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Langa released a breath, relieved to see that the majority of the line had died down and most customers had already gotten their drinks and pastries.
The coffee shop had been extremely busy today and he couldn’t wait for his shift to be over.
Unconsciously his aqua-colored eyes drifted to his redheaded best friend that was sitting by himself. He had his textbook out but Langa could tell from his angle that he was actually sketching in his drawing pad again.
His amber eyes were locked on the page, his pencil staying in one area before bouncing to another.
‘Probably another skateboard design,’ he thought with a smile. He watched for a few more seconds, deciding it wasn’t his fault that the shorter skater looked adorable when he was concentrating on a sketch.
The young barista had been surprised when he saw Reki come into the shop; after all, they had made plans to hang out when his shift was over, which would have been in an hour. But when Reki picked up his drink, he had signed to Langa that his study session with his classmates had ended earlier and didn’t mind waiting for him.
It’s been forty-five minutes since then and Langa was glad Reki was able to find a way to entertain himself.
“Hasegawa,” His manager called from behind, slightly startling him. “Since you’re almost off, could you please clean your station and start restocking the fridge?”
“Yes, should I also-”
“Stop ignoring me!”
The shout from the dining area cut Langa off; both staff members turned their attention to an angry customer who had not only shouted but had also slammed his hand against a table, bringing everyone’s attention to him.
Much to the blunet’s horror, the man was standing in front of Reki’s table.
“Stay here.” The manager stated when he saw Langa begin to open his mouth. “I’ll handle it.”
The redhead looked stunned to see an angry customer in front of him; he definitely wasn’t expecting a hand to suddenly appear on his notebook.
“Finally!” The man said. “I swear your generation is going deaf with those Airpods. You should really learn to look up when someone is talking to you.”
Reki made a confused expression before looking down to write something on a new piece of paper.
“Hey-”
Langa’s manager tapped Reki’s shoulder before confronting the customer. “Excuse me sir, what seems to be the problem?”
“I was asking this boy if I could take the chair in front of him and he completely brushed me off, probably because he was blasting music through his Airpods. Kids these days really need to learn some manners.”
“I’m sorry sir but he’s wearing hearing aids, not Airpods. Next time you need something please ask the staff instead of other customers.”
The blunet watched from behind the counter as the once angry customer turned pink; he grabbed the chair in front of Reki’s table and weakly said, “He should have heard me...with... the hearing aids…”
Then he went back to his table, no doubt avoiding the stares he was getting. Langa thought he deserved it though.
He continued cleaning his station, noticing that his manager was still in front of Reki. From the corner of his eye, he saw the manager was bowing so he was no doubt apologizing to the skater for the other customer’s rude behavior.
The last ten minutes went by quickly as Langa rushed to finish his tasks. Once he clocked out and gathered his things, the manager handed him a bag.
“Thanks for your hard work today. Give one of those to Reki as an apology for today.”
After realizing there were desserts in the bag, Langa’s eyes twinkled. “Thank you very much!”
The blunet walked over to his friend, who was looking at his sketchbook. Langa tapped Reki’s shoulder and bright amber eyes looked up at him.
The Canadian mouthed “I’m done. Let’s go.”
Instantly, Reki got excited and put his things away. The two university students waved at the other staff before walking off.
Langa had an early shift today so it was now 3pm. He pulled out his phone as he knew he wouldn’t be able to sign correctly with the bag in his hand.
‘Do you want to head to the skatepark today?’
Reki’s eyes lit up and he quickly nodded his head. The two made their way to the park, which was thankfully only a few minutes away on foot.
The deaf skater had been signing about a cool trick he saw online when he had been on his way to the coffee shop when he remembered the bag in Langa’s hand and asked about it.
Langa texted ‘It’s an apology from my boss. He says he’s sorry about the customer who was rude to you.’
Reki’s eyes shined when he realized he got a free treat. He signed ‘Tell him I said thanks! But what did that guy want anyways?’
The blunet frowned, clearly not wanting to remember the man who had been so disrespectful towards his friend. ‘He wanted the chair that was in front of you and got mad that you didn’t respond to him. But clearly he was just being a drama king since he could have just taken the chair when you didn’t say anything or asked the staff for help.’
Reki’s smile had slowly dropped and the blue haired skater wanted nothing more but to bring it back.
Before he could think of something, he heard the sounds of skateboards coming from behind him. Langa looked over his shoulder and spotted three middle school skaters heading their way.
The foreigner wrapped an arm around Reki’s shoulders, pulling him next to him so he wouldn’t be hit by the kids.
That must have surprised the redhead because he jumped. However, once he saw the children, a look of understanding reflected in his eyes.
Langa sighed in relief before realizing his arm was still wrapped around Reki. The blunet had another growth spurt during his last year of high school and was currently 188cm (about 6ft 2in - just like his dad). Reki only grew two more centimeters so he stayed at 177cm (5 ft 8in); Langa was always aware of the height difference between the two of them, but it didn’t mean it didn’t ease Langa’s heart, especially when Reki was so close. Was it bad that he thought the redhead looked cute for having to tilt his head to look at him?
Reki still wasn’t smiling but he must have read that the Canadian was worried because he quickly signed ‘Sorry, got lost in my head for it. Thanks for that.’
“Anytime.” He mouthed. Somehow, that caused the shorter male to slightly pout and look away.
