Archive of Our Own

The sound of wheels on hot concrete echoed down the deserted street. A warm breeze ruffled red hair as the brightly dressed boy pushed off the sidewalk. His breath was ragged as he zoomed forward, the sun beating down on his covered back as he did. He was late. He was never late. Well, okay, that was an overstatement. He was late when it came to college, or family dinners, or anything other than skateboarding. Yah, so he was late because his alarm didn’t wake him up this morning, but this time it’s actually important that he be early (Because obviously family dinners and college classes weren’t mandatory).

Today was not something to be taken lightly. Because if Shadow heard of him being even two seconds tardy, he’d probably get his head ripped off of his shoulders. And that’s not something that Reki wanted to happen today. Especially with his recently-found dilemma having to do with Langa. If he couldn’t tell his best friend what he was thinking and soon it would end up bad for everyone around him. 

Because no one wanted a jumpy and anxious Reki. No one.

His feet pushed harder than before against the pavement, almost making him fall, but he kept his balance. If he could just get there in another minute he’d be able to avoid the wrath of Shadow. And hopefully be able to see Langa’s beautiful face soon. 

That’s new. That’s always new. Beautiful, handsome, cute. It was all so crazy to him. 

After Reki finally found out his feelings for his best friend, it wasn’t a shock when he started to mentally freak out. Like, a lot. As in, he started rearranging his room again and again, skating too much (but really, is there anytime when skating can be too much?), and especially being more fidgety than normal. And the overthinking, god, that was the worst. Every time he saw Langa, it was all WEE-WOO, WEE-WOO Langa’s here! All functions stop and start blushing like crazy and fight yourself to be able to talk! 

It was not pleasant.

He kind of hated it, to be honest, the fact that he couldn’t be normal around his best friend. He couldn’t eat without staring at Langa, he couldn’t sleep without dreaming about Langa, he couldn’t watch skating videos without thinking of Langa’s stupid kissable face! It was annoying at best, but if anything it made him sad that he couldn’t just be a normal, good best friend to Langa. Now he had to go and ruin it for the both of them.

So no. He was not confessing. Ever. That’ll always be his little secret that will eventually shrivel up and die with him. 

Well, that’s dark.

Reki sighed as he realized that his thoughts had gotten ahead of him again. He was honestly surprised he hadn’t fallen off his board yet.

It took about a few more seconds before he finally reached his destination. 

Reki smiled up at the name on display at the little library-slash-flower shop that opened up just this week: Higa’s Flower Book-Store. The name could use some working, but Reki would never question Shadow’s creativity skills (because if he did his head would get ripped off his shoulders and GOD STOP THINKING THAT).

The moment he opened the door his nose was hit with a pleasant smell, like lavender and new books. Even a hint of coffee. A little bell rang above him, announcing his presence. Once his eyes adjusted to the lighting, he could see that there weren’t many people here, maybe around three or four. Then again, it was only the entrance. 

Reki dusted his shoes off at the welcome carpet and stepped fully into the little shop (library?). It was actually quite pleasant, with tables and chairs scattered around to the right of the library, along with bookshelves lining the walls and floors. On the left, Reki saw bunches of flower bouquets bundled together in a beautiful arrangement, set out for all to see and buy. There, between flowers and books, was a counter for checking out. A single person stood in line, waiting to check out a new book, along with a small potted succulent. 

Wait, Shadow sold succulents? Oh yah, he’s gonna like this place. 

Behind the counter, Reki saw none other than Shadow himself. Well, Hiromi. Right, he mentioned that Reki should only refer to him by his given name when in the library. This is the first time Reki had been to the place, so he’ll have to get used to that. Shadow wasn’t exactly Shadow anymore either way though— his clown make-up was completely gone and he had a welcoming smile on his face. Strange. Definitely will take time to get used to.

Should he greet Sha— Hiromi first or go find Langa? If Langa was here in the first place.

A quick glance around told him that Langa was no where to be seen, so he was either in the back of the library or late. Might as well talk to Hiromi— god, that’s weird.

