Archive of Our Own

Langa had been a little homesick these past few days, Reki was very aware of that. The closer it got to Christmas, the more Langa complained about the lack of snow and about how warm it was outside. Reki felt bad, truly, because while he thought it was pretty cold outside, based on what Langa had told him of the winters in Canada, this didn’t even begin to compare. Langa had also repeatedly mentioned how it ‘didn’t really feel like Christmas’, even though the Hasegawa’s entire apartment was decorated floor to ceiling with more Christmas decorations than Reki had seen in his entire life. The walls were covered in some kind of leafy garland with pinecones attached to them that smelled like cinnamon, every door in the apartment had a different wreath on it, and Nanako had strategically placed numerous figurines of Santa, his reindeer, and different elves all over the countertops and tables. 

But, in the corner of their living room was a giant Christmas tree that Reki had helped Langa decorate the night before. Nanako had pulled out at least five plastic tubs full of ornaments for them to decorate with, and he and Langa set to work placing them all over the tree. Reki never really celebrated Christmas with his family, so he wasn’t really sure what he was doing, which was evident in the way that Langa would pout and glare at him every time he apparently put two ornaments too close together. It made Reki giggle every time— Langa’s face was just, it was just so kissable and god Reki wanted to kiss him so bad it hurt— and then that would make Langa pout even harder, and every time he would pout, Reki could faintly hear Nanako snickering from the direction of the kitchen.

But all of the decorations and the Christmas music that was constantly on loop did nothing to quell Langa’s melancholy. Reki could see it in the way Langa kept longingly staring out of the window, twiddling his thumbs together and sighing, obviously wishing that the landscape he was staring at was blanketed in a sheet of white snow. 

Which was why Reki set to work planning a Christmas Eve date for him and Langa. Only Langa wouldn’t know it was a date, not until the very end at least, because Reki had yet to confess to him. But he wanted to, fuck , he wanted to more than anything. Langa was all Reki could think about day and night, how beautiful Langa looked when he would zone out staring out of the window, or how his eyes glowed a brilliant blue, more so than normal, when Reki could see the lights on the Christmas tree reflected in them. Langa’s hair would fall over his eyes, and god, Reki longed to reach out and brush it behind his ear, feeling how soft the wispy strands of hair were. Reki had only touched his hair a few times, mostly by accident, but it was the softest thing he had ever felt. And even without the longing for how a Christmas felt in Canada, Langa was still the most beautiful thing Reki had ever seen. More beautiful than a pink sunset over the ocean, more beautiful than the rainbows that formed on days when the weather couldn’t quite decide if it should be rainy or sunny, more beautiful than the pictures of the mountains Langa had shown him time and time again.

And Reki was always enamored by just how gentle Langa was, despite his height. Langa was so soft, and so fragile, and Reki wanted to hold him close and protect him from the world; but Reki knew he was strong too. Langa could tough his way through anything, and he was brave enough to strap his feet to a skateboard without ever having ridden one before, just to defend Reki, and Langa’s bravery was another reason why Reki knew it.

He was absolutely head over heels in love with Langa.

So, naturally, planning the Christmas date seemed like the best thing Reki could do to simultaneously cheer Langa up and work up the nerve to confess to him. Reki still wasn’t sure how he was going to confess, because no matter how many times he scribbled down notes of everything he loved about Langa, no matter how many practice confessions Reki did in his bedroom mirror, nothing seemed good enough, not for Langa. He wanted it to be perfect, because Langa was perfect and he deserved only the best. He had watched Langa turn down numerous confessions from girls in their class, but Reki still held out hope that maybe Langa wouldn’t turn him down, because Reki knew him better than anyone else. He knew how sometimes when Langa laughed hard enough, he would snort, and he would smack his knees and wheeze, struggling to catch his breath. He knew that Langa would sometimes sleep face down on his pillow, snoring so loud that it woke Reki up from a dead sleep. And Reki knew that Langa, as tough and carefree as he seemed on the exterior, had really bad days sometimes, and just needed to curl up with a stuffed animal and cry until he fell asleep.

And Reki loved him for it. He loved every single piece of Langa, even what some people might consider bad pieces, Reki loved them all. 

Planning the date was harder than it seemed initially though. The list of Christmas related things to do in Okinawa was extremely small, despite how close it was to the holiday. While a lot of people in Okinawa did celebrate Christmas, they didn’t do it in the same way that Langa had in Canada, and Reki wanted the date to make Langa feel like— despite how warm it was by Langa’s standards— he was back home for a little while. 

“Hey, Langa?”

Langa whipped his head towards Reki, startled out of his train of thought by Reki saying his name, “Hm?”

“Did you ask your mom if you can come tomorrow?”

“Oh, yeah, she said yes,” Langa gave Reki a lazy smile, and Reki’s heart nearly burst out of his chest.

“Ah-- haha, good, I’m glad!” Reki wiped his sweaty palms against his shorts, mentally berating himself for getting all nervous just because Langa smiled at him. He really was a goner. 

“By the way, where are we going?”

“Dude, it’s a surprise! I’ve told you that a million times now!”

Langa pouted, his bottom lip sticking out— and oh dear god Reki wanted to kiss his stupid pouty lips right off of his face— and he turned his head away from Reki before mumbling, “But you know I hate surprises.”

Reki giggled at that and lightly smacked him on the head with the magazine he was currently reading, “that’s too bad then, because it’s staying a surprise no matter how much you pout.”

“I’m not pouting,” Langa grumbled.

“Yes you are.”

“Am not.”

“Are too!” Reki yelled before he tackled Langa onto the couch, pinching and pulling at his cheeks, causing Langa to flail his limbs wildly and knocking over the bag of chips they had been sharing.

Reki awoke the next morning with butterflies filling his gut, fluttering about and making the nerves all over his body twitch with nervousness. He had dropped his toothbrush at least three times before he finally managed to get a good grip on it, and he had nearly forgotten to actually wash his hair before he got out of the shower because he was too busy thinking about everything that might go wrong. Today, he was going to take Langa on a date that he didn’t know was a date and confess to him. Reki could hardly sleep the night before, and now it seemed like he could barely function at all. He was just so nervous, but he couldn’t chicken out now, like he had the numerous times in the past that he had nearly confessed to Langa. He planned everything down to the last detail, and even managed to come up with a few things to say during the confession— despite the fact that he knew he’d likely forget them while he was actually confessing, because every single time he looked into Langa’s eyes, his train of thought completely derailed and he ended up becoming nothing but a spluttering mess; but nonetheless, Reki was determined to work his way through a confession somehow. He had to, because he knew Langa was eventually bound to notice Reki constantly staring at him with hearts in his eyes.

