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Reki's late.
It's not necessarily too concerning, Reki's late more often than not ( fashionably late, he likes to say), but it is weird, if only because it has been more than fifteen minutes and he hasn't answered Langa's text message yet. So, with a furrowed brow, he steps on his skateboard and makes his way towards the Kyan household.
When he'd told his mom that he was leaving to go out with Reki, she simply sent him off with a knowing smile and a supportive thumbs up. He's still not sure what to do with reaction, really– just thinking about it is making his stomach do funny flips.
He's lucky enough that Reki's house isn't that far from the skatepark, only about a good five minutes, so next thing he knows, he's already skated past the entrance. He brings up his board and takes it in one hand once he's close enough to the front door.
Langa raises his fist towards the door, only hesitating for a moment before gently knocking on it a few times.
Reki's the one that answers it, hair disheveled –though, Langa knows it's a combed mess, even if it doesn't look like it. If he were to run his fingers through the strands, he wouldn't encounter many tangled knots– and barefoot, with his headband crooked on one side and wearing a hoodie that's a few sizes too big on him. He looks pretty messy, actually, but Langa still smiles upon seeing him nonetheless.
Reki's eyes light up as soon as he opens the door all the way through. "Langa! Hey, what are you- I thought we were meeting up by the skatepark." He says, sounding confused as he shifts on his feet and reaches up to straighten his headband.
"Well, you were taking a while so I figured I'd just...come here and check on you. I hope that's okay." Langa says, feeling stupidly shy all of a sudden.
Reki merely blinks at him for a few seconds before turning around and peeking his head inside, presumably looking at a clock. Realization dawns on his face and his expression turns into one of horror as he drops his face into his hands.
"Aw, damn it…" He groans and peeks at Langa through his fingers after a while. "I'm sorry, I totally lost track of time. The twins are driving us crazy,"
Langa smiles sympathetically. "It's okay,"
Reki pats his shoulder distractedly as he looks behind him and then back at Langa. "Alright, uh- stay here, let me go get some things, promise I won't keep you waiting long this time!" He says, pointing a finger right at Langa's chest.
Before he can answer, Reki's already rushing back inside.
A couple of minutes pass until Reki re-emerges from the house, swinging the door back open with so much force that Langa's surprised it's still standing, and hopping a little with each step. He's slipping his feet into his shoes and holding a bag between his teeth, skateboard tucked under his arm.
"Hold on," He says, voice muffled. His brows are furrowed a little and Langa can see a crease forming between them, one which he aches to reach out and smooth over with his thumb.
A disgruntled Koyomi peers through the door and eyes Reki with disdain, startling Langa a little. "You're seriously gonna leave me alone with the twins?" She asks, tone pitching into a whine.
"It's only for a few hours. Three tops, I promise. Right, Langa?"
Langa looks back and forth between the two. "Um-"
Koyomi scoffs. "You're so full of shit," She says to Reki, making him squawk in offense, the bag nearly falling from his teeth as he does so.
His sister rolls her eyes and turns to Langa, raising her hand in a quick wave. "Hi, Langa," She greets, her smile small but not any less kind.
Langa raises his hand and waves at her uncertainty. "Hey,"
Koyomi's smile drops as she frowns and nudges Reki with her foot. "I'm telling mom, you know," She says, crossing her arms.
Reki snickers, expression going sly. "She already knows," A few seconds later, he successfully manages to fully slip both his feet into the shoes. He makes a tiny grunt of triumph that has Langa trying to hide his amusement by looking down at his shoes but, judging by the way that he can practically feel Koyomi's curious stare burning through him, he doubts he's doing a very good job.
Reki hops up and pats Langa on the shoulder. "Okay, all set. You ready to go?" He asks with a smile.
"I've been ready," Langa says.
Reki's shoulders sag and he tips his head back sulkily. "Ah geez, I really hope you weren't waiting for too long,"
"I wasn't, don't worry," Langa reassures him.
Reki eyes him with suspicion and hums. "Whatever you say," He says, dragging out the last word, and turns back towards his sister. "See you later, Koyomi! I'll make it up to you tomorrow, okay? Ice cream's on me!" He promises
Koyomi groans and takes a step back, hand braced against the door. "Fine...have fun, I guess," She says exasperatedly, though there's definitely a slimmer of fondness in there as well.