Knowing he will, in fact, suffer Shadow’s wrath, Reki braced himself and headed towards the counter as the person in front of him left with their succulent and book.

“Hello and what may I get for— oh, it’s just you.” In an instant, Shadow— erm, Hiromi’s voice went from a high, welcoming octave to a lower, grumpier one. It would almost be comical if it weren’t so scary.

“Heeeey, Sh— Hiromi!” Reki laughed, scratching the back of his neck nervously. Not that he was nervous. “I see you sell succulents?”

“You didn’t come in on opening day.” Hiromi replied flatly.

“Yah, okay, in my defense mom was super particular on that family dinner—“

“It opened in the mid-afternoon.”

“Lunch! Family lunch, right.” Reki couldn’t help but let a little giggle get through though. He always laughed when he lied. Not that he lied often... except for maybe when he was caught sneaking out at night. But he was an adult now! Why should he be scolded? (Excluding the fact that he still lived with his mom and ate all her food.) Speaking of living with his mom, he really needed to move out.... and now he’s back to what he needs to ask Langa.... The Question, the one that haunts him and makes him toss and turn at night—

“Reki!” Reki jumped as he heard Shadow shout his name for maybe the fourth time. “So caught up in your lies that you space out on me? Typical.”

Reki sighed, “sorry. Shadow, you know how I get—“

“Don’t care, kid, and it’s Hiromi to you.”

Frowning, Reki muttered “Rude,” and was about to ask where Langa was when a voice behind him spoke.

“You’re late, Reki.”

Jumping about two feet in the air and squeaking something awful, Reki spun around to find none other than the person he was looking for. His best friend; quite possibly the love of his life; Langa.

“Shit, yah— wait, guh?” Reki sputtered. Oh, that was embarrassing. Who even says guh?

Langa smiled gently, “hey, Reki.”

Agh! Langa says Reki’s name like it’s heaven on earth. How can someone be so freaking cute?

All Reki can muster is a small, “yah.” And then he’s turning back to Shadow, his cheeks burning. He gave a pleading look to Shadow, begging him not to tell Miya about this, but it was too late, a devilish smirk already spreading across his face. 

“Oh you are SO far gone.”

Langa knew he wasn’t the most socially aware. He wasn’t stupid, as most people thought. He didn’t lack a brain, despite what some people in his college classes whispered behind their hands. He just didn’t understand some things, and as Reki and his mom always assured him, that was okay.

It was fine.

But when Shadow and Reki started to talk about something he didn’t understand, he felt... somewhat lonely. 

“I swear it’s not what you think!” Reki exclaimed, and Shadow guffawed in response.

What was it that Shadow was thinking? What were they referring to? He didn’t understand. 

So, always the “oblivious one,” Langa reached out and tapped Reki’s shoulder. “What are you two talking about?” And because Langa never doubted Reki, always expected him to fill Langa in when he was confused, he was somewhat surprised when Reki merely responded with, 

“It’s not important, Langa, I promise. Shadow is just messing around.”

And Reki scratched his neck, Langa knowing that Reki wasn’t being all too truthful. Because if Langa could read anyone, it was Reki.

But that was okay, because Langa was always the oblivious one, so he nodded and smiled, agreeing that, yes, it wasn’t important. It was exactly as Reki had said.

And Reki, oh Reki, grinned at him bashfully and grabbed his hand. “Come on, let’s get a table, we can study for a bit?”

“I’m still here,” Shadow grumbled, muttering something about “love-birds” and “connected at the hip.”

Langa smiled in his gentle way, quickly congratulated Shadow on his new business (“It’s Hiromi!”), and dragged Reki in the direction of the nearest table. Because he could since their hands were still clasped. He hoped they’d never let go.

Once seated at a small table in a corner, away from prying eyes, they both admired the new library. Langa had arrived before Reki, and had come out from the dark corners of the shop once he heard Reki’s loud voice echoing throughout the library. He decided then that he’d surprise his best friend.... well, kind of best friend. Kind of crush. Kind of whatever it wanted to be. 