Reki’s phone vibrated in his pocket, startling him back into a nervous state. 

|Langa: On my way over now

Reki started full blown panicking. It was easy to calm himself down in his bathroom when he was just thinking about confessing, but seeing Langa in person would likely reduce him into a pile of heart-shaped goo on the floor.

|Reki: See you soon man

After quickly putting on a hoodie and attempting to push down his seemingly untamable hair, Reki sat leaned against the wall in his entryway, unconsciously bouncing his leg up and down while waiting for Langa to arrive. He kept worrying at the skin around his fingernails, unable to stop the anxieties that were plaguing his mind. What if this was a bad idea? What if Langa did reject him, just as Reki had witnessed him reject so many others? The questions and what-if’s were endless, and Reki slammed his head back against the wall, trying to force the negativity out of his head, determined not to let his continuous self-doubt ruin what he wanted to be the perfect day for Langa. Reki had gotten much better about keeping his own insecurities in check after the fight between the two of them. Sometimes it was difficult, and there were a lot of days that he struggled and his thoughts ended up taking over and pushing all reason aside-- but not today. Reki wouldn’t let that happen today, because he loved Langa, and Langa deserved to know it.

A knock sounded on his door, and Reki practically threw himself at the door in his haste to pull it open, Langa’s eyes widening in shock at just how quickly Reki had gotten to the door. 

“Hey man! Come in, we still have a little bit before we have to leave!” Reki opened the door wider so that Langa could step through, trying extremely hard to ignore the butterflies resuming their fluttering in his stomach and the pink blush he could feel already dusting his cheeks.

Langa shucked his shoes off in the entryway and turned back to Reki, “So are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?”

Reki pouted and pinched the bridge of Langa’s nose, Langa scrunching his nose and trying to shake Reki off, “No! So stop asking already, you’ll know when we get there!”

Langa sulked, looking like a kicked puppy in the process, and Reki had to fight off the urge to kiss him. It seemed like he was doing that more and more these days.

After they sat for a while, Reki bringing Langa a glass of water and making too many jokes about a spectacular fall that Langa took the other day while they were at the skatepark, Reki checked the time on his phone and determined they should probably leave now so they could try to get seats on the train. 

“We’re going by train?” Langa’s eyes sparkled, a small grin tugging at the corner of his mouth, and Reki found himself blushing yet again.

“Yeah, it’s kind of out of the way,” Reki had to fight the urge to spill all of his plans for the day to Langa, he was awful at keeping secrets, “by the way, you should leave your board here.”

Langa looked worriedly down at his board and then back up at Reki, his eyebrows creasing, “We aren’t skating?”

Reki giggled at that, Langa’s obvious dejection at not being able to skate for a few hours being extremely endearing to him, “No, but I’m not telling you why we aren’t either!” Reki flicked the tip of Langa’s nose and ran off in the direction of the train station, Langa following quickly behind him.

The train was packed, and Reki could sense that Langa was getting anxious. He kept rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet and clenching and unclenching his fists, his eyes repeatedly flitting back and forth.

“Langa, man, are you okay?” Reki gently brushed against his shoulder, letting his fingertips touch Langa’s hand for only a moment before pulling away, knowing that he really shouldn’t try to hold Langa’s hand in public— not yet at least.

“Yeah, it’s just… a lot of people. I’ll be okay,” he smiled gently at Reki, which of course resulted in Reki blushing so hard his ears started turning red. 

At that moment, the train doors opened for passengers to get on and off, and a lot of the crowd dissipated, leaving quite a few seats open. 

“Let’s sit,” Reki gently tugged on Langa’s arm, pulling him towards the seats. They sat down directly next to each other, their thighs gently pressed together, and Reki had to fight down a blush, ultimately deciding to watch the Okinawan coastline passing by in a blur. It was beautiful, that much was true. The golden hues of the sun, highlighting the waves that were gently lapping at the shore. The blue of the sky, a beautiful color, but one that— at least to Reki— couldn’t compare in the slightest to the color of Langa’s eyes. 

Langa gently placed his head on Reki’s shoulder, pulling Reki out of his thoughts, his eyes going wide in shock.

“Langa?”

“Is this okay Reki?” Langa mumbled against his shoulder, and god, Reki could feel every warm puff of breath from each word he said.

“Y-Yeah man, it’s uh… it’s cool!” Reki panicked and scratched at the back of his head nervously, looking around to make sure no one was staring at him. He was very aware that he was blushing and stuttering, and he really didn’t want to be privy to the judgment of other passengers. 

Of course it was okay that Langa wanted to lay on his shoulder, Reki thought about it all of the time. On nights he couldn’t sleep, he’d lay in bed and stare at the ceiling, knowing he’d sleep better if he had Langa’s warmth next to him. He would think about Langa, mumbling and kicking in his sleep like he always did, slinging his arm over Reki’s middle and pulling him in close. After these thoughts always crossed through Reki’s mind, he’d always blush furiously and bury his face in his pillow, letting out a silent scream. Langa had slept next to Reki many times, but he had never actually cuddled him, but god, Reki always wished he would.

And now, here Langa was, laying on Reki’s shoulder like it was nothing. Like Reki’s heart wasn’t about to beat out of his chest, and oh god, Langa could probably hear how fast his heart was beating.

They traveled like that for a while, Reki trying not to explode on the spot as Langa started to fall asleep on his shoulder. Reki tucked his hands under his thighs, trying to avoid absent-mindedly petting Langa’s hair, because it was so incredibly tempting to let his fingers card through the soft blue locks. 

Overhead, it was announced that the next stop was the one that Reki planned for them to get off at. Gently nudging Langa’s head with his shoulder, he whispered in his ear, “Hey sleepyhead, it’s time to get off.”

Langa mumbled and lifted his head off of Reki’s shoulder, rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hand. Reki couldn’t help but to smile at how adorable Langa was when he was tired. His eyelids drooped low, making his eyelashes gently brush his cheeks with every slow blink, and Reki could watch the world slowly swim into focus through Langa’s eyes. “How long was I asleep?”

