Archive of Our Own ^beta

Storytime at the Kyan household was no rare occurrence. It was a weekly affair, actually. On Tuesday nights Masae worked late, so Reki would make a simple dinner while Koyomi coaxed the twins, Chihiro and Nanaka, into doing their homework. After eating whatever Reki had managed not to burn, the fun began.

The building of the pillow fort.

Having a big brother who constantly crafted his own skateboards led to the girls having some pretty impeccable forts over the years. Reki’s proudest addition was the foldable puppet show theater he had built for Koyomi to use on Tuesdays when she decided that they needed a break from Reki’s stories and wanted to tell her own. It was a wooden base he had painted red, the Kyan signature color, and added an array of his original designs in all the colors of the rainbow. Once he and Masae had finished their secret sewing lessons, Reki would complete the set with a curtain so Koyomi could have true acts and scene breaks instead of sticking her face up, removing the puppets, and yelling “Scene!”

But tonight was Reki’s turn to tell a story, and the twins wanted to watch a movie after. As soon as he spread out their array of Disney classics on the floor and the girls saw Cinderella’s beautiful blue dress on the cover, they were sold. 

The four Kyan kids huddled together inside their fort, Reki sitting across from the girls illuminated only by the fairy lights he had hung from the blanketed ceiling. His sisters seemed to be absolutely entranced as he told the story of Cinderella, a girl without her birth mother being pushed around and mistreated by her evil step-mother and step-sisters. Chihiro and Nanaka giggled at Cinderella’s talking mice friends and gasped in excitement as Reki introduced the Fairy Godmother. Even Koyomi, who was starting to get to the age where she claimed she was “getting too old” for storytimes, sat up with eyes widening as Cinderella found out that Fairy Godmother could help Cinderella sneak into the kingdom’s royal ball. As he spoke, Reki smiled brighter at his oldest sister and sent her a wink, and even then she wasn’t deterred. This only encouraged him further, hands moving more and more as he recalled the story. 

“...So Fairy Godmother waved her wand at the pumpkin and said “Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!” and the pumpkin - Koyomi! Don’t laugh at me! She really says that! You’ll see when we watch the movie. Rude. Anyways, the pumpkin turns into this, like, super cool carriage…” He continued on, the twins smiling wide and Koyomi snickering quietly at him. 

Once Reki got to the part of the story where Cinderella arrives at the ball and meets the prince, he paused for an intermission so the twins could go to the bathroom and get snacks while he and Koyomi studied the Cinderella DVD case.

“Hmm…” Koyomi hummed as she squinted at the case. Reki tilted his head and raised an eyebrow at his sister. “What are you humming about? Did I not describe them well enough or something?” He scooted over to look at the case over her shoulder. 

“Well, yeah,” she snorted. “You said the prince was cute. He’s not.”

Reki squawked and snatched the case from Koyomi’s hands and pointed it at her. “Okay, what ? The prince is cute!” He turned the case and held it with both hands to practically shove the image of Cinderella and Prince Charming dancing together on the cover in his sister’s face. “Yeah, he’s not as cute as Cinderella, but look at him!”

She squinted again and stayed quiet for a few seconds to give Reki the illusion she might be considering what he was saying. She eventually sat back with a huff and arms crossed over her chest. “...Nope. He’s bland.”

“ His name is literally Prince Charming! ” Reki whisper-yelled, his voice pitching higher in defense.

“Yeah, well they did a bad job at naming him. I don’t think he’s cute. You have bad taste in guys.” 

Reki opened his mouth to retort before closing it and slowly glaring at Koyomi. He matched her posture and leaned a bit forward. “So rude. Fine then!” He threw his arms up dramatically and started to stand (albeit hunched since he was taller than the fort). “Guess I’ll call off storytime for tonight since I do such a bad job at character descriptions. I’ll go get the twins ready for bed, then.”

Koyomi quietly gasped and reached out her hand to grab the hem of Reki’s hoodie the second he started to turn away. ”Wait!” She called, louder than she had intended to. She let go of Reki’s hoodie with an embarrassed flush, her big brother turning around looking smug. “Wait...keep telling the story. Or at least let us watch the movie. You know...for the twins. They’d be so sad if they didn’t get to see it.” Her whole face was pink as she talked to her socks. 

Reki chuckled and ruffled her hair. “I knew you secretly liked Storytime Tuesdays.” He sat back down and slung an arm around Koyomi’s shoulders. “I’ll make you a deal. How about we go ahead and put the movie on? I stayed up kinda late last night working on a board I was commissioned for and the details past Cinderella losing her slipper get kind of hazy for me anyways. Is that okay with you?”

She gently nudged her elbow into his side, mumbling something about spoilers, but nodded anyways. “It’s fine with me I guess. You need to ask Chihiro and Nanaka, though. It’s for them anyways.”

Reki’s smile widened as he took away his arm and crawled out of the fort to go get the twins out of the kitchen. “Sure thing, dork. Be right back. Don’t bully the movie poster too much while I’m gone.” He gave her one last smile before ducking out the fort’s entrance and yelling at the twins to get off the kitchen counter.

Koyomi sighed at the space where Reki had been standing and picked up the DVD case to squint at it again, this time to actually try and see if she could understand her older brother’s thoughts on the prince.

She tossed the case into a pile of pillows in the corner.

“Nope. Still boring.”

~.....~

About ten minutes into the movie, the twins fell asleep, and understandably so. Dinner, storytime, and then cleaning up a pillow fort was quite exhausting on the six-year-olds. Reki and Koyomi simply smiled at each other, paused the movie, put the girls in bed, and sat back on the couch to resume. 

Reki had to keep himself from jumping up and down with joy as Koyomi came back in the living room with him to watch the movie instead of trailing down the hall to her own room. She really did still like spending time with him after all. Reki could continue pushing down the anxieties that told him that he wasn’t a good big brother. Koyomi, in all her middle schooler glory, still stuck around, so he had to be doing something right. 

Koyomi’s yawns grew more frequent as Cinderella’s outfit was transformed into her signature princess gown. She leaned over to rest her head on Reki’s shoulder and reassured him that she wasn’t bored, just very tired. They promised to finish watching the movie with Masae the next night, and with that, Koyomi headed to bed and Reki was left alone with the animation lighting up the room. 