Because Langa was in love with Reki. And for a while now, too. 

In fact, Langa realized it years ago. The fact he’d never tried to confess yet is almost a mystery to himself as well. Why not? Well, he thinks it must be because he was scared of losing Reki. 

And it’s hit him merely a week ago how stupid he had been. Because they were joined at the hip, peas in a pod; even if Reki didn’t reciprocate, they’d figure something out. It was time to stop running from this, Langa needed to confess. And as soon as possible, too.

The problem was that.... he kept getting interrupted. Every time. He’d been trying to tell Reki for the past week about how he felt, and like clockwork, something happened. Like the universe didn’t want them to be together. Was the universe homophobic?

Regardless of that, Langa kept trying. The first time was rough. They were at Reki’s house when he was about to tell Reki the truth, and of course Koyomi barged in asking for her brother to fix her skateboard’s wheels. Reki happily obliged, loving his sister and loving skateboards even more. 

So that was that. 

The second time, Langa and Reki were at S. They were talking, and again Langa opened his mouth, but then cue Miya, the demon of a high schooler. Sure, he’d gotten less snarky since middle school, but he was barely any better. That time, Miya started teasing them relentlessly and then challenged Langa to a beef, and Langa couldn’t get another word in.

For the rest of the week, Langa had been trying to dodge as many obstacles as possible with no luck. Every time there was an opportunity, someone or something immediately shot it down. Like that cat from earlier! How Reki had chased after it at the skate park instead of staying to listen to Langa’s words. It was cute seeing Reki so gleeful, but still annoying. 

Now, they sat at a small table next to a wide window, Reki pulling out his textbooks and putting on his reading glasses (god, he was so cute), and Langa was just about ready to burst with his words. Too many words.

So it was of course at that moment, when Langa’s mouth was already opening, that Shadow came around and sat at their little table. 

Shit.

Reki hummed to himself as he picked up his paintbrush and adjusted his canvas.

Today was fun, although he didn’t get to spend all of it with Langa. Shadow had interrupted them as soon as they sat down, immediately starting up a conversation. Reki noticed almost instantly when Langa started to pout. He had seen the opening mouth and new Langa wanted to say something, and felt bad when Shadow promptly stopped him by riling Reki up again. Because apparently Shadow’s shift was over even though it was literally his own business.

So the rest of the morning was spent with an annoyed but hyper Reki, a laughing Shadow, and a Langa that soon forgot all about what he had to say.

Now, Reki was in his creative arts class, where he could paint whatever he wanted with just a prompt from the professor. This weeks concept was to paint something that inspired him, and Reki was stumped at first.

What inspired him? Skateboarding? His family?

....Langa?

So he went to painting after careful consideration.

Reki started the project about four days ago, so he was pretty far in. Before him lay a snowy landscape, trees in the distance and two snow-peaked mountains. In the middle of the canvas lay a small, red fire, kind of shaped like his little demon-sona. And beside that, a half painted yeti sat, staring off into the distance at the mountains and trees and snow. 

It reminded him of Langa. How he always had that distant and adorable look on his face, like he was still seeing the snow-covered slopes of Canada. But it was strange, because when Langa looked at Reki, his eyes were more clear than ever.

It made Reki feel like he actually meant something. And he almost never meant something to people.

It’s what he loved about Langa. Well, one of the many things he loved. Growing up, Reki only had one friend... and that one friend quickly left after an injury during skating. His ex-friend claimed that he only stuck with Reki because Reki actually skated with him, and when he was injured, he couldn’t do it anymore. So as soon as that friend left the hospital, Reki never saw him again. 

Reki was completely wrecked. He wouldn’t eat for weeks, his self-hatred only grew, and his head made him think things he never thought he could think. Looking back on it, it almost seemed like he was being over-dramatic. But Reki also knew how much that could affect anyone. For a year or so, he pushed away anyone who even remotely wanted to talk to him, and soon enough, he was left completely alone.

To this day he regretted it. Because growing up, he never had any friends other than that douchebag and then Langa.

