Chapter Text
By the time Langa’s legs regained their strength, it was inching dangerously close to nine and he was faced with the innate disappointment that he would have to leave Reki in an hour.
He sighed, leaning back against the sturdy chest, split between the longing to spend the rest of his night ranting to his mother about his day or soaking in Reki’s warmth because this was a once in a lifetime opportunity that he couldn’t pass up.
“What’s up?” Langa blinked, blushing for the hundredth time when he realized he was staring and Reki was staring right back at him. With those gorgeously cancerous eyes, Langa would never stop thinking about them.
In fact, Langa wouldn’t be upset if they plagued his brain and stuck to his frontal lobe forever after. Those eyes were a blend of hot metal at its peak, a bronze liquid pool of the sun that Langa just wanted to drown in. Burn into ashes, return to dust, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Reki was so angelic Langa could quote bible lines that he never read before.
His sunshine. He hoped he was his sunshine. Langa bit the inside of his cheek, “Can we call each other names now?”
Reki scrunched his eyebrows, tiny forehead lines forming that Langa's hands itched to smoothen out. But they disappeared before he could as Reki’s face turned red, the color growing and painting his tanned skin. Langa was a doomed man.
He coughed, scrunching his nose and this time Langa reached to run his fingers along the bridge of it, entranced before he realized what he was doing when he felt Reki cease his movements.
Reki cleared his throat, “Um-I-uh, hmm yeah man-uh course, you-um you have any ideas?” And then Langa’s face was flushing more because Reki was flustered and it’s like they now had the same brain because he became flustered.
“I-um, sunshine?” He croaked, stuffing his face in Reki’s neck, “Cause you’re like the sun and it feels like the world is alight when you smile and you’re warm, really warm like sunshine.”
Langa swallowed a few times in an attempt to loosen his throat as he watched Reki’s skin turn the color of his eyes. A pretty amber shade, well, close to it anyway.
“You-you like it when I smile?” A bit of Langa’s heart chipped away when he heard the undertone of disbelief in Reki’s words. He nodded, pulling away to level his eyes with Reki, “I like everything.” he blurted, his cheeks burning but he pushed through because he realized Reki needed to hear this. Needed to hear all the nice things Langa thought at three in the morning when he couldn’t sleep. Needed to know how Langa saw him so maybe he wouldn’t look in the mirror and see something completely different than what he was.
Like how Reki’s hair was so soft and fluffy that Langa wanted to run his hands through it every second of the day, the way his tanned skin flushed a pretty red like those rare post-rain sunsets, and how his eyes changed shades and lit up like Christmas tree lights whenever he got excited.
How his face twisted into the most accurate expression of his feelings and he moved his hands in a flurry to describe his conversation in two different ways. The way he hugged with his whole body, ate with his whole body, just moved with his entire body.
It was the way he could break down the most complex problems into the simplest building blocks and have Langa wondering what he would ever do without him. The way Reki laughed and showed all his teeth, the way he smiled full gummy grins where you could see blinding white joy shine through. The way he fumbled over his words and stuttered whenever he got flustered. The way he could understand exactly how Langa was feeling when Langa couldn’t even understand himself.
There was so much Langa wanted to say to Reki and he hurriedly shifted up, planning to spill all of it in blundering words and rushed syllables. And Langa was talking way too fast to process anything he was saying, if he was even speaking the correct language. He repeated the important thoughts, making sure to clearly state each factor as though this was his final project for an exam he needed to ace.
And fuck, he could see Reki’s ears tinting scarlet and eyes becoming glassy, rippling like a lake in the moonlight. And then it was Langa’s turn to hold Reki as the latter shifted so that he could curl against Langa’s chest, his hand resting directly on Langa’s irregularly beating heart and Langa wasn’t sure if he wanted Reki to hear it and know he was being genuine or miss it completely so he could keep some semblance of pride. But then he felt his shoulder get slightly damp and he hoped it was the former that occurred.
For the first time in a while, Langa knew exactly what to do, wrapping his arms tightly around Reki because he knew that when Reki sought touch he wanted to be overwhelmed by it. No words, just ragged breathing, and small sniffles to fill the silence.
Langa loved it with an aching heart, he loved the feeling of doing the right thing perfectly and not stuck swimming in the awkward space of doom where he thought everything and did nothing. He loved the trust that Reki willingly bunched in a bouquet and randomly gave to him one sunny day and now he gets to be the one to tell Reki pretty things about himself and let him cry out all the ugly things he thought instead.
It stung, hurt nonetheless to know that Reki didn’t know how lovable he was, how he was in so much disbelief that he got emotional hearing the truth. Reki deserved nothing but love and chocolates and cookies and kisses in front of Sahara dust sunsets after the rain.
