two were nearly inseparable. Those were the first red flags Karou noticed, then the fact that the boy merely stood outside the door seemingly hopelessly. There had been more instances than Karou would like to admit where the boy would excitedly burst through the door despite the closed sign and come face to face with him and Kojiro in some less than savoury positions. So why is it he decided to pay any mind to that all of a sudden?
Karou’s mama bear instincts were kicking into overdrive, much to his chagrin. He never once imagined he’d feel so territorial and protective over anyone but Kojiro — let alone children who weren’t his. He always assumed he’d live a child-free life, and Kojiro was accepting and supportive of that, as he always was.
However, he hadn’t anticipated that a rowdy redhead, an airheaded Canadian, and a feisty cat boy would worm their way through the cracks of the stone walls surrounding his heart. Hell, even Hiromi managed to establish himself in this dynamic as a reluctant chaperone of sorts — like an uncle, he thought.
That thought made Karou freeze for a moment. ‘An uncle, huh? And that’d make the kids my children? Ridiculous. Obscene.’
This hadn’t been the first time that thought crossed his mind. He and Kojiro have been married for the past five years, not once having shown signs on either end of an interest in children — a family. Yet once the boys broke through his walls and didn’t show any signs of leaving any time soon, he couldn’t help but lean into it even if he consciously continued to deny it.
Miya already called them mama and papa occasionally, which as infuriating as the ‘mama’ title is, he can’t help but feel his heart squeeze at the sentiment.
Karou was snapped out of his thoughts as Kojiro placed down a plate of spaghetti in front of Reki, along with another serving of carbonara he made specifically for Karou before he arrived earlier that night from his studio.
Kojiro took his place in front of the bar, propping his elbow on the surface and leaning against his arm.
Still pressed against the table, Reki moved the plate forward and grabbed the fork, “Thanks Joe”, he croaked out. He couldn’t even muster up enough energy to feign his usual enthusiastic ‘thanks Joe!’ with his mouth half stuffed with food. In fact, Reki barely seemed to want to eat at all, taking to picking and poking at it instead, trying to make it seem like he was at least somewhat interested.
Kojiro and Karou made eye contact upon observing the boy’s behaviour. Karou was about to speak but Kojiro held his hand up lightly, signaling that he’d take the lead for now. His lover nodded slightly in response, and Kojiro gave a grateful look back.
“So, how’s your day been, kid? Get to skate with Langa at all?”, the older man asked. Reki’s body started to relax after hearing Langa’s name, just barely lifting his head to turn and face the two, finally mustering up enough willpower for a response.
“Yeah, a little bit. We skated before Langa had work, but we didn’t have a shift together since I didn’t have any commissions I needed to work on. His mom finished her shift at work early since she was working a morning to noon shift. She’s a nurse, you know. She usually works in the evenings through the night so they don’t get to spend much time together. But since she finished early and had the rest of the weekend off, she decided to drive up them up to visit Langa’s aunt and uncle, like his mom’s sister and whatnot. And from what he’s told me about them, they sound super cool and nice. He said that next time, he’d even take me to go meet them.” Reki smiled slightly for the first time that night, burying his head into his arms, hiding the blush creeping up his face.
‘Ah, there’s our boy’ , the men simultaneously thought as their gazes met again. ‘So this is what it must be. Reki misses Langa.’ And of course Langa’s what gets the boy talking endlessly, and there’s nothing they love to hear more from him.
‘The two really are a spitting image of us’, Kojiro thought, hitting deep in his soul. There’s something about protecting queer youth that made the men even more fond of their three boys, wanting nothing more than to shelter them from all the cruelty of the world – especially given their neurodivergency. ‘Are these kids really not own flesh and blood?’
Kojiro lets out a light chuckle at Reki’s yearnful ramble, “Ah, so you’re here because Langa’s away for the weekend, yeah? You miss him?” Kojiro verbalized his thought, being careful to not prod too much in the wrong direction. That seemed to backfire, though, as Reki immediately stiffened again. Seeing this, Karou shot daggers at the taller with a stare that could kill if he were any weaker of a man.
“I-I guess? Not really though, or like, that’s not the only reason — t-the main reason, at least. Uhm.” Reki’s breath became shakier as the older men watched and listened intently, not wanting to miss anything the redhead had to say.
