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“DAMMIT!” Reki slammed his fist onto the ground, eyes watering, “Please, don’t go…. Langa..”
“That son of a…” The wizard Joe didn’t finish his sentence as he managed to remove the mask which was interfering with his powers.
Miya finally snapped back to reality, “That just happened… the prince is gone.”
Cherry said nothing, he simply clenched his jaw and looked away, his sharp movements indicating no one should mess with him.
Shadow was angry, “NOW I’LL NEVER BE QUEEN!”
But despite all the talk around him, Joe knew he needed to leave Cherry alone, so he reached out to the crying redhead on the ground. Reki dug his fingernails into the dirt, feeling the tears wet his fingers and the soil shift between them, continuously whispering out to the prince who was already gone. To his side the glass skateboard glittered in the sunlight and Reki wished it would just shatter like his short lived joy with Langa.
“Why,” he mumbled, “why did you have to leave me?”
Joe walked over and crouched down, “Hey kid, stop being so angsty, we’ve got a rescue mission to go on.”
“Eh?” Reki said, rubbing his nose and getting dirt all over it.
“You’re just gonna let that old geezer take your prince away?” Joe asked,
Reki huffed, “No.”
Joe smacked Reki upside the head, “Well then? Let’s get going.”
“But why’re you so eager to do this?” Reki questioned.
Joe smiled a little, pulling the hood of his robe on over his head, “Well ya see, me and Adam have a little issue to resolve ya know? Also, I did not use my powers on you for nothing.”
“And how’re you supposed to defeat Adam?” Reki added.
“There’s nothing muscles can’t do!” Joe said.
“You damn dopey gorilla!” Cherry shouted from where he sat.
Joe scoffed, “You shut your mouth Kaoru!”
The two continued to shout insults back and forth, bickering about little things, it was pretty funny. Watching the two act like two toddlers arguing over who gets the crayons made Reki happier and soon, chuckles erupted from his chest. Everyone’s moods seem to change and the air around them lightened. Miya giggled and Shadow laughed so loud the whole town could have heard.
Finally Joe gritted his teeth and whirled around to look at Reki. “Okay kid, we’ve got a prince to save!”
“You really think we can defeat the evil emperor?” Reki asked.
“First of all, we? I’ll defeat him while you get the prince. Second of all, nothing can defeat muscle magic!” Joe said.
Reki stood up and grabbed the glass skateboard, dirt getting all over it and his knees shaking a little. Joe then forced him to clean himself up a bit before going because the wizard was not letting this maid look bad when he rescued his prince. Everything was ready now, Joe did some of his weird muscle magic stuff (that Reki still didn’t understand) and he pulled his own skateboard out of nowhere.
They both hopped onto their boards and raced away, down the path where the evil emperor had taken the prince.
The wind blew through Reki’s red locks as he zoomed down paths in the green forest. Joe raced beside him, cloak billowing in the breeze. Leaves turned orange and brown and fell around them despite it being spring, which Reki learned was a side effect of the emperor’s powers. The sun beat down on the two as they zipped past dying trees and bushes, approaching who knows where.
“It’s beautiful,” Reki murmured, “yet so very sad.”
Joe pushed forward some more, “I would agree if you’d stop being so mopey.”
“HEY!” Reki yelled, trying to catch up, “I’m not being mopey! I’m just stating something! Besides, how would you feel in this situation!?”
“I am in this situation.”
“Oh my god.”
The sun beat down onto the two and Reki was dying in his long sleeved shirt and pants, how Joe stayed in that cloak, the redhead had no clue. He rolled up his sleeves, taking a deep breath and letting the cool breeze blow in his hair in hopes that he would feel better after that. In all honesty, he would kill for a nice glass of water, something to make sure he didn’t die of heat stroke or dehydration.
After a lot of convincing Joe, Reki was now skating down the dirty, rocky path with a glass of something in his hand. Whatever the drink was, it was tasty, cold, and made him feel much, much better.
“That’ll be thirty squats.” Joe said.