Langa was a miracle. He didn’t know any of Reki’s history when he first came to Okinawa (of course Reki eventually told him everything), so he was willing to be friends with Reki immediately. It was almost too easy, so Reki was apprehensive at first. Having a best friend who thought the world of him? It wasn’t possible in his head. But it happened. It happened and now he was better off than before. Because all his life he thought he wasn’t lovable, and then Langa came. It was a new era, and Reki finally saw something to look forward to other than skating. 

It’s a wonder he didn’t catch feelings earlier. 

Reki knew he liked boys and girls since middle school, so he didn’t have to deal with as much trouble when he found out his feelings for Langa. Just a bunch of oh shit, he’s my best friend, what do I do?instead of crap, I’m gay??

Reki is very glad he was blessed with the fact that he could figure himself out pretty well. Because he may be oblivious to some things, but not himself. And he learned that at an early age. He was more self-aware ever since his ex-friend, and if anything he was a little too self-aware, almost to the point he was nervous at being too much for people. His self-esteem was really low because of it. But hey, at least he figured out exactly when he started liking Langa. 

That was about two weeks ago. He was surprised it wasn’t sooner now that he thought about it. Because Langa was so amazing. It happened after a long day of classes, and Langa and him were relaxing at the skatepark, their breaths heavy as they shared a water bottle between them. They had just finished skating and were sitting at the top of the half-pipe. The sunset cast an orange glow on everything around them, including Langa, illuminating his face. So when Reki looked over at Langa to find his best friend grinning like crazy, the sun reflecting off his bright hair, he realized then that he was....

Well, he was in love.

With his best friend.

And shit, that was bad.

But to top it off, Reki had been planning something for at least the past month, but never got the courage to ask Langa. It was The Question. The question that made it hard to sleep some days. The question being:

Will you move in with me?

It was so stupid that he couldn’t just pop the question. It wasn’t that hard, as he had made at least a hundred different variations of how it could go in his head. But Reki realized how important Langa was to him and immediately knew he had to do this. Move in with Langa? It was either one of the best or worst ideas Reki had ever had. 

Over the course of their friendship, Reki had realized how cramped he felt when Langa was over at his house, his sisters constantly yelling and his mom apologizing profusely every time. And then, when at Langa’s, Ms. Hasegawa would barge in every few minutes to ask how they were doing or offered snacks, giving them no ounce of privacy. (Not that he had anything against Langa’s mom, she was lovely, just a very.... welcoming host. Too welcoming.)

So it was about a month ago that Reki finally made a decision: he would just move in with Langa! They were old enough, and they might as well move out anyways with all the pushing Masae was doing. (Because Reki still ate all her food and she wasn’t going to let that go.) Now, all Reki had to do was ask Langa.

It’s just doing exactly that that had been difficult. Every single time he had tried to ask that simple question, it was either his nerves that got in the way or... a higher being stopped it from happening. As in, every time he tried, he was interrupted, or the situation wasn’t right. Once, he was about to ask Langa when a cat zoomed by and he completely forgot what he was about to say to go to pet it. Okay, maybe that was his fault. 

It was a week after he realized his feelings for Langa that he started trying to pop the question (he had been planning since three weeks before, but just needed to pluck up the courage to ask). Once he actually did find out how he felt, he toughed it out and decided that, since nothing was bound to happen, he would still ask Langa, even if it would be awkward at first. This was still his best friend he was talking about.  They could do anything together, they were invincible. 

Maybe whoever looked over the world didn’t believe in them, always interrupting Reki, but he would still ask that question, no matter what. 

Reki smiled absentmindedly as he laid his final brush-stroke down, admiring his handy-work. And for the second time that day, he jumped in surprise as a voice spoke behind him.

“This is magnificent, Kyan, the detail is on point. The mountains are beautiful. But, if you don’t mind me asking, why is it that a yeti inspires you?” It was his professor, she was standing closely behind him, her breath against his neck. Reki shivered; she was always scary like that, with her voice in a low monotone.

