Archive of Our Own

Langa wanted nothing when he first moved back to Japan. 

He wanted nothing. Expected nothing. Because Okinawa didn’t have the same mountain sides or snowscapes as Canada. The snow fell differently in Okinawa. To him, it felt like heavy, suffocating blankets designed specifically to smother them alive as they dreamt. 

It wasn’t the kind of dream Langa yearned for, though. 

He dreamt of snowflakes resting on blonde eyelashes before slipping downwards against pale skin — the same pale his dad had, not the golden-hued one of his mom, beautiful as hers was. His was the kind that got sunburnt within hours if he forgot to apply enough sunscreen before heading out on the slopes. Afterwards, Langa would always laugh about it while his mom fussed over getting out the aloe vera, and everything was right in the world. 

But his dad was gone now, and, with him, went the snow and the mountains and all they used to mean. 

That fact left him feeling so nostalgic. Sad. Lonely and desperate, but so, so afraid of asking for more in case he lost it all again. A single person could only handle so much heartbreak, especially a person like Langa.

Then, he met Reki, and none of that mattered anymore. 

Because he couldn’t help himself. Not when it came to Reki.

Truly, Reki was unlike anything Langa had ever encountered before. He was nothing like the ice caps and slow-laden slopes Langa had grown up with. Instead, Reki burned, and he blazed, all the way from his head to his toes. 

In fact, the first impression Langa got from Reki was that he looked like a flickering flame come to life, as if some lonely fool had enchanted the first sprinklings of ember bestowed unto man into sentience to soothe himself. It didn’t even matter how dangerous it was, playing with fire like that. Simply being in Reki’s presence was worth any and every burn one would sustain from it.

Because he’d never seen eyes like Reki’s before, never before had the chance to really match someone else’s gaze in all its entirety. After all, Reki was the first person to look at him so wholeheartedly in the first place. He pulled Langa in with those big, amber eyes of his, and, coupled with that lovely smile of his, Langa had already lost before any of it had even begun.

And, with that, Langa wanted.

He wanted so much. Probably too much. Honestly, it was unreasonable for him to ask so much from Reki so soon — to constantly seek out more and more, as much as he could wring out of Reki. Logically, he knew that. 

Despite knowing that, Langa couldn’t help himself. Regardless, he wanted everything Reki had available to give. After all, Langa was just a man, suddenly gifted with the attention of the prettiest thing he’d ever seen in his life. How could he have done anything else?

Sure, all the soft, fluffy girls in his classes were plenty pretty in their own right. They smelled good, wore fun accessories over their uniforms, and the way they laughed and smiled while hanging out with each other was nothing less than fun and adorable. He even liked the way some of them smiled at and greeted him in the halls because they reminded him of the way his mom used to welcome his dad home.

Too bad they could never compare to Reki.

If they were pretty and cute, then Reki was lovely and flawless and darling. He was everything Langa ever wanted and more. 

So, Langa sunk his claws in deep. He pierced Reki’s skin until he very nearly drew blood, but only nearly because he couldn’t let Reki know. Darling Reki was too sweet to know. He’d surely get scared if he knew just how much Langa wanted him. 

And Langa couldn’t have that. 

He couldn’t possibly survive something like that. 

“Reki, are you going to participate in the next ‘S’ tournament?” Langa asked, sliding into his seat beside Reki’s — his indelible spot at Reki’s side. Reki looked unbearably cute today, too, and the smile he gave Langa only made it better. 

“Of course! Gotta show off how much I’ve been practicing, you know! I even have a few things I can show off to you when my turn comes up,” Reki said.

Langa bit the inside of his mouth and tasted something sharp and metallic. “What do you mean? Have you been practicing without me?”

“Well, not totally by myself. I’ve been having the others help me out, especially Joe. I feel like I can understand him way more than I can Shadow or Cherry.  Can’t let you get too far ahead of me, you know. Besides, I wanted to keep a few things a surprise from you,” Reki explained. His smile brightened as he spoke, and it was so fucking pretty, but Langa couldn’t deny the clench in his heart and the spikes shrieking down his throat.

Because he didn’t want to hear that Reki had been keeping secrets from hi,. He wanted Reki to tell him everything, show him everything. He wanted to be selfish with Reki and to be spoiled by him.

More than anything else, though, he wanted to treat Reki nicely. He wanted to spoil Reki and be good to him, make him feel good and do all the right things to make Reki want him back. 

So, he swallowed the shards down as fast as possible before giving Reki his own smile. “Come on, let me get a sneak peek? Please?”

“No can do! You’re just gonna have to wait and be patient like everyone else!”

Everyone besides Joe, apparently. 

But that was fine, Langa told himself. At the end of the day, he got to spend way more time with Reki than Joe. There was school, and then their regular after school skate sessions, along with their not-so-regular cram study sessions before big exams. They’d even gotten to the point of having dinners together sometimes, both out on the town and at each other’s homes. 

Honestly, Langa loved those meals out at restaurants and cafes because he could imagine they were real dates, as opposed to just two friends hanging out. He would hold onto those moments all the way home before dreaming of more. He dreamt of a Reki who adored Langa nearly as much as Langa did him, a Reki who only had eyes for him. In his dreams, Reki would use those caramel-coated eyes of his to gaze up at Langa with warm adulation before throwing himself into Langa’s embrace, the same way he often did after an exciting skating match.

