Chapter Text
Reki's first girlfriend came seemingly out of the blue. A girl from another class named Yuki, that he'd spoken to on a few occasions. She confessed her admiration of his skating and his loud enthusiastic voice. Having no reason to reject her, they started dating.
He knew from the shoujo anime his mom and sister watched of all of the possible things that could go wrong and he was determined to be the best boyfriend! This was, of course, easier said than done. At the beginning, he panicked and wound up challenging Joe to a beef in order to get some advice. Of course, Joe rejected the challenge and gave the advice anyways.
“Always text her good morning and good night. When she talks, make sure you listen! Don't just nod along!”
The first few days had been awkward but as he got to know her, he realized she was actually pretty cool. He talked about skating with her, there's no way he could hold back on that, but he also talked about other things too, and made sure to ask her about herself. She liked marine biology and had a big tank with colourful and weird fish. She laughed when Reki gave them silly names.
He divided his time with her and his time with Langa, although sometimes all three of them would have lunch together. He walked her home most days, sometimes she'd invite him into her room to hang out and sometimes to kiss. Reki definitely liked that.
He enjoyed the time they spent together but he found it took up much more mental energy compared to when he hung out with friends. Often when leaving, Reki would call Langa up to skate or just to talk about meaningless stuff to recharge.
“Sometimes when she's talking to me, I feel like there's some hidden riddle or something?” Reki was lying on top of a half-pipe one evening. Langa sat beside him. “Like, she'll ask me if she can hang out with her guy friends, and I say sure, but that's wrong because I'm supposed to be jealous, but isn't being jealous a bad thing?”
Langa looked as lost as Reki felt. “No clue.”
Reki groaned and rolled over, dangling his hand off the edge.
"It doesn’t matter as long as you’re trying, right?” Langa attempted to console.
“I guess so.”
He invited her to skate with them. She was scared of trying it herself but would always cheer him on. He even brought her to S a couple of times. It was nice to see her chanting his name at the finish line.
Overall, it was nice. Reki thought it was going well.
And then, seemingly out of the blue, their relationship ended.
It had been just another day at the park. She bought him the cola that he liked and sat him down at a bench by the vending machine.
He'd barely taken a sip before the words “We should break up.” came out of her mouth.
“Break up?” Reki wracked his brain for something he had done wrong lately. “Why?”
“I don't know how to say this,” she sighed. “I like you the most when you're with Langa.”
Reki was dumbfounded. Was this some roundabout way of telling him she'd fallen for Langa instead? But she said she liked Reki when he was with Langa?
“I just mean,” she fiddled with a button on her uniform. “You aren't you when you're with me.”
Reki's brain was having a hard time processing her words. “I... am me, though.”
“Yeah, but...” She sighed, sounding a little frustrated. “I just don't think we're the best fit.”
“...okay.” Reki didn't know what else to say.
“Sorry, Reki,” she said as she stood up from the bench.
And with that, it was over.
He was in a daze as he walked over to Dope Sketch. He didn't really get what she said. Reki was Reki. What more did she want?
It was only when his hand was on the door to the shop that he realized he was more bothered by her words than the fact they'd broken up. Somehow in the back of his mind, he had already accepted it, thinking, “Oh well, at least I can skate more.”
He finally opened the door, relieved to see Langa already behind the counter. Maybe Langa could help him make sense of things.
After Reki explained the situation, Langa said he'd take care of restocking, leaving Reki to sit at the counter and mess around with his finger skateboard. Langa had offered a sympathetic ear but hadn't really given any insight, leaving Reki to stew in his thoughts.
“Was I...” Reki held the skateboard still. “weird? Or something? When I was with her?”
Langa made a long humming sound. “I guess you were kind of... subdued?”
“Subdued?”
“Yeah like... Reki-light.”
“What am I? A soft drink?”
Langa shrugged.
“I bet that'd make a terrible pick up line.” Reki continued his finger skateboarding tricks. “Like, hey girl, you thirsty?”
Langa snorted. “Please never say that in real life.”
Reki stuck out his tongue in response.
Langa finished stocking and made his way to the back to put the box away. He paused before he went through the door. “You sure you're okay?”
Reki shrugged. “Yeah.”
Langa finished his task and was out a second later. He leaned on the other side of the counter so he was facing Reki. “You're suuuure you're okay?”
“Yeah, seriously man, I'm fine.”
Langa scrunched his face, unconvinced. “You're too quiet. I thought you'd be wailing about your long lost first love.”
Reki scoffed. “She wasn't really...” my first love . That was a weird thing to say, wasn't it?
“Did you not like her?”
“Of course I liked her! I just! I mean...”
Langa never ceased his scrutinizing stare.
“Ah, man, I don't know!” Reki scratched the back of his head. “She said was I wasn't myself with her, and you said that I was... subdued ... so maybe it's better this way. We just weren't cut out for each other.”
Langa seemed to find that answer satisfactory as his dropped his intense pose.
Reki was glad he wouldn’t have to spend so much mental energy anymore. Reki and Langa hadn’t fought since that one time because they were honest with each other. More than that, they understood each other. When they were together, everything was... easy.