He could have gone to bed, sure, but something in his heart told him to stay and finish out the movie. He remembered where Koyomi had stopped, after all, and could rewind to that point tomorrow. Reki smiled to himself as he stole one of the now folded blankets from the fort and tucked his knees up under his chin and wrapped himself up. For a moment, Reki Kyan wasn’t seventeen; he was just a tiny child seeing the wonders of classic Disney animation for the first time. He was just a boy tugging on his mother’s shirt asking, Did you and Daddy ever dance like Cinderella and Prince Charming? He was just a confused kid, lying awake and wondering if it was wrong to not be able to decide if he wanted Cinderella or Prince Charming to go with him to the ball. He was just that one guy who got really excited during art class and was super passionate about his designs. He was just another Disney fan who so happened to be inspired by the 1950’s classic.

He was just Reki. And “just Reki” couldn’t wait for the day someone loved him the way Prince Charming loved “just Cinderella” even after the magic was gone. 

So, as Cinderella and Prince Charming were running down the castle steps as wedding bells chimed, Reki let himself fall asleep on the couch with “So This Is Love” playing in his head.

~.....~

Reki awoke less like he was waking up from a good night’s sleep, and more like he was snapping out of a daydream. He was sitting in a gazebo in the middle of what he could only assume to be winter. There was snow everywhere , covering every surface and coming down at a gentle but steady pace. As he stood from his bench, Reki’s body immediately felt heavy. When he came to, he could tell he was wearing some kind of coat because he wasn’t as cold and the snow implied he should be, but there was no way this kind of weight could only be from a coat. Upon looking down at himself, Reki gasped and couldn’t help but stare. He was wearing a dress. A giant one. An iconic ball gown.

Cinderella’s dress.

“Reki!” A voice called out across the garden. “Are you still out here?” 

Reki straightened and whipped his head around to find the voice. His eyes locked on a man standing at the gardens entrance - were those castle doors? - who could truly only be described as beautiful. His hair was blue as a frozen pond and his suit was white with golden accents. This gorgeous stranger looked more like the snow itself than a human. 

He was a bit wary of how the man knew his name, but was inexplicably drawn to his presence. Remembering to pick his jaw up off the ground, Reki decided it would be best to respond, if not just to quiet his curiosity, and replied with a wave above his head and a shout of, “Over here!” 

As their eyes locked, Reki nearly fell backwards. Any apprehensive thoughts he had were promptly shoved out the door as the Snow Prince - the name just felt right - broke into a grin and started jogging towards him. His eyes stayed on Reki’s, but his hair bounced the slightest bit as he moved closer, his suit hugged him as Reki already wanted to. He cut through the snow as if it were nothing but dirt, not slipping in the slightest as he ran, like he commanded ice to let him pass.

Once Prince Snow stepped onto the gazebo, his smile softened and he stepped to stand in front of Reki, just barely looking down at the redhead. Reki stared up at him, now able to tell that his eyes were an aquamarine that resembled the ocean, and god, were they downright gorgeous. Reki felt his cheeks heat up as his mouth gaped dumbly. He cleared his throat as quietly as he could and let a shaky smile take over his face.

“...Hi.” Reki gulped and internally cringed. Feeling the need to say more he tacked on, “Sorry, I was just uh...really enjoying the garden. The snow is beautiful.”  He could do nothing but hope that was the right thing to say.

...And also hope that Prince Snow had caught onto his double meaning.

To Reki’s delight, the other man just smiled wider. “It is, isn’t it? So is your dress. I remember you saying you hadn’t ever worn one before. You’re brave for having this be your first time.” Prince Snow let out a twinkling chuckle and gently smoothed down a piece of tule from Reki’s dress that had moved slightly out of place. “How does it feel?”

Reki pushed aside his confusion for the moment to try and get more information out of the prince (again, he was only assuming). “Ah, um, it’s kinda heavy. Heavier than I thought dresses would be. There’s gotta be at least three layers to this thing.” He let out a nervous laugh as he lifted up the skirt a bit and turned the slightest bit side to side, eyebrows raising as it swished. 

The prince chuckled again, softer this time and took a step back. “Yeah, it does look a little heavy. Want to try a twirl? Dancing might be a bit hard if you can’t spin.” There was a certain hopeful twinkle in his eyes - like he was asking Reki a question without saying the words, but Reki wasn’t quite sure what he was getting at. 

Giving into the prince’s request, Reki did a slow and awkward twirl, immediately meeting the still-somewhat-stranger’s eyes after he did so. “Dancing?”

A blue eyebrow furrowed. “Are you...did you decide not to go to the ball?”

Reki’s heart dropped, but not in a bad way. Memories of thinking about his own Cinderella or Prince Charming flashed before his eyes, his deepest desire of being wanted and loved feeling like it was starting to come true. And the stranger hadn’t even asked him to the apparent ball! At least, not yet. He didn’t even know who this guy was! But still, it all felt so right, like a dream he never wanted to wake up from. 

“Oh! Right! The ball! Of-of course I’m going to go!” He smiled. “Sorry, don’t know where my head was for a second.” Reki’s eyes crinkled closed as he scratched the back of his head in an attempt to calm his nerves. 

Relief flooded the other man’s face as he minutely sighed and held out a graceful hand. “Well, in that case...Would you, um, would you like to get going?”

Reki didn’t hesitate to accept the offer.

After dancing for what felt like hours, the blue-haired prince (Reki had come to the conclusion that he was definitely, without a doubt, a prince) managed to slip Reki and himself out of the ball and into a long, darkened hallway where the prince started to laugh.

“Wow, I can’t believe we actually made it out.” He took a deep breath, smile still remaining, and took Reki’s hand once again. “Follow me. There’s something I wanted to give you.” Reki used his free hand to hold his dress up enough to run and followed along smiling just as bright. 

At the end of the corridor was a large door, and as the prince led them inside, Reki found it was his bedroom. He stood in the doorway and looked around in awe, never having seen a living space quite as big before. It was relatively barren, just a fancy bed, nightstand, ottoman,and a wardrobe. The prince seemed to not care all that much for decorations. 

Prince Snow went over to the ottoman and opened it to pull out a...no.

No fucking way.

A glass skateboard ?

