Work Text:
Kaoru was supposed to be teaching the group a new trick to accelerate on corners when he bailed. Hard.
Kojiro rushed over to see if he was okay but Kaoru quickly assured everyone that he had landed soft and that he was alright. His Carla skateboard on the other hand…
“SHE’S IN PIECES!” Kaoru wailed. He reached for the cracked C bracelet that connected all the Carla devices together and that had flown from the skateboard when he landed. He cradled the pieces as it spoke nonsense sentences, like a broken Carla record.
Reki and Langa gathered all the pieces of the skateboard, while Kojiro and Miya comforted Kaoru and Hiromi got the car to drive them all home from the skatepark.
Kaoru muttered all the way home about all of the upgrades he would put in Carla’s new bracelet so it would be indestructible.
Once Kaoru was dropped off at his house (with Kojiro in tow), the car was silent for a beat before Miya started planning ways to cheer Kaoru up.
Reki knew they got along well and tried not to envy the way he never got along with the older skaters quite the same way as Langa and Miya did.
But he kept up and that was enough.
When Reki got home, he went to his workshop and had an idea. What if he built Kaoru a new Carla skateboard? He didn’t want to overstep but he had so many ideas from watching Kaoru skate for so long.
Of course, Reki had been a huge fan before actually talking to Kaoru. Before he had even been Kaoru to him. He had been Cherry the AI Skater , who was gorgeous and had built his own AI that he used for skateboarding, which was the most brilliant thing Reki had ever seen!
Talk about wanting to make the most brilliant skateboard, Kaoru was the blueprint! Making up his own rules just to break them. The first time he spoke to him, Reki couldn’t reply because he was awestruck. It was like trying to talk to your celebrity crush, you can’t just do that.
Reki stared at his work table and decided that if he had the opportunity to impress Kaoru, he had to take it.
It took days working on it. Special ordering parts and drawing up plans. He had to pick and choose his favorite ideas and pick which things would work together the best.
When it was done, he was so proud and he texted Kaoru asking when he was available. Carla messaged back, “ Master is at home and available for the next several hours.”
Reki skated right over, stuffing the new skateboard in a box.
Kaoru answered the door in an oversized t-shirt and leggings, hair in a bun with glasses on. “Reki. Good to see you.”
“You too. Miya said you haven’t gone to S in a couple days.” Reki stood in the walkway of the house.
Kaoru nodded his head in a “follow me” gesture. “I’ve been working on Carla. It started with upgrading the bracelet but then I got kinda sucked into all sorts of other upgrades.” Reki followed him through the small house until Kaoru opened a doorway to a room full of computers, 3D printers, and any other piece of tech you could imagine.
“Wow.”
Kaoru nodded approvingly and stood by an empty work table. “An appropriate response. Kojiro called me nerd when he saw this the first time.” It was nerdy but Reki loved it. Between this and his garage back home, you could make anything. “So, what’s in the box?”
Reki set it on the work table, not so different from the one in his garage. “A present, um, only if you want it. You don’t have to like it. It’s okay if you don-”
“Do I get to see?” Kaoru teased. Reki doesn’t know if he’s ever seen Kaoru so relaxed. He was in his own home but it wasn’t just that. He wasn’t out in the world having to be Cherry, or a calligrapher, or skater dad. It was nice to be with just Kaoru .
Reki unboxed the skateboard. Kaoru gasped when seeing it, which was a good sign. “It’s two pieces of plexiglass magnetized together. They’re strong magnets, with a third steel plate underneath when you want to use it as a longboard. It also conceals the battery. The magnets make it so it won’t break when you bail and the plexiglass means you can project maps, angles, and routes right there on the board.”
Reki nervously flipped the board around. Kaoru oohed and ahhed in all the right places. At the end, Kaoru had a sparkle in his eye and said, “Thank you, Reki. This is one of the most thoughtful things anyone has ever done for me.”
If Reki’s face was as red as his hair, he hoped Kaoru wouldn’t mind. “I’m glad you like it.”
Kaoru bit his lip. “Am I allowed to upgrade it with my tech?”
Reki’s eyes lit up. “You’re going to use it?”
Kaoru smiled. “Of course! With some of mine and Carla’s upgrades, of course. Is that okay?
“Yes, I mean, of course! I mean, yeah, that’s fine.” Reki was happy, and there was only one thing that could make him happier. “Can you show me? How you’re going to upgrade it and how to do it?”
“As long as you can keep up,” Kaoru smirked.
So Reki spent the next week of afternoons surrounded by purple lights.
And the next time they showed up at S, they had the best skateboards.