Reki leaned back in his chair, his head lolling off the back. “It really is simpler with guys, isn't it?”
Langa looked up from his phone. “What is?”
“Everything? There's no pressure, we just hang out and I don't have to analyze everything you say... Why couldn't you have just been a girl?”
“I'm a boy though.” Langa said in the most Langa-way ever.
“I know, I know. But you get what I mean right?”
“...no...”
Reki grumbled and sat up straight. “You know, cause it's easy with you.”
Langa was quiet for a long moment. “Are you saying, you would date me if I were a girl?”
“Uh, yeah,” Reki started to feel self-conscious saying it. It wasn't a weird thing to say right?
“But you can't cause I'm a guy.”
“Yeah.”
“Why not?”
“Why? Well, cause I'm not gay?”
Langa frowned. “Is there something wrong with that?”
“What?” Reki mentally backtracked. “No, I'm just, I'm not.”
“...so you don't have a problem with it?”
“No, of course not.”
Langa's face become determined. “Even if your friend turned out to be?”
Reki tensed. “No, of course not!”
Langa held Reki's gaze for a few long seconds before blurting out.
“I'm bi.”
Reki's brain went into overdrive. What was the best thing to say to your friend when they come out to you?
“Rad,” his brain supplied. Okay, not the best thing to say, also not the worst.
“Er, yeah, I mean. Cool.” Reki gave an awkward thumbs up.
Langa's determined face gave way to uncertainty. “...is it?”
“Yeah, I mean!” Reki attempted to gesture his point with his hands. “You have, like, twice the possible partners. That's, that's pretty cool.”
“...right.”
Reki wracked his brain for something else he could say to prove how super not homophobic he was.
“Aren't you going to ask?” Langa said before Reki could come up with anything.
“Ask? Ask what?”
“Ask if I'm into you,” Langa mumbled, reluctantly.
Reki blinked. “I don't need to ask that.”
Langa raised an eyebrow. “You don't?”
“Of course not, I mean.” Reki lifted his arm and flexed. “Who could resist this?”
Langa snorted. “Dummy.”
Reki grinned.
Langa quickly pulled out his phone to show Reki some skating videos, obviously eager to change the topic. Reki was happy to oblige, going into a rant about one of the techniques in the video. But in the back of his head, he was still thinking about it.”
Reki was sweeping and Langa was perusing a skating magazine when he decided to ask.
“So... can I ask you some stuff? About you being bi?”
Reki could see Langa tense from the corner of his eye. “Sure.”
“You don't have to answer if you don't want,” he swept the same spot three times. “But aren't, I mean I get you like both but, aren't girls like, objectively nicer?”
Langa's reply was an incredulous stare. “What.”
“Come on, you know what I mean, right? Girls are nice and sweet and boys and sweaty and gross.” Reki emphasized his point with his hands, causing the broom to fall to the ground.
Langa watched it fall. “Girls aren't perfect, you know?”
Reki snatched the broom from the floor. “I know! But... girls have a lot of things guys don't have!”
“Like?”
“Welll.. They have nice silky hair and...” Reki's eyes took that moment to land on Langa's, undeniably, nice silky hair. “Uh, and, uh, and other stuff.”
“Other stuff?”
Reki shook his head. “Yeah, like, boobs and stuff.”
“Boobs are great.” Langa nodded sagely. “Are you saying you'd reject a flat chested girl?”
“Wh- no! I'm not shallow.”
“Then?”
Reki grumbled and swept more vigorously. “Well... what about kissing? It must be different right?”
Langa shrugged. “I've never kissed anyone.”
Reki almost dropped the broom again. “What? How?”
“...what do you mean how?”
“I mean, you're so popular, why not?”
“I'm not...”
“You are! You're tall and handsome- er- the girls love you at least! It must have been like that in Canada too!”
Langa shook his head. “I was pretty average there. And quiet. I think people thought I was boring.”
“You're not boring! Anyways, you have your pick now, so why not go for someone?”
“I'd rather just skate.”
“That's no good, Langa! You'll stay single forever!”
“...you had the same opinion until a month ago.”
“Yeah, well, I've gained some life experience so I'm much wiser now!”
“Uh-huh,” Langa agreed sarcastically.
Reki ignored him. “Listen to your senpai in life! Don't let your youth go to waste!”
Langa frowned. “Does that mean you'll do the same?”
“Huh?”
“Are you going to find a new girlfriend now?”
“Nah, I just want to-” focus on skating ... He couldn't really say that now. “I mean, there isn't anyone I'm interested in. And I'm not as popular as you, so it'll probably be a while before I date someone.”
“I'm not interested in anyone either so it's fine.”
“Alright, alright.” Reki sighed in defeat. “But you have to let me know if you're interested in someone!”
“...right.”
Reki went to school the next day with nothing but skating on his mind, as usual.
He spotted Yuki on his way to class.
“Morning!” Reki said as he passed her.
She nodded awkwardly at him in response, shuffling away as fast as possible.
Reki was a little shocked by that reaction. Sure, they'd broken up but there was no reason for things to be that weird, right?