“Only for about twenty minutes, now let’s go,” Reki smiled and stood, offering his hand to Langa. 

Langa grabbed Reki’s hand, and Reki pulled Langa out onto the platform, Langa allowing himself to be led since he had no idea where they were. 

Reki kept pulling Langa along, taking quick glances at his phone to make sure they were heading in the right direction, and sneaking looks at Langa, because he couldn’t quite help himself. One of his favorite things about Langa is that he looked at anything new with a hint of wonder in his eyes. Even though the street they were walking down looked pretty much the same as any other in Okinawa, Langa still had sparkles in his eyes, and a shy smile on his face. 

“Will you tell me where we’re going now, Reki?” 

Reki giggled at that, letting go of Langa’s hand, because well, maybe he had been holding it a bit too long for two people who were just friends, even though he wanted to be so, so much more than that. 

Coming to a dead stop in front of a store, Reki turned to Langa and gestured broadly at the storefront. “This, this is where we’re going!” 

Langa had a look of confusion on his face, his bottom lip sticking out in a slight pout, and Reki was once again bombarded by the fact that he wanted to kiss Langa’s stupid face every time he did that, “why are we at a department store?”

“You’ll see, now come on,” Reki walked into the store, which by all means was massive. He had only ever been to department stores a few times in his life, preferring to buy his own clothes from skate shops and other smaller, local places. Langa, his breath hitching and ocean blue eyes widening, seemed amazed by all of the small trinkets that were on display throughout the entire store, a lot of them being small figurines of typical Japanese characters, as well as a lot of touristy items. It made Reki’s heart soar to be able to witness Langa experiencing things like this for the first time. Sure, it was a typical tourist trap, but Langa seemed excited, and that was enough to make Reki’s face break out into a wide grin.

But they weren’t here for the figurines or tourist items at all. Reki had found this store while frantically searching online for somewhere, anywhere in Okinawa that sold Christmas sweaters— the first part of Reki’s plan to give Langa a Christmas themed date-that-he-didn’t-know-was-a-date. He wanted to buy them matching Christmas sweaters to wear for the second part of their date— ‘cause just because Langa didn’t know it was a date didn’t mean Reki didn’t want to do typical couple-y things like wear dumb matching sweaters— and there were very few stores in Okinawa that sold them. Which, Reki presumed, was a direct result of the climate where they lived. But he had managed to find the store that they were in now, which had a decent selection of different kinds of sweaters. 

He directed Langa to the back of the store where all of the clothing was located, and when he spotted the racks of sweaters, he grabbed Langa’s hand again, not caring anymore that they weren’t supposed to be holding hands, Reki was too excited to care. He watched Langa’s face when he grabbed his hand to make sure he wasn’t making him uncomfortable the way Langa sometimes got uncomfortable around too many people— and to Reki’s surprise, he watched a very faint blush grace Langa’s cheeks. Though, Reki wasn’t sure if it was from the hand holding or the fact that they were currently staring down a rack full of Christmas themed sweaters.

Reki gently nudged his foot against Langa’s ankle, “C’mon man, pick out one you like.”

Langa’s eyes went impossibly wider, his blush deepening, and Reki felt Langa grip his hand tight, “A Christmas sweater?”

“Yeah man, that’s why we came to this store. I-I wanted to buy one for you…” Reki started scratching at the back of his head nervously, squeezing Langa’s hand right back. He hadn’t considered that Langa might not even like sweaters. Maybe Langa didn’t want to wear matching sweaters with him, maybe this whole date-not-a-date thing was stupid and Reki was stupid for spending so much time planning it. He knew his thoughts were starting to spiral out of control, but it was such a hard thing to fight sometimes. Sometimes Reki just wanted to let that pit of despair swallow him up whole and—

Reki noticed Langa’s eyes started watering. 

“Langa, hey, hey man, are you okay? What’s wrong? If you don’t like it, it’s totally fine I—”

“Reki.”

“— understand, I didn’t even think to ask if you would want a sweater, I’m sorry, we can—”

“ Reki , Reki,” Langa let go of Reki’s hand and grabbed him squarely on the shoulders, turning Reki to face him with a determined look on his face, despite the tears making their way down his cheeks, “Reki. I love this. The.. the last time I bought a Christmas sweater was… well I was with my dad, but I was just a little kid so it doesn’t fit anymore…” Langa averted his eyes, dropping his hands from Reki’s shoulders and wringing his hands together, “I’m just really happy, Reki. Thank you.”

Reki’s thoughts ground to a halt. Langa did like the sweater idea. He was currently crying, but not sad crying, no.. he was happy. Reki could feel an itch forming under his skin, the kind of itch that made him want to hold Langa’s hand again and brush the tears off of his eyelashes and kiss his cheeks until he was giggling, with no tears threatening to spill, not even the happy kind. He didn’t like to see Langa cry, but at least this was a good kind of crying. But Reki couldn’t unabashedly hold his hand, kiss him, and wipe his tears away gently, not yet. He didn’t want to risk pushing Langa away, even though he knew Langa would always be his friend no matter what, he didn’t want to ruin his chance for something more than just friends.

Brushing his tears away with the back of his hand, Langa started to sift through the rack of sweaters. There were all different kinds of sweaters, extremely patterned ones that were bright green and red, ones with little fluffy things all over it— which Reki made a face at, and Langa snickered, telling him that ‘ugly Christmas sweater parties’ were apparently a very common thing in Canada— and ones that looked like they had actual lights attached to a reindeer's nose. Reki was definitely out of his element here, because when he thought of Christmas sweaters, he literally just thought of sweaters with some kind of Christmas design on it, not… whatever was going on with these sweaters.

Langa pulled out a few of the uglier sweaters, holding them up to his body and making funny faces, and Reki had to hide his face behind his hands so he wouldn’t laugh too loud and draw too much attention to them. Langa feigned modeling a few more sweaters for Reki while going through the rack, before he stopped on a different one and pulled it out.

It was a black turtleneck sweater, slightly oversized, and all that was on it was a small embroidered Christmas tree. Reki could see the sparkle in Langa’s eyes, and knew immediately that this was the sweater Langa would pick. Unlike Reki’s wardrobe, Langa had a tendency to wear black and white most of the time, he didn’t wear much in the way of color, except for whenever he borrowed one of Reki’s hoodies.