Reki simply blinked between the board and the prince’s face in disbelief. There was literally no way that was possible. How would the wheels turn? The trucks would straight up shatter. The deck would absolutely break under a person’s weight-

And then the prince was standing on it with a proud smile on his face. “I promise, this is a gift for you. I could just see the absolute disbelief in your eyes.” He got off and, using one foot, slid the board so it rolled over to Reki and stopped at the hem of his dress. Reki crouched down to get a closer look. The prince’s smile only softened. “Think you can skate in a dress?”

Reki picked up the board and held it close to his chest, practically breathless and smiling bright as the sun. “You mean...this crazy amazing thing is mine? And I get to ride it, like... now ?”

The prince chuckled and picked up another board - a regular wooden and metal one - out of the ottoman. “Absolutely. Can I skate with you? Maybe show you around the castle some more?” He dropped the board, propping one foot up on it and, once again, held out his hand, this time with more confidence than when dancing around asking Reki to the ball. 

Reki took his hand and held it tight. “I’d love that.”

At some point during the night, the boys had figured out how to pin up Reki’s dress so he wouldn’t keep tripping over it. It definitely wasn’t pretty nor were the lines anything close to straight, but now the only trouble the dress was giving him was its added weight (which, after getting used to wearing the thing, wasn’t too terrible). Reki would forever be thankful that whoever dressed him for the ball - because that was another mystery he hadn’t solved yet - allowed him to keep his ratty converse. Glass slippers paired with a glass board would not have been easy to manage...or easy to dance in...or just walk in. Yeah, Reki was eternally grateful for his Chuck Taylors. 

Once the snow had slowed, the boys snuck back into the prince’s quarters to grab a couple coats and blankets. (They decided they would retrieve Reki’s from the party later. Neither of them wanted to step back into that commotion at the moment.) With their supplies ready to go, they boys skated through the castle and stopped outside the very place where Reki had seen the prince for the first time - the garden’s entrance. Picking up their boards in favor of skating through the now thick snow, they made their way to the gazebo where Reki had woken up, and set up camp. The two of them huddled together on a bench, the prince scooting close to Reki and wrapping the blanket around their shoulders. 

“Reki?”

“What’s up?”

“Thank you for dancing with me tonight. It was a lot of fun. And thank you even more for skating with me and spending time roaming around. I think that was my favorite.”

Reki ducked his head to hide his blush and smile as he gently bumped himself into the prince’s side. “Ah, c’mon, Snow. It’s no big deal. I had a lot of fun, too. Thank you for inviting me.”

The prince looked at him, his bangs falling down into his face a bit and blue brows slightly furrowed. “Wait, did you just call me ‘Snow’?”

Reki froze. Oh, yeah. There was the whole not knowing the guy’s name thing. Play it cool, Reki , he thought. Just go with the flow. “O-oh...yeah, guess I did. Sorry. It’s just that when you came out to check on me earlier and you were standing in the snow...I don’t know, man. You looked like you belonged there.”

The prince’s eyes widened a fraction and his face took on a tint of pink. He cleared his throat and forced himself to look away from Reki. “Well...as sweet as that is, I’d prefer it if you just called me Langa.”

Langa.

Langa.

Langa.

Something about that name felt so inherently right to Reki, as if he was a fool for thinking the prince could have ever been called anything else. Hearing the prince - Langa - say his own name made Reki’s heart beat faster. It felt like when you put in the last piece of a puzzle you’ve been trying to figure out for days on end and the relief and accomplishment of it being done washes over you. Reki’s smile grew and grew until he felt like his ears were part of his grin, too.

“Alright then...Langa.”

Langa whipped his head back to face Reki, eyes completely blown wide and mouth parted ever so slightly in shock like that was the first time anyone had said his name before. He gently took both of Reki’s hands in his own and held them close to his chest. 

“It...it’s you.”

Reki only furrowed his brows slightly.

“I,” Langa cut himself off, taking a deep breath. “This is going to sound crazy to you, I know it is, but will you hear me out for a minute? Please?”

Reki stayed silent and slowly nodded. He was getting, admittedly, a little scared.

“Let’s get married.”

And Reki blinked. And blinked again. 

He sucked in a deep breath before letting out a simple, “What?” his voice about two octaves higher than normal.

Langa sighed and set their hands on Reki’s lap and turned to face him square-on. “I know. It sounds crazy, but it’s how things work around here. That’s why we had the ball, after all, to try and find me a suitor. We’ve only been friends for a few days, I know-” We’ve been friends for a few days? Reki internally questioned - “but you’re the only person here I trust enough to propose to, much less spend the rest of my life with. It doesn’t have to be romantic, we could just be friends who happen to be each other’s royal companion. I just...I turn eighteen next week. That’s the age where if I don’t decide who to marry on my own, I’m picked out a partner and forced to spend my life with them.”

Reki gulped, his hands trembling a bit, but Langa continued. “In the sake of total transparency...I think I have feelings for you. There’s something there. I could-I could see us falling in love, is what I’m saying.”

The redhead jolted back at that admission. He took a minute to look down at their hands, thinking about the way his heart raced when Langa told him his name, and how happy he felt as they ran through the corridors hand in hand after escaping the party, and how he felt somehow at peace as Langa spun him around in a waltz in front of a room full of watching, important eyes. Just in these few hours, all Reki could think about was Langa. Yes, there was the argument that he had only been around Langa for his time here, but Reki was fairly certain his mind wasn’t interested in wandering elsewhere. Basically what he was thinking was…

“I guess...I guess I could see that, too. One day. If we went through with it.”

Langa let out a trembling breath and picked up their joined hands to press a gentle kiss to Reki’s knuckles. “Then could we figure it out together?” His eyes shone with that pleading hope again, and Reki couldn’t seem to look away.

“I only have one question,” Reki admitted before promising his life away.

“Anything,” Langa replied in stride.

Reki took a deep breath of his own and shifted like Langa had a moment ago to square their shoulders. “Say, hypothetically, if the clock were to strike midnight and my dress went away and the magic faded and I was left standing here looking like a complete mess that I actually am, would you still care for me? Still... possibly love me?”

As crazy of an idea it was that Langa had proposed, it was everything Reki had ever dreamed of. Unconditional love from someone who wasn’t his mom or sisters. A true lover, a life-long partner with whom he didn’t have to constantly feel all of life’s anxieties. His Cinderella.

