Chapter Text
The bed was too warm and comfortable. Reki didn't want to open his eyes. Something tickled his nose, and there was a heavyweight on his chest. Last night came flooding back, and Reki was wide awake. He opened his eyes and saw a mess of blue hair. Langa was tucked into his side; his arm slung over Reki's chest. Reki remembered the weight of Langa on top of him. The way Langa gently pulled his hair. The taste of his lips. Reki felt the blood rush to his face ( and other places) .
Reki took a deep breath. He needed to calm down. He didn't want to come off as too eager. But he felt happy. Happy that they kissed. Happy that Langa was in his bed. Happy that they were together- Are they together? Kinda, right? Maybe? Great, another thing to worry about!
Honestly, they probably already looked like they were a couple. People would make comments that made sense in hindsight. Reki almost laughed. Of course, people thought they were a couple. Look at how Langa would hang off of him or the fact that Reki had given Langa a rose on Valentine's Day. What were people supposed to think?
The events of Valentine's Day played in Reki's head. The way his parents had reacted to Reki giving Langa the rose. How weird they had seemed... Then his dad came to talk to him about-
Reki sat straight up in bed.
Langa jolted awake. "What- what's going on?"
OH MY GOD! His parents thought he was having sex… with Langa.
"My parents think we are having sex," Reki whispered.
Langa looked around like he expected them to be in the room.
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Yes," Reki hissed. Talking about sex with your parents is always mortifying. But the idea that the sex talk was about Langa and him! Can you die of embarrassment?
"Oh." Was Langa said.
Reki wanted to crawl out of his skin. He needed to move.
"Let's go out for breakfast."
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Reki and Langa successfully snuck out of the house without running into anymore. A miracle with Reki's three younger sisters.
There is a cafe around the corner that Langa liked. They walked side by side with Langa leaning into Reki. He was clearly not totally awake yet. Reki, on the other hand, was wired. His eyes keep darting to Langa, trying to read his face. ( It just read tired ). There was a lot the Reki wanted to say but didn't have the words. Last night was like a fantasy. But everything felt different in the morning light. Reki wanted to hide in his dark bedroom with Langa, but they had to live their lives in the light. Reki didn't know what it meant for them or their relationship.
Reki was pulled out of his thoughts when Langa slipped his hand into his. Startled, Reki jerked away. Langa looked at him, eyes wide.
"You startled me," Reki said quietly.
"Oh, sorry." Langa moved so they were no longer touching. Reki could feel Langa staring at him. Anxiety clawed at Reki's stomach.
Dammit! Why was he like this? Reki knew after their activities last night, holding hands was no big deal. How could he tell Langa that it's not that he didn't want to hold hands; it's just embarrassing ?
Reki decided to escape Langa's gaze by offering to order the food.
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Reki vowed to be a new person. Someone who was not embarrassed to hold Langa's hand or kiss him or any of the romantic stuff. Reki wouldn't pull away when Langa reached for his hand or when he leaned in for a kiss. Reki wouldn't let the butterflies in his stomach get the best of him. So he waited for the next time Langa made a move. And he waited and waited and waited.
Days passed. They went to school and work. They skated. Reki helped Langa with his history homework. Langa ate half of Reki's lunch. Everything was normal, how it had always been.
It was like that night in Reki's bedroom had never happened.
It was driving Reki insane. He was hyper-aware of Langa's every move. Thinking that at any moment, Langa would touch him again. But he never did. Not even a brush of the hand or a tap on the shoulder. There was a bubble around Reki that Langa wouldn't enter anymore. It was definitely intentional, but Reki didn't know why . They had touched more when they were just friends, and Reki hadn't given him a reason not to touch him.
Unless Langa didn't want to touch him. Didn't want him anymore...
Reki had this thought during the last period on Friday. His mouth went dry. The bell rang, and all his classmates jumped up. Reki sat there frozen until Langa leaned over to him.
"Hey, what time do you want to meet for S tonight?"
Had Langa changed his mind?
"I can't tonight," Reki lied. "My mom needs me home."
Did Langa want to go back to just being friends?
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Reki was moping. He hardly left his room since he got home from school yesterday. Most of his family was steering clear since he was in one of his moods. It was early Saturday afternoon when he ventured to the kitchen for something to eat. The house was quiet. His mom and the girls must be out. His dad was in the living room with the match on the TV. Reki flopped down on the other end of the couch. Anything was better than lying face down on his bed, obsessing over every interaction he and Langa had ever had. His dad took a swig of his beer and glanced over at Reki.
"It's a pretty close game."
Reki hmmed in response. They both fell silent, the only sound coming from the TV. Reki felt his dad's eyes on him, daring him to speak. Finally, his dad placed his beer on the coffee table and looked at Reki.
"Alright, kid, what's going on?"