The first time Langa had asked Reki to borrow a hoodie, Reki was so shocked he started to choke on the food he was eating, and Langa had to pound him repeatedly on the back to get the food up. Apparently Langa didn’t understand that borrowing someone’s clothes was something usually reserved for couples, and when Reki had told him this, he had turned such a bright shade of red that Reki thought he was going to pass out, so he frantically forced Langa to drink some water.

But Reki had given Langa a hoodie to wear anyways, because Reki did want Langa to be his boyfriend, so why wouldn’t he? And maybe Reki had avoided washing that hoodie for far too long after Langa had given it back, but it smelled like him and Reki found it incredibly comforting. 

Langa looked at Reki with a hint of excitement, “I want this one Reki.”

With as many times as Reki had blushed today, he would have expected to have gone lightheaded, but he just gave Langa a knowing sort of look and grabbed another one of the same sweater that Langa had in his hand, and started walking to the register. Confused, Langa cocked his head in Reki’s direction, and Reki elaborated, “I want us to wear matching sweaters. Besides, those other ones are..” Reki feigned a look of disgust, and the laugh that Langa let out sounded akin to a hyena, which in turn made Reki burst out in a loud fit of laughter.

The woman currently manning the cash register did not seem amused at all by their outburst, which had Langa snickering into the back of his hand while Reki paid for the sweaters— he had planned to previously, of course, because he wasn’t gonna take Langa out and make him pay for his own surprise, that was ridiculous. 

Walking out of the store, Langa was smiling down at the bag he insisted on carrying, even though Reki wanted to be the gentlemanly one and carry it for Langa, but he gave in and let Langa carry it after he gave Reki that look. The one that had Reki instantly weak in the knees, and willing to do just about anything Langa would ask of him, because fuck he was just so adorable. And while they were walking, Langa reached out and grabbed Reki’s hand, lighting a fire deep in Reki’s belly. So.. maybe Langa did want to hold his hand after all. He had reached out and grabbed Reki’s hand first, so that had to mean something. 

Langa smiled, content, looking up at the sky as they walked. “Thank you for the sweater Reki,” he murmured, still focusing his attention elsewhere, not looking at Reki while he talked, “I really do love it. I’m glad we came here.”

Feeling a soft blush grace his cheeks, Reki smiled, looking down at their conjoined hands. Langa had such pretty, elegant hands compared to Reki’s. His hands were pale, making the scars from all the times that he had fallen while skateboarding more obvious, and Reki could see the rough edges of Langa’s cuticles, where he would sometimes bite when he got nervous. Over time, Reki had gotten into the habit of gently pulling Langa’s hand away from his face when he did this, but only when he knew it wouldn’t overwhelm Langa for him to do so. Reki rubbed his thumb across Langa’s fingernails, which were currently void of color, but sometimes Langa would let Reki’s little sisters paint them any color they chose. Langa really did have such pretty hands. Everything about him was pretty. 

“Well,” Reki said, turning his face back up towards Langa, looking at the way the sun kissed his eyelashes and made them glow a brilliant gold, “that’s not the only reason we came here.”

Langa hummed his response, clearly lost in thought.

That’s okay, Reki supposed. He would let Langa think, as they still had a bit of a walk ahead of them. They could take one of the city buses Reki had originally planned on it, but walking hand in hand with Langa made him reconsider. It was calming, to just feel the sun on his face, to be able to absentmindedly rub his thumb back and forth against the knuckles of Langa’s hand. He didn’t want a potentially crowded bus to interrupt the peaceful atmosphere around them.

So they walked, hand in hand, Langa not once questioning where they were going. He was still lost in thought, still staring into the sky like he was searching for something, thinking about something. Reki would occasionally check in on him by squeezing his hand, and Langa would always squeeze right back, something that let Reki know that Langa was okay, his mind was just elsewhere. 

Reki could see the building in the distance, even larger than the department store they were just in. It imposed upon the landscape surrounding it, casting a deep shadow, looking almost ominous. Or like a giant warehouse, but it was a bit unnerving how large it was. Though, Reki supposed, it would need to be because of what it housed. 

The glass doors that served as the entrance to the building slid open, revealing an elegant interior. There was a deep red, intricately patterned rug that spanned the length of the entire floor, all the way up to the reception desk, at which sat a young woman whose eyes snapped up to meet theirs, yelling out a quick ‘welcome' as they walked in. To the left of the entrance was a small gift shop, and Reki pulled Langa into it.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Langa looked around, his eyes taking on that familiar gleam that made Reki’s heart flutter.

“Where are we, Reki?” 

Reki walked slowly up and down the isles with Langa in tow, knowing what he was looking for. “You’ll see soon enough,” he said, squeezing Langa’s hand. 

Rounding a corner into another aisle, Reki saw what he was looking for— a large assortment of gloves and hats. His eyes caught on a set of both, a pale purple color that matched one of his favorite hoodies, and he reached up to get them off of the shelf while also eyeing a pair of gloves that matched Langa’s hair— he knew they would look adorable on him. Blue was such a good color on Langa.

“Why are we getting gloves?” Langa asked, his tone laced with a hint of confusion.

“Like I said already,” Reki giggled, swatting playfully at Langa’s shoulder, “You’ll see! Do you want a hat or not?”

Langa grimaced, clearly not fond of the idea, so Reki just grabbed him the blue pair of gloves, and walked briskly to the register to pay for it. His level of excitement was skyrocketing, making his toes wiggle in his shoes and his nose scrunch up from the smile that was permanently plastered on his face at this point. 

Langa would love this, he knew it. Reki had spent so much time planning and just trying to find something to do that would remind Langa of his home back in Canada— because the sweaters were nice, but Langa deserved so much more, he deserved the world— and finding a place like this in Okinawa was shocking. He was genuinely surprised he never knew it existed, but then again, anything outside of the realm of skateboarding wasn’t exactly Reki’s cup of tea. 

He walked up to the reception desk and the woman smiled up at them, glancing back and forth between the two before giving Reki a smile and a knowing look. Reki blushed up to the tip of his ears, and of course Langa didn’t seem any the wiser to the nearly telepathic conversation Reki was having with the receptionist. 

“I, um, I booked a timeslot in advance?” Reki mumbled, absolutely refusing to make eye contact with the woman.

She chuckled, “What’s the last name?” her voice lilted with amusement. 