“It’s okay, Reki. Take your time, Kojiro and I are both here for you. You don’t have to tell us anything you’re too uncomfortable with sharing. Just know that we’re always here to support you, okay? Whatever it may be.” Karou finally spoke up, standing to take the empty seat beside Reki and cautiously placing his arm on his back.
Reki choked up at the action, making Karou pause, but the boy’s body subconsciously relaxed and leaned into the touch once he registered what he was doing. Seeing this, Karou relaxed as well, placing his hand fully against Reki’s back as he began gently stroking and rubbing at the area, feeling how concerningly stiff his muscles were. He mentally noted to take Reki to his personal masseuse, he couldn’t have the boy develop back issues at such a young age.
Kojiro smiled warmly at the gesture, walking around the bar table and taking the other empty seat beside Reki. “Karou’s exactly right, Reki. That goes for Langa and Miya too. You kids are important to us, we want to make sure you boys are always safe and well. You’re a great kid, Reki. We’ll always have your back, you can always count on us and we don’t want you to forget that, okay?” Kojiro added, ruffling the boy’s hair.
Reki couldn’t hold back the sob clogging his throat at that point, tears bursting out of his eyes as he buried himself even deeper into his arms.
The men felt their hearts shatter at the sight, and Karou instantly pulled the boy into his embrace, knowing just how much he loved and appreciated physical touch. Just as instantly, Reki wrapped his arms around the slender figure and a hand was placed on his head, guiding it to rest on his shoulders as the boy continued sobbing uncontrollably. Karou began lightly hushing him and soothing him, humming mellow tunes as he continued stroking his back.
Kojiro watched in awe and he felt himself fall in love with Karou all over again, He’s known his husband since they were in diapers — damn near three decades and he’d never once seen Karou like this. So soft, gentle, caring, almost maternal. He’d definitely get smacked if he ever said that out loud, though, so he kept his thought to himself as he watched the pair adoringly.
After what felt like an eternity, Reki’s sobs finally began to subside as he pulled away from Karou and his breath began to settle. He turned his head away in embarrassment as he let out a small “sorry”, which Karou shut down gently, reiterating that they were always there for him.
“How about you two head upstairs to our apartment, yeah? I’ll put away the food and turn off the lights while you go make yourselves comfortable. Then I’ll brew up some tea and we can sit and talk more privately. How’s that sound?” Kojiro offers.
“Oh no, please, I wouldn’t want to intrude at all or anything. You two have done more than enough, I swear. I-I didn’t mean to break down like this, it’s really nothing at all. You guys don’t need to worry about me, I’m fine, I promise. I can’t possibly—"
“No, we insist.” Karou interrupts Reki’s panicking, “We’ve told you that we’re always here for you and want you to be okay, Reki. We wouldn’t be doing any of this if we didn’t want to, but we care about you and you’re clearly not okay.” He finished, words both assertive yet attentive, wanting to make sure it got through to Reki just how serious they were.
Reki gaped slightly as he looked back and forth between the older men, seemingly trying to gauge if they were messing with him or not. He concluded that they were, in fact, completely serious, which sent a shiver up his spine. All he could do was meekly nod, making Karou warmly huff as he wrapped his arm around the boy’s shoulder and began leading him up to his and Kojiro’s apartment above the restaurant. ‘How did I ever get so lucky? S’ two biggest legends care about me of all people???’ Reki fleetingly thought.
He was too exhausted to dwell on it, though, so he simply chose to file it away for another time – realistically for when he inevitably has to up and leave and return home. That thought, however, hit him like a truck and caused him to stop in his tracks as he and Karou were walking up the stairs. ‘Return back home. Fuck. I have to go back home at some point, don’t I? I can’t believe I just forgot, damn it. I’m screwed.’
Karou stopped as well and his eyes shot back to Reki in an instant, reading the face of horror and apprehension that took over the boy’s features — unlike any other expression he had made that night. “Hey, is everything alright Reki? What happened?” Karou asked, trying to mask the growing and festering concern bubbling up in his stomach — damn near overflowing and leaking out of his pores at this rate.