“Right,” he started, turning to her, swallowing to wet his dry throat. “W-well, there’s a person I’m close to. They inspire me, and this reminds me of that person, so...”

“How interesting,” she observed, “good work, Kyan, I will be sure to grade this well. You may be dismissed early if you are finished.”

Reki grinned at her, nodding and grabbing his bag. “Thank you!”

Langa was stumped.

He was sitting in the back corner of his psychology class, pouting as the words that came out of his professors mouth went through one ear and out the other. 

Today it happened again! He had been so close, the moment so perfect as Reki stuck his face in his textbooks, obsessing over his work. Good for him, honestly, that he actually liked what he was doing. Langa sure didn’t. 

But that’s not the point— he was actually opening his mouth as Reki looked up to smile at him, and his heart had stuttered, and then—

And then Shadow came to interrupt them; yet again, another distraction.

So now Langa sat at the back of a class he didn’t understand, sighing as he reminisced about what Reki and him could have been right now if only he had pushed through.

From the snippets of speech he caught so far, todays lecture was about why people restrained themselves from telling people their feelings. Or something like that.

The professor pointed at something on the board, and Langa propped his chin up on his elbow, frowning to himself. “Many people have trouble explaining their feelings, and there are many reasons for this,” The teacher started, “as you can see on the board, one of those reasons is an underlying lack of trust in yourself and others.” The professor paused for dramatic affect, the sounds of scratching pencils filling the silence. “Another reason is that you lack faith in your ability to handle conflict in a healthy way.”

Huh, Langa thought. Is it a matter of trust in myself and others or is the universe just a bitch?

He schooled his expression so he wouldn’t let out a smile, but it really was funny to him.

The real reason he couldn’t tell Reki in the first place was because he didn’t want anything to happen between them. He guessed that goes in the category of “the inability to handle conflict in a healthy way.” 

Because oh boy, if Reki rejected him, Langa honestly didn’t know how he would react. 

He would probably act like a kicked puppy and eat three tubs of ice cream in one day. 

So yah, he didn’t react to conflict well. 

But honestly, Langa needed to be direct and just tell him.

If he didn’t, he knew how it would just fester and grow in his heart, waiting to be spilled out at the wrong time. Because if Langa was anything, he was blunt. Very blunt. 

He once told Reki that he had a weird face, a unique face.  Langa knew he was blunt once Reki told him so a few days after the incident. And it made Langa’s eyes go wide once he realized how rude he was being to some people.

Reki was gentle when he told him, telling Langa that he could be self-aware enough for the both of them. 

So Langa trusted him with everything. Reki would explain a joke to Langa when he didn’t get it, he would describe what the conversation was actually about behind all the sarcasm their friends threw around. Reki would even tell Langa when not to say such honest things and keep it to himself. He was like a life coach to Langa, keeping him in check and helping him along. It was.... nice, having someone understand that he needed some insight sometimes, and was willing to lend a hand.

Langa actually did let the smallest smile escape him, quickly letting it fall once he realized he wasn’t acting like the neutral Langa he always was.

That’s another thing; Langa might not be so self-aware, but he did take it to heart when people commented on his expressions at a young age. That was before his dad... well, it was before Okinawa. 

Apparently, when he was younger and just entered school, kids would make fun of the weird faces he made. He would make disgusted faces, angry faces, pouting faces. And eventually he stopped. It didn’t get better once his dad passed away, as he felt completely numb. Langa had had no feelings to express in that time.

Getting back to a place where he could actually allow his expressions to show was difficult. But it was easier with Reki. His mom helped too, of course, mom always helped. 

But meeting Reki? That was a new door opened to him. He was wide-eyed the first time he saw Reki jump over him on his skateboard, he smiled for the first time in a while when he managed his own real ollie. 

Reki made Langa feel things, express things. It was new to him, because he had always hid away how he felt in fear of doing something wrong. Reki wore his heart on his sleeve, and it was almost contagious.

Langa was blunt when it came to things that didn’t matter. He was dead-faced when it came to anything else. But now that he was more expressive than ever before, and he had a secret he couldn’t hold in, he was starting to wonder when the truth would slip out. 