Langa tightened his grip around his crush, not enough to hurt him but just enough to get his attention again.
When Reki looked back at him, Langa mouthed. “What’s wrong?”
The redhead didn’t respond; he clenched his mouth, something he normally did when he was thinking hard about something. It was clear to Langa that his best friend was collecting his thoughts, probably trying to think of what to say or how much to tell him.
After a few seconds, Reki signed. ‘I’m...just feeling bad. I’m sorry for causing you trouble sometimes.’
Not wanting there to be any miscommunication, the blunet texted with one arm. ‘You never cause me trouble.’
The redhead smiled but Langa had gotten better at reading Reki after knowing him for a few years. He knew the other skater was faking it.
Sometimes he wished Reki could see the world through Langa’s eyes so he could see how much of an amazing person he is.
‘But how can I make him understand-’
Langa looked in front of him and saw the children from before entering the park. Inspiration hit him then and quickly, the taller boy gripped the other’s shoulder to gain his attention again.
“Want to skate?”
He mouthed the words he’s said to Reki about a hundred times already; words that never lost affect and always gave Langa the reaction he wanted.
Almost instantly the redhead’s eyes sparkled once more; he rapidly nodded his head as he swung his backpack over to release his board.
Once they released their boards from their bags, the two skated the rest of the way to the park. They settled in a spot away from the middle schoolers that previously passed them. Thankfully there was a lot of space so both adults were able skateboard at a smooth pace, doing a few tricks while being mindful of those next to them.
Eventually the children caught sight of them and praised the two college students; of course, Langa translated. The interaction had been nice, minus the awkwardness that had occurred when one of them asked why Reki wasn’t talking and the redhead typed ‘I’m deaf,’ on his phone.
It was clear they had never engaged with someone who had a disability like Reki’s because the best they could say was “Oh...that sucks.”
After that, they skated for a few more minutes before deciding it was time to eat their free dessert: one slice of chocolate and vanilla marble cake and the other a slice of salted caramel chocolate cake. And of course Reki snatched the second one from Langa’s hand.
The blue haired man watched as Reki bit into his slice of cake. His expression was adorable; he ate slower than the Canadian (or maybe Langa ate faster than him?) but he always seemed to savor every bite when he was eating his favorite foods.
He didn’t say out loud how delicious the food was but you could always tell by the look on his face.
Langa loved days like this; when it was just him and Reki, skateboarding and going on a food date (at least that’s how Langa viewed them but oh how much he wanted them to be official).
As the foreigner ate his dessert, he suddenly became anxious. Why couldn’t they be official? Would Reki want that? If he asked his crush right now, would Reki agree to date him?
He never confessed because he assumed he would lose Reki if he did; if Reki didn’t feel the same, then the awkwardness would surely ruin their friendship. But Langa realized their friendship was stronger than that, and if Reki didn’t feel the same way, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. They would go back to normal, and the Canadian wouldn’t be in limbo.
Langa took a deep breath before tapping the other student’s shoulder.
“Reki.” Langa mouthed once the redhead’s full attention was on him. He placed his food and signed.
‘I want to go out with you.’
Reki looked taken back. He looked confused, unsure of what to do as he too placed his food down so Langa signed. ‘I like you Reki, and more than just a friend. I want to go on dates with you. Would you go out with me?’
The redhead looked uncomfortable and Langa felt regret creeping in, especially when Reki’s response was. ‘Are you sure?’
He didn’t know what Reki saw on his face but instantly the sun-kissed adult signed. ‘I mean, are you sure you want to date someone like me? You saw how much trouble I cause and how awkward people can be around me. Are you sure you’re okay...dating me?’
‘You never cause me trouble.’ Langa signed instantly. He hated how lowly Reki saw himself sometimes. ‘Expect when you mix up people’s boards.’
That earned him a small chuckle and Langa smiled when he got that response. He continued. ‘I think you’re amazing. You’re so observant and great with people; so much better than me most of the time. You can make your own skateboards, and design a bunch of cool stuff. You taught me how to ride a skateboard and always picked me up no matter how many times I fell. You-’
Reki clasped his hands over his, stopping him from continuing to sign. He would have thought he had done something wrong if it wasn’t for the fact that the redhead was glowing bright pink.
Seriously, sometimes Reki was too adorable for his own good.
Langa waited for Reki to settle down. Most of the bright color had faded but Reki still had a hint of hue on his cheeks when he signed. ‘I want to date you too...if you’re really okay with dating me that is.’
He wasn’t sure if Reki was going to sign more but before he knew it, Langa’s body acted on his own and he pounced on the Japanese native. He engulfed the amber eyed boy in a huge hug while resisting the urge to kiss him.
Langa knew Reki wasn’t ready for it just yet and that it would take him a while to fully grasp just how much the Canadian cared for him. Just like it would still take Reki a while to understand that his disability didn’t mean he was a nuisance or awkward to be around.
And when he felt Reki return his embrace, he knew they would work on it together.
Through signing, skateboarding, and maybe a few desserts.
Bonus scene: While Langa knew Reki wasn’t ready for a kiss, he figured he could handle some teasing. So the blunet picked up a fork with Reki’s cake and asked him to ‘aw.’ Reki covered his face, doing his best to stop Langa from seeing how red his face was.
Like Langa mentioned before, Reki was simply too adorable.