Or, in this case, his Prince Charming. 

Langa didn’t even blink. “Reki, of course I would.”

Reki crushed him in a hug that Langa graciously returned. 

His face slamming into the hardwood floor was not at all what he had expected Langa’s hug to feel like. 

~.....~

Reki woke up on the floor next to the couch, his left arm pinned underneath him at a painful angle. He groaned in pain and used his right arm to slowly push himself up and look around the room.

Yep. He was home.

So why did he feel bitter that being with Langa was a dream? Come to think of it, who the hell even was Langa. Reki was certain he’d never seen the guy before. Did his brain figure out how to craft a person? But where did the blue hair come from? Reki had never met anyone with blue hair before-

“Reki, what the heck are you doing?”

Koyomi stood over him, hands on her hips. “Did you fall asleep out here last night? You sleep like a log, figures Mom didn’t move you when she came in.” Reki groaned up at her and put his forehead back on the floor. “Uh, are you okay?”

“I had a dream I was Cinderella,” came his muffled reply. 

His sister chuckled and sat down on the couch in the same spot he had just rolled off of. “Can I hear about it? Was your bland Prince Charming in it?”

Reki sighed and sat criss-cross to look up at her. He ran a hand through his hair and pulled out his headband. “He wasn’t bland. He wasn’t even the same Prince Charming as the one in the movie. He had blue hair and his name was Langa. Sound boring to you?”

She thought about this new information for a minute, putting a thoughtful hand on her cheek. “Hmm, no, I guess this guy sounds more interesting. Was there anything else, or was it one of those dreams where you only see bits and pieces?”

He scoffed and shook his head. “No way. It felt like I was living in that world. I could even feel stuff. Like Cinderella’s dress? It’s stupid heavy. But no, I felt like I was in that dream all night. It wasn’t like the movie, but it looked like the same castle. Weird, right?”

Koyomi tilted her head back and forth. “Weird, cool, depends on how you look at it. I think it sounds pretty awesome.” She stood up and put his headband from him and placed it back in his hair, giving Reki’s wild red locks a pat of approval once she was done. ”Can I hear more about it after school? Please? I gotta get ready now.”

Reki smiled with a sigh and stood up, finally taller than the twelve-year-old. “Sure thing. Will you help me bandage my arm, though? Think I might’ve sprained it when I fell.”

She laughed and skipped to the bathroom. “Sure thing, big brother!”

As soon as Reki walked through the school’s front gates he was met with whispers and murmurs about the rumor that his class would be receiving a new international transfer student. People were making bets with each other where they would come from (America seemed to be in the lead) and others were guessing how cute they would or wouldn’t be without having even seen the person. Reki could only sigh and roll his eyes. Just another thing he was going to have to deal with today. Normally, he would welcome the change from his drab schedule, but he was still suffering the reality crash of being without Langa.

His imaginary freaking fiancé. Honestly, what the fuck?

As soon as Reki reached his homeroom, he made a beeline for his desk and pulled out his sketchbook. A few of his classmates tried to talk to him, but Reki politely turned them away. All he had the energy to talk about right now was his art, and they never seemed too interested in that. So he kept his nose down and pencil moving as everyone settled in. 

The teacher called everyone to attention, getting them in their seats and listening. Reki continued drawing even as the teacher rattled through announcements and declared that they would be welcoming their new student shortly. He still refused to look up as the door opened and a new pair of footsteps walked in.

“Why don’t you go ahead and introduce yourself?”

Reki could hear his classmates take in a collective breath. He snorted quietly.

“My name is Langa Hasegawa.”

And Reki’s head shot up immediately. 

There he was. That was his Prince Charming in the goddamn flesh. His name, his hair, even his voice , Reki’s dream had it all down to a T. 

Honestly, Reki was on the verge of tears.

The teacher didn’t look so impressed. “Is that all?” he asked. 

“Uh...Well. I’m from Canada.” Langa looked back to the class and Reki swore they locked eyes for a moment. It all came crashing back to him. Snow . And Langa was from Canada . Reki could barely breathe.

The teacher groveled for a bit longer about Langa’s lack of conversation before turning his gaze to Reki and gesturing to the empty seat next to him. “Mr. Hasegawa, you will be sitting next to Reki, the redhead in the back.” Langa simply nodded and walked down the row to take his seat. 

All the while, Reki’s heart was pounding in his ears so loud he was worried Langa might hear.

Langa leaned down a bit, his bangs falling down around his eyes just as they had in Reki’s dreams. He tried desperately not to stare as Langa spoke. “You’re Reki right?”

Reki nodded dumbly and Langa nodded back, setting his bag aside and sitting down quietly. Tried as he might, Reki couldn’t focus for the rest of the lesson, enveloped in Langa’s presence. He wanted to do something, anything. He felt the need to reach out and poke Langa to make sure he was real and not just an extension of his dream. 

The bell rang and shook Reki out of his thoughts, the entire classroom breaking into action. Before he could muster up the courage to get his attention, Langa was standing and walking out the door. The guy couldn’t have known where he was going, but Reki was ashamed to say that he was scared to follow him. What if this was all a sick joke? What if when he reached out and tugged on Langa’s sleeve, his hand passed right through? He was from Canada, right? What if Langa didn’t know enough Japanese to hold a conversation past his introductory words? Reki’s English wasn’t all that strong.

But on the other hand…

What if Langa was real? What if this Langa Hasegawa was just the same as the Prince Snow version of Langa? What if Langa smiled at Reki and his face turned as red as his hair? What if Langa wanted to be Reki’s friend and go on middle of the night skate adventures at S? What if Langa cared about Reki like he said he did in Reki’s dream?

What if they fell in love here, too?

Reki sighed and packed up his sketchbook, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and hugged his skateboard close to his chest as he walked through the hallway in silence. He hoped with every fiber of his being that Manager Oka wouldn’t ask too many questions about his arm or sour mood. (He did, and Reki admitted, red-faced, that he had fallen off the couch, dreaming about a life he wished he had.)

On his break, Reki decided to cruise down the street to figure out exactly which tricks he could still pull off with his tweaked arm. The answer was, thankfully, most of them. He wanted to do anything to take his mind off of the insanity that had been the past twelve or so hours. Reki loved the idea of soulmates but never truly thought they were real, but that was the only thing on his mind as he thought about his dream relationship with Langa. How else could he explain his mind not only crafting a person, but the exact same person that had walked into his classroom?