Langa regarded those moments as some of the best things that had ever happened to him. Skating was plenty of fun in its own right, but he’d be the most audacious liar to ever be a part of the goddamn universe if he tried to act like Rekis post-race flying hugs weren’t partly why he enjoyed participating in beefs so much.

What he enjoyed even more than that, though, was being able to watch Reki skate.

Langa enjoyed watching Reki do just about anything. 

Because Reki fucking bloomed when working on skateboards as he poured over reference magazines and his own unique sketches. The dim lighting of his work shed always highlighted the curve of Reki’s cheekbones resting atop the soft swell of his boyish smile, fitted with the barest hints of dimples that Langa only really got to see then when they huddled close together, shoulders just barely touching as Reki flipped through glossy pages with his pretty hands that Langa just wanted to hold in his own, so he could feel the calluses of Reki’s fingertips and the beating of his heart. 

Even the way Reki used chopsticks was mesmerizing. At least, to Langa it was, though it might’ve just been a side effect of how hard he’d fallen; according to some online forums, one of the earliest, but most accurate signs of being head-over-heels was thinking that everything they do was the epitome of beauty and grace. 

Other sites claimed that such thoughts were a sign of unhealthy obsession, but Langa paid them no mind. They’d just never met Reki before.

Never watched Reki skate before.

The girl Reki raced against today at ‘S’ wasn’t bad, by any means, but her skills also left quite a bit to be desired. She moved quickly but with little finesse. Reki’s fire red easily overshadowed her, and Langa couldn’t take his eyes off of him. His new jump, too, was nothing to scoff at; tonight, Reki showed off some of the greatest air time he’d ever achieved, and, as expected, the crowd went wild at the display. 

Really, how could they not? He looked beautiful like that. He always did.

And Langa made sure to be the first person to congratulate him when he finished.

“Langa, did you see that? My new trick that I was working on!” Reki exclaimed before launching himself into Langa. 

As always, Langa took him all in. He accepted every single degree of warmth and weight Reki offered him with glee, before letting his head fall ever-so-slightly in order to bury his nose in the crook of Reki’s neck. He smelt the lingering sweat there and felt the way Reki’s chest heave against his own, and it was so heavenly he could hardly stand it. 

“I did. It was great,” Langa whispered. He meant it, too. He always did when it came to Reki.

“Right? I was hoping I’d get it a little higher, but I’m not mad about it. Just means I’ll have to practice harder,” Reki said before drawing away, and Langa hated it. He wanted to keep Reki plastered to his side, forever and always. Doing so would be absolute bliss, both for the feeling itself and the knowledge that everyone around them could see how Reki was Langa’s and Langa was Reki’s.

Except, that wasn’t the case. At least, half of it wasn’t.

Reluctantly, he loosened his grip and watched Reki slip away from him. Within minutes, the rest of the gang came striding over, starting with Joe snaking a broad arm across Reki’s shoulders before pulling him close into a bear hug.

“Well, well, look at you! You did better than I expected out there. I say we should go out and celebrate,” Joe said.

Reki responded with a huff and a wrinkle of his nose. “You do know I’m still a minor, right? My mom’s gonna get worried if I stay out too long.”

“Bullshit. You’ve been out here plenty of times way past a normal kid’s curfew, and I know you two are not savvy enough to be able to sneak out without anyone noticing. Just tell your mom you’re gonna be staying overnight at a friend’s place, or something.”

“And whose place would I be staying at?”

“Could always stay at mine. I’m a very responsible adult, you know,” Joe said before topping it all off with a wink. 

Suddenly, Langa felt his lips move beyond his volition, as if possessed. It reminded him of the way he felt while skating, when his body just moved on its own sometimes, all because it felt right. Except, this time, it didn’t feel so good. “No way! He’ll just stay at mine! It makes more sense that way.”

Joe’s smirk grew wider as he turned his attention over to Langa, and Langa didn’t appreciate the way Joe looked at him like he knew everything going through his head. “Gotta get your mom’s permission for that first, you know. Or did you forget that you’re also just a kid?”

Once again, Langa’s mouth started moving on its own. He could feel the corners twitch while his hands grew restless, searching for some part of Reki to hold onto. He needed Reki, to anchor him, to soothe him. To not have Reki touch pressed up against him made him nervous.  

And it was terrible.

Thankfully, some mysterious force decided to take mercy on him, in the form of Cherry. 

“That’s enough. If you really want to celebrate Reki’s accomplishments today, you can schedule a time for it that’s actually appropriate for you guys,” Cherry said. 

Miya frowned before slithering his way closer, crowding his way into Reki’s space. If anything, he was more of a dog to Reki than the other way around, but Langa couldn’t really blame him. He’d probably do the same. “Oh come on, that’s no fun! We can at least get a quick snack, or something!”

“You’re even more of a kid than the two of them,” Shadow scoffed. “Besides, I thought you didn’t do snacks because you wanted to stay a puny little thing for the rest of your life.”

“I am not puny! I just haven’t hit my growth spurt yet, but just you wait until I do. I promise I’ll be way taller than you! Then you’ll be sorry.”