He brought it up with Langa at lunch.
“Yuki hasn't really talked to me today,” Reki grumbled.
“But you guys broke up.”
“Yeah, but I thought we ended it on good terms... I thought we'd still be friends.”
“I think it's hard for some people to be friends after breaking up.”
“That sucks... I liked hanging out with her, she was pretty cool.”
“Yeah, she was.”
Reki's stomach lurched. “Are- are you interested in her?”
“No.”
Relief washed over him. But that was stupid. Why should he be jealous? “It's cool, I mean I don't like her like that, and if you think she's cool then you should-”
“Reki,” Langa sighed. “I like her like you like her.”
“Ah, right. Of course. Sorry to be pushy.”
“It's fine.” Langa started unwrapping an onigiri.
Reki started bouncing his knee. “So do you have a type then?” and then tacked on in a whisper “for girls or guys.”
Langa shrugged.
“How'd you know you liked guys though?”
“I...” Langa paused for a long time before taking a big bite out of his onigiri and ducking his head.
“What? What?” Reki scooched closer.
Langa swallowed and cleared his throat. “I... had a crush on my snowboarding mentor.”
“Oooh, that's surprisingly normal!”
Langa fixed him a half glare. “What do you mean?”
“I thought you'd have liked a, I don't know, a superhero or something like- Captain America, wait no, Captain Canada, is that a thing?”
“Um,”
“Well, nevermind, what did you do?”
“Do? Nothing.”
“Whaaat? You didn't confess?”
“Course not... I only knew him during one winter vacation and it was a hopeless crush anyways.”
“What did you like about him?”
“...he could do some really cool tricks.”
Reki laughed. “Of course that would be the reason.”
“It wasn't just that,” Langa grumbled. “He was also nice when he taught me. He taught me a lot of cool stuff.”
“That sounds-” like us . “Real cool. I mean, he sounds cool.”
“Yeah.” Langa stuffed the last of the onigiri in his mouth.
What was Reki thinking? Obviously the guy Langa liked was super handsome and probably smooth, not like Reki, and why was Reki even thinking about this?
“What about here? There are a lot of good skaters! Like Joe, Cherry, Shadow-”
“Are you seriously suggesting I could have a crush on Shadow?”
“I was just listing good skaters! But I guess they're pretty old. Not that they have much to teach you.”
“You're focused too much on that...”
“I'm just trying to figure out your type!”
“Maybe I don't have one.”
Reki hummed, unconvinced.
“Do you have a type?”
“Huh? Me? Well... maybe those girls that seem nice and shy and stuff, but then turn out to be super powerful. I think it's awesome.”
“...what are you talking about?”
“You know, like in anime and stuff, when there's a character that-”
“Anime? I thought we were talking about real people.”
“Well, I mean, it's kind of the same?”
“Really? Well maybe my type of guy is Godzilla.”
“Tall, strong guys, huh? Typical.”
Langa smacked him.
Reki dropped the topic after that, opting to complain about the new drama his sister was obsessed with.
But it remained lodged in the back of his mind, surfacing again when he was lying in his bed that night. What kind of person would Langa like? He said he liked someone nice, so maybe a sweet, quiet girl? Or maybe a bright and kindhearted boy? And what about looks? Did Langa like a pretty face, or did he go for the cool type and why did Reki care so much about it anyways??
Reki rolled over and faced the window. A moth flew in but Reki couldn't be bothered to shoo it out.
He hated not understanding people but he hated not understanding himself even more. Why did Reki care about Langa's type? It wasn't like he was going to set him up with anyone... Unless that was why Reki was so bothered? Langa was obviously not going to date anyone as he was now, so he'd obviously need Reki's help to get started! Reki was just trying to be a good friend!
Reki rolled over again. Problem solved.
Except not really... Reki didn't really want Langa to date someone now that they had more time to skate together, which wasn't really fair since Reki had been the one to date someone first and it was only fair that Langa could do the same. It wasn't like Reki had anyone to introduce him to anyways so there was nothing to be done!
Reki rolled over again, closing his eyes more tightly as if to tell his brain, “Discussion over!”
But it wasn't over. Reki wasn't happy with his conclusion. He wanted to do something for Langa, but there was nothing to be done! Langa didn't want to date anyone and it wasn't like he could just randomly go up to someone and kiss them!
Wait. People did that, didn't they? They hooked up without dating. Girls were always begging Joe for a kiss at the end of his races. But... it was definitely even less likely that Langa would do that. Maybe Reki could convince him. If he was good at anything, it was being persistent!
Reki nodded to himself, finally satisfied with his decided course of action. He fell asleep trying to imagine what kind of person Langa would want to kiss.
***
Although he had made his decision, he had no idea how to go about the execution. Should he just push Langa and hope that he lands on someone and they accidentally kiss somehow? No, it should be someone Langa actually wanted to kiss. So, the first step was getting Langa interested, then they'd find a target and then... it would work out somehow.
He tried to bring it up casually the next time they had a shared shift. Reki was sweeping again while Langa attempted to pile spare skating wheels as high as he could. It hadn't been a busy day.