Reki’s eyebrows flew up, “Hey what the hell!?”
“Magic takes a lot of energy, you’ll need to squat just like I did!” Joe said firmly.
“That’s no fair, I'm already stressed out as it is!” Reki exclaimed.
Joe laughed, “The world ain’t fair buddy.”
Reki stared at his feet, he knew that already, being forced to be the maid for his stepfamily his whole life, being treated like crap for years, he didn’t need Joe to state the obvious. “I know.”
After a few more miles of skating down the earthy path, the sun was moving towards the edge of the sky. Reki hadn’t even known where they were going, putting his trust completely in this man with weird green hair, praying he knew what he was doing. And maybe it was a good idea, because the air was getting colder than ever for a spring night and Joe’s face was growing grim.
Reki stayed silent, zooming down the path after Joe, who was picking up speed. The chill of the forest bit through Reki’s clothes now and maybe he would have preferred the sun at that moment. Joe said something not very nice under his breath as they approached something big being hidden behind fog. By now, all the trees were dead and decaying leaves crunched beneath the wheels of Reki’s board. Joe stopped suddenly, hopping off his board and turning to Reki.
“We’re here kid, run inside, save your prince, then get the heck outta dodge.” He said.
Reki looked concerned, “I can’t help you?”
“Of course not, your main priority is Langa correct? Mine is Adam, you don’t need to worry.” Joe answered.
“But-” Reki tried to find the right words, “I wanna help! That guy’s strong, what if he hurts you?”
Joe gritted his teeth, “And what if he hurts you ? What if he hurts the prince ?”
“I’m sure he won’t-” Reki was about to say but Joe cut him off.
“HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT ADAM WILL AND WILL NOT DO!?” He yelled.
Reki went quiet and looked away. He hopped off his skateboard and held it under his arm, looking away, a dark look on his usually happy face. Joe sighed and also looked away.
“I’ll go inside first. Once I confirm it’s safe, go save Prince Langa.” Joe ordered.
“Mkay…” Reki whispered.
Joe walked into the fog and the large stones finally turned into something that made sense — a huge, dark stoned palace. Reki’s eyes widened as he watched tall towers reach into the clouds and saw barred windows cover the castle from top to bottom.
“Wow.” Was all he was able to manage.
“Don’t you dare compliment the palace.” Joe said.
“I just think it’s cool.” Reki replied.
“THAT’S A COMPLIMENT!”
Joe whacked Reki over the head and the boy rubbed it, close to tears. Maybe next time he should listen to whatever big muscled wizard he came across next, it would probably be best for his health.
After a bit of bickering, Joe finally entered the castle, his cloak swishing behind him. Watching the wizard walk into the palace seemed to match, if Reki hadn’t known better, he would have believed it was Joe’s. He waited outside, staring at the door, watching for the wizard.
A few moments later and Joe poked his head out, motioning for Reki to come in. He ran over, stepping into the dimly lit castle which he could hear the dripping of water from far off in. Some torches hung around the room they stood in, high enough for the light to be only enough to see a few steps until the next torch. To add onto that effect, the torches flickered with little fire, the wax from the candles close to fully melting and dripping to the floor.
It was chilly, colder than the forest had been and Reki felt as if he would die if he stayed there. Joe seemed to be fine as he marched forward, already seeming to know where he was going. Reki chased after him, feet slamming against the ground and his footsteps echoing around the room.
“Stop following me.” Joe said.
“I don’t know where to go!” Reki replied.
“Dungeons.”
“Where the hell are the dungeons?”
Joe rubbed the bridge of his nose, “God, it’s down that hall.” He pointed down to the left, opposite where he was going.
“How do you know?” Reki asked.
“You’re too nosy.”
“I’m just curious.”
“Curiosity killed the cat.”
“Oh shut up.”