With that, the usual chaos returned as though it never left in the first place. As always, Reki laughed and laughed at all the shenanigans, and he looked so beautiful it nearly killed Langa to even see it. Nonetheless, he couldn’t bear to look away. 

“Watch out, kiddo. If you stare any harder, those pretty blue eyes or yours might just pop right out of your skull, and then how else will you impress Reki? You may be a prodigy, but I’m sure skating’s gonna be hard even for you if you can’t see.”

Langa quickly turned around, only to come face-to-face with Joe who still had the all-knowing look on his face that made Langa wanna break out into a cold sweat. 

“What are you talking about?” Langa asked slowly. 

Joe scoffed and rolled his eyes so hard Langa actually feared that his own eyes might just fall out of their sockets from the force of it all. “I’m not stupid, you know. Not like the rest of them, at least. Those heart eyes you keep sending Reki’s way aren’t exactly subtle. Neither are the jealous ones you’ve been giving me all night. Never knew those baby blue’s of yours could look so cold until tonight.”

Langa opened his mouth, purposefully this time. This felt like the right moment to say something in response that didn’t sound too much like a love struck kid scrambling for excuses. Unfortunately, he couldn’t come up with any of the right words. He left his mouth hanging open as his mind churned for anything intelligible, only to be steamrolled by a way too amused Joe.

“Hey now, don’t give me that look. I’m not gonna hold it over you like some kinda big, bad secret, or whatever. In fact, I’m feeling generous today. I’ll help you out a bit. Give you a little nudge because obviously you can’t do this yourself.”

Finally, Langa’s loose jaw had something to do instead of simply hanging around and making him look like a gaping dumbass. “What do you mean?”

Instead of giving him a proper answer, Joe just kept smiling. His grin did grow increasingly enigmatic, however, all before rummaging through his pockets before throwing a small water bottle Reki’s way.

“Here, have a drink. You should rehydrate after a race like that. It’s starting to get pretty warm out, after all, and it’s not like this place gets good airflow, what with it being hidden underground and all,” Joe said.

“Oh cool, thanks man!” Predictably, Reki smiled nice and wide at the offer before gulping the drink down with so much enthusiasm that it made the muscles of his throat look so, so good as he swallowed it all down. It was such a lovely sight that, of course, Langa wanted to see more of. He wanted to fix his eyes on Reki’s visage and drink it all in, so deeply that he’d never forget the image. 

At the same time, he didn’t want to pop a boner in the middle of ‘S’, so he forced himself to look away, no matter how hard it was.

“Hey, this stuff is pretty good? What is it? Some kinda juice?” He heard Reki ask.

“I guess you could say that,” Joe replied, so cryptically that Langa should’ve suspected something then.

Though, it didn’t really matter that he hadn’t noticed anything right then because it only took about fifteen minutes for the alcohol to kick in.

As expected, Cherry was pissed.

“I knew you were an uncultured beast, but I didn’t know you were terrible enough to go around getting kids drunk! You’re lucky that I’m so well-known in the field of calligraphy, or else I’d report you to the authorities! I just don’t want to compromise my reputation by getting involved with such a heinous scandal with the likes of you!” Cherry yelled as he loomed over Joe’s hunched form. Sadly, rock hard abs and calves of steel didn’t help protect men from direct hits to the crotch, a la AI-enhanced kicks.

“Come on, sweetie, we both know you’d never do something like that to me,” Joe murmured, all while trying to catch his breath and give the girls passing by reassuring looks. “Besides, it wasn’ even that much booze. Looks like Reki’s just a huge lightweight. Better he learns that sooner rather than later before he starts drinking for real, in my opinion. You could even say that I’ve done him a favor.”

“That’s not the point, and you know it! You shouldn’t be giving him any alcohol!” Cherry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before resting the heel of his boot on Joe’s groin once more, just for good measure. Or something. Either way, his fans loved it, if their squealing meant anything, for whatever reason. The whole thing just made Langa nervous.

On the contrary, Reki found the whole situation extremely amusing.

“You know, Joe, I always thought that, between you and — you and Cherry, you’d be the one to be all ‘rah, look at big strong me with my pretty pink-haired friend.’ But I guess Cherry’s actually the one who wears the pants between you two? Or, I guess you both wear pants, but Cherry’s pants look cooler. They probably have more pockets, too. Because, you know, pockets are really cool,” Reki slurred. 

He then took one step forward for good measure, and then nearly face-planted right onto a nearby rock as he tripped over himself before Langa steadied him. And by ‘steadied him’, Langa meant that he used the opportunity to hold Reki firmly by his side, both to act as a stabilizing crutch for Reki, but also to just have Reki by his side. It was nice, for sure, and he could only hope that the heart eyes Joe mentioned before weren’t showing too much.

“Damn, looks like he really is drunk,” Shadow noted. “What are we gonna do now? We can’t send him home like this.”

“I already said he could stay at my place. Just gotta give his family a head’s up, and we’re good to go,” Joe said, and he sounded oh-so confident about it.

That was, he did, until Cherry reminded him of just how much danger his family jewels were in. “You really think I’m gonna let him stay overnight at your place after what you just pulled? Unlike you, I am a responsible adult who doesn’t go around putting kids in danger for fun.”

