Chapter Text

There was something off about Langa lately. He couldn't put this gut feeling of his into words but whatever they were feeding the kids in Canada had to have done something weird to his friend, Reki knew that for sure. 

"You have something on your face," Langa leaned over and brushed a crumb off of his cheek, not sparing a second to hear Reki's protests.

Yeah, something was definitely up. 

Despite not knowing him for all that long, Reki felt as if he and Langa have known each other for ages, but in all of the time that he's known him as a friend, this behavior was abnormal to say the least. 

"W-What was that for?" Reki's face was burning so hot he wouldn't be surprised if he caught fire. "You could've just let me do it myself…" Even to his own ears his excuse sounded flimsy. 

"Sorry?" Langa made it sound more like a question rather than an apology. "I thought it would be faster if I just did it for you." 

At first, Reki thought nothing of it. Maybe it was just the way they brought their kids up overseas, but deep down he knew that wasn't true. Langa was up to something, and he wasn't too keen on finding out what. 

Eventually, it got to the point where others had begun to notice as well. 

Langa was known for his frosty appearance and cool expressions, but that charade was exactly that: a charade. Around Reki, he was more of an airhead than a mysterious Ice Prince if anything. 

Of course, that only applied when they were in school. When he's skating, Langa's an absolute beast. The fact that he was still just a novice stung a little, but Reki also had to commend the fact that the other has had years of snowboarding experience. 

People may have been whispering about them behind their backs, but the first time it was brought up to not one, but both of them was with Miya. 

"You guys fucking or something?" Reki spit out his drink and glared at Miya helplessly. What the hell? "You're acting more stupid than usual."

"What are you on about?" Reki wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and hoped to any deity who might be watching that nobody heard what just came out of the wretched catboy's mouth. Was he red? He better not be red.

Langa stayed suspiciously quiet. 

"You know, you're gonna have to do a better job than that if you're trying to hide something from me," Miya leaned back and smirked, cockiness written into his features with bold sharpie. "Unless you want me to force it out of you? I'll get an answer one way or another." 

"Ngh!" Reki couldn't say anything more. Why, though? It wasn't like he had anything to hide. His friendship with Langa was completely normal and very much platonic. Nothing going on in the back of his head at all. No, sir. 

Great, now he was thinking thoughts. Never a good thing. 

"Reki?" Langa's face popped into his peripheral vision, his eyes shining with concern. "Are you okay? You look feverish." 

A hand was making its way to his forehead and Reki almost fell over at the speed of which he backed away from Langa, his heart a thunderous little traitor. 

"I'm good!" he squeaked. "I'm good." Fuck, that was dangerous. He didn't think he could handle having Langa that close to him right now. 

"We can go if you're feeling unwell." The usage of "we" didn't escape his ears. "I'll take you home." 

"Who's taking who home?" Joe chose that exact moment to reappear, Cherry not too far behind him. "Heya, kids! Did I miss something fun? Need any advice?" He wriggled his eyebrows, earning himself a smack to the back of the head (thanks, Cherry).

"Oh, it's you." Miya did a quick search of the two newcomers and scrunched his nose, quickly turning away. "Come on guys, in the restaurant? People eat here!" 

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Cherry narrowed his eyes, though the light blush dusting his cheeks dampened the effects of it by quite a bit. "Anyways, what are you guys still doing here? Done skating already?" 

"Nah, we're just taking a break." Reki thankfully managed to find his voice again, but the looks he was getting from Langa were really distracting. "We were just about to head out, actually." It wasn't a lie; they had just about finished their little get together before Miya had gone and brought up something he'd rather not think about too hard. 

Langa made a move to gather his things, glancing over at Reki expectantly. Guess he didn't have much of a choice now, did he? 

"Leaving so soon? Even though we just joined…" Joe laughed, waving a carefree hand. "I'm joking! We'll see you guys soon, probably." 

After bidding their goodbyes, the two of them started the journey to their respective homes with nothing to fill the space between them other than the skids of their boards and the sounds of passing traffic. 

Reki realized it too late, but now that they were alone, the tension was back tenfold. 

The breathtaking sunset for a backdrop wasn't helping his case either. Every time he tried to get a word in, his voice would get stuck in his throat and they'd return to a strange yet comfortable silence. Langa was good at that, though. He was the type of person who you could relax around and not have to worry about those types of things. 

Lost in thought, Reki didn't hear the blaring horn from his right, only barely managing to dodge in time thanks to Langa's quick reflexes. 

The other seemed out of breath, panic evident in his eyes. 

"Hey, Reki!" Why was it that he looked more spooked than the person who almost got hit? Reki furrowed his brows. "Can you hear me? What was that back there?" Langa had his arm in a death grip, his pulse jumping out through his fingertips and drumming against Reki's skin. 

"I'm-- I'm okay." He pretended not to hear his pulse pounding away. 

His friend let out an exasperated sigh. "Don't do that again, please. I don't think my heart can take it." The hand around his arm tightened ever so slightly and the thumb started to stroke the skin at his elbow. Reki felt his face heat up for what was probably the hundredth time that day but despite that, he still couldn't bring himself to back away from Langa. 

Maybe it was less of a problem with Langa, and more of a problem with himself. When did he start thinking like this? Was he going insane? They were just friends; just dudes being dudes. 

Langa leaned forwards, his free hand coming up to brush some of Reki's hair out of his eyes. Their feet were practically on top of each other, their boards having come to a stop a long time ago. Once again, Reki felt like combusting. Everywhere he looked, everything he took in, Langa was there. 

The hand that brushed his hair out of the way made its way to his cheek, caressing the spot right under his eye. Neither of them dared to utter a word, afraid to shatter the delicate intimacy that had formed around them. 

At one point or another, these moments had become the norm. That didn't make them any less special, though. Reki knew that. 

After what seemed like an eternity, Langa was the one to speak up first. "You had a leaf stuck," he said lamely. The moment wasn't ruined, but Reki couldn't help the disappointment that swelled in the pit of his stomach. Forget the fact that it was early spring, and there were no leaves to speak of yet. 

He scratched the back of his head, fumbling with the hem of his headband. "Thanks." 

No matter how many times they went through this same old dance, he would never get used to it, Reki thought. 

Just what game was Langa trying to play anymore?