Reki turned away and walked towards the direction that the wizard had pointed in. It was dark and gloomy, which kind of set the mood for a dungeon. He set the glass board onto the ground, pushing it around with his foot before hopping onto it and skating down the hall. The wheels bumped against pieces of stone that had fallen apart from the walls. It was dark but Reki finally spotted a rounded door, two torches on the sides of it that were beginning to flicker out.
He leaned forward, increasing his speed, touching his hand to the ground below him, hurting his fingers and raising his adrenaline out of the roof. The door was getting closer…. and closer…. and closer….. and-
Reki hit face first into the door.
“Ah dammit.” He said, rubbing his face.
He stood up and lightly pushed the door open, which was unlocked fortunately for him. Adam should really get new locks. He started down the stairs, torches flickering beside his head. Maybe if his hair caught fire he would look cool, fire and the color red were great together. Oh, there he was getting sidetracked again.
The stairs spiraled down for a little while longer and Reki was getting antsy. What if Langa wasn’t even down there? Would he have left Joe behind and descended these stairs for nothing? On that topic, was Joe okay? Was he still looking for the emperor? Was he fighting the emperor? Was he dead ?
The questions filled his mind with doubt and when he got to the bottom of the staircase, he didn’t notice and tripped. He shook himself back into reality and hopped onto his board again, zooming down an even longer and even darker hallway. In those few moments it was just himself and his ever growing anxiety. Soon, he would be in the dungeons and he would be able to figure out if he had found the prince or not.
It was dark for a solid ten minutes until he finally saw some light at the end of the hall. He pushed forward some more, getting even faster, his heart racing. What if he got caught? Was Langa even there? Would he die ?
But Joe was distracting Adam right?
What about guards?
Was Joe dead?
Or was Reki just overthinking everything?
Whatever, Reki continued down the hall and eventually he reached the end and grabbed his board, holding it under his arm. He walked through the room which grew larger with each step, cells appearing beside him with rotting, barred doors swung wide open. This dungeon, along with the castle, hadn’t been used in a long time.
“Where on earth am I going?” Reki asked himself.
But he trudged on, walking further down the hall. As he did, he neared a door from which loud noises were coming. Crashes and screams.
Crashes and screams.
Reki raced over to the door, pushing at it with all his might, but the door was locked and heavy. However it had one weakness -- it was made of wood . Reki’s eyes darted around the room until they fell on something sharp and big, an iron longsword hanging from the wall above some hay and other stuff that scattered the floor. He ran over and grabbed the sword, feeling its weight in his hands before running over and hacking at the door. He froze before doing so, hearing the loudest crash yet then a muffled scream followed by silence.
He needed to save whoever was in there, Langa or not.
A few moments later and the door was completely down, Reki huffing loudly and sweat dripping down his face. His arms suddenly went limp and the sword fell from his grip, his eyes widened. Laying on the floor was the prince, crumpled and unconscious, blood spilling from his head and pooling on the floor. Chains were connected to the wall and clamped onto his wrists, holding his arms behind his back. The boy was completely and utterly helpless.
Reki ran over, pulling the boy’s head into his lap and removing the gag tied around his mouth. He quickly took his apron off and wrapped it around Langa’s head, trying to get him to stop bleeding. His hands shook and the stress was starting to overwhelm him a little too much, he wasn’t ready to do all this. He took a deep breath and then started shaking Langa awake, desperately whispering to the young prince.
The blue haired prince’s eyes eventually fluttered open and he looked to the redhead, “Reki…”
Reki pulled Langa’s head into his hands, pressing his forehead against Langa’s, “Oh my God, you’re okay.”
“I am because you’re here.” Langa said.
Reki laughed and then took the sword, “Okay, don’t freak out man. I’m gonna use this sword and cut those chains off.”
Langa looked like he was going to freak out, “Okayyy! Just stay calm. I’ll try.”
“Do or do not, there is no try.” Reki said.
“Yeah, just help me please.” Langa replied.
Just as Reki was about to slice down on the shackles, Langa was tugged back and Reki froze. His eyes darted upward, standing above them was the chamberlain, pulling Langa to his feet by the chains, grabbing at the prince’s blue hair. The chamberlain's eyes were blank, almost as if he were being controlled. A weapon was clutched in his hand and Reki had no clue if he was going to use it on him or Langa.