Lost in his thoughts, Reki flubbed an ollie, his board flying out from under him and running off down the street as Reki landed promptly on his ass. He got up as quickly as he could to follow the board. Seeing the shape of what looked like a person in the distance, he called out, “Hey! Stop that skateboard for me!” And what luck Reki had. 

There, picking up the board and holding it to his chest, was none other than Langa Hasegawa. 

Reki’s heart stopped for what felt like the twentieth time that day.

~.....~

Reki started doubting his dream the moment Langa had stepped foot on that skateboard and swiftly fell off onto his back. How could he be a suave skateboarding prince in Reki’s head, but an absolute klutz in real life?

Reki rebounded and started having faith in his dream again when Langa told him he was a former snowboarder back in Canada. Langa had been honing his craft for fifteen years before his father passed away, leaving Langa without the drive or motivation to stay on the slopes, and now he was up to try skateboarding.

Training Langa made it hard for Reki to deny any feelings for the new student. He desperately wanted to form a new friendship without scaring poor Langa away with his insane dream prediction, but every time Langa would stay up for a bit longer than the last time and shoot Reki a smile that he didn’t normally show their classmates when they were at school, Reki could feel his chest tightening and his heart beating faster. 

The moment Reki knew there was no saving himself from his feelings was when Langa somehow managed to make it snow in Okinawa. Everyone was staring at S’s newcomer - of course they were, it was impossible to look away, but Reki…

Well, Reki thought Langa was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

~.....~

Weeks passed, and Langa slowly opened up more to Reki and the rest of their little S family, and Reki couldn’t have been happier. He had been treated to those angelic smiles Langa wore in his dreams, but now right he could reach out and smush the prince’s cheeks between his hands and tease him about how all the girls would fawn over him if he would give them a smile, too.

To Reki’s delight, Langa always tilted his head and softened his eyes further to say, “But they don’t make me happy like you do.” 

Reki always blushed. And Langa would pretend (for the sake of Reki’s pride) that he didn’t see it.

Their friendship wasn’t perfect, no relationship is, but their fight practically broke Reki. He knew he was being unreasonable and that he was just lashing out because of his own insecurities and projecting onto Langa, but he couldn’t find the courage to make it up to his new friend. Reki would always argue that Langa was the brave friend; Langa was the more talented skater; Langa was the one everyone loved.

Langa wouldn’t know what to say because he was bad with words, but he listened. No one ever listened to Reki, or, at least, it sure felt like no one ever did. Now, without his - let’s face it - other half, Reki was lost; just a shell of himself hiding at home and going through the motions. 

Koyomi knew she had to intervene when Reki told her on Monday that he wouldn’t be participating in Storytime Tuesday. Reki, quite literally, had never missed a Storytime Tuesday. He would always come home from S early and cancel any plans he had to take care of and entertain his little sisters. So just what the heck was going on that had Reki in such a wreck that he couldn’t come out of his room? 

Oh no, Koyomi thought with a smirk, I’m taking matters into my own hands.  

~.....~

Langa silently walked down the street under the cover of dusk, his board tucked under his arm rather than riding on it. Reki made skating fun. Why couldn’t he see that Langa couldn’t find a reason to continue without him?

Following the instructions he was given rather cryptically over the phone for a place he already knew how to get to, Langa stopped at the house’s front door instead of crawling up the ramp sticking out one of the windows. He knocked out a funny little tune and could just barely make out the sounds of exciting whispering and shushes from inside. 

The door swung open and Langa was forced to look down to meet the eyes of a smaller girl with red pigtails sticking out of the sides of her head. Before he could say anything, her jaw dropped as she gawked up at him. 

“Wait, no way ,” she breathed out. “Are you Reki’s friend? The one I called? I mean you did the knock, so you’ve gotta be-”

Langa cut her off with a ghost of a smile. She sounds just like him. “Yeah, that’s me. Did Reki want to see me? Is he okay?”

The girl’s face slowly shifted to something more determined as she opened the door and motioned for Langa to come inside. He obliged. “He’s...I don’t know. He’s definitely not himself. Has he ever told you about Tuesdays?”

“Um,” Langa tilted his head the way he always did when he was thinking, “no, not really. He always just says that he has to be home.”

The girl scoffed. “Hmph, figures. He’s even too embarrassed to tell you.” She wipes away the flash of hurt, putting her hands on her hips and grinning proudly up at Langa. “Reki takes care of us every Tuesday while mom works. He makes dinner and tells us stories. He calls it Storytime Tuesday, and he’s never missed a single one.” Her smile remains, but her eyes turn the slightest bit sad. “Until now. He um...he won’t come out of his room. I don’t know what happened, but I-I need help.”

Langa’s heart squeezed painfully. He knew that to some extent, this was his own fault. If he hadn’t been so persistent about skating with Adam, then his and Reki’s promise wouldn’t have been broken and Reki would still be by his side - by his sisters’ sides. 

“Part of it is my fault,” he sighed. “I’m sorry. I want to help you get your brother back, and I want my best friend back, too.” He gave Koyomi a small nod. “Tell me how I can help.”

Her grin turned into a genuine soft smile. “I think you need to talk to him. He doesn’t, ah, he doesn’t exactly know that you’re here. I kind of stole his phone while he was in the shower. But I’m sure you can help, I just know it!” She started walking towards the room Langa knew based on his time here before was Reki’s. He stopped the girl.

“Hey,” he called softly so as to not scare her. “I don’t mean this to be rude, but, ah...Who are you? I mean, you look just like Reki, but I’ve only met the twins before. He did say something about there being more, though…” He trailed off and Koyomi only brightened. 

“That’s me! I’m the ‘more’ he was talking about. Name’s Koyomi.” Her hand was on Reki’s doorknob as she leaned forward, face showing nothing but trouble, and asked, “Are you Langa?”

Langa froze and his expression turned puzzled. “Yes? Does he-” Langa coughed, willing his hope back down, “does he talk about me?”

Koyomi snickered. “He’s only said your name once, but he talks about a guy all the time and, for once, he actually did a good job describing someone. It’s definitely you. I just can’t believe you’re actually real.”