His voice snapped Reki back into the present, and even he could tell just how worried the usually stoic and indifferent man was. ‘Fuck, I made him worry. Ugh, it’s best not to say anything. Maybe I can stall and stay here longer… but what if I stay too long and they end up sending me off anyways? They wouldn’t do that, right? They said they’re here for me… but what if I’m overreacting? What if it’s not that bad and they send me back home regardless? What time is it anyways? It was almost 2am by the time I got here. It’s getting so late, and Saturdays are Joe’s busiest days. I’ll only be inconveniencing them even more. Why are they even doing this again?’
Reki hadn’t even realized that the anxiety took over again, however this time, his breath started getting even heavier and he began hyperventilating — his body shaking as air caught in his chest and throat as he was becoming conscious of the fact that he could barely seem to breathe.
Alarms were blaring in Karou’s head as he watched Reki succumb to what seemed to be an oncoming panic attack. Noting they were still on the stairs, he wrapped his arm around Reki tighter and softly lowered them to one of the steps — all too familiar with the fact that they wouldn’t be able to make it up the stairs at this rate. By this point, Kojiro finished putting things away and made his way to the stairs to their apartment. He didn’t have to make it far before he was met with Karou and a now panic-ridden Reki. He rushed up and stood just a few steps below the one they were sat on.
He took a moment to just quietly observe the situation rather than impulsively jump head in as he was about to, not wanting to disturb Karou or overwhelm Reki more than he already was. He watched intently as Karou guided Reki’s hand to his chest, softly instructing the boy to follow his breathing. The slim man pressed the boy’s calloused hand close, making sure to apply enough pressure to where the redhead was grounded enough to feel his heartbeat and his lungs rising and lowering with each deep breath.
He inhaled deeply and counted out loud ,“In… two… three… four. Hold… two… three… four. Out… two… three… four. Hold… two… three… four..”, which he continued to repeat for another minute or two while using his other hand to stroke Reki’s hair. His breath started evening out, but there were still tremors rocking through his body, making him too weak to even so much as lift his head.
Karou finally looked up from the boy and locked eyes with Kojiro briefly. The taller nodded, making it further up the stairs until his body was leveled with the two, slightly towering over them. Karou lightly tapped Reki’s shoulder, making him lift his head to look at the older man. He wordlessly pointed up at Kojiro, making Reki look back and notice Kojiro’s presence. The younger looked back at the pink haired who simply nodded up in response. Reki could somehow sense what he was trying to get at and he turned his body towards Kojiro who let out a reassuring smile before slightly lowering down and plucking the boy from Karou’s embrace.
Reki didn’t even have the capacity to be embarrassed at that point, he was completely and utterly wrung out. All he did was bury his face in Kojiro’s neck as he felt himself be gently maneuvered into a position that was more comfortable for the muscle heavy man. Karou got up as well, turning around and heading up further to the apartment as the other two followed suit. He pulled out his keys and opened the door widely, entering first and making sure Kojiro would have enough space to let the boy in through the door.
Thankfully it didn’t prove too difficult, and he doesn’t want to admit it was due to his endless experience carrying Karou up to their place after he’d had one too many drinks. He knows his husband would actually smack him at that.
Entering the apartment, Kojiro followed Karou to where he beckoned them into the guest bedroom so Reki could have a place to settle down and collect his bearings. Placing him down on the bed, Kojiro gave the redhead a gentle head rub as he left to get started on the tea he promised, shutting the door behind him in case they needed more privacy.
At that point, Reki just melted into the mattress and tried to come back to his senses. Karou softly took off Reki’s headband so he could continue stroking his hair. He noted it was rather oily and matted, making him frown to himself slightly. He started humming again and Reki relaxed even further, sinking into Karou’s touch and making him smile endearingly. “Reki, darling, how about a shower, hm? I can prepare a change of clothes and you can stay the night if you’d like. How’s that sound?” Karou pitched as his hand continued to rake through the younger’s hair, his gaze still attentive as ever.
Reki’s eyes widened as he shot up from the bed, gaping at Karou. “Cherry, you can’t be serious. Really?? Why?? B-but you don’t even know what’s wrong – I-I can’t just stay and take up more of your time and energy like that, let alone your personal space.”