“S-Snake.” Langa said, trying to escape the man’s grasp, “It’s me, Prince Langa!”
The chamberlain looked down at him, “Woof.”
Langa looked even more concerned now, “Huh?”
“What the…” Reki said.
“R-right!” Langa said, “He was the emperor’s dog, so maybe if we can undo this weird spell we can get out of here with Snake.”
“Oh genius! HOW DO WE UNDO THE SPELL!?” Reki exclaimed.
Langa grunted as he was pulled up even further by the hair and the chains were tightened around his wrists, “Well sorry Reki, I have no clue how, I’m kinda currently being held against my will.”
“O-oh yeah. So I’ve gotta do this myself.” Reki said and then whispered to himself, “Damn that Joe, he could’ve helped me.”
After thinking for a few moments, Reki finally came up with a plan. He gave Langa a wink, indicating he was about to do something either great or incredibly stupid, and it was probably the latter. Reki stood, looking the chamberlain in the eyes, his own amber ones eventually flicking down to the man’s…. extremely sharp sword. Terror swept through Reki, as he realized what he was doing was probably going to be the end of him. But, it was his only plan, so he did so.
He dropped his sword to the ground.
Langa’s aqua eyes widened and he was about to shout when the chamberlain decided to clamp his hand over the prince’s mouth. Snake looked, well, pissed, but this was to Reki’s advantage, with one hand free, he couldn’t control his sword very well.
So Reki ran in, Langa figured out Reki’s plan and fought against the chamberlain’s strength only to be pulled closer. He was probably trying to tell Reki to stop because this was incredibly stupid but it only came out as a muffled MMRRPPHH !
And it was too late.
Reki ran up into Snake’s face, nose to nose and said, “Woof.”
The chamberlain let Langa go and the prince fell to the ground, staring at Reki in shock. “Reki what the h-”
“WOOF!” Snake replied.
Reki smirked, “Woof woof.” And then snatched the chamberlain’s sword and hit him over the head with the hilt.
“REKI YOU JUST ASSAULTED THE CHAMBERLAIN, YOU DIDN’T BREAK THE SPELL!”
“Sorry, it was my best idea.” Reki said, “Once we meet up with Joe, he’ll help undo the spell.”
Langa looked confused, “Joe…?”
Reki ran over, “No questions right now!”
He brought the sword down on the chains and they broke immediately. Langa looked sadly at the cuffs still stuck on his wrists but stood quickly, stretching and glad to be free. And then, he did what Reki did not expect. He grabbed Reki’s face and kissed him. Reki felt his face grow red and he began to sweat a little.
When Langa let go, Reki said, “Man Langa, now isn’t the right time.”
“I knew you were an amazing person. I had a great time skating with you and you’re so kind. Yet stupid.” Langa said.
“Whatever, doesn’t matter right now!” Reki exclaimed and grabbed Langa’s hand, “C’mon, let’s get outta here.”
Just then, the chamberlain was awakening and Reki was about to run out when Snake spoke. “Prince Langa, I am so sorry.”
Langa looked at his assistant, “Snake, is it really you?”
Snake stumbled up into a standing up position, “Yes, that boy just had to knock some sense into me.”
“Well, looks like we’ve got the whole gang.” Reki said.
“Let’s just go!” Langa said, helping the chamberlain over.
“You good Snake?” Reki asked.
The chamberlain nodded and the trio joyfully exited the dungeons.
The three were finally out of the danger of the dungeons…. And now in the danger of the throne room. Reki had gotten lost and now they hid behind fallen stones, listening to the crashing, yelling, sounds of magic, and much more from behind as Joe and Adam battled to the death. Reki was worried sick about Joe, if he knew anything about the emperor, it was that he was powerful, possibly more powerful than Joe. If he made even one mistake, they were all toast.