“You say that like you don’t participate in ‘S’ races against children where ‘anything goes.’”

Cherry paused for a moment, but that was enough for Joe to finally weasel his way out from under Cherry’s heel. 

“Besides,” Joe continued, “don’t you have that big public event coming up tomorrow? Your manager always comes over to your place early to help you get ready, and I bet she’d find it very scandalous to find a hungover minor laying on your couch. Another responsible adult like her would find it hard to turn a blind eye to something like that, don’t you think?”

“Fuck you,” Cherry hissed. He didn’t offer any other kind of rebuttal, though, and even Carla remained silent, so Langa could only assume that Joe had won this time against him — and for the first time from Langa’s recollection.

With all the grace of a newborn fawn, Reki shifted against Langa’s side and pressed in closer, which was simultaneously amazing and so stupidly unfair. “How d’ya know so much about Cherry’s schedule and personal life, Joe? He never tells me anything.”

“Oh, trust me, I know a lot of personal things about Cherry. Things he’ll probably never tell you,” Joe whispered.

“Then, will you tell me?”

“He will most certainly not!” Cherry interrupted, and Langa could’ve sworn he saw a hint of something red peeping over the top of his face mask.

With a swivel of his shoulders and a pop of his pecs, Joe shot Cherry a devious look. “I won’t tell anyone of your juicy secrets if you agree to let the kid stay at my place.”

“You are infuriating.”

“So are you, sweet cheeks.”

“The both of you are so fucking embarassing,” Shadow grumbled. “Please, just let Reki stay at Joe’s place so I don’t have to be forced to listen to any more of this.”

“I still don’t think it’s a good idea to let Reki stay over all by himself,” Cherry said. “Shadow, how about you go too? To make sure nothing untoward happens.”

“Hell no! I don’t have time for that! I promised my manager I’d come in early tomorrow to help her set up our newest shipment of flowers, and I am not about to disappoint her because of you guys.”

“I can stay over too, like I said before. To watch over Reki and stuff,” Langa said. 

In response, Cherry rolled his eyes, and his was somehow even more intense than Joe’s. “Yeah, because leaving two minors instead just one in the hands of a dumb gorilla is just the thing to set my mind at ease.”

Once again, Joe swiveled himself closer to Cherry’s side. However, this time he did so with far less emphasis on his rippling muscles and more so on the placating expression on his face. “Cherry, sweetheart, you know I won’t do anything actually bad to them. It’ll just be like a fun little sleepover. Promise. Now, let’s settle this argument once and for all so we can all get out of here and get some sleep. I’ll call you in the morning with an update so you don’t worry too much, ok?” 

Joe even went as far as to end his persuasive piece with a pout. In Langa’s opinion, the dichotomy between his huge, jacked body and the woeful look in his eyes looked nothing short of ridiculous. He certainly expected Cherry, of all people, to agree. 

And yet, through some kinda power that only the most powerful of skateboard gods could possibly possess, Cherry folded like a shitty stack of cards under that look. 

“Fine,” he sighed. “But you better send me an update as soon as I wake up.”

“Of course, princess. I’ll get up bright and early at five just to send you that good morning text.”

“Wow, you even know what time Cherry wakes up? You two really are good friends, huh?” Reki added unhelpfully, but also very cutely. The drunken flush on his cheeks just looked too irresistible. 

“Oh yeah, we’re very good friends,” Joe purred.

“Alright, that’s it, I’m out of here before I spew my guts out everywhere,” Shadow said before hastily collecting his board and hightailing it out of there.

“We should get going too,” Joe said. “Langa, I’ll help you get Reki into my car.”

“Can I come too?” Miya asked, even though he had already begun trailing behind them long ago.

Only to be thwarted by Cherry’s lightning fast grip on the hood of his sweatshirt. “Absolutely not. You’re going home, and that’s final. Besides, I know for a fact that Joe’s sad excuse for an apartment wouldn’t be able to handle all four of you at once. It’s be akin to child abuse to let you go too.”

“Hey, my apartment is not that small!” Joe shouted at the same time as Miya saying, “It’s fine, I don’t take up that much space!”

“I said no. I will not be partly responsible for another set of parents having to worry about their child being out of the house tonight. Now let’s go. I’ll give you a ride.”

And that was that. 

Following that came the task of getting Reki to willingly sit in the backseat of Joe’s car, which ended up being a far more monumental task than Langa anticipated; despite barely being able to keep both of his feet flat on the ground without practically catapulting himself into some dangerous situation or another, Reki insisted on trying to practice new skateboarding stunts. 

In other words, he spent most of his energy wriggling and writhing in Joe’s grasp in an attempt to snatch his board away from Langa so he could get himself accidentally almost killed on it. 

“Langa, why are you being so mean to me today?” Reki whined. “I thought we were friends? Friends aren’t mean to friends, you know. Please don’t be mean to me.”

Oh no.

Reki was so cute. He always was, but seeing him like this — face painted dusty pink, eyes wide and glistening like a sad pup’s, and lips pursed into the most delectable crown — was simply too. Fucking. Adorable. 