“Kyan,” Reki shuffled his feet nervously, glancing up at Langa to see if he had realized the woman assumed they were dating, but he still seemed oblivious to the conversation, his eyes scanning the details of the lobby they were in; the Christmas tree in the corner, the coffee and hot chocolate station, and the plush red couches that surrounded a dark brown coffee table. Langa squeezed Reki’s hand as a look of yearning flashed in his eyes, a small smile gracing his face.

“Great! If you take the hallway to the right, the first door on the left is the locker room that all of our skates are stored in, and then at the end of the hall is the entrance! Have fun,” she winked at Reki, and Reki nearly died of embarrassment on the spot. 

Reki quickly pulled Langa along, and he could hear the receptionist giggle as they walked away. She definitely knew this was a date, even if Langa didn’t.

“Skates?” Langa questioned as he looked at Reki quizzically, his eyebrows raising up so high that Reki had to suppress a snort of laughter.

“Ah, well, there’s no point in hiding it anymore. This is an indoor ice skating rink!” Reki chuckled and pushed open the door to the locker room, gesturing to Langa to enter before him. After all, he still wanted to be gentlemanly, even if Langa wouldn’t let him carry their shopping bags earlier.

Reki waited, holding the door, expecting Langa to walk through. But after a few seconds had passed, Reki turned to see Langa standing perfectly still, eyes wide and looking directly at Reki.

“Ice skating?” Langa questioned, his words quiet and muffled, almost like he could barely breathe. The intensity of Langa’s stare made a shiver go up Reki’s spine, a dark blush rising anew on his cheeks.

“Y-yeah man.. Couldn’t exactly, um, find somewhere to snowboard, yanno? So I figured— I mean, it’s cold in ice skating rinks.” Reki tore his gaze away from Langa, the prolonged eye contact filling him with nervous energy, and he couldn’t bear to maintain it a second longer. “Cold like it is in Canada, so—”

He felt arms winding their way around his waist, and a heavy head falling onto his shoulder. Reki’s eyes went wide in shock, his body feeling heavier and heavier the longer that Langa held on. Usually Reki was the one to initiate their contact, Langa seemingly either not minding it or just tolerating it for Reki’s sake. The most contact that Langa had ever initiated between the two of them was when they held each other’s hands earlier, but this.. this was different. Reki could feel Langa’s body heat, could feel the thrumming of his heart against his own chest, could feel every exhale of Langa’s breath against his neck. It was unbearably warm, but in such a comforting way. 

Reki returned the gesture, putting his arms around Langa’s shoulders and pulling him in closer. They breathed together steadily, in silence, for what felt like ages. But Reki knew he would stand there for eternity if Langa kept holding onto him like this. 

“Thank you, Reki,” Langa moved to pull away from their embrace, Reki reluctantly letting go of him, “this is just, it’s so amazing. That you found a place like this to bring me to. I’m so excited.” Langa looked at Reki with the gentlest eyes and softest smile, and Reki could swear that he died and went to heaven, because it was the most angelic thing that he had ever seen.

“Yeah, of course dude,” Reki picked up their shopping bags that Langa had previously dropped, and shoved them into Langa’s arms, “Now put on your sweater and gloves and get some skates. It’s supposed to be super cold in there.”

Walking while wearing ice skates was a lot harder than Reki had anticipated. He had the skate guards on, sure, but that didn’t make it any easier to balance, nor did the plush mat that was lining the rest of the hall to the rink. Langa, on the other hand, seemed to be faring just fine walking in them.

“How the hell are you so good at walking in these things man?!” Reki snapped out when he nearly twisted his ankle for about the fifth time.

Langa glanced over his shoulder at Reki and shrugged, “I don’t know. I just walk like normal.” Reki groaned loudly and kept moving, his steps wobbly. He was deathly afraid of stepping onto the ice at this point, considering he could barely take normal steps in the skates. 

Langa opened up the door that led to the rink and stopped dead in his tracks. Reki, having finally managed to walk to the door without falling, knew why immediately. 

One thing that ultimately made Reki decide to take Langa here wasn’t the fact that it was an ice skating rink. While he had been looking for something cold, the pictures of the actual rink itself are what drew him in. Though, pictures couldn’t do justice to what was currently right in front of his eyes.

The entire rink was lined by trees. Actual, living, pine and maple trees, all around the rink. Reki didn’t know how they planted them there and kept them alive, but the sheer height of them made it clear why the rink needed to be in such a huge warehouse. Soft Christmas music was playing through speakers hidden among the trees. Reki couldn’t understand the song that was playing currently— it was in English— but it was slow and romantic and caused him to blush profusely. And lining the entire rink were tons of lights, glimmering and reflecting off of the surface of the ice, reminiscent of how stars looked in the night sky. But, arguably the showstopper of it all, placed right in the center of the rink was a Christmas tree that towered over them, covered in hundreds, if not thousands, of small, twinkling lights. The sight of it all was absolutely breathtaking. 

“Reki..” Langa breathed, a whisper. Reki could see the lights reflected in those impossibly blue eyes, like a thousand suns personalized just for Langa. Reki’s heart stuttered in his chest at the sight, reminding him just how beautiful Langa always was. More and more, Reki had found himself staring. Anything Langa did, any slight expression that graced his delicate features, Reki would stare unabashedly— until Langa would point it out, and Reki would quickly say something to distract him away from the fact that he just couldn’t stop staring.

Reki closed his eyes, letting the moment soak in, coating his heart with a heavy warmth. Langa liked the surprise. He could tell by the wonder in his eyes, the way his breath hitched, the way he was just planted in the doorway, still. “Let’s skate, Langa.”

Langa took a deep breath and walked through the door, Reki trailing close behind. They stopped for a moment on the edge of the ice to slip off the skate guards, and Langa stepped onto the ice first, graceful as always. Reki allowed himself to watch for just a short moment— the gentle movements of Langa’s legs, nearly imperceptible— as he turned himself around to reach out both of his hands to Reki, beckoning him to follow. 

Reki’s legs were even wobblier than they were previously, with the guards on. Now that they were off, he felt like he could fall over at any second. 

“I-I don’t know if I can do this, Langa.” Reki looked down at his legs and back up into Langa’s eyes just in time to see him laugh. “Come on dude it isn’t funny!”

Langa let out a few giggles and skated closer to Reki, holding out his hands yet again, “You can do it, Reki. Just hold on to me.”