Reki couldn’t help but take a peek at the fight going on behind, Joe was bruised and beat up, and he was breathing hard and looked like he was in pain but he kept fighting. He crouched down, pushing his legs down and then launched himself into the air, towards the emperor who was floating. They made contact and Joe slammed his fist into Adam’s face and they both fell to the marble floor.
“Why do you fight against me so hard? What is motivating you so badly?” Adam finally asked as he struggled to stand.
“For Prince Langa.” Joe said.
Adam snorted, “We both know that’s a lie.”
“Fine,” Joe huffed and swiped his fist towards Adam, only for the emperor to dodge, “I’m doing this for Kaoru. You used him, you hurt him, you bastard made him scared of trusting others.”
“Oh did I?” Adam said in mock pity, “Oh poor little Kaoru.”
Adam stood and smiled evilly and kicked Joe in the kidney. Joe cursed under his breath and grabbed at where the emperor had hit him. Reki had to hold in his screams and gasps as Adam continued to abuse the magician, kicking and punching and hitting him with large pieces of stone. Joe was glued to the ground unable to get up and Reki was close to crying, he had to help his friend!
But how?
So Reki did what Reki did best, which was make stupid decisions. He told Langa and Snake to continue hiding and to not say anything, then he climbed on top of the piece of wall they were hiding behind and took a deep breath. He stared directly at the crumpled magician on the floor and yelled with all the strength of a thousand men.
“DO IT FOR KAORU! DO IT FOR ME! FOR LANGA! DON’T LET ADAM WIN!”
Joe’s eyes flicked over to where Reki stood and a small curse slipped between his lips. Adam’s eyes also followed the path towards Reki and an evil grin spread on his face. He flicked his hand and pulled Reki towards him, grabbing the redhead’s shirt in his hand. Reki struggled against the evil emperor’s grip, kicking at him.
“Let him go, bastard.” Joe said, struggling to sit up.
Adam ran his finger across the bottom of Reki’s chin, flicking it up and staring at Joe, “And why should I?”
Joe clenched his fist, “Or I swear… I’ll kill you.”
“Oh, how funny.” Adam held out his hand, a dagger appearing between his fingers, “What if I kill your little friend first?”
“You son of a bitch!” Joe yelled.
Adam smirked and took the weapon, dragging it across Reki’s cheek, blood dripping from the wound. Reki swallowed hard, tasting the metallic flavor of the blood that dripped into his mouth. His amber eyes watched the emperor in fear as the knife drifted straight to his throat.
“STOP!” Everyone’s eyes went straight to where Langa stood beside his original hiding spot.
Adam smiled, dropping the hand with the dagger in it to his side, “Oh so you finally came out? I knew if I threatened your little friend you’d appear Langa-Kun.”
Snake appeared beside Langa, fixing his tailcoat, his green eyes hard and angry, “So you knew all along?”
Adam looked genuinely confused, “Oh puppy, I had no clue you were free too.”
“Pupp…?” Langa began in shock but cut himself off, then made a decision, “Adam, I have a compromise.”
Adam dropped Reki to the ground and the redhead made a loud OOF . “How exciting! Go ahead.”
Langa took a deep breath, “We’ll race. If I win, you let me go and turn yourself into the guards. If you win, I’ll skate by your side forever and the kingdom will be yours.”
“LANGA!” Reki exclaimed, “THIS IS A TERRIBLE IDEA!”
Adam clapped his hands together, “Oh goody! This’ll be fun.”
Joe slammed his fist against the floor, “D-dammit. I was supposed to help you and avenge Kaoru….”
Reki stood and helped the magician up, glaring at the emperor, the demon emperor, “I was supposed to save Langa. Now he’s gotta save himself,” He started tearing up, “He’s gonna lose. Why am I so weak?”
Adam clapped his hands again, now in a more ordering fashion, “Grab your skateboard Langa-Kun, you’ll have to be ready for this!”
Suddenly Reki had an idea, maybe he could still save Langa. His glass skateboard was enchanted and when he skated with Langa on it, an icy path appeared. Maybe if Langa rode on it, the path would appear and help him. Magic was quite a strong thing.