“You know,” Reki said extremely casually. “I'm actually kind of glad for the breakup. I missed spending more time with you.”
Reki heard a thud and watched as Langa chased a runaway wheel. When he caught it, he flipped it around in his hands a few times, staring intently at it. “Me too.”
Reki couldn't see his face properly but could still tell that he was smiling. Reki couldn't suppress a smile of his own.
Wait! He had more things to say! He had a mission!
“But uh, there is some stuff that I, um, that I miss,” Reki added hastily.
“Yeah?” Langa said, once again behind the counter.
“Yeah, I really miss kissing.”
“...is that so.” Langa sounded very disinterested.
“Yeah I mean, it was really soft and, um warm and, it felt... good...” Reki's ears felt hot. He hadn't thought it would be so embarrassing to talk about. He cleared his throat. “Um, anyways. You should... try it.”
Langa didn't say anything, and when Reki was finally able to tear his eyes off the floor, he was met with Langa's dumbfounded expression.
“I'm not dating anyone though...” Langa said slowly.
Perfect response! “Ah, but you don't need to be! You can kiss anyone, even if you're not dating!”
“Anyone? I don't think I can just kiss anyone.”
“Not anyone anyone, but, someone who's down to. And who you're down to!”
Langa's expression returned to unimpressed.
“Uh huh. Like who?”
“Most girls in our class probably. Just someone you think is cute.”
“Right...”
“Oor you could kiss a guy, then you can tell me the difference!”
“Why don't you kiss a guy? Then you'd know firsthand.”
“Wha- me? But I'm not gay- or bi- or whatever.”
Langa sighed. “Right.”
The conversation was not going how he'd hoped.
“Come ooon,” Reki leaned the broom against the wall. “Aren't you curious.”
Langa regarded Reki before frowning and turning away. “I don't know...”
Now what did that face mean? Reki leaned on the counter and peered at Langa's face.
“...what?” Langa sounded a little flustered.
“Oh... you're nervous aren't you!”
“...no”
“Don't worry dude, you just gotta go with the flow!” Reki jokingly blew Langa a kiss.
Langa glanced at Reki, his gaze landing on his lips briefly before turning away. His ears were definitely red now.
“I'm not- I'm not nervous,” Langa grumbled. “I'm just not interested.”
“Suuuure.” Reki grinned. “Well, I won't force you.” ...yet...
Judging by that reaction, at least some part of Langa was interested. Reki just had to push him a little more!
***
Reki tightened the wheels on his new skateboard. He had been working on this particular one for almost a month. He hadn’t had much faith as the concept had been pretty experimental, but it seemed that the fruits of his labour were about to pay off. He was excited to show off the new board to Langa, but he first had to make sure it was ready so wouldn't immediately face plant, which was what had happened the last few times he had taken it for a test run. He had a good feeling about this time though. It was already 1am and he had school the next day but he was sure one quick test wouldn't hurt.
He found himself face down on the concrete five minutes later. But finally, in this case, it was because of Reki's mistake rather than his board. As far as he could tell it was perfect! Reki snatched up his skateboard and held it up to the sky as if it were his child. He wanted to show Langa, immediately. He pulled out his phone to text Langa and hype him up to see it. Sure, he needed a bit more practice but he couldn't wait to debut his board at S.
Reki paused before pressing send as he realized something. This was the opportunity he had been waiting for! He would challenge Langa to a beef! And make him kiss someone if he lost. Thinking about it made Reki feel weird. But nevermind. He was going to help his friend!
He deleted the text. He had a lot of practicing to do.
***
"Sorry!" he said to Langa after school the next day. "My mom needs me for some stuff today so I won't be able to skate."
"Oh, uh... Can I, help?" Langa replied.
"Um, well, it's kind of a family thing. But I'll see you tomorrow!" He turned and skated away, excited to start practicing. He would challenge Langa to a beef on Friday. Which was in three days. He had to make the most of it.
After spending one afternoon with his new board, he was even more pumped for S. But he could still be better. He would also have to use the next day to practice. He was sad that he wouldn't spend the day with Langa but it was the price he had to pay to win!
Langa seemed skeptical when Reki announced he had even more chores, but said nothing. He didn't enjoy lying to Langa but he knew it would be worth seeing his reaction on the day of the race.
Or so he thought, until he was caught.
By 5pm, he was feeling pretty confident about how he handled himself on the new board. He was about to try one last trick when he made eye contact with someone across the park. Not just someone , Langa. Reki automatically raised his hand to wave but Langa had already turned away.
Reki started to feel offended before he understood. Langa realized that Reki had lied to him.
Reki scrambled after him, knowing he'd have to right the misunderstanding before something bad came out of it. Luckily, Langa had decided to walk instead of ride, making catching up to him a little easier. Reki was still out of breath when he was close enough to yell “Langa!”
Langa jumped and turned around. His expression was already sour before Reki could say anything.
“Yes?” His voice was tense.
“Listen!” Reki was finally in front of him. “You need to- hold on.” Reki leaned over to catch his breath.
“Are you avoiding me?” Langa said.
“Whu?” Reki choked on an inhale. “N-no!”