But he should just let it slip out. Let it finally be freed to the world. 

Langa was going to tell Reki. And even if the universe was against him, nothing could stop him now. 

The roaring of the crowd was the only noise that Reki could hear. It was deafening, overwhelming, all-consuming...

And Reki loved it.

Friday nights at S were just about Reki’s favorite days, aside from anywhere he went with Langa. The excitement of it always kept his roaring thoughts in check, and not to mention the way the wind felt in his hair when he raced along the track’s course, all his friends right beside him. 

That was another thing; his friends, which he had made soon after Langa came to Okinawa, were closer to him than family. It was thrilling to have such talented people riding alongside him. 

However, it was difficult to deal with some of them, specifically Shadow and....

“Ugh, can you get that sappy look off your face? It’s disgusting.” Miya snarked, his lips curling up in dismay.

Reki sighed, letting his smile fall away slowly. He was just thinking only good things about one of his closest friends, and of course said friend immediately retaliated. Miya could definitely be a handful sometimes, but Reki still loved the guy.

“Oh shush, you!” Reki growled non-threateningly, turning around abruptly to tussle Miya’s hair up as they stood near the rocks lining the dirt paved walkway. Thankfully Miya’s hair wasn’t gathered under his hood currently, so Reki had free rein.

“ARGH! Not the hair, not that hair!” Miya whined, but below his cold exterior, Reki could see his small grin. 

Reki continued tussling until even he knew it was a little too much, then stopped to look over at none other than Langa when he felt a tap on his shoulder. 

“Oh, hey!” Reki beamed, turning fully away from Miya to share a dap with Langa. 

Miya, if course, didn’t take kindly to that. “Tch, ignoring me to talk to your boyfriend? How typical of you.”

Almost immediately, Reki was whirling away from Langa, a fierce glow on his cheeks. He faced Miya, fists clenched at his sides in embarrassment, and said, a little too loudly, “he’s not my b-boyfriend!”

Reki clasped a hand over his mouth, too embarrassed to meet the stares of the people who gave him weird looks around him. Miya was smirking like crazy, a new gleam to his eyes that Reki didn’t like. 

“Oh yah,” Miya replied, just as loudly, “then tell Langa right now, tell him your little secret. If you don’t like him you would be able to actually say the words aloud, but I doubt you’re brave enough.”

All right, so it was true. Reki had told Miya his secret almost the second he had the idea, about a month ago. 

It started with a text, Miya responding five minutes later, because he was obviously trying to ignore Reki even though the guy was spamming him uncontrollably. 

It was midnight when Reki started texting the poor fifteen-year-old, and it went something like this:

Reki:

Miya Miya Miya Miya you’ll never guess, I’ve got the greatest idea!

Reki:

No seriously it’s amazing!

Reki:

Phenomenal even!

Reki:

I had to spell “phenomenal” three times before I got it right lolz

Reki:

Not the point! Come onnnn Miya Ik ur awake at 12:53, just answerrrrr

Miya:

Shut it, slime. Idc.

Reki:

Okay, so basically I want to move in with Langa, is this a good idea or not? 

Miya:

Terrible idea. Zero out of ten. Laaaaaaaame.

Reki:

Yes! Okay, so since you approve, just make sure not to tell Langa because I want it to be a surprise

Miya:

Why tf did you tell me if you know I won’t keep secrets?

Reki: 

I srsly trust you dude. I believe you won’t spill the beans to anyone, specially not the guy in question 

Miya:

I said I “won’t,” not that I “can’t” keep a secret. You need to get your head out of your ass and learn to not trust me. Damn, ok I won’t tell. Just never tell me a secret again bc it’s annoying. I’m going to bed. Gn.

Reki: 

I know u r not actually going to bed lolz, but I’ll see you at S tomorrow ig. Baieeeee and thank you!! <3 <3

Miya didn’t respond to his texts for the next week.

“Reki!” Miya sighed, pinching his nose, “you spaced out again. Please assure me you’ll just tell him.”