So much so that Langa couldn’t possibly be expected to deny Reki anything. He’d just have to be good and make sure Reki didn’t hurt himself. Maybe do something like Adam and skate alongside Reki, holding him from behind to help stabilize him. Like a hug but different from their usual ones because then Langa would be able to feel the warm expanse or Reki’s back pressed tight against his chest. It’d be very intimate and very nice. Not a bad idea at all, all in all.

Unfortunately, Joe quickly put an end to that before it even began. 

“Langa, I know what you’re thinking. Your googly eyes are speaking for themselves, but I am honestly not in the mood to have to take you and Reki to the emergency room tonight because you couldn’t keep it in your pants. Now get over here and help me get Reki into the car, or I’m gonna get Kaoru back here to chew the both of you out properly. Then you’ll really regret it,” Joe growled.

“What about Langa’s pants?” Reki slurred. “Does he have cool stuff in his pockets too?”

“Yeah, there’s lots of cool stuff in there that I’m sure he’d like to show you some day,” Joe said, much to Langa’s infinite dismay and embarrassment. 

Because he wasn’t exactly wrong. Langa just wished he’d phrased it a bit more romantically.

Nonetheless, at least all that helped to snap him out of his reverie. He’d just have to revisit those fantasies of his later at a more appropriate time. For now, he needed to focus on avoiding Reki’s flailing limbs as he helped buckle him in.

Thankfully, Reki managed to stay relatively calm during the car ride, and, before Langa even realized it — because he’d been too preoccupied with the feeling of Reki’s thigh pressed up against his own as they jostled in the backseat from Joe’s reckless driving — they arrived at Joe’s place. 

This time, the task of getting Reki safely inside was much easier. Mostly because Reki had grown increasingly sleepy during the trip, so now all Langa had to worry about was how to maximize the amount of skin-to-skin contact he could get with Reki while hauling him through the doorway and onto the bed where he lay, sprawled out like a starfish as he dozed.

“God, I knew this whole thing was my idea, but you two ended up being way more trouble than I expected,” Joe sighed whilst flinging his hoodie to the side. “You’re lucky I’m such a kind, generous, and dashing guy, or else I’d be forced to ask for something really extravagant as compensation.”

“And what exactly was your idea?” Langa asked. 

“Well, to be honest, I really only expected Reki to get a little tipsy, and then you’d have a chance to have some cute, slightly not-sober fun with him to help you resolve all that lovestruck tension out of your body because I swear you’re about to fucking explode from it all,” Joe began. “But I think we can still work with this.”

To that, Langa responded by saying, “I’m not going to do anything to Reki while he’s drunk,” with all the decisiveness he had in his body.

To which Joe frowned and exclaimed, “Of course you’re not! And I didn’t say you would! What kinda guy do you take me for? I’m just saying, tomorrow morning, when Reki wakes up feeling all sad and shitty, that’s your chance to offer him a big glass of water and a freshly-cooked breakfast to make him feel better and show how good of a potential boyfriend you could be. You know what they say, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. And I guess skating, for you two.”

Langa frowned and ruminated over Joe’s suggestion. “You really think that’ll work?”

“It’s worked for me.”

“Do girls also have their hearts connected to their stomach?”

Joe shrugged and gave Langa a rueful smile. “Something like that. Anyway, it’s time for us all to go to sleep because this day’s been wild. Help me set up the extra futon, yeah? We’ll both be very nice and charming men by letting Reki have the bed all to himself, but we’ll stick around close by to make sure nothing happens to him.” He paused, and his grin turned devious. “And, like this, you even get to admire Reki’s sleeping face all night long, if you really wanted to be creepy. Aren’t you so glad I set all this up for you?”

“Whatever,” Langa huffed. It wasn’t really a denial, though, and he could admit that. To himself, at least. He remained silent otherwise, and prided himself on the fact that he only stared at Reki for thirty minutes before falling asleep.

When Langa awoke the next morning, he was almost convinced that the whole night had been a dream. After all, most of his dreams recently were very Reki-centric. Sure, a scenario involving Reki getting super tipsy from a single drink thanks to Joe, and then having that same Joe go around teasing Langa about his massive crush wasn’t his usual dream, but the mind was a strange place that came up with strange things sometimes. Langa made sure to spend a hearty several seconds reminding himself of that as he blinked himself awake. 

Then, he opened his eyes, saw that he was not in his room, and realized that the previous night truly did happen in their current realm of reality.

He turned to his side on the ratty futon Joe gave him and saw that Joe had already left. Probably after giving Cherry that five am good morning call, or whatever. At least he left a note on the nightstand beside the bed where Reki still lay, blissfully snoring away.

And, honestly, it was unfair.

Despite having the wildest bedhead, his day-old clothes completely disheveled, and a dried line of drool dusting the corner of his mouth, Reki looked nothing short of stunning. Even the burgeoning sunlight peeking through the cracks of the bedroom curtains couldn’t help itself from caressing the smooth planes of Reki’s face. He was like a herald of fire and passion come to life, sent to bless the earth with his presence and fill the world with beauty and kindness, and Langa was his devoted disciple because he couldn’t possibly be anything else.