Reki grins smugly. "Oh, we will!" He says, shooting finger guns in her direction while Langa gives her a mildly apologetic wave.
Once they're a good distance away from Reki's house, Langa asks, "Uh...you didn't just call me to get out of babysitting, right?"
Reki pointedly stares at his chipped black nail polish. "Pshh, no -" At Langa's deadpan stare, he laughs nervously, swinging on the balls of his feet a little. "Kinda? Look, I know I probably shouldn't have but Mom said it was okay as long as I didn't stay out for long since Koyomi and our step-dad are there, even though he's been sleeping since he got back from work, but still, it's not like I'm disobeying her."
Langa hums. "Okay, then," It's...a believable response, and Langa can’t say he's complaining if it means that he gets to spend more time with Reki.
"Thanks for the save, though," Reki laughs. "You're like my own personal knight in shining armor!" He says jokingly, eyes crinkling at the edges.
Langa's fingers tighten around his skateboard and he tries to laugh right along with him, though he can't ignore the way his heart races in his chest. "If that's what you wanna call it," He says.
Langa follows Reki, choosing to let him lead the way, but he does a double-take when he notices that they've taken a different path than they usually do.
"Oh," Langa says absent-mindedly.
Reki looks up and makes a questioning noise. "Oh?" He echoes. "What's with that oh?"
Langa's gaze flickers between Reki and their skateboards. "I just- I thought you'd want to skate. Isn't that why you…"
Reki leans in and tucks his hands into his pockets. "We can do that on our way back if you really want to, but there's nothing wrong with changing things up every once in a while. It's good to live life on the edge," He says. "Besides," He stretches his arms over his head and sighs. "I'm kinda beat,"
Langa narrows his eyes at him. "Did you get any sleep last night?"
"Yeah, but Koyomi and I were babysitting for a few hours, and we stayed up watching a movie last night, and uh-" Reki brings his arm up to rub the back of his neck and chuckles. "It was pretty scary, honestly. Kinda spooked me a little. You know how I get over that type of crap." He pauses, his expression growing sheepish. "I was gonna text you, but I figured you must've been asleep already, so," He says as he shrugs his shoulders with a crooked smile, and he says it so casually– as if those few words don't make Langa's face go hot.
Langa frowns. "I wouldn't have minded,"
Reki rolls his eyes good-naturedly. "I know you wouldn't have, you're too nice," For some reason, the way he says it makes the tips of Langa's ears heat up. "But still, it would've been kinda rude to wake you up, don't you think so?" And no, Langa doesn't think so. He doesn't think so at all. Reki could call him at any time of the day and Langa would be ready to drop whatever it is he's doing just to hear the sound of his voice.
"Good to know you're giving me the greenlight for next time, though," Reki says, bumping Langa's shoulder lightly as he does so.
"You can text me whenever you want. I- I mean- I'll always answer." He says, because it's Reki , how could he not answer?
Reki looks a little taken back, but the smile he gives Langa nearly makes him swoon. "Thanks, dude,"
In an attempt to break the weird unexpected tension that's formed between them, Langa clears his throat and points the bag in Reki's hand. "So, uhm...what's in the bag?" He asks faux-casually.
Reki slings an arm over his shoulders with a blissful sigh. "A Kyan family special, my friend. Best you'll ever have and made by yours truly," He replies with a brilliant grin. "Well, I had a little help from my mom but you get the idea,"
Langa leans down and tries to peer into it. "What is it?" He asks.
"Pasteles!" Reki replies enthusiastically.
"What are they made of?"
"They're kinda like tamales, in a way, you ever heard of those?" Langa gives him a blank stare and Reki grimaces, placing a finger under his chin as he stares at the ground in front of him. "Right, I forgot you're American…"
"Canadian," Langa chimes in.
Reki waves a hand in the air. "Canadian, sorry," He says. "Anyway, pasteles are made of a lot of things, really. Like yautia, plantain, pumpkin, meat stew...and I'll probably bore you if I keep going so just– trust me on this, okay? It's not like I'm trying to poison you, dude."