While it’s true that he mostly refused to let the boys up to their apartment when they usually came over after S, that was because they were often too rowdy and curious for their own good. Last time, he nearly had to resort to using Kojiro’s kitchen knives to prevent the idiot from sharing their wedding photo album with them when Miya asked about it with those mischievous up-to-no-good eyes of his. He reckons that’s why Reki must feel so strongly like he’s intruding. Karou cursed himself internally for making him and possibly the other boys feel this way. He decided that from that point on, he’d make sure the kids always felt welcomed into their home. They’re his boys after all, whether anyone, including himself, liked it or not.
“I’m sorry I made you feel that way, Reki, you’re always welcome in our home. Especially, especially, when you’re not doing well. I may not know what wrong but you’re clearly in distress and it’s nearly 1am at this point, I don’t know how much longer it’ll take until you’re well enough to go all the way back home. You don’t have your skateboard on you either, though we could also drive you back if you’d prefer — you don’t have to stay if you don’t feel like it, of course” Karou replies, hoping to ease and reassure him.
Reki’s body slumped back down as he fought the tears welling up in his eyes. ‘Thank God, I don’t have to go back home tonight. Thank God, thank God, thank God’ he gratefully chanted in his head as tears of relief and appreciation started making their way down his face. He turned his head and quickly wiped them away, sniffling as he muttered out a broken “Thank you, thank you so much. Please, I really want to stay the night. I-I’ll tell you guys what’s going on after I shower, I promise.” He turned back and beamed at Karou — genuinely beamed, like he had finally nailed a trick he’d been practicing for months on end.
Countless of emotions Karou could barely even start to name began rushing through his veins and taking over his soul, body, and mind as he swore to any and all deities listening out there that he’d protect this boy until the end of time if it meant he’d continue smiling like that. No doubt Kojiro would feel the same if he saw the way he looked at him, and he’s dead certain that Langa’s already ahead of them by miles.
Reki truly is the sun, there’s no denying it; and he is so unbelievably loved — more than he’ll ever know it and yet not even close to what he deserves.
Karou let out an adoring smile in return and embraced him one more time, “Of course, dear. Just know that all of us; me, Kojiro, Miya, Hiromi, and especially Langa would do anything for you. We care about you so much.”
Reki was so overwhelmed, he didn’t even know what to do with himself. He just hugged the older man even tighter before letting go and giving him an earnest smile.
Karou ruffled his head before adding, “There’s a bathroom just to right of the door, the first one you’ll see when you leave the room. There’s towels in there, as well as a spare hairbrush, toothbrush, and other bathroom supplies you might need under the sink. I’ll go fetch you some clothes in the meantime and check to see what’s taking the damn gorilla forever.”
Reki nodded back with an enthused thank you as he grabbed his phone to check whatever it was that he needed to check. Karou stepped out of the room and was met with Kojiro leaning against the wall with a look so enamoured and sappy, Karou could vomit from the sheer sweetness of it all.
He grabbed his lovers arm and tugged him into their bedroom so Reki could make his way to the bathroom, not to mention they had to find spare clothes anyway. Sitting on the bed, Karou sighed with exasperation. “What were you looking at me like that for? Why were you just standing out there like some creepy stalker?” He hissed out in his usual Kojiro-reserved bickering attitude.
“I was gonna tell you two the tea was ready, I thought we might drink at the table since I don’t have enough arms to bring them to the room…” Kojiro trailed off before meeting his husbands gaze, a teasing smirk making its way to his so-stupidly-handsome-yet-punchable face, by Karou’s words. “But I heard you and Reki talking and I didn’t wanna disturb your tender and sweet moment. I’ve been married to you for years and I’ve never heard you speak like that…” he added, approaching Karou and pushing him down against the mattress and hovering over him.
He recalled his thought from earlier that night and decided to tease his lover. “So maternalistic, if you will. Maybe Miya wasn’t too off about this whole mama Cherry thing, huh?” He grinned obnoxiously. Karou growled and rolled his eyes to the moon before he shoved away the man on top of him as hard as he could, getting off the bed and making his way to their closet to find clothes for Reki.
“You damn imbecile, what is up with you? The boy had such a rough night and this is how you’re behaving? Of course a muscle brained idiot like you can’t fathom the idea of ‘time and place’.” He huffed in annoyance as he started his search, but Kojiro knew there was no real bite to it.