Reki reached out, grabbing ahold of Langa’s hands and nearly falling face-first into the ice in the process. Taking a few tentative steps forward, he was on the ice. His legs started shaking even more, his knees bending inwards in an attempt to keep himself upright as Langa pulled them farther and farther from the edge of the rink.

“I don’t get how you’re amazing at skateboarding but can’t ice skate. It’s the same concept,” Langa snickered.

“It’s not! On a skateboard both of my feet are balanced on the same thing, but with this— uwah! ” Reki fell onto his knees, pulling Langa down with him in the process. “See! It’s hard to balance evenly on both feet!”

Langa laughed and pushed himself back up with ease, making Reki pout. “Come on Reki, don’t pout, I’ll help you.” Reki crossed his arms over his chest, sat down fully on the ice, and huffed, turning his face away from Langa. He could feel the cold of the ice seeping through his jeans, but even still he refused to back down. “ Rekiiiiii , come on, I’m sorry for laughing!” 

“No you’re not!” 

“I am,” Langa sat down next to Reki on the ice and Reki chanced a glance over at him, and realized that Langa was giving him those damn puppy dog eyes that Langa knew Reki couldn’t say no to, “Come on, let me teach you how Reki. You taught me to skateboard, let me do this for you.”

Reki groaned and held his hands back out to Langa, “Fine. But no laughing at me!”

“I promise I won’t,” Langa grabbed Reki’s hands and pulled him to his feet, and Reki could feel his legs starting to tremble again. “Okay Reki, now just bend your knees slightly like you do when you’re skateboarding,” Reki did as Langa said and could immediately feel his legs start to tremble less, “Good, straighten your back a bit— just like that. Now try to take a step forward. It’s okay to keep your other foot on the ground for balance until you get more used to it.”

Reki took a step forward and his arms flew out to his sides, trying to maintain his balance.

“Try to slide your foot instead of an actual step, you’re lifting too high.”

Reki huffed determinedly. He wanted to be able to ice skate! He had paid more money than he cared to admit in order to bring Langa here, and to make sure they’d have the rink to themselves, and he didn’t want Langa to spend the entire time trying to teach him how to skate properly!

Setting one foot in front of the other, Reki pushed off with his back foot and was surprised when he slid, just slightly, across the ice. Without falling, too! He looked back up at Langa with pride, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw how Langa was looking back at him— his cheeks were bright red and Reki could see his eyes sparkling, the same way they sparkled when Langa saw the beach for the first time, the same way they sparkled when Reki ollied over him the first time, the same way they sparkled whenever Reki showed him anything new. But this time, he was watching Reki with that sparkle in his eye. 

Filled with a new kind of confidence, Reki took another step, and another, until he was skating across the ice without feeling like he was going to fall. He was still moving at a relatively slow pace, but he was doing it. 

“Reki!” Langa yelled out, along with a soft laugh, and skated towards him, grabbing Reki’s hand and pulling him along even faster. 

“W-Wait Langa! This is too fast!” Reki tried to brace his feet against the ice and nearly ended up falling, but Langa caught him with an arm around his waist. 

“Don’t worry, Reki, I won’t let you fall,” Langa gently placed him back down, and once Reki got his footing, they were off again.

They skated for what felt like hours— gliding along the ice, letting whatever music was playing over the speakers guide their pace. Sometimes, now that Reki was getting the hang of skating, they’d separate to skate around the Christmas tree, only to collide into each other’s arms again on the other side. By the time Reki checked his phone, he realized they had almost overstayed the time that he booked for them to have the rink for themselves. 

After changing out of their skates and sweaters— because as much as Reki wanted to keep wearing his matching sweater with Langa, he knew it would be far too hot outside to do that— they walked back out into the lobby, Reki quickly walking up to the receptionist, citing to Langa that he ‘just needed to make sure she knew they left’— and if Langa saw the receptionist hand Reki a small envelope, he didn’t say anything. 

Reki nearly fell asleep multiple times on the train. Spending the day shopping and ice skating had worn him out in much the same manner that skateboarding usually did, and he caught his eyes closing against his will multiple times on the way home. Which would do him absolutely no favors, considering Langa was asleep, and if one of them wasn’t awake they’d miss their stop.

Reki, fighting the sleep that was threatening to close his eyes again, instead looked over and let himself gaze at Langa’s sleeping form. He had the back of his head resting against the train window, mouth agape, and a little drool running down his chin. If only the girls in his class that practically worshipped the ground Langa walked on could see him now. Reki giggled at the thought, before noticing that Langa was clutching his Christmas sweater protectively against his chest. He realized that Langa seemed… happier, today, than he had in a long while. Even when they were walking to the ice rink earlier, and Langa seemed spaced out, he wasn’t, not really. Not like the times where you practically had to grab his shoulders and violently shake him just to get his attention.

The sign above Reki’s head let him know that they were nearing their stop, and so Reki gently roused Langa, shaking his shoulder gently.

“Mmmuh?” Langa sat straight up, blinking at Reki sleepily. 

“It’s our stop next— hey! Stop falling asleep!” Reki pinched Langa’s shoulder, causing Langa to swat at his arm, “And wipe the drool off of your cheek.”

Langa lazily rubbed at his cheek with his shirt sleeve as he blinked his eyes fully open.

The walk back to Langa’s apartment was nerve-wracking. For Reki, at least. He still didn’t know how he was going to confess to Langa, and the day was drawing nearer and nearer to a close. But he had to, today was perfect and he set everything up just right. It was really the perfect opportunity, and he couldn’t let it just pass him by. 

Kicking off his shoes in the entryway, Reki slowly padded his way into the apartment behind Langa.

“My mom isn’t home,” Langa stated as he flicked on the lights, nonchalantly, as if those words didn’t just set a million butterflies loose in Reki’s stomach that felt like they were going to eat him alive from the inside out.

“O-Oh! Perfect, great, yeah!” Reki mentally slapped himself. He couldn’t possibly be acting any weirder. Hopefully Langa didn’t notice. “So anyways, I was hoping, uhm, maybe we could watch your favorite Christmas movie? I haven’t really seen any before.”

“Oh, yeah sure! Let me grab a few and we can pick a couple to watch,” Langa shuffled over to their TV stand, rummaging around in the mountain of DVD’s they had stored below it. 

