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Valentine's Day was nothing special to Reki. Why should it be, when none of the girls ever gave him anything? Whenever it fell on a school day he would always cringe at the thought of his classmates getting chocolates, when he knew there would be none for him. It was stupid, but he couldn't help but keep hoping.
This year was going to be worse than the past year, for sure. Now that Langa, the prince, was in school with him, his best friend would be showered in chocolates. And he knew that Langa would share, because it was Langa , and Langa was too nice for his own good. But it wasn't the same as actually getting a gift from a girl.
He had expressed as much to Langa at the skatepark last night, lamenting the fact that Valentine's day was tomorrow. Langa had simply tilted his head and shrugged. They had gone their separate ways, and then Langa had texted him that he would be getting to the school early tomorrow, so that Reki wouldn't wait for him. He thought nothing of it.
So you can imagine his surprise when he showed up to school the next morning and there was a wrapped box of chocolates sitting on his desk, addressed to him.
At first, he thought it was a joke. It had to be, right? Maybe it was meant for Langa, and there was just no more room on his desk. But no, the little card tied to the cellophane said very clearly "Reki." Even more confused, he looked at each of the girls in his class. None of them spared him so much as a passing glance. He turned to his right, maybe Langa would know who gave him the chocolates.
His best friend was slumped forward onto the desk, almost knocking the chocolates off, eyes closed and breathing softly. Reki grinned, tapping him on the shoulder. "Hey man, wake up." The taller boy frowned, opening one eye and sitting up slowly.
"Reki, you're here." He mumbled, leaning back in the chair. "Took you forever."
Reki rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I got here on time, thank you. It was you who got here all early today. What was that for, anyway?" Langa blinked and pointed to Reki’s desk. He turned his head, looking at the box. "What, just wanted to be sure that you were gonna get all your chocolates early?" He grinned at Langa. "You already knew there would be plenty for you, why bother?"
Langa sighed and shook his head. "No, I wanted to be sure that I could set up yours." He pointed again at the box on Reki’s desk. "That's for you."
He froze, the grin sliding off his face. What does he mean that's for me? From him? But...does he not know? "Um, Langa? Did I hear you right? You got me chocolates?" He kept his voice low, hoping to not draw attention to them. The last thing he needed now was someone overhearing their conversation and getting well, the wrong idea. 'Cause there was no way Langa liked him like that .
Langa nodded, tilting his head. "Do you...do you not like chocolate? I just thought--" he trailed off, eyes falling to the floor.
He looked so sad that Reki waved his arms, shaking his head. "No, no, I love chocolate. I do, really. Um...it's just…" Reki hesitated, face slowly heating.
Langa peeked up at him, "Just what? Am I missing something? Back in Canada we--" He kept talking, but Reki had stopped listening.
Canada. Right. He must not understand. After all, it's a Japanese tradition, right? Maybe I shouldn't read too much into this.
"-ki. Reki?" Langa’s hands were waving in front of his eyes.
"Oh, sorry. I must've zoned out. What were you saying?" He bit his lip, wishing for once that the bell would ring, the teacher would show up, and this conversation would be over. He really didn't want to have to explain this to Langa.
Langa sighed and shook his head, seeming even more disappointed than before. "Nevermind," he said, sinking further down into his seat.
Reki felt his heart lurch at the thought of Langa being upset with him, and he opened his mouth to say something, anything, that would get the sad look to go away, but no words came. And then the teacher came in, and the moment was gone.
The hours ticked by so slowly Reki was sure that he was going to die. Langa hadn't bothered to even look his way throughout classes, and even ignored the note Reki had slipped to him. At lunch, Reki waited until the classroom was mostly empty, before grabbing Langa’s hand and the box of chocolates and pulling him up to the roof.
They didn't sit right away, not like their usual routine. Instead Reki held the box close to himself, and Langa stared firmly at the ground.
"So…" Reki started, just wishing the awkwardness to be done and past. "Thank you. For the chocolates. I'm sorry if I seemed...confused? I guess that's the best word for it. It's just…" He blinked, feeling his face start to turn red. Langa was looking at him now, arms crossed over his chest. "I don't know how it is in Canada, but a traditional Valentine's Day here in Japan is when girls get guys chocolate. And mostly it's only the guys they like. You know, like like. And the guys don't really do anything on Valentine's Day. It's our turn on White Day, which is in March."
Langa tilted his head and curled his arms around his chest tighter. "So I embarrassed you? With the chocolate?"
"No! No…" Reki bit the inside of his cheek. How do I put this...how do I get him to actually see me like I see him? "You just surprised me. You must've thought it was just a friends thing, like in Canada, right?"
Langa didn't say anything for a moment. It seemed like he was bracing himself. For what, Reki didn't know. Langa took a deep breath and stepped forward to Reki, putting his hands on his shoulders. "In Canada, on Valentine's Day we give the people we like gifts. I like you, Reki. And…" He bit his lip, staring somewhere past Reki’s face. "My mom is Japanese, you know. I know about the traditions. I overheard Joe saying something about making chocolates for Cherry, and I asked for his help. I mean, if Joe can give chocolate on Valentine's Day to the guy he likes, why couldn't I?" His face was bright red now, and Reki just blinked.
Joe and Cherry? Making chocolates...Wait, Langa knows?!
"You...like me?" Reki heard himself squeak. "You like like me?" He was sure that by now his whole face was red, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered except Langa’s answer.
Langa turned back to Reki and nodded slowly. "I...I've been wanting to say something for a while. I thought you liked me too, but it seems I misread the signs. I'm sorry if I--"
"NO!" Reki let the chocolates fall to the ground, wrapping his arms around Langa. "I...I like like you, too." He mumbled. He turned his face up to Langa’s, smiling. "Happy Valentine's Day, Langa." Langa blinked down at him, and a smile spread over his own face.
"Haply Valentine's Day, Reki."