A smile tugs at the corners of Langa's mouth. "I know you aren't," He says. Something about Reki having made these pasteles just for the two of them is...strangely intimate, almost unbearably so. Everything about Reki is open and friendly and so endearing , and Langa– well, he likes him. He likes him so much that he doesn't know what to do with himself most of the time, now included.
He's so wrapped up in the feeling of his heart lingering in his throat that he almost forgets that Reki's mouth is still moving.
"–it's pretty hard to find the right ingredients around here, so we have to...improvise sometimes, and it doesn't turn out as good as my grandma's food, but it's still pretty good if you ask me!" Reki says, his hand movements as animated as ever. "Tití tries to send us some stuff from Puerto Rico like– once a month, so we try to make the most of it as quickly as we can!"
"I didn't know you were part Puerto Rican," Langa says abruptly.
Reki pauses to give him a look, one eyebrow arched in that teasing way that makes Langa's mouth run dry. "Really? The flag in our kitchen wasn't a giveaway?" He asks cheekily.
Langa's lip juts in a pout and he scowls, or at least tries to. "I didn't know what it stood for…" He replies defensively, making Reki chuckle.
"Well, it's only on my mom's side. My grandparents were born on the island, but they had my mom here in Okinawa, and then I was born, so I've basically grown up with both cultures," He explains fondly.
"That's really cool," Langa says sincerely.
Reki's smile softens into something quiet rather than bright, but it’s still a smile, and it makes Langa's stomach flutter in a funny way. "It is,"
His expression brightens up again just as quickly, though. He skids to a halt and unwraps his arm from where it was wrapped around Langa's shoulders.
"Oh, look- we're here!"
Reki disappears from his side to rush towards the tree with the biggest amount of leaves, the one that would surely give them enough shade from the sunlight for the remainder of the day.
There's countless blooming flowers surrounding the tree as well, alive and colorful thanks to the spring season. Despite the sound of rustling leaves and chirping crickets, it seems peaceful, a stark contrast to the thunderous atmosphere that Langa's grown used to at 'S'.
Langa lifts his head and places his open palm over his forehead to shield his eyes from the afternoon sun. "What are we doing here?" He asks curiously.
Reki rifles through his bag and snorts. "Watching the sunset, duh," He pulls out a plastic container, along with two plates and forks.
Reki takes a seat right against a large tree, making Langa follow suit. He opens the container and pulls out some...rectangular things wrapped in what Langa guesses are banana leaves, if he's recognizing them correctly.
Reki sneaks a glance at him and smirks as he pulls at the strings with practiced ease. Once he's done unwrapping them, he offers the plate of pasteles to Langa with a wide smile. "Here you go," He says.
Langa takes it with a grateful hum. "Thanks,"
Langa stares at the pastel and pokes it with his fork, then takes a huge part and chomps on it, and...yeah, it's good, really good. It's so good that he barely registers Reki shuffling closer to him.
"Soooo," Reki props his chin on his palm and tilts his head knowingly. "What do you think?"
"It's really good," Langa says through a mouthful, awe coloring his tone.
Reki sits up straighter and clasps his hands over his knees. "Seriously? I knew I made the right call!" He exclaims. "I'll make you tembleque once I get the chance. Mark my words, Hasegawa, I will knock your socks off! Even more than I already have, of course."
"Can't wait," Langa says in between bites.
Reki chuckles and shakes Langa's shoulder good-naturedly, and he doesn’t have to look at him to know that Reki is sporting an easy grin. Equal parts fond and crooked, as it always is. He still takes a peek, though. As ridiculous as it sounds, Reki's smile is on his top ten favorite things to look at. Probably one of his top five , if he's really being honest.
He watches as Reki takes a bite of one of his own pasteles and closes his eyes briefly, lashes fluttering darkly against his cheeks, and tilting his head up to the sunlight. There’s a quiet happiness in his expression that soothes Langa, and he wants to burn this image into his brain, this image of Reki smiling so softly, illuminated by sunlight and so pretty Langa has to look away, and—
Jesus, he needs to get a hold of himself.