“I’ve tried to, I mean it! The gods just hate me or something,” Reki pouted, shaking himself out of his thought process.

Reki was well aware that Langa didn’t understand the whole situation, so when Langa tapped his shoulder again, Reki, tired of switching between giving Langa attention and listening to Miya, took Langa’s arm and pulled him beside himself. 

Langa smiled at him in his strange way, people gathering around them as they continued to squabble (because who could resist Snow and his group of side-kicks?). “Care to explain, Reki?”

Reki sighed, his face way too close to Langa’s in their current position. “Yah man, sorry for keeping you in the dark. Miya was just saying that—“

“Ahem.”

Miya, Langa, and Reki all turned in unison, Reki letting go of Langa’s arm, to look at a girl with long, dark hair and a cap on. She had piercing eyes and a board in hand. Her face was completely neutral, but her gaze was trained hard at Reki.

“I challenge you to a beef,” the girl said, still staring directly at Reki. She lifted her board, pointing it determinedly at him. “For Snow.”

“I— me? For Snow? What?” Reki was confused. Sure, ever since his race with ADAM he had been challenged way more often instead of him being the challenger, but not over... Snow?

Oh.

“Yes,” The girl deadpanned. “I’ve heard many things about you, Reki, but the main thing I’ve heard is how you hog Snow all to yourself. Many of the people around here want a chance to be with him, but you clearly won’t share. I’m taking the first step.” She ended with a sneer on her face, her blank expression suddenly morphing into an unpleasant one. 

Reki glanced at Langa in desperation, the sound of Miya holding in laughter filling the silence. More people had gathered around them, looking on in curiosity. Some were even nodding in agreement, glaring at Reki as well. 

It was best if he discussed this with Langa first, since no one should be involved in a bet unless it was consented to. “Langa, man, she’s asking for a beef to be able to... I don’t know actually, but you’re part of it!” Reki hissed at Langa, turning him away from their audience to discuss what they were going to do. “Are you okay with that? That means she’ll be hanging out with us— you, if I lose, Langa—“

“It’s okay.” Langa said, as soon as he caught onto what was happening. “I don’t mind. You’ll win anyways. I believe in you.”

Reki immediately blushed. It was always a surprise to him to see how much Langa believed in him. But it was refreshing, and usually made him feel better, so...

“All right,” Reki turned, fixing his gaze back on the girl. “I accept. What are your terms?”

A sickening smile spread across her features, her eyes glinting in what Reki could only describe as an evil way. “Good. My name is Akito, and the stakes are this: if I win, Langa will hang out with my group from now on at S,” she quickly jammed her thumb behind her, pointing to a mixed group of around five boys and girls. “And you can’t talk to him at all during the race. Neither can your little group.”

Akito was grinning now, that evil glint still in her eyes.

“And—“

“Wait.” Her voice was cut off abruptly as someone came forward, his deep voice penetrating through the loud sounds of S. Almost immediately, squeals sounded around the small gathered group, an almost roaring sound coming from the girls in their audience. 

Reki was pretty sure he knew who it was, but it was confirmed when both Cherry and Joe slid forward on their boards, splitting the crowd into a broken circle. 

Joe’s face was hard as stone, and Cherry’s was hard to read. “Wait,” Joe repeated, glaring at Akito. “There aren’t many rules at S, but one of them is that you can’t stake someone’s personal life in a bet.”

Akito’s gaze hardened again, her smile slipping away, but before she could say anything, Reki stepped forward, “Langa is okay with this. And plus, I won’t let anything happen to us. Nothing can get in the way of—“

Miya started full belly-laughing at that. “Yah, absolutely nothing can get in the way of friendship!” And he was gone after that. 

“I wasn’t going to say— okay, whatever, the point is that I’m not going to let anything happen. Not to Langa or our group.”

“Uhuh.” Akito said slowly, narrowing her eyes. “You were going to bring up friendship, weren’t you—?”

“Let it go,” Reki muttered, rolling his eyes as the crowd looked on in confusion.