As such, his first act of fealty was, according to the note Joe left behind, to cook up a mighty hangover-fighting feast for Reki. Or, to be more accurate, all Langa actually had to do was reheat something Joe had prepared in advance, which Langa admittedly appreciated; his cooking skills left a lot to be desired, especially compared to a professional chef’s, and, while he didn’t have a plethora of seduction tricks at his disposable like Joe, even he knew that feeding someone a disgusting pile of burnt food wasn’t very attractive.

So, he carefully followed Joe’s instructions, and, just as he started plating the side of homemade hashbrowns beside an impressive slice of artisanal avocado toast, Reki came ambling into the kitchen, bleary-eyed and unbearably adorable for it. 

“Langa, you’re still here?” Reki yawned.

“Of course. I couldn’t just leave you alone. You know, in case you weren’t feeling so great.” He paused to hand Reki his plate of food before continuing. “How are you feeling?”

“Not the best,” Reki admitted. “I’ve never really had any alcohol before. My mom’s not the type to let me even sneak a few sips during the holidays and stuff, so I guess my body’s just not that good at handling it. It was kinda fun while it lasted, though. Still, I gotta thank you for not letting me get on my skateboard while drunk. Anything that might’ve happened after that would definitely put what Adam did to me to shame.”

Langa very purposefully didn’t mention how he actually would’ve let a drunken Reki do whatever we wanted last night if Joe wasn’t around to stop him, including get on his skateboard. He’d probably do whatever Reki asked of him; to admit as much out loud would surely spook Reki, though, but it was the truth, and Langa couldn’t hide it from creeping over the tip of his tongue. For some reason, being caught in Reki’s presence made Langa stupid and heady, as if caught in a wicked god’s spell who just wanted to watch Langa embarrass himself by spewing up his guts and his feelings. 

Thinking back on it, his dad used to always tell him that honesty was the best policy, especially when it came to relationships, but Langa figured that it might be better to keep quiet. Just this once. Besides, it wasn’t like he was lying or anything. Just not telling the whole truth. 

Oh, who was he kidding, his dad would be disappointed in him regardless. At least with this he didn’t have to upset Reki, too. 

So, he swallowed down the truth, felt the way it burned, before saying, “It’s no big deal. I’m just glad you’re not feeling too bad. Not nauseous or anything?”

“Nope, thankfully! In fact, I’m ready to dive into all this food you’ve made me!” Reki’s grin grew wider as he flashed Langa his pearly whites, but even those were no match for the pleased gleam in his honey syrup eyes. “Thanks for that, by the way! You really didn’t have to, you know.”

“It wasn’t a problem. I figured you needed a nice meal when you woke up after everything that happened,” Langa said, and that too wasn’t technically a lie. Getting breakfast all ready to go really hadn’t been a problem. The hard work had been done for him. Not to mention, being able to feed Reki sparked massive amounts of joy in Langa. It was a treat to be able to watch Reki eat, with the way he stuffed his cheeks, like the sweet little hamster Langa owned, once upon a time. 

Reki was even cuter than that hamster, though. So cute that he often left Langa at a loss for words. In the face of something so darling, not only did Langa’s mouth fall dry — which was kinda annoying when eating hash browns, to be honest — but even his brain struggled to function properly. 

It must’ve been akin to that whole ‘cute aggression’ thing his mom told him about one day when he caught her swooning over cat videos online. Except, instead of aggression, Langa suffered from losing every single high-functioning neuron in his brain in the face of Reki’s infinite cuteness.

Neurons, according to their recent science classes, had an ‘all-or-nothing’ potential. If they reached a certain firing threshold they had to fire, and the consequences of it were unavoidable, for better or worse.

Apparently, those biological principles also applied to Langa’s being as a whole. In this case, the threshold centered around Reki’s unending charm, and that had  been surpassed long, long ago.

And he really couldn’t stop himself from blurting out, “God, I love you so much,” from across Joe’s small kitchen island. Besides the gentle clinking of silverware, his words were the only other sound floating over them. Then, absolute silence filled the room as Reki stilled, jaw dropped so low that Langa could see a few scarce avocado remnants in the corner of Reki’s mouth, and even that was cute when Reki was the one doing it.

Too bad Langa didn’t have the ability to fully appreciate it. His remaining brain cells were being flooded with too much embarrassment and regret for that.

“Langa, what did you say?” Reki asked quietly, head tilted and eyes big.

For a moment, Langa considered just lying about it. He would easily come up with some kind of excuse to brush it off. Knowing Reki, he’d probably let Langa off the hook without a single qualm, even if he didn’t actually believe whatever half-assed explanation Langa came up with. Reki was just that type of person — too nice for his own good, but so wickedly lovable for it.

But then Langa thought back to his dad again, and how, according to him, true relationships were built upon a foundation of trust and truth. Surely, he’d probably disappointed his dad plenty of times over the past couple of months with all the crazy dumb shit he’d gotten himself caught up in. Maybe, if Langa didn’t let himself take the easy way out this time, his dad would forgive him for it all.

He used that hopeful thought to help him swallow the last few bites of toast stuck in the back of his mouth because, if he was going to do this, he’d rather do it without food stuck in his teeth.

“I said that I love you. Because I really, really do.” 