“Then why did you tell me-”
“I'm not!” Reki took a deep breath. “I swear I'm not.”
Langa looked hurt. “Then... why?”
Reki inhaled, ready to spew out the reason, but... He didn't want to tell him everything yet. “Well, the thing is. Um,” Maybe a half-truth would work. “I've been practicing this cool move that I wanted to show you tomorrow at S! That's why I didn't want to...” Reki trailed off when seeing Langa looked even sadder.
“But we always practice and learn and mess up together... did I...” Langa broke his gaze. “do something wrong?”
“No! Seriously, you didn't do anything! I just...” Reki wanted to challenge him dramatically at S, but he'd much rather relieve Langa of that sad expression. “I want to race you.” Reki said softly.
“Huh?” Langa raised his head.
Reki cleared his throat. “I'm challenging you to a beef!”
Langa just looked skeptical. “Why couldn’t we practice together?”
“Well, I came up with- er- I want to try something out, and I want it to be a surprise tomorrow, so... that's why...”
Langa still looked skeptical, but his shoulders slowly relaxed. “It's really just that? A beef?”
Reki nodded, forcing himself not to be offended that Langa considered it just a beef.
“Then what are we wagering?”
Reki bit the inside of his cheek. He'd hoped Langa wouldn't ask that. “It's a secret until tomorrow!”
Langa frowned.
“I wasn't even going to challenge you until tomorrow, so you already know too much!” Reki defended.
“Is it something... bad?” Langa asked slowly.
Reki wasn't sure what he meant by bad . “It's not bad!” Reki paused. “And if you hate it that much, you can always reject the beef.”
If anything, Langa frowned harder.
“Seriously, don't worry! I'm not going to make you get a tattoo or something.”
“It could be worse than a tattoo though.”
“It's not! I promise! And don't forget you can say no!”
“But I never want to reject your challenges...” Langa stated.
Reki couldn’t help smiling at that. “Then don’t!
Langa sighed but then finally smiled too. “I guess I’ll have to be patient. I’m looking forward to it.”
Reki grinned even wider. “Me too.”
They skated together the next day after school. Reki used his old board so he could debut the new one at S. Langa kept pestering Reki about the wager but eventually gave up in order to pester him about the new move he had been trying to learn. Reki insisted he would see it that night but after the 10th time Langa asked, he agreed to show him.
“Are you ready?” Reki asked, trying not to laugh. Langa nodded seriously. Reki attempted a move he had seen online the night before. As expected, he failed spectacularly.
“Uh... good try?” Langa offered a moment later. Reki didn’t reply. “Reki?” Langa hurried over to his side. Reki didn’t move. Langa gently shook his shoulder and Reki took that moment to pounce. He knocked Langa backwards, snatching Langa’s board before he could react. He picked up his own board as well and put some distance between him and Langa.
He stood with one foot on each board and belted out his best evil laugh. “I am the king of boards!”
Langa looked supremely unimpressed. “Reki, I was worried.”
Reki felt a little guilty about that. “That’s what you get for bugging me about it so much.”
“Is that so?” Langa stood up, brushing his pants off casually. “Then let’s see you skate, O King of Skateboards.”
“Gladly!” Reki attempted to move forward, but with both of his feet on skateboards, he wound up just shuffling awkwardly.
“Let me help you,” Langa went behind Reki.
“What do you mean-” Langa gave Reki a push, causing him to flail around and fall off the boards.
Langa burst out laughing. Despite his bruised butt, Reki’s heart felt lighter at the sound.
He scrambled to his feet. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up! But let’s see YOU try it!”
Langa also immediately fell off.
They spent the rest of the afternoon attempting to skate on two skateboards before parting with the promise to meet later.
He got there at quarter to midnight. Langa was already there, talking to Miya and Shadow.
“Yo Reki,” Shadow said once he joined the group. “Langa’s been telling us you’ve been practicing some secret moves!”
“Uh-huh! Prepared to be blown away.”
“You’re getting me pumped up now, better not disappoint!” Miya said.
“I won’t!”
Langa smiled. It was the smile that always got Reki hyped for whatever was coming their way.
“Oh, that’s right! Better make it official.” Reki pointed dramatically at Langa. “I challenge you to a beef! If I win, you have to-” Reki froze. This wasn’t the kind of challenge he could confidently announce. He retracted his hand and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Actually, let’s talk over there.”
Langa raised an eyebrow but complied.
“So, it’s a secret beef then?” Langa asked once they were out of earshot.
“Well, um,” Reki cleared his throat. “If I win the beef, then you have to- to kiss someone here!”
Hm, hold on. Kiss someone here ? When had Reki added that condition?
Of course, it was to make sure Langa didn’t chicken out! Plus, there were a lot of good candidates.
“Reki... why?” Langa looked lost.
“Because if I don’t do something you’ll never get any experience in this kind of thing!”
“Reki...” he repeated, sounding tired.
“Nope! That’s my challenge for the beef! You can accept or reject it!”
Langa frowned. He clearly wasn’t ecstatic about the challenge, but would never give up an opportunity to skate. “Fine...”
“Nice!”