"Nothing." Reki crossed his arms and sank deeper into the couch.
"Something to do with Langa?"
Reki knew he couldn't lie his way out of this one, so he said, "Um... yeah."
"Did you two get into a fight?"
"No, it's not that. It's just..." Reki trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck.
Sound erupted from the TV; someone scored the winning goal. His dad got up from the couch. He returned from the kitchen with a cold beer, which he handed the Reki.
"Don't tell your mother."
Reki took the bottle and pressed it to his lips. This wasn't his first beer, but he was still was not used to the bitter taste. His dad chuckled at the face he made.
"Dad, are you trying to get me drunk so I spill all my secrets?"
"Naw, it's just nice to talk it out over a beer."
His dad waited patiently. Reki sighed and decided that talking about it couldn't hurt, right?
"Langa and I are... it's complicated."
"And I'm guessing you want it to be less complicated?"
Reki took a long swig of beer before he spoke. "I don't even know what he wants. I don't know how he really feels or where we stand. Like, does he want to officially be together or not?"
"What about you?"
"Huh?"
"You don't need to try and figure out what Langa wants. Tell him what you want and see what he says. So what do you want? How do you feel?"
Reki stared at the sweat collecting on his half-empty beer. Deep down, he knew what he wanted, how he felt. He needed to be completely honest with Langa. He stood.
"I gotta go."
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Reki flew down the street, skating as fast as he could. Every nerve in his body was screaming. He took corners way too quickly and ignored most of the traffic lights. He needed to see Langa. Needed to tell him…
Reki flautered at the door. He had rushed over here without thinking. He didn't even know if Langa was home. Was it weird to just show up like this? Should he have texted first? Reki took a deep breath and quickly knocked. Praying that Mrs. Haesgawa didn't answer the door. Or maybe that would be better.
Langa answered and looked surprised.
"Reki? What are you doing here?"
Reki felt breathless. "I just wanted to talk to you. Is this a bad time? We can talk later."
Langa hesitated for a moment. "No, it's fine. Come in."
As Reki took off his shoes, Langa called to his mom, "Reki's here."
Reki followed Langa into his sparsely decorated bedroom. He was definitely not freaking out. Even though he could only hear the sound of his heart beating, and nearly jumped at the sound of the door closing.
Langa hovered near the end of his bed. He was tugging on the end of his sleeve. Something Reki noticed he did when he was nervous.
"Is everything okay?" Langa asked, clearly concerned.
"Yeah, everything is fine." Reki rushed to reassure him. "There is just something I wanted to tell you" Reki shuffled his weight from one foot to the other. He took a shaky breath.
"Langa, I want us to officially be together."
Langa blinked at him. He opened his mouth but closed it. The silence was going to kill Reki.
"I… um." Langa finally said, his voice unsteady.
Reki felt his heart drop into his stomach. Fuck. FUCK. Should he take it back?
"Lang-"
"I thought you were going to break up with me."
"What?!"
Langa took a step toward Reki. "You've been acting weird all week, and then you show up randomly wanting to talk."
Now Reki was the speechless one. He wanted to say something, anything. But before he could, Langa flung his arms around Reki and buried his face into his neck. After a moment of shock, Reki wrapped his arms around Langa's waist.
"Fuck, you scared me," Langa mumbled.
"Sorry," Reki said into Langa's hair. "I know I've been acting weird. I, um... I don't know. But my dad said I should come to talk to you about it so-"
Suddenly Langa pulled back and held Reki at arm's length.
"You talked to your dad about us?" Langa said, sounding almost alarmed.
"Yeah. He said that I needed to be honest with you about wanting to be official-"
Langa cut Reki off again. "So your dad knows, and that's okay?"
"Why won't it be okay?"
"Because you said it won't be okay."
"Huh? When did I say that?"
"The morning after we first kissed. You said it was bad that your parents thought we were, um, sleeping together." Langa blushed a little when he said the last part.
"Oh, I didn't mean it like that. I meant it was embarrassing to talk about sex with your parents."
Langa signed, looking relieved. "Reki, I thought your parents were like homophobic or something and that we had to keep our relationship secret."
"Is that why you were acting distant this week?"
"I thought that's what you wanted. Guess I should have asked."
"I also should have been more honest with you."
For a moment, they stood there, neither saying anything nor breaking away. Then Langa looked at Reki with a mischievous smile.
"So we can hold hands in public?"
"Yeah."
"And I can kiss you good morning?" Langa squeezed Reki's waist, which made his stomach swoop.
"Yeah."
"And tell everyone you're my boyfriend?"
Reki answered by crashing their mouths together.
Langa pulled back, breathing a little heavy. "Let's make a deal to always be honest with each other. No matter how embarrassing, okay?"