He didn’t admit it loudly. He knew that for a fact because his crushing nervousness didn’t let him get enough air into his lungs to speak in any tone above a desperate whisper. At the same time, it was so quiet he sounded like he was screaming his adoration of Reki across a bottomless cavern. 

Which wasn’t super inaccurate, in a metaphorical sense. In his dreams, Langa spent a lot of time showing off his love for Reki, both verbally and physically. This was real life, though. This Reki was real and not his dream one that loved Langa back. It was a sad thought, but also the complete truth, so Langa got himself well and ready to take in Reki’s inevitable rejection; he needed to make sure he got home before he started crying about it, otherwise his homage to his dad would be for naught. 

Surprisingly, Reki did not reject him. He didn’t scream or throw his food on the floor or storm out the place in a fit of disgust. Not that Langa expected any of that because Reki was too nice for that, but he figured something would happen. 

Instead, Reki blinked twice before grinning with full teeth on display. “I like you too, Langa! You’re, like, pretty much my best friend, you know!”

Now it was Langa’s turn to be taken aback. “What?”

“What do you mean, what? You’re just saying you like me, yeah?”

“Well, yeah, I guess that’s not wrong,” Langa stammered, “but, I mean, I thought my… wording was a bit. Different?”

At that, Reki’s expression brightened even further, and Langa was momentarily stupid enough to get his hopes up as a result. “Oh, no worries! I know how weird Japanese language can be about the different kinds of ‘like,’ but I got what you meant.”

“I don’t actually think you did.”

Reki cocked his head to the side, like the cutest pup in the world. “What do you mean?”

Langa blamed Joe. Something in the air circulating around his apartment must’ve turned Langa into a madman. That, or all of his dumb tednencies had finally come to bite him in the ass after laying low and letting him do all those cool skateboarding tricks in front of Reki for the past few years.

Regardless, Langa had officially lost his mind.

As a result, he nearly destroyed Joe’s vase of fake flowers as he half-leapt across the island, making sure he had Reki’s full, undivided attention before screaming, “I know what I said, and I said that I fucking love you, Reki! Now, please respond within the next thirty seconds, or I might explode.”

Did Reki respond in thirty seconds or less? Honestly, Langa couldn’t say for sure. His mind was too busy swimming against a fierce current of thoughts about how pretty Reki looked up close to handle things as complicated as basic arithmetic. Who could really blame him, though? Despite looking like an even more haphazard ball of fire than usual, Langa still couldn’t stop himself from fantasizing about how wonderful it’d be to fun his fingers through Reki’s hair, caressing him like a beloved pet until he started purring under Langa’s touch.

There was no purring to be done today.

Only a heavy bout of blushing on Reki’s part, apparently, but Langa wasn’t disappointed.

“Whoa, um. Ok. I wasn’t expecting anything like this happening today when I first woke up,” Reki breathed. He cast his eyes downward and avoided Langa’s gaze. A shame, for sure, but Langa figured it’d be bad form to try and push his luck even further than he already had.

So, he only inwardly lamented the loss of Reki’s honeyed eyes on him and asked, “Are you upset? You can leave if you feel weird or uncomfortable. I won’t be mad, promise.”

“I’m not upset,” Reki began. “Just surprised. I mean, you’re, like, the coolest person at our school. Actually, I’m pretty sure you are the actual coolest person I know, point blank. I just can’t believe that someone like you is actually…interested in me.”

Oh.

Wow.

Compared to most of the others around them, Langa always held fast in his stance that Reki was not dumb in the slightest. Sure, he could be a little absentminded and whimsical sometimes, but that didn’t make someone dumb. Anyone who had the amazing pleasure of watching Reki design and work on boards would know that for a fact. 

At the same time, at this very moment where Reki was staring up at Langa with genuine confusion after having the audacity to say something so blasphemous was almost enough to make Langa shift his stance. 

Almost. 

But, more than that, Langa wanted to change Reki’s mind instead. 

First things first, he needed to bridge the physical gap between them. 

With a hop, a skip, and a bit of a twirl to avoid dislocating his hip on the edge of the island, Langa quickly found his way to Reki’s side, and then immediately after that, Reki’s feet. 

“Reki, don’t say that,” Langa whispered before burying his head on Reki’s lap. “No, I can’t believe you’d ever say something like that. Not when you’re so pretty and perfect. I’m nothing compared to you.”

He felt Reki’s palm rest on the top of his head. After not getting to shower after all his swearing last night, Langa knew his hair probably felt terribly oily. Reki seemed unfazed, though, and the brush of his fingertips against Langa’s skull was way better than all the other touches of his Langa had dreamed of. 

“What are you talking about? You’re better than me at practically everything. For example, you get better grades than me, skate way better than me, and even outmatch me in all other sports. My mom even says you're more handsome than me, and, as much as it hurts me to admit it, I gotta say I agree.”

“She’s wrong,” Langa blurted before quickly amending himself. “I mean, not to be rude to your mom, but she just doesn’t see you the way I do. She can’t see how gorgeous you are when you smile, especially when you’re having fun skating. Or how your eyes twinkle when you’ve come up with a new board idea or when you’ve gotten the chance to study a new move. Or even just how you look like a fire angel when the sunset hits you while we’re out skating after school. I could look at you forever when you look like that. You know what I mean?”