“And if I win?”
Reki shrugged. “Whatever you want man.”
Langa stared at Reki, his face blank. Hopefully, Langa wasn’t mad at his challenge and wouldn’t make Reki do something crazy... like getting a tattoo, or streaking or...
“The same I guess.”
“Uh what?” Reki broke out of his thoughts about skating over a piranha tank.
“You have to kiss someone here if you lose.”
“Oh... okay! Well, I’m fine with that!” Maybe Langa couldn’t think of anything. He’d expected at the very least that he’d have to bring him extra food or something. “It’s almost midnight! Let’s get into place!”
“Right...” Langa replied.
“Oi, Langa, we’re about to do a beef, where’s your enthusiasm?”
Langa blinked as if he had forgotten. “Right.”
Reki laughed at the change in his tone. No matter the outcome, it was going to be a good race.
Finally, Reki pulled out his new skateboard. “Meet the new Reki Jaws Annihilator 2000!”
“Why do you always come up with the weirdest names?” Miya sighed.
“Are those fins?” Shadow pointed at the end of the skateboard.
“Maybe!” Reki huffed. “You’ll see!”
“I wonder what weird thing he painted on the bottom,” Miya reached to flip over the skateboard but Reki quickly stepped on it.
“No time for that! It’s time to race!” Reki said.
They made their way to the starting line. He looked over at Langa, who nodded determinedly.
The traffic lights lit up one by one. When they turned green, Reki and Langa raced forwards.
Reki was in front at the beginning, his wheels making him go much faster on the smooth road. At the corner, Reki was able to do the railslide that Miya taught him but Langa’s turn was just as fast. Langa pulled ahead at the second turn, with Reki close behind.
Reki’s nerves buzzed as they neared the next big turn. Langa’s turn was immaculate. Reki crouched low, as if ready to turn, before he promptly jumped off the edge. He heard Langa shout his name. While he was mid-air, he nudged one of the back fins, feeling the skateboard click under his feet. Then he was skating down the mountain. The treads on his wheels perfect for the terrain, the rocks and dirt unable to slow him down. He jumped again as he neared the pavement, hitting another fin to reset it to the default tread. Still reeling from the jump, his next turn was a little sloppy, making him lose a bit of momentum. Reki made a mental note to practice that, knowing that Langa would probably catch up soon.
Sure enough, Langa appeared at the next corner before Reki could get back up to speed.
The look Langa was giving Reki was a mix of awe and excitement, making Reki’s stomach squirm.
Focus!
Another turn was coming with a skateable drop. He wondered if Langa would follow him this time. Reki jumped off the cliff, switching gears as he did so. Sure enough, Langa jumped after him. While Langa was able to handle the mountain pretty well, his wheels weren’t built for it, causing him to stumble and slow down. He was able to get a little speed by jumping off a boulder but Reki was still in the lead.
Langa closed in on him as they neared the factory. Now it was anyone’s game. Reki kept an eye out for places Langa could jump. Langa chose to jump on to the rusty handrail over the stairs. Reki copied his move on the other railing. Langa jumped over a gap. Reki attempted the same jump but fumbled the landing and wound up falling off. As he hit the ground, he stumbled again, accidentally triggering his gear switch. He quickly attempted to jump for a smooth switch but the back wheels got tangled up. He was actually a little closer to the finish but he couldn’t use his back wheels anymore. He stepped forward to do a front-wheelie. Somehow it was working.
Except his wheels were on the wrong gear and Langa was basically right beside him. Reki pushed forward. Just a little more--
The room erupted with cheers as they crossed. Reki and Langa slowed to a stop. Reki grinned and reached out his hand for their fistbump. Returning his grin, Langa’s fist connected with his.
Shadow appeared behind Langa and pat his shoulder. “Congrats!”
Ah, so Langa had won. Reki felt a little disappointed but it had been his fault for accidentally switching the gear. Plus, he didn’t care that much. Above all, it had been a blast.
“What was that?” Miya showed up in between them. “What’s with your board?”
Reki pulled up his board proudly. “These fins in the back switch the treads!” He manually reset the tread on the back wheels to get it back to working condition. “I accidentally triggered it at the end though.”
“You should put a safety failsafe on it.” Cherry glided over on Carla. “So that it won’t switch when you put your full weight on it.”
Reki nodded, already making a schematic in his head.
“But still, first the water wheels, now this?” Joe examined the board.
“You know, at once point I was thinking of adding a water jet so that I could use my water wheels but then I’d have to lug around a water tank.”
Langa scratched his chin thoughtfully. “If you drank a lot of water before, you could use your p-”
“No,” Miya cut in. “I’m ending that train of thought right now!”
“Based on your boards, I thought you would take off of Cherry, but with that plan you’d be more like Shadow.” Joe added. Cherry shook his head in disappointment.
“There’s nothing wrong with adding booby traps to your skating!” Shadow said.
“Er, on second thought, I think I’ll stick to what I got.”
Miya, Cherry and Joe sighed in relief.
“So, what’d you guys bet on anyways?” Miya asked.
