Chapter Text
Langa has always been more comfortable with English. It was his first language, and growing up in Canada, he had no one to speak Japanese to except for his mother. Now, living in Japan, he realized how out of practice he was with his mother's language. He thought everything in English and had to translate on the fly when he spoke. It was utterly exhausting most days, and in the end, he resigned himself to just not speaking that much. He was glad that Reki was patient with him, waiting expectantly for Langa to work through a sentence in his head before he spoke. Still, there were some things he couldn’t convey properly in Japanese, things he wanted to say to Reki that he knew would come out wrong.
The first time it happened was an accident. Reki was practicing his jumps, zooming back and forth on the halfpipe. Langa was sitting to the side, drinking some water as he took a short break from their practice. His eyes followed Reki, his hair blown back and his smile wide with excitement, as he turned in midair at the end of his jump, spinning twice, before landing back into the curve of the pipe and wiping out. Langa quickly jumped to his feet, tossing his bottle behind him as he ran to Reki’s side, who was already sitting up, cradling his elbow.
“Ouch,” Reki mumbled as Langa reached him. He knelt down beside him, gingerly touching Reki’s arm.
“Are you okay?” Langa asked. Reki closed his eyes and smiled at him, making Langa’s heart stutter.
“I’ll be fine, but did you see that jump? The spin?! I’ve never been able to do that before!” Reki laughed, the sound music to Langa’s ears. He felt his cheeks flush as he laughed along.
“I adore you,” Langa whispered, the words slipping out of his mouth. Reki stopped laughing and turned to him.
“What did you say?”
Langa’s eyes widened, and his cheeks lost their colour. What had he just said? Did he really say that out loud? Had Reki heard him? Langa pressed his lips together in a straight line, not wanting to say another word.
“C’mon man, you know I don’t understand English! What did you say?” Reki asked again. Internally, Langa breathed a deep sigh of relief.
“Oh, I just said… that you did well,” he replied simply, too nervous to look Reki in the eyes. Reki’s laugh returned once more, and he stood up, walking away to retrieve his board. Langa was left in the middle of the halfpipe kneeling, cursing himself for being careless.
… But then again… if Reki really didn’t know a word of English, would it really be so bad if Langa allowed himself to express his real thoughts out loud, even if Reki couldn’t understand him? What would be the harm in it? Langa continued to wonder until Reki walked up to him again, skateboard in hand.
“Do you want to go grab some food? My elbow’s actually starting to hurt more than I thought it would,” Reki said sheepishly, rubbing his elbow again. Langa straightened and reached out for Reki’s arm without thinking. He left his hand on Reki’s bicep, feeling the heat of his skin seep through his sleeve.
“You should really be more careful, love,” Langa murmured. Reki tilted his head to the side, questioning him silently.
“I meant that I’d love to get some food right now,” Langa clarified, a small smile on his lips. He went back to where his bag and board sat, throwing the discarded water bottle away as the pair walked out of the park and skated towards their favourite ramen place.
And that was how it started. Langa felt freer, being able to express himself to Reki without jeopardizing anything between them. He had no idea how many feelings he had bottled up inside himself, but he poured them out for Reki, basking in the fact that he could no longer be weighed down by his silence, and he could do it all without consequence.
“Why are you speaking English more frequently now?” Reki asked one night, innocent and with a yawn. They were lying on Reki’s bed, side by side, Reki holding his phone above their heads as they watched a skating video. The sun had gone down hours ago and the video was the only thing illuminating the room, something Langa was thankful for, as he was sure his expression betrayed his panic. In the silence that followed, Langa felt Reki turn on his side, abandoning the video and giving his attention to Langa.
“It’s just a bit strange… When we first met you spoke Japanese all the time. The only time I heard you speaking English was to your mom. But now I hear you speak to me in English a couple of times every day. What’s up with that?” he prodded. Langa swallowed thickly. He turned his head to look at Reki, his heart fluttering as he realized how close he was. His hair was messy and disheveled, his headband slipping off. His big amber eyes looked up at him expectantly, and Langa sighed.
“I’m not sure why I do it,” Langa lied, “I suppose when I’m tired I just slip back into it.” Reki hummed in acknowledgment, his eyelids starting to droop a little. Langa chuckled softly.
“You look so beautiful like this,” he whispered. Reki closed his eyes and sighed.
“You just did it again, Langa,” he whispered back.
“Well, I guess I’m tired. Just like you,” Langa said. He reached over for the crumpled-up blanket on his side of the bed and threw it over the two of them, making sure it covered Reki completely before settling in for the night. Reki snuggled into his pillow and sighed again.
“Goodnight Langa,” he mumbled, his breathing already starting to even out. Langa reached over to the back of his head, plucking the headband out of the way and setting it on Reki’s nightstand. He looked down at Reki again, soaking in the sight.
“Goodnight.”