With a wave and another chuckle, she disappeared into Reki’s room, leaving Langa standing there more confused than he had ever been before, his head turned practically 90 degrees.  

As soon as the door closed behind her, Koyomi slid herself down to the floor with an exaggerated sigh as Reki sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

“Koyomi? That you?”

She snapped her head up and glared at him from across the room. “You didn’t tell me he was real!”

Reki squinted back and ran his fingers through his bedhead. “Who?” he yawned.

“Langa!” she said louder than she intended. Koyomi silently prayed that said boy hadn’t heard her from the other side of the door. “Langa,” she repeated, this time a few decimals quieter. “You didn’t think to mention your Prince Charming was a real person?”

Reki’s hand froze in his hair as he sat up straighter. “Uh...slipped my mind, I guess. I’m scared to ask, but why is this coming up now?”

Koyomi tilted her head side-to-side, feigning nonchalance. “I may or may not have taken your phone yesterday while you were in the shower, and I may or may not have invited him to Storytime Tuesday. He also may or may not be in the living room.”

“Koyomi,” he gritted out.

She shuddered out and asked through a squeak, “Yes?”

Reki sighed and dragged a hand over his face. “You know we’re in a fight, right? I-I don’t know what to say to him! You’ve gotta talk to me before you do stuff like this, dude!” He flopped back on the mattress in defeat.

Silently, Koyomi opened the door, peeked out, and walked over to the Reki-shaped lump in the bed, snatching the pillow out from under his head. 

“Hey! What was that for?”

She hit him in the face with the pillow, not hard, just enough to surprise her big brother. “Get up and go look at him. Then you can try and look me in the eyes and tell me that you don’t know what to say to him.”

It wasn’t out of curiosity, but out of something akin to fear that Reki slowly got out of bed and padded over to the doorway. Koyomi was bratty on occasion, but she was never stern with Reki, it just wasn’t in her nature. 

Reki almost had to take a step back at the scene in the kitchen, his heart drumming loudly in his ears and his cheeks flushed. 

The twins were sitting on the counter, a habit Reki and his mother had been trying so hard to break (they were climbers), but in front of them was Langa, leaning against the counter with his shoulders relaxed. All three of them had their backs to the older Kyan siblings, but Reki could see that Chihiro and Nanaka were braiding Langa’s hair, and he could hear Langa talking quietly and sweetly with the girls, both of them giggling occasionally. 

Langa looked relaxed. The first time he had met the twins, he was terrified. And Reki was truly in shock.

It was all too... endearing .

Koyomi nudged him in the ribs, snapping him out of his daze. Her eyes were soft to match her smile. “You look like you’re about to cry, Big Brother.” 

Reki blinked and wiped at his eyes, finding a tiny bit of moisture there. He looked back down at her at a loss for words and nodded in silence. 

She laughed through her nose and wrapped her brother up in a hug. “I take it back. You don’t have bad taste in guys,” she whispered into his chest. Reki only sighed and hugged her back.

“Thanks, Sis. I’ll figure it out, okay? Can you get dinner started while I talk to him please?”

Koyomi nodded and went over to the three of them. Reki could see her saying something to Langa, he half-turned around to whisper something to the girls, a small and gentle smile on his face, and they let go of the braids they were working on weaving into Langa’s hair. They were just tight enough to stay about halfway in without being held. As Koyomi sidled up next to him to get Chihiro down, Langa turned all the way around, carefully picking Nanaka up. He did a double take once he noticed Reki across the room, hands on his hips and a small smile on his lips. 

“I’ve been trying to get them to stop climbing, man. Such a bad influence,” he tsked and shook his head back and forth slowly, that smile still present so Langa would know he wasn’t serious. 

Langa’s mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. Reki took a deep breath he hoped wasn’t noticeable and walked over to the counter, his smile a little shaky. He held out his arms in front of Langa. “Alright, lemme see her.”

Langa nodded and handed her over, their fingers brushing during the handoff and Reki tried not to explode. 

Reki took a step back and looked between Nanaka in his arms and Chihiro in Koyomi’s and gave them a stern look. “You already know what I’m going to say.” The twins nodded almost comically. Reki cracked a bit of a smile and put Nanaka down. “Alright, as long as you know. It’s for your safety, you monkeys. Quit the climbing.” He ruffled Nanaka’s hair. “Koyomi’s making dinner tonight. Go wash your hands in case she needs help.”

Koyomi walked her sisters to the bathroom down the hall, leaving Reki and Langa alone. Ever the brave friend in Reki’s mind, Langa broke the silence first.

“You’re a good brother.”

At this, Reki actually did stumble back a bit, his face reddening faster than he could stop it. “I-what makes you say that?”

Langa tilted his head to the side. “Well, Koyomi told me about your Storytime Tuesday,” he ignored Reki’s groan of embarrassment, “you constantly make sure they’re safe, and you make sure that Koyomi’s not alone and has access to help if she needs it, even if it’s just the twins. You’re a good brother.”

Reki hides his face in his hands for a moment before taking another deep breath, this time he knows Langa hears it, and rubs the nape of his neck, pointedly not looking at Langa. “I just do my best, man” he mumbled.

Langa shrugged. “Well then keep doing what you’re doing. They love you a lot.”

What about you? Reki’s brain asked unhelpfully. Do you love me, too?

Reki shook his head and finally managed to look at Langa. “Do you wanna, um, talk?” He gestured to his still open bedroom door. 

Langa nodded. “I think that would be a good idea, yeah.”

Reki nodded back and waved over his shoulder as an indicator for Langa to follow him. He did. Reki rubbed his hands together in front of him in an attempt to calm his nerves. 

Trying to seem as chill as possible, Reki jumped onto his bed and sat criss-cross and Langa walked in and looked around. Reki wanted to hide, but kept his ground and watched Langa. When the latter’s eyes met the redhead’s he gestured to the bed, silently asking if he could sit. Reki nodded.

Langa let out an uncharacteristic sigh and turned to look at Reki, his blue eyes bright and brilliant as ever. “Reki, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for breaking our promise. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to apologize enough.”

Reki could only stare. Langa was apologizing to him ? Sure, he had been hurt by Langa, but he wasn’t expecting Langa to actually feel sorry. He was a good guy, yes, but Reki had gotten it in his head over the years that he was just over-sensitive and misinterpreted what others said, always assuming they meant the worst.

