Work Text:
For Langa, moving to Okinawa came with some culture shocks. Obviously it wasn’t the snowscape he was used to in Vancouver and his Japanese writing was not up to snuff. But the thing that got him most was the affection.
At first, it was uncomfortable - classmates he barely knew were throwing their arms around his shoulders and trying to wrestle him after class. He had thought Canadians were nice, but this was on a new level. It wasn’t just pleasantries but a personal bubble being absolutely decimated. Back home, his family wasn’t even this comfortable with physicality. Maybe a few hugs at family get-togethers, but that was it.
“Mom, do you remember people being this touchy-feely when you lived here as a kid?” Langa asked as he poked his noodles around the bowl. As usual, whenever he asked a question at all, she perked up in nervous fashion, glancing at the framed photo of the three of them across the room.
“Oh yes! It was very normal for my classmates and I to walk to class with linked arms. Is something bothering you?” she asked hesitantly, as if trying to coax a small animal with a handful of food.
“It’s… different,” Langa said, slurping his noodles and effectively ending the conversation.
It wasn’t until he really started hanging out with Reki that he understood the appeal of touch.
The first time Reki patched him up after a fall on his board, Langa wasn’t sure if he was still light-headed from passing out seeing his own blood or not. His heart thumped in a way he had never felt in the context of being around a friend. Anxious, but in a good way that made him want to keep practicing, even if it meant sustaining more injuries.
“Should be fine, it’s just a little scrape!” Reki said, rubbing Langa’s palm through the thin gauze. It felt so familiar. It didn’t feel like a classmate coming up to him and ruffling his hair unprovoked. He’d fall apart if Reki stopped holding his hand.
“Does it hurt at all?” Reki asked, still massaging the area around the scrape. Langa was afraid to open his mouth, but shook his head.
After that, he was absolutely fucked.
Langa couldn’t find it in himself to initiate the touch he so craved, but luckily for him Reki was always connected to him when they were together. Ruffled hair, excited hand-holding, hands hovering around Langa’s waist while he practiced balancing on the board. Langa was embarrassed to admit he purposefully fudged his balance a bit just to feel Reki’s worried hands catch him.
He was almost sad when he was able to balance on his own. But by that time, they’d come up with new ways to be close.
Langa laid his head on Reki’s lap during their secluded lunch on the school roof while Reki flipped through a skateboard catalog. Without pause, one hand found its way into Langa’s hair, stroking absent-mindedly. Langa couldn’t even suppress the sound of… what exactly? Reki took his hand back quickly.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked, throwing the magazine to the side and looking down into Langa’s eyes. Langa felt his face growing hot.
“N-no… it felt nice,” Langa said, trying to play it as cool as possible. Reki narrowed his eyes, craning his head closer.
“I think you need to start wearing sunscreen, your cheeks aren’t used to the Okinawa sun,” he said, rubbing a thumb over Langa’s cheek. Before Langa could exhale the breath he’d been holding in, Reki pulled a small bottle of sunscreen out of his bag.
“May I?” he asked, grinning.
“You may…” Langa said, eager for any reason for Reki to keep touching his face. He dabbed the sunscreen on his cheeks, massaging it in. Langa had never felt so happy in his life.
“Gotta get the nose and forehead too…” Reki said, tongue sticking out the side of his mouth as he dabbed Langa’s nose.
“Thank you,” Langa practically choked out.
“My hands are all greasy now, so I won’t touch your hair,” Reki said, putting the sunscreen back in his bag. Langa sat up quickly.
“I don’t… mind,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Have to wash my hair anyway…” he mumbled. It was Reki’s turn to go beet red.
Before either of them could say anything, a teacher came stomping up the stairs.
“What are you two still doing out here?”
Langa tried so hard to reciprocate the feeling Reki gave him, but he’d never been good at that kind of thing. He did find that Reki responded to verbal compliments in much the same way though.
“This board is amazing! You’re amazing, Reki!” Langa said, holding up the custom-made board. The yeti, at first, was strange, but it immediately grew on him. For once, Reki was at a loss for words.
“Well, you know… it’s something… it’s just,” he kept fiddling with random objects on his workbench, but he was smiling.
“Thank you,” Langa said, putting an arm around Reki’s shoulders and squeezing.
“Anything for you,” Reki blurted out, eyes wide. “I mean you’re welcome, of course!”
They were now together so often and in such close proximity that others took notice when either of them was slightly distanced.
“Where’s Reki? You two are attached at the hip,” Joe said.
“Why do you have to be so blunt?” Cherry asked, rolling his eyes.
“Oh shut up, they remind me of -” Joe started, before Cherry punched him in the boob.
“Not like that!” Joe said, rubbing his now sore chest.
Langa looked at both of them in a strange kind of awe.
“I hate old man drama…” Miya said, skating up to them.
“Isn’t it a school night?” Joe asked, still glaring at Cherry.
“Reki’s doing some board repairs,” Langa answered finally, now that they’d gone entirely off topic.
“Oh yeah that new board is amazing. That kid really knows what he’s doing… at least in this case,” Joe said, laughing.
“Yes, he’s… amazing,” Langa said, brushing his hair behind his ear. Who was he? Miya couldn’t help but snicker. Joe whistled.
“Man, kid…” he looked over at Cherry. “He really does remind me of -”
“Of you maybe!”
“Oh, and not you? Even though you’d hate to admit it, you were quite the roman-”
“I’m walking away now before I do something I regret,” Cherry interrupted, and skated off.