Reki froze. Right the bet. He would have to kiss someone now. Okay, no biggie. The crowd was pumped up after the race. Shouldn’t be too hard to find someone to smooch.
He peered around the room, his eyes settling on a girl he’d seen before. With her nose ring and frosted tips, she was hard to forget. Not to mention that she seemed to hook up with a different guy each night. She was definitely his best bet. He ran his hands over his wheels once to make sure they weren’t stuck before dropping his board on the floor. He skated over to the girl, smoothly skidding to a stop before her.
Ah crap. What should he say? Maybe he should have asked Joe for advice beforehand...
“Hey, what did you think of the race?” A slow start, but at least it was a start.
She turned from her friend, giving Reki a quick once over. Her expression betrayed no enthusiasm.
“It was fine,” she shrugged. “Snow won, as expected.”
Okay... a little rude. “Well, me and my handmade board came in close though.” If he couldn’t impress her with skating, maybe his mechanical expertise would.
“Right...” She looked like she was one second away from turning back to her friend. It was now or never.
“I hope I made it a little interesting at least!” Reki said quickly. “And maybe for that, I- I deserve a kiss?” Reki’s face was burning. He hoped he sounded a little more confident than he felt.
“You’re asking to kiss me right after you lost?” she scoffed. “Sorry, but my standards aren’t that low.” She turned fully back to her friend.
Okay. Ouch. “Well, I had to try!” Reki forced a laugh and skated back.
Langa met him halfway. Reki stared at his feet.
“Okay, first attempt was a bust, but I’m sure there’s...” Reki swallowed, attempting to stabilize his voice “someone.” Yeah, maybe someone in this room would be willing to submit themselves to the ordeal of kissing him. Someone with low , low standards apparently.
Langa said nothing so he chanced a glance at him. Langa’s expression was a mix of confusion and anger.
“I’m not backing out, I swear. I just-” his voice caught. He turned around and made as if he were scanning the room. “Who- who should I ask next?”
“Reki,” Langa’s voice was stern.
“Wha-what about her?” Reki pointed randomly into the crowd, hoping at least one girl was at the end of his finger.
“Reki...” Langa said again, a little softer.
Reki almost jumped when he felt Langa’s hand close around his wrist.
“Let’s talk outside.” Langa didn’t give Reki a chance to reply, already dragging him outside.
Langa brought them around the building, stopping when the crowd’s chatter faded out into the sounds of crickets. Langa turned to face him. His face was stern. Reki wondered if he was about to be scolded for something.
“Reki,” he inhaled slowly. “Will you let me kiss you?”
“What?” Reki blinked.
“I just think that-” Langa swallowed. “We’d be killing two birds with one stone?”
“What do you mean?” Reki asked, feeling his shoulders loosen. He was relieved that Langa asked. Why?
“Well, you keep bugging me to kiss someone, so there’s that, and you’d get to see the difference between kissing a boy and a girl, cause you seemed curious about it, and you’d fulfill the beef agreement.”
Reki didn’t need Langa to explain, in his gut he knew he’d say yes. But why was he so okay with this? It was if Reki had been hoping for this outcome, he flushed at the thought. That was ridiculous.
“Though-of course, we don’t have to,” Langa added as Reki still hadn’t replied.
“No! I mean, you’re right. That would be,” Reki swallowed. “It makes sense.”
Langa nodded. “Alright so I’m- I’m going to... is it alright if I kiss you now?”
“Yeah,” Reki’s voice was strained.
Langa stared at him, determined. Slowly, awkwardly, he raised a hand out to Reki. He hesitated before cupping his face. His hands were sweaty but Reki didn’t care. Langa leaned forward, looking a little self-conscious. Right. Reki should close his eyes. He forced himself to close them.
He felt breath on his face, making the hairs rise on the back of his neck, then-
Lips were pressed, softly, hesitantly to his. It was so quick, lasting only a second, barely a brush of lips. Then Langa’s hand dropped away and he straightened himself, looking extremely tense.
“Was- was that okay?” Langa sounded as nervous as he looked. Reki should reassure him.
“No,” Reki said, against his brain’s wishes. Langa’s shoulders immediately tensed and Reki fumbled to do some damage control.
“I-I mean, you should, um, try again. You need to press a little bit more. It just, barely felt like a kiss.”
What was Reki doing? They didn’t need to do it again; he had already fulfilled the bet. But... If they were going to kiss, they might as well do it properly. “I didn’t really get a good impression, so...”
“Oh.” Langa blinked, losing some tension. “Okay.” He cupped Reki’s face again, less hesitantly.
Reki also lost some tension. He felt more like himself, like he was just teaching Langa another skating move.
“You’re also kind of far away,” Reki grabbed the hem of Langa’s shirt and pulled.
Langa stumbled forward, his hand twitching on Reki’s face. “Ah, right.”
Reki didn’t let go of his shirt, instead gently holding his waist. It’s usually where he put his hands when he kissed Yuki anyways.
“Ready?” Langa asked.