Langa watches the ocean of clouds, slowly whirling as a flaming red dresses them, accompanied by traces of a light arctic blue that's slowly coloring itself navy. A gentle breeze passes between them as a wave of nostalgia washes through him, and his mind wanders to a time in which he would sit with his dad in a place similar to this. The ground beneath him used to be a powdery white as opposed to this rich green, but the gentle euphoria that courses through his veins as he basks in the remaining rays of sunshine is the same as was then.
Langa's mind has been filled with straying thoughts and strange emotions that he's still learning how to grapple with ever since he and his mom moved to Okinawa –even a while before then– but now, as he looks at Reki, he can feel this calm atmosphere that he's missed dearly wrapping around him in a distantly familiar welcome.
A comfortable silence stretches out between them, the wind sifting through their hair as they eat their food. Langa doesn't know how long they stay like that, but the moment comes to an abrupt end when he feels a finger poking his cheek.
"Hey, Langa, you there? You kinda zoned out on me a little." He hears Reki say.
Langa glances at him and almost jumps out of his skin once he notices how close Reki's gotten. He always is, but Langa's suddenly extremely aware of the proximity. He can see each and every one of Reki's moles, the little specks of orange and yellow in his brown eyes, the way his hair messily curls around his cheeks...and, not for the first time, it– it takes Langa's breath away for a second. So, really, you can't blame him for the words that come out of his mouth next.
"You're really pretty," He blurts out and yep, now would be a good time to curl into a ball and disappear from existence.
Reki startles, jumping away from Langa as if he's been electrocuted. "What?" He asks in a shrill voice, looking like a fish out of water and, honestly, Langa can’t tell if the overwhelming heat on his face is because of how hard he must be blushing or because of the afternoon sun. It's probably the former. It's definitely the former. "Did you just–"
"Yeah…" Langa says, voice equally as high, because it's true– Reki always looks pretty, or cute, or handsome, but oh wow is he an idiot. Langa's never said anything like that before, not to anyone, least of all to his best friend, so why did he have to open his mouth now ?
If possible, Reki looks even more flabbergasted now.
He takes a deep, quivering breath and, after a moment, he pins Langa with a look that's so intense that he has to physically restrain himself from squirming under it.
And before he knows it, Reki's surging forward and- and kissing him, a swift little darting kiss that Langa barely even feels but that still leaves his brain feeling like static nonetheless. Reki jerks back just as quickly, looking completely mortified.
For a moment Langa’s frozen, too overwhelmed to move. His heart is hammering in his chest and all he can think is holy shit.
"Oh my god," Reki gasps, his eyes as wide as saucers. "Oh no- I'm so sorry! I'm sorry, that...came out of nowhere, I don't know why I did that. Damn it, I ruined everything now-"
"I liked it," Langa stammers, his face hot.
Reki nearly chokes on thin air. "You- what? Langa-!"
"I liked it."
"The- you liked the kiss?" Reki asks, shoulders slowly relaxing tentatively.
"Yes." Langa clarifies.
Reki's looking at anywhere but him. He's tugging at the homemade bracelets on his wrist with shaking fingers. "Okay, cool, cool, cool. Neat, uh-" He cringes and scrubs a hand across his face, the little laugh that escapes him wavering. "Geez, this is embarrassing," He pulls at a strand of hair for a second and let's his hand drop to the side.
"Do you- I mean...do you want to do- this?" Reki swiftly points his finger between the both of them repeatedly, looking as stunned as Langa feels.
"Do you want to?" Langa asks in a faint voice. His pulse still feels quick in his chest, and he can feel the hope swelling up like a balloon inside of him, drowning out the fear and uncertainty.
Reki makes a strangled noise in the back of his throat, somewhere between a whine and a groan. "Come on, man, I asked you first."
"Yeah," Langa admits, trying to control his rising panic. Then, with a little more confidence, he says, "Yeah, I really do,"
Reki blows out a long breath, sounding relieved. Now he looks up properly at Langa, and he's smiling, and it's so warm that Langa can feel the heat of it from where he's sitting. Granted, they're sitting pretty close, but still. "You're not just messing with me, right?" He asks.
Langa wrinkles his nose. "Why would I do that?"