Reki used the time he had available now that Langa was distracted to quickly and quietly turn down the thermostat a few degrees. Well, maybe more than a few, but for the next part of his confession plan to work, he needed the apartment to be really, really cold. 

“Okay, so there’s a few options, but these are my favorites,” Langa laid out four different movies on the coffee table, his eyes flicking back and forth between Reki and the movies excitedly as he watched Reki choose between them.

Reki glanced down at the movies, and his eyes snagged on one that had his nose crinkling up in disgust, “What is that ?”

Following Reki’s line of sight, Langa let out a breathy laugh, “That’s the Grinch.”

“The what?”

“The Grinch. I.. I don’t actually know what he is,” Langa’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion as he looked at the DVD cover, “But either way,” he continued, unphased by the revelation that he had no idea what kind of creature the Grinch was supposed to be, “This was my favorite movie as a kid. We’d always watch it, every year.”

Reki grabbed the movie from him, staring at it for a few seconds before nodding his head vigorously, “Okay, okay. Go ahead and put it on!”

Langa put the DVD in the player before walking to their hallway closet, Reki eyeing him curiously.

“What are you doing?”

“Grabbing blankets. It feels really cold in here.”

Reki smiled knowingly to himself— and with a hint of smugness in his voice said, “I didn’t know snow could get cold.”

Langa snorted and threw a blanket on Reki’s head, causing Reki to release a yelp, “Contrary to what you might believe, I do. But I definitely prefer being cold over being too hot,” Langa settled on the couch next to Reki and pulled the blanket off of his head, settling it over both of their laps. 

“No way man, being cold is awful. I definitely prefer the heat,” Reki reached up and smoothed his hair back down— as much as his hairstyle and headband would allow, anyway.

“Can’t relate. When you get cold you can just put on as many layers as it takes to get warm. When you get too warm, sure, you can take off layers, but you can only take so many off.”

Reki huffed, pulling the blanket up to his chest before muttering, “I guess.” Then— “Oh! I forgot,” Reki shouted, throwing the blanket off of himself and sprinting to his bag, rummaging through it.

“Forgot what?” Langa asked quizzically. 

“This!” Reki thrust his hand into the air so Langa could see what he was holding, “And this!”

“Hot chocolate!” Langa cheered, his eyes crinkling up in the corners with that smile that always made Reki feel like he was going to melt into a puddle on the floor, “And our sweaters?”

Reki nearly died of happiness at Langa’s use of our . Getting matching sweaters was definitely one of, if not the best idea he had ever had, “Yes! I even made sure to get your favorite kind. And I figured we could wear our sweaters too. Yanno.. t-to stay warm!” Reki flushed a scarlet red.

“You managed to get Ghirardelli?” Langa gasped.

“You wouldn’t believe how hard it was to find,” Reki feigned exasperation at the thought, making Langa giggle, “But I remember you mentioning it’s the kind you always drank as a kid, so..”

“Here, let me come help—”

“No!” Reki shouted out, pointing his finger at Langa, “You stay right there. I wanna make it!”

Langa raised his hands in surrender, “Fine, fine. But you better use milk. If you use water I swear to—”

“I won’t, I won’t!” Reki skittered into the kitchen and put a small pot of milk on the stove to heat while Langa slipped on his sweater. His plan was going well so far, even though he definitely thought Langa would have realized something was up a few times already. Thankfully, it seems like he hasn’t noticed. Either that, or he’s just gotten really good at ignoring when Reki is acting weird. Whatever. Either way, everything was going according to plan! Well.. what little planning he had done, anyways. 

After heating the milk— and pouring in double the amount of cocoa powder than was recommended on the box, because, according to Langa ‘ it’s never enough ’— Reki settled on the couch, slyly attempting to sit closer to Langa than he normally would. It’s not like he really gave Langa much personal space to begin with, a habit he could never seem to break because Langa was just too cute and Reki couldn’t help but to want to be as close to him as possible, but this just felt more.. intimate than usual. He and Langa were on a plush couch, wrapped up in the same blanket, thighs and shoulders brushing with even just the slightest movement, hot chocolate in their hands heating them up even more than just their shared body heat did. It felt so warm and comfortable, and in the back of his mind Reki realized this is what he wanted, forever. Ah, and now he was blushing, seemingly for no reason to Langa. 

Reki cleared his throat, picking up the remote and pressing play on the movie. 

“I don’t get it!” Reki shouted, frustratedly tugging on the ends of his hair.

“What don’t you get?!” 

“He’s! He’s just— ugh , he’s so mean! I don’t like him!” Reki threw his head against the back of the couch, digging his palms into his eyes.

“But his heart grew three sizes Reki! And he gave Christmas back and—”

“But he still stole it in the first place!” Reki thumped his head against the back of the couch again.

Langa sighed out a chuckle at how frustrated Reki was, and Reki lifted his head to watch as Langa reached towards the coffee table to pick out the next movie. Langa’s so pretty , was Reki’s first thought. How he looked next to Reki in that moment, tousled hair sticking up in different directions from sinking into the couch and pulling the blanket around his shoulders, a small smile permanently etched onto his face for hours, his warm eyes focused on the movies in front of him, bundled up in a Christmas sweater that matched the one Reki was wearing. It was just the most absolutely beautiful Reki had ever seen him, aside from maybe the very first time he had laid eyes on Langa. Langa looked so sad back then, so lost in his own head, and Reki was instantly enamored with the boy who had never said very much about himself. Slowly though, Reki was able to coax him out of his shell. The more that he had wiggled and prodded his way into Langa’s life, the more that Langa began to let down the walls he had built around himself in his grief. And Reki was never anything less than grateful for that, because it let him see Langa’s smile, hear his laugh, and learn more about him every single day. 

“I like you.” 

Langa stopped dead in his tracks, his previous smile replaced with a look of astonishment and shock as he turned his head towards Reki.

Reki’s mind had finally caught up with his mouth, and he floundered, hard. His mouth opened and closed, seemingly trying to get words out, even though none came. Langa continued to stare at him throughout the entire thing, making Reki’s face heat and burn hotter than he had ever felt in his life. 

Quickly yanking the blanket out from underneath him and Langa, Reki flattened himself on the couch and covered his head and entire body with it. 