Langa asked for a title and Reki said they were a mess and he was okay with that. Because he would be whatever Reki wanted him to be, even if it was something that would squeeze his heart and leave him grasping for tendrils of more than . Langa would take it and run in the wind to the shining sun with the biggest smile on his face.
He could understand now why Icarus reached for the sun with all his might, he could see how the shining rays were so bright that he stupidly jumped to his doom. Langa would do the same. He wanted Reki’s rays to shine so brightly they burnt Langa to a crisp, wanted Reki to see how stupid Langa was to create wax wings and fly so high in the sky to reach Reki that when he fell apart he’d do so in his arms. Maybe he could have embedded reflective glass in his wax wings, have Reki's golden light illuminate himself, and then finally realize how bright his brilliance was instead of shining it on everyone else.
Langa’s shoulder was beginning to dry all too quickly and he frowned, wanting to wrap Reki in a large blanket and have a long crying session with him as they ate ice cream and cuddled and watched the day waste by until their faces were stiff with salt and snot. Then they could kiss through the night until Langa stole the breath from Reki’s lungs and told him all the things that made Reki, Reki.
Reki cleared his throat, rubbing at his nose, “Sorry,” he croaked, “That came out of nowhere didn’t it.” he smiled, and Langa kissed his forehead because he could do this now right? The little laugh Reki gave told him that he was right. “Do you feel better?” He asked softly, brushing his hands through Reki’s hair because that always felt good and he loved playing with Reki’s hair.
The redhead sighed in content, leaning further against Langa and Langa was bubbling with so much joy because he was doing all the right things to make Reki happy. Even if he only now remembered that they were lying on the floor, wrapped in each other’s arms, and if Cherry saw them he would whack each of their heads with the fan. “I feel great man, just don’t really know what to call you now.”
He smiled a little wider, “Baby? Babes, Starlight shimmers?” He laughed, as Langa’s face began to burn, he didn’t mind any of those if it came from Reki. “I’ll come up with something,” Reki continued, “Something great.” His eyes sparkled and Langa wished he could snap a picture of this moment and keep it on his bedstand.
Langa shrugged, “Sunshine is unbeatable,” he stated firmly, tracing imaginary lines on Reki’s palm.
“Not for long,” Reki sang with a blinding grin, “Give me two days and I’ll give you the best nickname.” And Langa laughed because he was so cute, “Okay,” he agreed, staring at Reki’s dimpled smile lines and storing it in his brain for later as another thing to love.
_______
Joe dropped Langa home at ten in the night when his brain was fuzzy and fragmented with everything Reki. He got the opportunity to sleep on Reki’s lap while Reki laughed happy laughs for the millionth time ‘cause he said it showed that he was happy.
Which was probably why it was called happy laughs and maybe Langa should find other words to describe his laughter but Reki kissed his cheek again before he left the car and Langa couldn’t focus on anything but the moist mark still warm on his skin and the way he was still wearing Reki’s shirt under Joe’s hoodie. The fabric soft against his skin, and he couldn’t stop his brain from rolling around and losing all sense of logic because all he had to do was sniff his clothes and he smelled Reki.
His mom opened the door to him, her smile tired but eyes shining with joy and he immediately crashed into her, hugging her tight. She stepped back in surprise, hugging him back with confused eyes because Langa never really initiated hugs but it was a long day and he was in a happy mood and he had a lot to tell her over tea.
So as she grabbed the two steaming mugs of her secret recipe Langa flopped onto the couch, drowning in comfort and warmth, and ranted about the whole day. How Reki swopped in like a seraph from the heavenly realms and gave him hugs so nice that he couldn’t help but melt. How he scratched his scalp like it was the most natural thing to do when it was actually a god given experience that Langa hoped was reserved for him alone.
The way he laughed those raspy laughs and the fact that he could make the best ramen with all sorts of weird vegetables and accurately aim noodles at Langa’s forehead. Langa felt his face heat up when he considered telling her about the kiss too but he shook his head to himself, deciding to pocket it as a secret for a later date.
He told her about the cuddles on the floor and all the nice things he rambled on about and how red Reki could turn the more Langa talked. And maybe he was ranting too much about Reki but Langa couldn’t care less, his thoughts becoming too much to lock in his brain only for him to see.
And his Mom looked happy, amusement and excitement shining in her eyes as she pulled out one of her, “Progress With Your Crush” magazines. The two of them feeding off the other’s joy as they ticked off all the goals Langa accomplished already. Moving onto the dating section where Langa threw his pride out the window and started discussing different places, noting down any locations that were Reki worthy.
The atmosphere was warm and fluffy, the photo of Langa’s dad situated on the dining table. With his chubby structure and wide smile that reflected the light off in a way that made Langa think his Dad was happy for him too.