Reki nodded and closed his eyes. He felt Langa hover over him for a moment before he finally kissed him. This time, Langa pressed a little firmer. Reki was surprised to find that the kiss wasn’t so different from previous ones he’d had. Langa’s lips were a little more chapped but were also plump and soft. The angle wasn’t perfect, their noses squished a little together, so Reki tilted his head slightly and-
Oh. Hm. It was actually... really nice.
His hand inadvertently squeezed Langa’s side and Langa gasped a little, his lips parting, making something warm curl in Reki’s stomach.
Langa disconnected a second later and Reki was hit with an unexpected need for him to return. He felt as if he had been parched all day and had finally been given a sip of water. But it had been so short, he needed more. He needed to... he needed to feel it again.
He was about to pull Langa back down when the rational part of his brain finally returned to him. He was still holding on to Langa. He quickly let his hand drop and chanced a glance at Langa.
His cheeks were dusted pink and he looked expectant. “Was that better?” Ah he wanted feedback.
“Y-yeah,” Reki cleared his throat. “It- it was alright. Especially for your first kiss...” Hm. Wait. His...
“That was- was that your first kiss?”
Langa's brows furrowed in confusion. “Yes... I thought that was the point.”
“Yeah, I mean, it was! But! Uh. I mean.” Reki ran a hand through his hair. “But I mean, I stole your first kiss!”
Langa looked even more confused. “I don't understand what's wrong.”
“It's just... a big deal right?”
“You were the one who said it could be casual.”
“Yes, I did. I did say that.” Reki said, not panicking any less.
“Then what’s wrong?”
“I just, I mean,” Reki pulled too hard at his hair, wincing as he hit a knot. “You, could have had an awesome first kiss with a cool girl, or- or guy.”
“You’re cool,” Langa mumbled. “Plus, I... I thought it was nice...” Langa’s face was pink again.
Wanna do it again? He was glad that thought stayed in his head this time. “Well- good. I’m glad. But... still...”
“Still... what? Do you feel like you have to take responsibility or something?”
Reki froze. Take responsibility. How would he do that? Grovel before Langa's mother? Apologize for taking-
“Oh woe is me,” Langa deadpanned, leaning against the wall. “My lips were sullied by a mere commoner. How will I ever recover from this travesty?”
Reki relaxed a little. Maybe he was being a bit dramatic about the whole thing. But he still felt guilty. “Let me buy you ramen at least...”
“Aren't you supposed to go on a date before you kiss?”
“It's not a date! It's, uh, payment?”
“That seems worse.”
“Ah whatever,” Reki pushed himself off the wall. “Let's just get going.”
As promised, he bought Langa ramen that evening, somehow getting roped into buying Miya a bowl as well, although Langa wound up eating most of it as Miya had to adhere to his diet.
Reki was worried things might be a little awkward but it was business as usual. Just three friends goofing off together. Even after seeing Miya off and skating by themselves, the kiss was the last thing on Reki’s mind.
Reki snuck in while thinking about Cherry’s advice, washed up while thinking about his plans for the next day, and crawled into bed thinking about ramen.
He closed his eyes, ready for some well-earned rest... except his brain had other plans. With no other distractions around, he was immediately hit by the memory of Langa’s lips on his. His eyes snapped open but this did nothing to prevent the memory from replaying.
He groaned and rolled over. He had honestly been hoping to forget completely about it. It happened. It was over. Except... maybe he should think about it! After all, he had agreed to kiss Langa for science! Reki wanted to know what the difference was.
Okay, time to think about this completely logically and objectively.
Reki had always thought kissing a guy would be rough. When he tried to imagine it before, he always pictured the other guy just bashing their faces together or something. But the way Langa had kissed him had been so... gentle... as if Reki were something precious. That thought filled Reki with something he couldn’t name, his stomach squirming.
He guessed that’s how Yuki felt when they kissed, since Reki was usually the one doing the holding. Reki wondered how it would feel if had held Langa instead. A feeling bubbled up in him that he quickly squashed. No use thinking about it when it wasn’t going to happen.
There was no way that Reki could deny that he enjoyed the kiss. But that was probably because kissing him had been so soft. Langa had soft hair, and he smelled nice, not like flowers or anything, his shampoo smelled like a tree of some kind, anyways he didn’t smell gross, and he had been... well he wasn’t really squishy like a girl, more muscly, not that that was bad, actually Reki thought it was a nice feeling and when he had accidentally squeezed him- uh, that had been fine.
What if Langa hadn’t pulled away after that? What if he had left his lips open but had kept kissing? What if he had used him thumb to stroke Reki’s face, then Reki might also gasp and their lips would drag against each other- a shiver ran down his spine- and Langa would pull back for just a second before kissing him again and-
Reki’s eyes snapped open. He became aware of how fast his heart was beating and how red his face felt. He thumped at his chest in order to squash the butterflies that had taken residence there.
In conclusion! In conclusion... Reki liked kissing Langa but it was just because it had been so similar to kissing a girl. He would feel the same way if he imagined kissing Yuki. He didn’t need to though. He was going to sleep now.
He rolled over, convincing himself, despite the unease in his stomach, that he made the right conclusion. He closed his eyes, pushing as far back into his mind that he could, the fact that he had liked kissing Langa more than his ex-girlfriend.