“Well, I’m glad I got to witness what I’ll be looking forward to when I start dating,” Miya said. Langa could almost see his cat tail twitching.
“I’m… dating?” Langa asked, bewildered at the thought. Sure he loved being around Reki all the time, but it was platonic. Totally nothing to do with romance. Totally normal amount of time to spend with your friend, wrapped up in each other’s limbs and presence.
The thought dug deeper and deeper until he couldn’t think of anything else. In class, he couldn’t stop staring at Reki doodling in his notebook, also ignoring the teacher. He couldn’t stop looking at how his hands worked so quickly yet lovingly on a new skateboard. Every time they walked side by side and their hands brushed, he wondered what it would be like to just grab his hand and lace their fingers, just like Reki would sometimes do in a fit of excitement.
As close as they were, holding hands out of the blue felt like an entirely new step. Like it was an acknowledgement of something more. And as much as he wanted to do it, he was scared. Scared that he’d misinterpreted their entire friendship and that this was just normal for Japanese boys. And the thought of fucking up what they had was entirely too soul-crushing to contemplate.
But would Miya, Joe, and Cherry have reacted the same way if they really just were acting friendly?
Reki didn’t really have any other close friends, so Langa had nothing to analyze in that sense. So back to yearning it was - only this time he was fully aware of what that ache really meant. Maybe it would be better for him if he didn’t indulge as much.
Except that plan only caught Reki’s attention immediately.
“Is something wrong? You seem off lately,” Reki said, leaning towards Langa as they sat on the skate park bench. Langa was sitting just a bit farther from Reki, a stark difference from their usual glued-to-the-sides method.
“You can tell me anything,” Reki said, fingers brushing over Langa’s closest hand. Yeah, this was not going to work. Langa felt like shit. The usual ache in his chest hurt, but not in a good way.
Really? Anything?
“Langa, seriously. Are you sick? You look paler than usual,” Reki said, cupping Langa’s chin gently and looking at him straight on. Langa allowed himself to relax into his touch. He felt like melting into a pool at Reki’s feet. It would be easier than trying to tell him how he really felt. “I don’t want to lose you,” Langa said so softly that Reki had to lean in more. He felt Reki’s hand tense, but run up to his jaw, his thumb making soft circles on his cheek.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Reki said, smiling, but eyes filled with worry, as if Langa was about to run off himself. “As long as you want me around,” he added, in typical self-deprecating Reki fashion.
“I always do,” Langa said, his throat closing up, eyes stinging. Langa pressed his hand to the one on his cheek, wondering if Reki could feel his pounding pulse through his palm. “I feel so bad when you’re not around,” he added, fearing he might just throw up or pass out in Reki’s lap. Maybe both.
He could see Reki’s eyes start to shine too.
“It’s kind of nice… knowing I’m not the only one,” Reki said, bringing his other hand to Langa’s opposite cheek. His voice quivered so much as he said it though, he thought maybe Reki would throw up too. That would be so romantic.
Langa started laughing, the nervous energy bubbling up through him and converting into unmitigated joy. He was afraid to move still, but laughter racked his anxious chest.
“Did I say something funny?” Reki asked, pressing his forehead to Langa’s, his own laughter working its way up as well until they were both just shaking in each other’s arms, gripping so tightly as if worrying it was all a dream. If they were going to wake up, they’d at least hold on to the feeling as long as possible.
Reki’s head was pressed into Langa’s shoulder now, breathing him in. They’d hugged so many times before, but it felt different now, as if a barrier had been removed. Langa could really feel it all now and panicked at the thought of ever fucking this up.
“Jesus, I’m glad we got that over with,” Reki said, muffled into Langa’s shirt. He sounded so tired now. Langa stroked the back of his neck, something he’d never done before. Feeling Reki’s hair between his fingers made him regret every previous second that he wasn’t doing this.
“I’m just mad at myself for not saying anything sooner,” Langa said, pulling back just a fraction to look into Reki’s eyes. “I feel like everyone knew before we did,” he added, cheeks growing redder.
“Guess they’re right sometimes…” Reki said sheepishly, eyes darting down to Langa’s lips and back. Langa felt he owed him for all the times he had initiated contact. He ran his thumb just under Reki’s lips, hands trembling.
“May I?” Langa asked, surprised at how suddenly calm he was. He had never been so sure of something in his entire life.
“Hell yes,” Reki said softly before pressing his lips to Langa’s. It was so much more gentle than Langa could have imagined coming from Reki, the boy filled with endless energy. Even so, Langa felt like he’d run a marathon. He sighed and melted further into Reki, if that was even possible.
“You’re so beautiful,” Langa murmured, kissing the quickening pulse on Reki’s neck. For once Reki couldn’t speak. “Oh so that’s how I can get you to calm down?”Langa said, fighting a grin.
“Shut up!” Reki said, laughing and kissing him once more before his stomach rumbled.
“What’s for dinner?” Langa asked, refusing to let go of Reki ever again.
“I don’t know, let’s go home,” Reki said, standing and pulling Langa up with him. He was only an inch taller but he fit so perfectly with his head on his shoulder.
“I have money for ramen…,” Langa said, taking Reki’s hands into his and lacing them together.
“Oh, so a date then?” Reki asked. Langa wondered if it was actually such a good idea to be in public with him right now when all he wanted to do was smother him in kisses.
“A date,” Langa said, feeling his eyes prickle again. God, he really needed a nap.