His eyes followed his husband’s actions as he plumped down on the bed and watched Karou rummage through their drawers. He let out a fond chuckle, “You invited Reki to stay the night? How unlike you. Not that I object of course, I was thinking the same thing.”
Karou sighed in response to his comment as to not entertain him any further. He closed their dresser drawer after having found clothes he believed would both somewhat fit Reki as well as suit his personal preferences. He briefly left the room and placed the clothes in the guest bedroom, passing by the bathroom and softly knocking on the door to get Reki’s attention. The boy yells a “yeah?” in reply and Karou announces, “I left you some clothes on the guest bed for you when you finish up. Knock on our bedroom door when you’re done and ready to talk okay? Take your time, there’s no need to rush. We have all night.”
Reki yells back an “Okay! Thanks Cherry!”, and the older nods to himself and turns back towards his and husband’s bedroom. Entering again, he looked up to see Kojiro wearing the same damn expression as before. “Stop looking at me like that, you dopey gorilla.” His voice gruff as he kicked the man’s legs.
“Ouch, what the hell. Why can’t you be as loving and doting to your husband as you are to the kids?” he childishly whined out in the way he knew absolutely irked his lover.
“Because you behave like this. Seriously Kojiro, are we not gonna address what happened with Reki tonight?” Karou’s tone turned darker and more stern as he looked at Kojiro with astound disbelief at his seemingly nonchalant disposition about the whole situation.
Karou’s words hung in the air as Kojiro dismally huffed in response. “Well yeah of course we’re going to address it. We’re waiting on him, aren’t we? What am I supposed to say at this point? I don’t know how to handle teenager feelings, neither of us do. Why not debrief after the kid tells us what’s up? There’s no point in trying to figure out what it is and how to solve it if we don’t even know what’s going on in the first place. You’re gonna end up overthinking yourself into an anxiety attack too. The best thing we can do right now is be level-headed and composed so we can help him out more effectively. If we’re both freaking out over it, he’s gonna shut down again.” He replied.
The air was losing its tension as Karou processed Kojiro’s words. ‘For how much shit I give the gorilla, he actually can be more rational than he lets out. And he’s right, unfortunately. We ought to keep our composure. The boy his awfully fragile as it is right now.’, he thought.
He sighed and sat down next to his husband on their bed, leaning his head on his shoulder. “I know. You’re right, it’s just — I haven’t seen Reki like that since he had his brief falling out with Langa. And even then, I’d never seen him have a panic attack like that. Fuck, he’s not even my own flesh and blood but I’m so deeply worried about him. He reminds me so much of myself when I was his age, and the world is so cruel to souls like his. Kojiro, when I told him he could stay over, you wouldn’t believe the look he gave me. It was so damn precious, it felt like no matter what, I have to do everything I could to protect that boy.” He hoarsely spoke.
Kojiro’s eyes softened in response. “He doesn’t have to be our flesh and blood for us to care for him like he’s family. I know we said we never wanted kids, but this comes pretty close to it, yeah?” He replied, voice husky as he pulled Karou into a firm kiss that communicated his devotion to their little skate family. As they pulled away, they heard a hesitant knock on the door. They looked at each other briefly, sharing reassuring gazes before getting up to greet Reki at the door.
“Hey kid, doing better? Let’s go back to the living room and I’ll reheat the tea. It’s gone completely cold by now, I’m sure” Kojiro spoke with a smile. Reki nodded as the three trekked down to the living room, the green haired man slipping into the kitchen to make quick work of their tea as the other two settled down on the couch.
Kojiro quickly joined them, handing them their respective teacups and letting Reki gather his bearings. “Take your time kid, you can talk whenever you’re ready.” He added as he sits beside the boy, taking over the supportive physical affection position as Karou sat on the opposite end of the couch facing the younger.
He cleared his throat and the two gave him their full, undivided attention. “Uhm, before I start, I just wanna thank you guys again for doing all of this for me. I seriously can’t put it into words how much it means to me.”
Before Karou could interject to dispel the onslaught of gratitude, Kojiro gave him a firm ‘let the kid speak’ glace, making the other nod and keep his mouth shut until Reki prompted them to speak. The boy didn’t seem to notice this brief exchange between the two so he kept going.