But Langa realized that he messed up on his own.

Reki felt understood for once. He willed back his tears.

“Langa, please, I’m so sorry, too. I mean, I accept your apology, but I really do need to apologize too. I shouldn’t have lashed out at you. I’m not going to say that I didn’t mean it because...well, because I guess I did mean some of it. But you’re my best friend! Probably the best person in my life! You’re so talented and amazing and I was just jealous. I’m so sorry. You didn’t deserve that. I shouldn’t have just left. I’m bad at figuring out how to say what I’m really feeling and I-I just-” Reki’s chest started heaving as he became frustrated with himself, indicating that a panic attack could very well be on the horizon.

Langa held his hand and rubbed his thumb over Reki’s knuckles. “Reki. I forgive you. Take a second to breathe.”

Reki couldn’t help but let a tear fall at that, but angrily brushed it away with his hands in fists, but covered by his hoodie sleeves. Per Langa’s request, he took a few deep breaths. His necky was splotchy and red, but he continued. 

“I care about you so much, Langa. More than you know. You’re the first person I’ve ever met that makes me feel safe and like I belong, and I ruined it.” His insides twisted as he thought about telling Langa just how much he cared, but if their fight hadn’t ruined everything, then that kind of confession surely would. 

“Reki,” Langa started as he lifted their still interlocked hands up under his chin and looked Reki in his teary eyes. “You didn’t ruin anything. You make me feel safe, too. We just...we had a setback. That happens all the time, right?”

“Why’re you asking me, Prince?” Reki chuckled a little, trying the best to keep the bitter remnants out of his voice. “I just basically told you you’re my only friend.”

Langa sighed and set their hands down, but kept a hold on Reki’s pinky with his own. Reki stared down at their hands. “I was really hoping you hadn’t heard about the ‘Prince’ nickname thing. It’s embarrassing.”  

Reki froze. He was hoping Langa hadn’t heard about the ‘Prince’ nickname, considering Reki was the one who accidentally started it. He was absentmindedly talking with a classmate while watching Langa receive another confession. Reki was honestly probably just zoning out about his Cinderella dream and trying to quell his jealousy when he let it slip that “Hey, Langa kinda looks like a prince, doesn’t he?”

Reki took a deep breath. It was now or never.

“Hey, Langa, about that...I may or may not...have accidentally started that nickname.”

Langa blinked and did the head tilt that Reki found way too adorable. “Um...why?”

Now, there were two ways Reki could go with this: the complete and honest truth or beat around the bush and continue on pretending like his feelings weren’t there. How much longer did Reki think he could go on just shoving his emotions to the backburner? The answer was either forever or until next week with no guarantee for either. Reki so desperately wanted it all to be out in the open so he wouldn’t have to walk around with a twenty pound weight on his chest, but what would happen if it wasn’t received well? He couldn’t lose Langa again, full stop. He did just admit that he felt safe with Langa, though. And it was true. When he was with Langa, anything was possible. Reki knew for certain he would have felt like that with or without having had the dream.

Goddamn it, before anything, Reki Kyan was a skateboarder. He took risks daily. What’s one more with someone who makes you feel invincible?

He shuddered in a deep breath and squeezed Langa’s pinky tighter. “Okay. I’ll explain, but I’m riding an adrenaline high and if you stop me, I don’t think I’d be able to pick back up on my train of thought.” 

Langa nodded and scooted more on the bed to fully face Reki - whose face was fully aflame and eyes were searching the room for the sole purpose of not looking at Langa before finally landing on the collar of Langa’s shirt. 

“I had this dream. You were a prince. I mean, more specifically, you were Prince Charming. I had the dream after one of the Storytime Tuesdays - anyways! You were Prince Charming. I was watching you get a confession and you looked so regal and polite and, well, charming, I accidentally said out loud that you looked like a prince. People at school took it and kinda ran with it, I guess. Sorry, it was all just based off of this stupid dream I had.”

The blue haired boy stayed quiet for a bit after Reki had finished to make sure he wouldn’t cut him off. “I’m not mad, if that’s what you were worried about.” Langa smiled, but Reki looked up with an almost annoyed expression on his face. Langa chose to ignore it. “Can I hear about the dream? I’m curious.”

“What’s there-” Reki’s voice cracked a bit, “what’s there to be curious about?”

Langa’s lips lifted up a bit in the corners. “No one’s ever dreamed about me before. Or, at least, nobody’s told me. Plus...it’s you.” 

Reki perked up a bit at that, those all too familiar words bouncing around his head. “It’s me?”

Langa nodded. Reki frowned in thought, but continued, albeit hesitantly. “Langa? I know I said you asking about feelings is weird, but, ah, um, do you think I could give it a go?” His face was on fire and he could feel it. This was all too embarrassing.

“Sure.” 

It was only one word but Langa managed to sound like the hopeful look in his own eyes in Reki’s dream. He said it so quietly and softly that Reki could feel the slightest bit of tension leaving his body. Maybe it would all be okay, after all.

Reki finally took his hand back and rubbed his hoodie-covered nubs together to subside some of the anxiety. “This is going to sound crazy. I know it is. Ever since it happened, I’ve been questioning everyday how my mind could have made it up. But. Basically - well, you know the story Cinderella , right? The Disney movie?”

Langa thought for a second. “Is that the one with the ‘Once Upon a Dream’ song? Where the princess falls asleep and stuff?”

“Langa- I- no , that’s Sleeping Beauty . How do you not know Cinderella ?”

He shrugged. “I never watched many Disney princess movies. I wasn’t all that into Sleeping Beauty and I didn’t have any other siblings to stick around and try and watch more movies for. I really like that song, though.”

“You’re helpless,” Reki groaned. “ Cinderella is the one where the princess has the evil step-mom and gets turned into the belle of the ball but only until midnight and her glass slipper falls off but-” Reki was rambling all in one breath. Thankfully, Langa cut in to say, “Oh, yeah. Glass slipper.” before he could pass out. 

“Well, I don’t know how much sense this will make if you don’t know the story. Do you still want to hear it? Because if not it’s really fine-”

“Of course I still want to hear it.” 

Reki had officially given up hope that he could get out of confessing. There was nothing he had to confess, per say, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Koyomi’s earlier words. 