Reki huffs out a breath of laughter and rubs his fist against his mouth as he shakes his head, his eyes sparkling. "You wouldn't. Just wanted to, you know, be extra sure."
"Then...can I- can I kiss you?" Langa asks softly.
"Can you- I mean, yeah, go for it…"
Langa sucks in a quiet breath. "Okay,"
His hand carefully comes up to bury itself in Reki's hair, maintaining eye contact with him as he does so. He gives his headband a little tug and soon enough- he's pressing their mouths together.
Reki kisses back immediately, cupping Langa's cheek with one hand while the other rests against his thigh, and that's all it takes for the stomach twisting to come back full force in Langa's chest. He can feel the hand Reki's placed on his thigh fidgeting, so he reaches out and places his palm on top of it, his fingers gently curling around Reki's scarred ones.
It's a little awkward, neither of them really know what they're doing; Reki's lips are slightly chapped, their noses bump for a few seconds and they're both smiling too much for it to be a perfect kiss but– it's them, and it is perfect, in its own way. It's clumsy and the enthusiasm is definitely there on both sides. Just like everything that has to do with Reki, it feels right. It's as easy and natural as everything else has been. It feels like lending Reki a tool while he works on their skateboards, or lying down on his bed as their shoulders brush, or Reki gently taking his hand to place bandages over his wounds.
There's a familiarity to it that Langa adores, it makes him think of words like home.
When the kiss ends, they don’t move apart right away, instead lingering in each other’s orbit. Langa opens his eyes –he didn't even know that he’d closed them until now– to find Reki staring back at him, hair messy where Langa's hand is buried in it, and eyes as warm and beautiful as the sunset before them.
Reki leans forward, gently pressing his forehead to Langa's, and gleefully says, "I really like you,"
Something blooms in Langa's chest, and his responding exhale sounds a lot giddier than he was expecting. "I do, too," He presses back and bites the inside of his cheek softly. "How- how long have you…"
Reki's lips twitch and he averts his gaze just the slightest. "A while now. I dunno, it just happened one day. Hard to tell when, I think it was after your beef against Shadow. Sorry, I'm awful at this, but...yeah, it's been a while. You're amazing, man," He says, sincerity coloring every inch of his tone to the point where all Langa can think about is wanting to kiss him again.
So he does just that, he tips his head and presses a quick kiss to Reki's brow. He watches with poorly hidden delight as Reki's nose scrunches up and his entire face colors again.
A quick burst of laughter tears out of Reki's throat. "I've been dropping hints since forever, though," He says.
Langa balks and reels back a little. "What? Why didn't I notice, then?"
Reki's shoulders shake with silent laughter. "That's what I'm trying to figure out! Even Miya knew, and he's, like, twelve!" He exclaims as he playfully taps Langa with his fist. His hand lingers there for a few seconds and he carefully unfurls his fingers until his palm is lying flat against Langa's chest.
He looks up at Langa through his bangs, looking thoughtful, and asks, "How about you, though?"
"Me?" Langa flounders for a second, his heart thundering in his chest. "Well...same as you, honestly. I don't think I've ever not liked you, but...whenever I heard you talking about skateboarding, about- how happy it makes you, and how passionate you are about it, I just- I just knew."
Reki blinks, clearly taken aback. "Oh," He croaks and ducks his head a little. "You're supposed to be bad at this," He jokes without any real heat behind his words. Then, he laughs, bubbling and unrestrained. It doesn't take long for Langa to join him, and before long both of them are nearly bent in half, trying to stifle choked, disbelieving giggles. Langa's chest hasn't felt this light in a long time and it's...good. It's amazing.
Reki's hand slides up to cup his neck, and Langa gives his hand a little squeeze, and slowly, once the sun's completely disappeared from the sky, their laughter dissolves into breathlessness.
Their eyes meet for a second before Reki looks down at their hands and purses his lips, still smiling. "Hey, do you want to– stay over? Might be fun," He offers, his smile widening into something more teasing.
Langa straightens and looks at Reki, at his fiery brown eyes that shine bright enough to put every star in the sky to shame, and his heart swells about five times too big for his chest.
He grins.
"I'd like that,"