“LANGA, TAKE MY SKATEBOARD!” Reki shouted.
Langa was caught off guard for a second but then nodded sharply. The chamberlain grabbed the glass board and handed it to the prince, nodding as well. Langa’s grip tightened on it and he looked determined and Reki could tell he was going to try his hardest. Langa wasn’t going to lose his kingdom or his freedom.
“Let us dance, Prince Langa.” Adam said.
Langa hardened his eyes, “Let us, Adam.”
They were on the edge of a cliff, an incredibly dangerous course that Adam had chosen for the race. Below were sharp rocks, pointy enough to impale anyone who would fall. Reki eyed Langa, who stood straight next to him, no fear was in his posture, eyes, anything, it honestly impressed Reki. It was also somehow… beautiful. The air blew through the prince’s red stained blue hair and his aqua eyes were reflecting the moonlight with determination. If not for the situation, Reki might have just melted.
“Be safe Langa, don’t lose. Don’t get hurt.” Reki said.
Langa looked to Reki and smiled, “I won’t. Trust me.”
Reki’s eyes widened, “H-how do you know that!? Adam is so grand at skating…”
Langa grabbed Reki’s shoulders, “Because I wanna skate infinitely together with you. By your side, infinitely.”
“I-” Reki’s words were caught in his throat and then he finally threw himself into Langa’s arms, “Just stay safe, you reckless idiot.”
“I will.” Langa said, pulling his hands back, turning then looking back, “Oh and Reki?”
“Hm?” Reki said.
“When I win, will you marry me?”
Reki’s heart was pounding, this is what he wanted wasn’t it? But it felt a little strange, but he finally found what to say, “Not immediately, but one day, when I know you better.”
Langa smiled, “Okay.”
Joe clapped his hand on Langa’s shoulder, “Win kid. Kick that bastard’s ass.”
“I believe in you Prince.” Snake said.
“Thank you.” Langa said and then walked to the starting line, where Adam stood smoking a pipe.
He snapped his fingers and the pipe disappeared, leaving behind the scent of smoke, “Are you ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.” Langa answered.
The two crouched and the shot forward. Adam was in the lead and Langa leaned forward in order to catch up to his speed. Reki’s eyes went wide, watching the two leave everything in their dust in only seconds. Langa and Adam were neck and neck now, one of them pushing further ahead every second. Adam pushed harder now, zooming ahead on the path then turning around, opening his eyes, heading straight for Langa.
Reki gasped, if he pulled that Langa could get seriously hurt. Joe cussed, mentioning something about a love hug. Snake looked away in disappointment. Langa was steadily approaching Adam, wind blowing through his hair, he seemed as if he didn’t notice the oncoming attack. Just inches away from Adam, Langa pulled a dangerous move -- he hopped right over the emperor’s head.
Langa landed on the ground, faster than ever. Reki cheered, his lungs burning from the cold air and all his excited yelling, but he didn’t care. Joe punched his fist in the air and the chamberlain stood in silence, watching in awe as Langa raced ahead of the emperor. Adam was catching up again, this time he grabbed Langa’s arms. The blue haired boy’s eyes flashed in fear as Adam pulled him close and stretched him out, attempting to push his feet off the board. In response he shoved the man back, nearly falling off the side of the cliff, but spinning around again and pushing forward once more. Adam approached him, getting handsy with the prince once again and grabbing at his arms again. This time Langa shoved Adam aside -- and down the cliff.
Everyone held their breath as Langa skated down the path, leaning forward more. The finish line was close and Adam was climbing up the cliff and Langa was way, way ahead. Langa was so close… and then Adam was there again. He grabbed at Langa’s waist, trying to control how the glass board moved and that’s when Langa noticed it began to crack. A curse escaped his lips as he felt the glass begin chip off beneath his feet while Adam spun them around over and over again. But now the finish line was right there, if he timed when he spun correctly...