“That’s, uhm, part of the reason I freaked out super badly a little bit ago. I really, really didn’t wanna go home tonight. Usually when it gets like this, I stay over at Langa’s but you know, he’s not here and… and tonight was especially bad in a weird way and I didn’t know where else to go, and I didn’t wanna call Langa and get him all jumbled up in this again when he’s out with his family. He’s already done so much for me, he’d probably get his mom to turn around and come back if he saw me like this.” Reki weakly chuckled as his breath started getting shaky, trying to hold himself back from crying again.
“What exactly happened, if you don’t mind me asking?” Kojiro faintly prodded.
Reki stiffened again, closing his eyes as if he were recollecting the earlier events. “It’s, uh, my parents. My relationship with them isn’t the best, especially my father, but tonight… the problem was with my mom. And like, it sucks so bad because things are always horrible with my father, but I rarely ever see him and I always have Langa to turn to when I do see him and shit hits the fan. Which to be fair is basically every time I see him, but I’ve essentially mastered avoiding him for the most part…” Reki rambled then annoyedly groaned at himself for getting off track.
He shook his head in frustration before continuing, “Whatever, that’s not the point. What sucks about this shit with my mom is that like, it’s always so wishy-washy with us. We used to be super close, she would always defend me against my father when I was younger and even now sometimes. They’ve fought over me so many times, they’ve nearly gotten divorced over it. And even after years, they still constantly do.” Reki shuttered, feeling that familiar pang of pain in his chest.
“With my father, there never seems to be much I can do, which is why avoiding him is simply the easiest thing I can do to protect my peace. But with my mom, she’s more or less supposed to be the most reliable one for me, you know? So I kind of have to talk with her. Our relationship was horribly strained for months, like it was so bad that we rarely even spoke to each other which wasn’t too difficult cuz I had school, work, S, and Langa to keep me away from home. But now that it’s the summer, I wanted to establish at least some semblance of peace between us and Langa helped me so much in navigating how to go about it.” His eyes soften at the thought of his best friend, the one who owed his life to, the one that he was so deeply in love with it suffocated him.
“And for a month or two, things were actually really good. I was learning to rely on her again for the first time in years and we were being more open and honest with each other. I had really thought that wow, I did it. I was able to be the bigger person and mend things with her on my own accord, and Langa was so proud of me and I was so proud of myself too but…” He trailed off again, prepare to retell the most unsavoury bits of it.
“The thing is, my mom has really bad political views. One’s that hurt my soul so deep because they go against my values and my morals. That was what made our relationship so bad initially, it was after I came out to her as bisexual paired with what was going on politically at that time. But I’d be here for hours if I started getting into that, and I quite frankly don’t have the energy to open up that can of worms.” Reki tirelessly shook his head.
“When I made amends with her earlier this summer, a lot of this had died down for the most part so it was easy to avoid arguments her. She still brought it up from time to time but Langa taught me some emotional regulation tips he learned from his therapist and they were really helpful! But lately… you know, things have been getting really bad again in the news, which has only reignited the fire under my mom’s ass and now there’s no more avoiding it. It seeps into every single conversation, and the way she talks about it is so fucking disgusting — you don’t understand. My father is worse 1000%, but I never speak to him anyways and that’s exactly why I avoid him. But my mom is supposed to be the voice of reason, she’s the one I’m supposed to talk to. Yet nowadays, whenever I talk to her and hear the way she speaks about it all, I feel myself losing respect for her as a human being. She literally does not feel human to me anymore, that’s how bad it is. And all of this resentment has been building up like crazy, to where I talk to her disrespectfully and rudely without even noticing. Like I can’t even help it, the disdain is there from the moment I see her and lingers for so long afterwards.” And rather than cry, Reki felt the same anger and disgust fester in his chest again.
“It’s so bad, I hate talking to her. I can’t stand it, it gets worse and worse every single fucking day. How does she not realize how fucked up she is when she talks about other people like that??? God, I hate this so bad. I hate that my parents aren’t even human to me.” His frustration grew as the two older men shared a look that carried a similar sentiment despite not knowing the full details. But knowing the kind of kid Reki is and seeing how deeply affected he was by this, there’s no doubt his sense of judgement and justice has him in the right here. Especially with the hint of his mother’s views on homosexuality — they could guess that this situation really was as dire as Reki is making it out to be.