“To be honest, I really don’t know what you mean. No one’s ever said anything like that to me before, you know,” Reki whispered. 

“Then they’re all wrong. Or blind. Because it’s so obvious.”

Gently, Reki scratched the top of his head. Perhaps Langa was going to be the one purring today. If so, he definitely wasn’t going to be the first to complain about it. 

“Wow, you really do like me, huh?”

“I said love. Not like.”

“How can you say something like that without getting embarrassed? We’ve only known each other for a couple of months.”

“I don’t know. It just feels right.”

“Well, even if I’ve only known you for a few months, I already know that you have a tendency to do plenty of reckless things just because they feel right,” Reki sighed, clearly exasperated. And yet, he didn’t take his hand out or Langa’s hair the whole time. 

Langa decided to take that as a sign of Reki’s not-disgust, so he dared to finally lift his head and take a look at Reki’s face. 

Which was now almost as red as his hair. 

Cute. 

“So, are you not mad?” Langa asked quietly. 

“Why would I be mad?”

“I don’t know. Some people might find being confessed to be their guy friend really weird.”

“Nah, my mom would kill me for thinking something like that,” Reki said. “Besides, even though it was kinda overwhelming to hear you say all that about me, it was also pretty flattering.”

“I’m glad,” Langa whispered, and, with that, his mind finally let itself sink into a puddle of ease and warm, gooey happiness.

… For a total of ten seconds. 

After that, Langa’s brain revved itself up into maximum overdrive, and he started to wonder what would happen after he finally found the strength to peel his head off of Reki’s thighs. What was going to happen to their friendship from now on? Would they just go back to normal and act as if none of this had even happened, or had Langa actually ruined everything? If so, he’d have to figure out a way to completely ruin Joe’s life while simultaneously coming up with a way to beg Reki to come back into his life because he’d never recover from that. He needed Reki. What was the point of anything if Reki wasn’t there by his side?

Or, if all the heavenly bodies in their infinite universe allowed it, would they actually become something more so Langa could actualize some of his wildest dreams?

The questions and the what-if’s were too much for Langa to handle. He’d already gone this far. What was the harm in pushing his luck a bit further?

With that in mind, Langa fitted the most pitiful pout on his face with the best puppy dog eyes he could manage before very quietly and slightly sadly asking, “Reki, do you like me too!”

“Oh! Uh, of course I do. Didn’t I say so already? I wouldn’t be your friend and hang out with you all the time if I didn’t. But I guess you’re asking about a different kind of like, huh?” Reki rambled, gaze fixed everywhere except Langa’s face as his blush continued to erupt across his face, sloping over his cheekbones like the sweetest sunburn. “I guess having a handsome guy like you interested in me is pretty cool, at least.”

Langa dug his cheek further into the comforting head of Reki’s leg. “You really think I’m handsome?”

“Well, duh. I mean, come on man, you must’ve realized that a long time ago. I know you’ve seen yourself in mirrors before. It’s not that hard to see.”

“I don’t know, I think you’re way more handsome. I’d rather look at you than myself any day.”

“God, who knew you could be such a charmer. Did Joe secretly give you some flirting advice last night while I was asleep, or what?” Reki grumbled. 

“I wish. If he did, maybe I’d be better at this.”

“I think you’re doing just fine.”

That perked Langa up a bit. “So my flirting is working?”

“I don’t know if I’d say that,” Reki scoffed, and that stung. Thankfully, before Langa had the chance to wallow too much in his apparent rejection, Reki continued and said, “But I guess it’s not not working.”

“Which means…?” Langa prodded, much to Reki’s ire.

Reki released quite the impressive sigh and finally pulled his hand out of Langa’s hair — something Langa would’ve been far more bereaved about if Reki didn’t immediately use that hand to lift Langa’s chin up so their eyes could meet, and there it was again. Reki’s lovely molten eyes that Langa wanted to dive into before letting himself sink to the bottom so he could live there for all eternity.

But wait, there was more, and the rest yet to come was even better. 

“Which means that it’d be a lie to say that I like you exactly the same way you apparently like me, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t like you a lot. So much so that the idea of trying to like you more doesn’t sound all that bad! Get it?” Reki gusted.

So he said a lot. And Langa listened to all of it. Very carefully, in fact, in spite of the fact that Reki spoke so quickly with so much vigor that some of it almost got lost. But Langa would be damned if he missed any of it. 

Because, if his basic comprehension skills were still intact, then all of Langa’s hopes and dreams were sitting right in front of him in the prettiest package imaginable. 

“So, you’re agreeing to date me then?” Langa asked because he needed to obtain clear confirmation. Otherwise, he’d spontaneously combust in on himself, and that would just be a mess. 

Reki, too, looked ready to explode, but in a different way. 

“Yes, I’m agreeing to date you, ok?” Reki shouted. “But, please, give me a few minutes to eat my food in peace before you start interrogating me even more. I need some time to process all of this.”

“Fine. But, afterwards, we’re going out skating. We can talk about it more then.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry, I know the drill. What better way for the two of
us to have a serious conversation than through skating, am I right?”

“Right,” Langa replied.

After all, nothing trumped the way Reki looked when he was skating.