Reki nodded. "I guess I have one more thing to say then." Reki cradled the back of Langa's head, and a surge of confidence shot through him. "I love you."
Langa's eyes shined.
"I love you too, Reki."
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"Do you know what today is?"
"Tuesday."
"That's not what I meant, Langa."
Langa looked over at Reki and frowned. They were sprawled out on Langa's bedroom floor, surrounded by textbooks. They were both in summer school. Ditching class to skateboard did have its consequences.
"I give up. What is today?"
Reki grinned at Langa in a way that can only be described as dazzling.
"Dude, it's our three and a half month anniversary!"
"I didn't know we were counting half months," Langa said drily.
"Of course we are." Reki was practically bouncing up and down with excitement.
Langa rolled his eyes. "So, what did you get me?"
Reki furrowed his brow. "What?"
"You are supposed to get me a present on our anniversary."
"Oh. I didn't know that." Reki looked completely lost like this was an entirely new concept to him.
"You are a terrible boyfriend," Langa teased. Reki looked offended. He crossed his arms and turned away dramatically. Langa had to bite his lip so he wouldn't smile. Reki was cute when he pouts.
"Hey," Langa crawled into Reki's space. "I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?" Langa put on his best puppy dog face. Reki cracked a smile and leaned in and caught Langa's mouth. Langa tilted his head to deepen the kiss.
Reki pulled back. "Wait, I need to finish this English paper."
The whole reason they were in summer school was that they got distracted easily. So, Langa sat back, hiding his disappointment.
"You should have just copied my answers on the test."
"But that's cheating." Reki was uptight about the strangest things. "I need an English dictionary."
"On the bookshelf, at the bottom."
Reki grabbed the thick book off the shelf, and Langa was hit with a horrifying realization.
"Wait!" Langa half-shouted, scaring the shit out of Reki.
"What!?"
Langa jumped up, holding out his hand. "Give me the dictionary."
Reki crutched it to his chest protectively. "Why?"
"Cause, um…"
"You have weird porn in here or something?"
Langa felt his cheeks grow hot.
"Shit, is it really something like that?" Reki evaded Langa's attempts to grab the dictionary.
Langa accepted defeat as Reki cracked open the dictionary. Reki smirked, expecting naughty photos, but a flower fell out instead. Reki frowned and picked it up. He twisted the pressed rose in his hand, studying it.
"Is this the flower I gave you on Valentine's Day?"
Langa nodded, face burning.
"That was before we were together. Why keep it?"
"Because you gave it to me, so it was special. You were special. I've loved you for a long time."
"That's…"
"I know it's stupid." Langa averted his eyes.
"The most romantic thing I have ever heard." Reki looked overwhelmed. He flung himself into Langa. "I loved you then too, but I just didn't know it."
Langa cupped Reki's face and kissed him forcefully.
They didn't get any more school work done that day.
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For their one-year anniversary, Reki got the rose framed.
Langa did not cry, no matter what Reki said.
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Langa sat the rose on his nightstand, and there it stayed. The bedrooms changed, but the rose was always there. It sat on the nightstand in his dorm room. On the nightstand in the tiny studio apartment, he rented when he studied abroad. And on the nightstand in the shitty first apartment he and Reki rented together.
The years passed. There were nicer apartments, new jobs, a lot of skating, and adult problems. Life kept moving forward, but every time Langa looked at the rose, he was reminded of his passion. The passion he felt for skating, for life, for Reki. A passion that Langa thought he had buried with his father, but Reki had renewed.
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Many years later, Langa sat across from Reki in a fancy restaurant. The waiters all wore waistcoats, and Langa felt a little out of place. But it was Valentine's Day, and Reki had wanted to go somewhere special. Langa had suggested just staying in this year. It had been a long week at work, but Reki insisted.
The waiter came and took away their entree plates. The food was delicious, but Reki had barely touched his dinner. He had been acting weird all night. Langa was about to ask if something was wrong, but Reki interrupted.
"I got you something." Reki handed over a pink gift bag covered in hearts. It was tacky but in a fun way. They didn't usually get each other Valentine's Day presents, well, not ones you could give in public ( if you know what I mean ). Langa opened the bag and frowned. He was looking at the framed rose that had sat on his nightstand for years…
"Reki, I think you already gave me this for Valentine's Day."
"I know. I wanted to remind you of where we started."
"Why would…" Langa trailed off as Reki stood. "What are you-"
Reki dropped down onto one knee. Langa's breath caught in his throat. Reki pulled out a small black box.
"Will you marry me, Langa?"
Langa was definitely crying. All he could do was nod. Reki beamed and pulled Langa into a kiss. The restaurant cheered. Langa was too happy to be embarrassed.
Through the laughter, tears, and free dessert, Langa almost forgot to put on the ring. It is a simple silver band with an inscription in delicate lettering.
To our infinity ∞