Fuck. Oh shit oh—

That was absolutely not what he was planning to say. Nowhere near it, in fact. Reki hadn’t planned his exact words, but literally just shouting out the fact that he liked Langa wasn’t anything close to what he was wanting to do. Not at all. And then he hid under the blanket out of a mixture of nervousness, embarrassment, and shame. Stupid. But he couldn’t get out from under the blanket now, it was too late for that, that would be a million times more embarrassing! And Langa still hadn’t said anything. Why hadn’t he said anything? Reki’s anxiety level skyrocketed the longer he stayed hidden under the blanket, Langa completely silent. 

I shouldn’t have said anything, fuck, I knew it, I knew I would ruin this, this was an awful idea, and now Langa won’t—

Reki could feel the blanket being gently tugged off of his body and he clutched it tighter, wanting to just stay hidden under it forever at this point. Maybe he could melt into the couch instead. That’s not totally unrealistic, right?

“Reki.” Langa pulled on the blanket harder, slipping it free of Reki’s grasp. 

Reki tried to roll over and squish his face into the couch cushions so that Langa couldn’t look at him, but Langa stopped him with a hand against his shoulder.

“ Reki. ” Langa turned Reki’s face towards his own with a gentle hand grasping his chin, and oh , Langa was smiling again. 

“I like you too, Reki.” 

Reki searched Langa’s eyes, worried this might be some kind of joke, because how could he ever get so lucky, but.. Langa’s eyes were filled with adoration. Adoration that was aimed directly at Reki, and his heart started beating rapidly in his chest because oh my god Langa was looking at Reki like he was the most precious thing in the world, and— was Langa getting closer? 

“Can I kiss you?” Langa had the most hopeful look in his eyes that Reki had ever seen, and Reki tried to contain his excitement as he nodded his head repeatedly.

“Y-Yeah, yes, please,” Reki reached up tentatively and laid his hand against the back of Langa’s neck just as Langa was leaning down and—

It was a little awkward at first because their noses bumped together a couple of times, until Langa cupped Reki’s cheek and tilted his head, and then their teeth clashed together because they were both too excited, but Reki could feel the soft slide of Langa’s lips against his own and it was perfect . 

“You really like me?” Reki asked when he pulled away to take a gasping breath.

Langa nodded, his hair tickling Reki’s cheek, “I do, I really, really like you Reki.” 

Reki brought his free hand up to cup the back of Langa’s head and pressed their lips together again, threading his fingers through Langa’s hair trying to pull him impossibly closer and Langa whined at the tug on his hair, making Reki’s heart beat so hard that he was pretty sure Langa could hear it. Langa pulled away for a split second, readjusting himself so that he was straddling Reki’s lap, and then they were kissing again and Reki was pretty sure he was going to pass out at any second, or maybe wake up from the best dream he had ever had in his entire life, but no, no it wasn’t a dream, because there’s no way his brain would be able to conjure up the feeling of Langa running his hands up and down Reki’s arms like that— and it would definitely never be able to recreate the feeling of Langa tugging at his lower lip with his teeth. Reki groaned when Langa bit down on his lip slightly harder, his entire body flushing hot with embarrassment, before he gently pushed Langa away by his shoulders.

“H-Hold on, there’s something I forgot,” Reki said, his voice hoarse. Langa whined, attempting to steal another kiss, but Reki held firm to his shoulders, making Langa pout. “It’ll only take a second, I swear.”

Reki gently pushed Langa off of him before running to the entryway, eager now that he had remembered the present he had gotten for Langa. Well, it was really for both of them, but he wanted Langa to have it more than anything, especially now that Langa had returned his feelings and they had kissed. Just thinking about the feeling of it.. No, focus Reki . Rummaging through his bag, he found the envelope the receptionist at the ice skating rink had given him when they were leaving.

When he had called the ice skating rink to schedule a couple’s timeslot, the woman on the other end of the phone had mentioned to Reki that for a small additional fee, they would take a picture while they were skating, and Reki didn’t even hesitate for a moment before agreeing to the extra fee. Most of the photos he and Langa had taken together were either blurry, or Reki was making a silly face, or Langa was so spaced out he didn’t even realize Reki was taking the picture. He really, really wanted a serious one, one he could stare at and maybe hang up on his wall or put in a picture frame if it turned out that Langa reciprocated his feelings, and well.. 

Reki had to stifle a gasp when he pulled the picture out of the envelope. It was nothing short of perfect, to say the least. Langa was smiling so hard his nose scrunched up, and, and Reki— well actually, he looked a little more than terrified in the photo. They must have taken it when he still hadn’t gotten used to skating yet, but that was okay. The picture still captured everything he was feeling in that moment, and being able to have a picture of Langa smiling that hard when it was already such a rare occurrence was something Reki would cherish forever. 

Grabbing a couple markers from his backpack, Reki quickly wrote their names and the date in the little space below the picture. Deciding haphazardly, he also added on a little heart next to it, and maybe that was a little cheesy but he didn’t care one bit. He’d be the cheesiest person in existence just to make Langa happy. 

“Okay, I have it, close your eyes,” Reki said when he walked back into the living room, the picture held behind his back so Langa wouldn’t peek.

Langa quickly covered his eyes with the palms of his hands, his previously sulky attitude forgotten in his excitement. 

Gently placing the picture on his lap, Reki took a deep, nervous breath before saying, “Okay, open your eyes.”

Reki could hear the hitch in Langa’s breath as soon as he opened his eyes, and he watched as Langa picked up the picture delicately, cradling it in his hands and staring at it for minutes without uttering a single word. 

“Do you, uhm, like it?” Reki said, voiced laced with a hint of nervousness.

“Reki, I—” Langa looked back up at him, and oh, there were tears in his eyes, “I love it so much. Thank you,” Langa let his gaze fall back to the picture before softly muttering, “It’s perfect.” 

Reki sat down next to Langa, his head falling against Langa’s shoulder, “We should get a copy made, so I can have one too.” Langa silently nodded his agreement, before turning back to Reki and gently placing his hands on either side of Reki’s face and tilting it upwards. He gazed into Reki’s eyes, seemingly searching for something— Reki didn’t know what— before gently placing a kiss right on the tip of Reki’s nose. And then another, on the corner of his mouth, and he continued pressing gentle kisses on his cupid’s bow, the soft pout of Reki’s lower lip, the apple of each cheek, and both eyelids. 

“Thank you for the best Christmas present I could have ever asked for, Reki.”