“Then you can try and look me in the eyes and tell me that you don’t know what to say to him.”

Reki knew exactly what he wanted to say - what he needed to say - and there was no hiding from it anymore.

Langa was his Prince Charming. He was sure of it. 

“I was Cinderella. She’s the princess, the main character. And...Prince Charming’s her love interest. You were him.” Even Reki’s ears were red. “I saw you in the snow and you came over to ask me to the ball, the one Cinderella goes to in the movie. I said yes and we went dancing and stuff. It was nice, or whatever. We both decided to ditch the party for a bit so we ran down this fancy hallway to this room that turned out to be your royal headquarters or whatever fancy ass name rich people call a bedroom.” Langa snorted quietly. Reki couldn’t stop his smile from growing. He still couldn’t look Langa in the eye, but it sounded like he was taking it well.

“The prince doesn’t give Cinderella her glass shoes in the movie, but you gave me a glass skateboard. I don’t even know how that shit’s possible, but you had one and you gave it to me. We both stood on it and everything and it didn’t break. Then you got out this regular board and were all like, ‘Let’s go skating!’ and I’m all, ‘Okay, sure!’ So we took off down the hallway again, just messing around. Eventually we decided to go outside to talk and get some fresh air and...this is when it gets even weirder. Just let me know if you want me to stop.”

Langa didn’t say anything, so Reki took it as a sign to keep going. “You - there’s no gentle way to put this, man. You asked me to marry you. I was all freaked out and you were like, ‘Yeah, I figured,’ and explained to me that you had to get married because of whatever princely duties, but that you liked me and you trusted me. I said yes because I kinda liked you, too, and we said we’d figure it out together. The super weird thing is, and I wanted to save this for the grand finale, I had this dream, like, the day before you showed up at school. So when you walked in and I heard your voice - ‘cause, yeah, your voice matched, too - I was freaking out. How would you feel if the dude that asked to marry you in your dream about three hours ago popped up out of nowhere and sat next to you in class?” He gave a nervous laugh, the adrenaline finally wearing off and leaving nothing but the stunning reality that he had told Langa all of that. Reki’s face settled back into a neutral, uncomfortable state. 

“So...that was the dream. Please don’t hate me for it.”

Reki still couldn’t look in his eyes, but Langa shifted some. He cleared his throat. “Do you...happen to like me in real life?”

Reki didn’t mean to nod. He really didn’t. It was like all of his muscles were plotting against him, trying to make him lose the closest friend he had. It was involuntary; a question he was incapable of answering with a lie. 

Langa didn’t push him back in disgust or blow up in his face. 

He kissed Reki’s forehead. And Reki swore the world stopped turning. 

“I don’t hate you. Far from it. I like you too, Reki.” There was that twinkling laugh from Reki’s dream again. “I think your dream was cute. I’m definitely not about to ask you to marry me, though.”

Reki finally looked up into Langa’s eyes, and for once, he was relieved to not see the Langa from his dreams, but the Langa Hasegawa from Canada. Langa from his homeroom. Langa from S. Real life Langa was so much better than the stuff dreams are made of. And Reki beamed .

“Does this mean we’ve made up now?” he asked cheekily. 

Langa gave another laugh. “I’d love that.”

“Well good,” Reki scooted closer on a newfound surge of confidence. “Because you missed.”

Both boys smiled brighter than the sun reflecting the snow as their lips met. 

~.....~

After some convincing (kisses), Reki got Langa to agree to watch Cinderella with him. Koyomi quickly noticed the blush on Langa’s formerly pale cheeks and the smile her big brother wasn’t able to wipe off, and she decided that she and the twins would go have a puppet show in her own room. She made sure to make the wink she sent over her shoulder dramatic enough for both boys to see. They only giggled.

Langa sat on the couch with his arm draped across the back as Reki popped the DVD into the player. Once everything was set up, Reki hopped onto the couch and cuddled into Langa’s side, their slight height difference allowing Reki to fit just right as Langa’s arm moved to be around his shoulders. 

Reki was incapable of being quiet throughout the movie, comparing and contrasting things from his dreams to the film, complaining about the weight of the dress, not-so-subtly making Langa’s entire face burn red when Reki said, “Yeah, okay. My Prince Charming is way better than whoever this dude on screen is.”

They had been discussing which of their friends would be which other characters - Shadow as the step-mother, Cherry and Miya as the step-sisters, and Joe as the fairy godmother - when “So This is Love” started playing and Cinderella and Prince Charming began to dance. Reki quickly cut off his boyfriend - his boyfriend! - and stared dreamily at the screen.

“I’ve loved this song and this scene since I was a kid,” he sighed, melting back into the couch. 

Langa smiled back at Reki and stood up, holding out his hand a bit. “Want to dance, then?”

A smile slowly spread across Reki’s face as he stood and took Langa’s hand. “If you’re about to tell me you know how to waltz, there’s no way in hell you’re ever going to convince me that you’re not a prince.”

“Mom and Dad had me take ballroom dance lessons to help me with stability for snowboarding,” Langa shrugged with an embarrassed flush high on his cheekbones. 

Reki sighed dreamily. “You’re perfect, you know that?” He reached up to leave Langa a soft kiss. “I hope you know that I can only dance in my dreams. I have no freaking clue how to do this in real life.”

“You’re perfect, too, Reki. You’re never going to change my mind on that.” Langa guided Reki into a waltz hold. “Just follow my lead. It’s easier than skating.”

It was messy at first, but once they got the hang of it, Reki and Langa were making a tiny box around the living room, the blue glow of the TV illuminating their makeshift dance floor. Once the song ended, Reki rewound the movie and the scene played again for the boys to sway to the music. After listening to ‘So This Is Love’ a third time, Reki paused the movie and, per Langa’s request, queued up ‘Once Upon a Dream’ from Sleeping Beauty on his phone. Koyomi tiptoed into the doorway during their dance unnoticed and managed to snap a picture of her brother and his boyfriend waltzing, perfectly capturing the very cover imagine she and Reki were arguing over all those weeks ago. 

“Hey, Reki?”

“Yes, Langa?”

“I hope you know that I’m going to tease you with this song for the rest of your life.”

Reki giggled and rested his forehead against Langa’s. 

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, Love.”