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Langa wasn’t even aware of if he had won or not. All he could focus on was Reki, jumping up and down in front of him, glorious and perfect and screaming Langa’s name.
He didn’t even have enough thought space for braking, let alone the tens of people gathered around, as he flung his whole body at the golden boy in front of him. They toppled to the ground immediately. Reki’s hands were gripped tight around his waist and Langa was holding himself barely seven inches from the others face by the support of his arms.
“Did I win?” Langa practically yelled at Reki over the insanely loud celebratory sounds coming from all around them. The usual unconscious reaction of hiding his ecstatic smile never even crossed his mind. He let it reach his eyes and close them partly, teeth on display, staring down at Reki’s mirrored expression.
“You won. You did!” Reki yelled back, sitting up slightly and matching Langa’s excited volume and tone, “It was awesome! I was so impressed!”
Langa’s heart swelled to burst, beating harder than it ever had before. This. This was what made him so happy. It wasn’t skating that got his body racing, it was Reki, and skating with Reki. He already knew this of course, but had never been reminded of it as much as he was right now.
Reki was still looking up at him with star filled eyes, and Langa acted before he even knew what he was doing. Heart in his throat, background noise ringing into a high pitch buzz drowning out everything but the sunshine boy infront of him, he leant forward and crashed his and Reki’s lips together.
It wasn’t how Langa had imagined their first kiss, when he lay in bed at night, unable to sleep and filled with thoughts about Reki — his laugh and his handwriting and the tongue he poked out when he was concentrating on a drawing and the way it took him ages to tie his laces and how he let his twin sisters climb all over him and the — well, thoughts about Reki was a much quicker way to put it.
During those times, Langa had thought the events of their kissing each other would be preceded by a shy and blushing confession. Preferably at a place that meant a lot to them, like the skate park during a sunset where Langa had nailed his first ollie and Reki had plastered his cuts and Langa had first thought about wanting to kiss him.
They would confess — Reki always going first of course, no way Langa could even day-dream himself up that much confidence — and then they would find each others hands and shift closer and turn their heads to say something at the same time and their lips would end up perfectly close. Both would lean in at the same and the kiss would be tender and slow.
But this...this was even better. Before Langa even had the chance to suddenly realise that he had just kissed Reki, the redhead’s arms had wrapped even tighter around his waist and he kept Langa pulled closely to him, kissing back with just as much pressure.
Langa brought his hands up around the back of Reki’s head to cushion it from the gravel underneath where they were lying, and, yes okay also to be able to pull their lips closer together, if that was even possible.
It lasted for a few perfect seconds. Enough time for sunset conversations, sleepless nights skating, shared food on the school roof, frantic searches for the last band aid, drowsy last shifts at Dope Sketch, before a loud voice shouted in their direction.
“Jeez!”
Langa had a brief glimpse of a laughing Joe, before a pair of stupidly muscular arms hoisted him to standing and he was being hugged from all directions.
Joe was enveloping all three kids in a huge embrace, while Shadow danced, or rather bounced, behind them. Cherry’s faked nonchalance was ruined by the bright beam on his face.
“Okay, okay! I can’t breathe!” Langa yelled, and Miya and Joe untangled themselves from him. Reki, however, kept holding on tight. Both his arms were still wrapped around Langa’s waist, from behind this time, and his chin was hooked over Langa’s shoulder.
An unexpected perk of this already wonderful position was the tickle of fluffy hair moving against his neck and, where Reki’s throat rested against Langa’s shoulder, the warm buzz as Reki said, “we have to celebrate! Joe, can we crash at yours?”
Joe agreed with an air of pretend annoyance and the group of them turned back to the car, Reki and Langa stalling to make sure they were a distance away from the others.
For a few seconds they were stood alone, arms hooked around each other, thick honey eyes pouring into the vast, blue ocean ones that hungrily lapped up every last bit of sweetness that was staring back.
“You kissed me,” Reki whispered, not breaking eye contact for a microsecond, scared of somehow cracking the little cocoon they had wrapped around themselves in this moment.
“I did,” Langa’s whisper was only just audible, slow and carefully pronounced like everything he said, in the accent that Reki adored so much, “and you kissed me back.”
“I did,” the grin he’d been subduing caught alight, spreading across his face. The flame reached Langa’s face too. He couldn’t stop himself imitating the expression he was faced with; beaming smile, rosy cheeks and love struck eyes. “I like you, Langa. As...more than a friend. I have for a while, I think.”
“I like you too,” Langa practically sighed it out, so unbelievably relieved to be able to say the thing that had been on the tip of his tongue for so long, “I don’t think there was a time where I didn’t like you in that way, Reki.”
This made the redhead blush even more. Excellent. Langa would have to remember that one for later, he loved it when Reki blushed. To be fair, he loved it when Reki did anything. The boy could just breathe and Langa would probably sigh wistfully and say a dreamy: “you’re amazing, Reki!”
“Langa,” Reki inhaled long and hard, averting his gaze for the first time, cheeks sporting a furious red, “be my boyfriend.”
“Yes,” Langa replied instantly, and he couldn’t help himself, sue him, so he leant in once more and kissed Reki firmly on the mouth.
“Oi! You two! C’mon!”
They unwillingly turned their heads in unison to see Joe with the boot open, ready for them to climb in. Annoyed at being interrupted again, but not actually that mad about having to get in the car, they turned to make their way back to the others, hands linking together as they walked — so naturally and smoothly it spread warmth throughout Langa’s whole body.
On the journey to S, Reki and Langa had sat side by side, legs crossed, knees bumping into each other. Now, however, Langa was sitting with his back to the side of the car, legs spread apart and Reki sitting between them, back against Langa’s chest and his face almost level next to the others.
Cherry, Joe, Miya and Shadow seemed content to leave them to it as they discussed specific parts of the beef in excited detail. The two boys were glad, they weren’t finished with their whispered confessions yet.
“I can’t believe you asked me to be your boyfriend, Reki, I’ve liked you for so long. I’m so happy” Langa kissed Reki on his glowing pink cheek.
The other boy hummed contentedly at the casual contact, “tell me if this is too cheesy, but it feels, sort of, inevitable,” he scrunched his nose up, “no, that’s not the word. It feels...right. Correct. Like this was how it’s meant to be. Arghh! That sounds so cliché!”
“No it doesn’t,” the blue haired boy laughed, “I feel the same way Reki. I mean...I hadn’t let myself think you even liked me back for a long time, but now I know you do...it feels right.”
“You didn’t think I liked you back?” Reki sounded confused and unbelieving, “how? I thought it was obvious!”
That earned a chuckle, “well I’ve never been observant with emotions, you know that. Plus you’re, like, way out of my league, and I didn’t want to get my hopes up,” Langa shrugged.
“Huh?! You’re the one out of my league!”
“Don’t be stupid, I’m just me. But you’re you. You’re Reki. Amazing doesn’t cover it.”
“Langaaa. Stop! Do you like making me blush my cheeks off?”
“Yes,” Langa answered immediately.
Reki narrowed his eyes at his boyfriend — boyfriend! He couldn’t believe he could say that now — and turned his head to return the cheek kiss from earlier.
“Fine, I’ll take the compliment,” he huffed, knowing that Langa would win this battle regardless.
A few lose pieces of gravel crunched under the car wheels, spinning up to hit the metal somewhere on the bottom of the car with little pings. At one point Cherry took a detour down a little side path, the bushes growing on either side of them whipping and tapping at the windows.
And Reki and Langa sat in the back, arms wrapped around each other, snuggled together in the cosiest, warmest, most wonderful silent embrace either had experienced. This was everything, this was perfect. This happiness felt infinite.