“But despite that, we’ve still been able to hold onto the net of peace I reconstructed even just a little bit. Tonight, however, we had a bad argument — not even the worst we’ve had, and I just felt the months of effort completely shatter before my eyes. We’re once again exactly where we were before the summer started all because the resentment clouded my judgement and I was being an asshole to her. And yeah I can admit that was shitty of me, but if you heard the things she said, you couldn’t possibly blame me! Now I just don’t know what to do. School starts up in a few days and I’ll be back to never seeing her again, and fuck. Is this really what all my effort has come to? And I don’t even wanna do that all over again because she’s back on her psychopath bullshit with the things she says. I literally just don’t wanna talk to her, and I guess I’m just seeking refuge for some place to be while Langa is gone and before school starts up again.” Reki deeply sighed, nearing the end of his spiel. It’s then that he realizes how dried his throat was and began drinking his now cold tea that he couldn’t be bothered to complain about.
“So yeah, I guess that’s the gist of it. It’s nowhere near the worst fight we’ve been in but I’m just feeling like, really helpless and defeated. I’d apologize for all this but Langa always tells me I need to stop doing that, especially when people offer to listen in the first place. And honestly, I’m completely spent at this point and just being here has calmed me down tremendously which is why I’m not really freaking out as much as I was before, so…” Reki trailed off and sheepishly smiled, raising his head to meet the gaze of the older two men for the first time since he started speaking.
“Wow kid, I don’t know what to say. I’m so sorry you’ve had to put up with all this. You’re insanely strong, you know that?” Kojiro commented, bumping his shoulder against Reki’s. He gave a sluggish half-smile in response, “Yeah, thanks Joe” and the older pulled him into his embrace and ruffled his hair, making Reki giggle slightly.
“I didn’t mean to make you guys worry, really. All of this has made me feel much better, I think I just needed reassurance and someone to talk to, and obviously the change in location has been really helpful too.” He concluded.
“You remind me a lot of myself, Reki. You have no idea, I’ve been exactly in your shoes before. It’s so hard having your own family spew such vile things and live by it, that’s why I’ve been no contact with them for nearly a decade. Of course, not saying that’s what you should do, but I want you to know that there’s more to family than those who birthed and raised you — there’s more to it than the same flesh, blood, and surname. Family can be in your friends and community too, dear. I apologize if I’m overstepping, but Kojiro and I… we see you kids as family of our own. You, Langa, and Miya — and even Hiromi too. We both care about you all so deeply and your values are tremendously important to us. Just know that if you can’t confide in your own family and your house becomes too much for you to bear, you can always turn to us to call home.” Karou voiced after collecting his own thoughts, getting up and embracing Reki once again.
It’s at this point hearing Karou’s words that the weight of everything came crashing down again on Reki, letting out a whimper instead of a sob as his energy was still completely depleted. “Thank you guys so much for everything, you have no idea how much this all means to me” he muttered into the older’s shoulder, followed by a long yawn.
Kojiro checked the clock and noted that it was already past 3am, combined with all that emotional baggage it was no wonder Reki was utterly exhausted. “How about we call it a night? The restaurant doesn’t open till 2pm and Karou doesn’t work on the weekends, so we’ll be free to talk about this more tomorrow and work through it if you’d like. Maybe create a gameplan of sorts too, yeah?” Kojiro announced.
Reki let out another yawn as he nodded, “Mmkay, might text Langa first if he’s still awake at this point.” Karou released Reki from his hold and gets up, Kojiro following suit. The younger got up last as he began stretching his limbs, seeing the soreness catch up to him reminding Karou to take Reki to his personal masseuse. He smiled softly and lightly tutted, “Make sure not to stay up too long, it’s already late.”
Reki paused mid stretch and looked at him briefly from the corner of his eye, “Okay mom,” he replied teasingly yet with an unnamed weight to it that felt all too real. Karou, of course, sensed this immediately but for once chose not to bite back how he typically would.
As the boy began to descend into the guest bedroom once again, Karou gently called out, “Good night, Reki. We love you.” And if Reki wore the same beam as earlier, the older men would be none the wiser.