He waited until Adam had spun him, back towards the line then he pushed away from the demon emperor. He felt the glass beneath him begin to fall apart and the wheels grind against the path. Standing there, behind the line was everyone, cheering him on. And finally, he crossed the line first just as the board shattered beneath his feet. Adam followed suit, only seconds after.
“I…” Langa said, breathing hard, “I won.”
Reki ran over and pulled Langa into his embrace, “You won, Langa. You won.”
Langa awkwardly put his arms around Reki’s waist in the hug, he had never been good at them, “I’m free. Thanks to your idea Reki.”
Reki clutched the fabric of Langa shirt tightly, “No need to praise me, you're the one who won the race.”
“It was only because of how much I loved you.” Langa said.
Reki sucked in a breath then looked up into Langa’s eyes, which were now soft.”Uh, um…”
“NO!” Adam exclaimed, “No! This isn’t possible!! How did I LOSE!? ”
Langa approached the emperor, “Now I’m free. You’re done for Adam.”
Adam grabbed at Langa’s hair and pulled his head down, glaring at him, his mask gone to reveal angry red eyes, “You are mine, Prince Langa! One stupid, measly promise won’t take me away from my Eve!”
But then Joe hit Adam over the head, eyes closed. His energy and strength was restored and with only one punch, Adam was out cold. Snake walked over and pulled Adam up and into his arm, ready to carry him to the Crazy Rock Castle, where he would be imprisoned.
Langa ran over to Reki and cupped his face in his hands, “Reki, we can finally be together.”
Reki leaned his face into Langa’s soft, cold palm, “Yes, yes we can.”
A few months later and Reki had finally been ready. It was finally the day, where he walked down the aisle, flowers all over the ground. The suit was tight, yet it brought him immense amounts of joy. In the crowd were many friends including Joe and Cherry (who had apologized for how he had treated Reki, which he had never been too bad). As he went down the path, Langa’s mom gently took his hand and smiled.
“Welcome to the family, Reki.”
Reki nodded with a large grin and made his way down the aisle. Langa stood in his own suit, more prince-like than Reki’s. The minister spoke the usual, do you keep this person to be your blah blah blah through blah blah blah, but all the two could pay attention to at the time was one another. They went on to say their vows (both which were very short) and then, the oh so awaited words were spoken.
“You may kiss the groom.”
Langa leaned in, cupping Reki’s face in his hands. His lips pressed against Reki’s and Reki leaned into the kiss. Langa’s lips were so soft and cold while Reki’s were harder and warmer against Langa’s. It was perfect, they stood there, just letting their mouths move in sync with the kiss. Finally, they separated and Langa smiled softly at his now husband, eyes sparkling in admiration.
“Reki, I love you.” He said.
Reki smiled back, “I love you too.”
That’s when Reki awoke, head dizzy and thoughts fuzzy. What had that been? His eyes fell on the bed around him, the area on the mattress where his siblings had been now empty. Laying in his lap was a book, the name “Cinderella” written across the front. Right, he had been reading a story to his younger sisters.
His sister Koyomi entered and leaned against the doorframe, “Looks like someone is finally awake. What was up earlier, you were calling out your friend’s name in your sleep?”
Had… Reki really dreamt that he had married Langa? All because he had read Cinderella the night before. He threw the book and blankets off his lap and ran past his sister.
“Sorry Koyomi, I gotta talk to someone!” He said.
He had always thought that maybe his feelings… were more than platonic with Langa. And now he was sure, because he wanted to kiss Langa again, whether his lips were cold and soft like in his dream or not. Because now Reki was sure. He loved Langa.
He raced out the door, still in pajamas, which didn’t matter since it was the weekend. Standing at their usual place was Langa. He smiled and waved only to be attacked by Reki’s hug and for Reki’s lips to press against his.
When Reki let go, he looked Langa in the eyes, “I love you.”
Langa smiled softly, “I’ve been feeling the same way, for a long time.”
And the two boys stood there, kissing beneath the lamp they always met by.