Joe was obviously trying not to laugh as he responded, “if you’re sure, Reki. But you know Cherry won’t forgive you if Langa is taken away from— oof!”

Joe was silenced immediately when Cherry kicked him straight in the stomach, somehow not flashing anybody as his leg lifted up. “Don’t drag me into this, you imbecile.”

Miya was on the ground laughing.

Reki wasn’t amused.

Langa, oh Langa, stared on in confusion.

And Shadow was just arriving.

“Wait, they’re going to take Langa away? We can’t have that! Not that I care, but—“

“Silence!” 

The entire crowd turned to stare at Akito in shock as she raised a fist towards the sky.

“You will race against me, Reki, and I will win. And none of your friends can stop me.” She was grinning again, and ah, damn it, that glint was back. “If you win, I’ll leave you alone.”

“Okay.” Reki sighed to himself. “Okay, okay, okay. We’ll beef. But I am going to win. And it’s gonna be epic.”

Langa stared.

Joe was doubled over in pain.

Shadow was throwing confused glances around him.

Cherry looked indifferent.

Miya was still trying to control his snickering to no avail.

Akito was grinning evilly.

And Reki.... 

Reki might finally have an opening to talk to Langa when this was all over with.

Langa watched the screen with a neutral face and a peaked interest, stationed in the old factory already. Reki was far ahead of the girl, Akito, but she was definitely gaining on him. Reki seemed much more experienced than the girl, which was probably a good thing seeing as what was at stake. 

Langa. Langa was at stake.

How did he feel about it?

To everyone else, Langa seemed to be completely fine with either outcome. On the inside, he was.... not really freaking out, but he definitely had a preference of who would win.

He didn’t want to stop hanging out with Reki! Sure, they would only stop hanging out a S, but that didn’t change the fact that half the reason Langa came to the race in the first place was to hang out with his friends. It wasn’t fun without them. 

Langa of course had the time after S in which he went to Joe’s restaurant to catch-up with his basically family, but that didn’t change anything. S is where they really could be themselves, and now this random person he’d never seen before was trying to take that away from him.

It didn’t make him exactly mad, per say, but more... frustrated that they couldn’t treat Langa like a human being. Langa had technically agreed to being bet on, but that’s because he believed in Reki. He didn’t want anything to do with Akito or her group of lackies. 

Reki was nearing the finish line, already at the abandoned factory. Akito was many paces behind him, the drone”s camera zooming in on her face. She looked determined and... scary. Like, murderous-kind-of-scary. 

Langa hoped Reki wouldn’t be beaten up by her when he won. 

Langa raced forward to the finish line, planning on catching Reki when the boy inevitably crossed it first. Reki was grinning widely as he neared Langa, his board resilient until the end. 

It was with baited breath that Langa watched Reki finally cross the finish line, still many feet before Akito. She followed shortly after.

As Reki sailed into Langa’s arms, Akito let out a yell of rage. Her scream ripped across the cheering crowd (“Reki! Reki!”), her voice cracking with frustration.

But the two boys ignored her, tangled up in each other’s embraces.

“Reki!” Langa yelled over the noise. “Reki, you won!”

“I know, dude,” Reki laughed back, “did you think I’d let her take you?”

Langa was grinning like crazy, his eyes aglow. Reki had won! It wasn’t the most epic race he’d ever skated, but he won regardless, and that in itself was impressive.

 The blue-haired boy was feeling brave right now, seeing his best friend win once again. It was now or never. Langa could do it. Langa would tell Reki how he felt!

Langa was smiling as his jaw dropped open for the second time that day, but just before he could fit a single word in...

“Reki!” 

It was Shadow, Miya, and Joe, all racing towards the duo at break-neck speed.

Before Langa knew what was happening, he was toppled over with Reki, falling to the dirt in a tangle of limbs.

“Oh, man!” Joe shouted, laughing, “we were really counting on you there, Reki! Imagine if you’d have lost!”

Langa felt Reki cringe below him, Langa’s arms still wrapped around his best friend. Above him, Miya was getting up and dusting himself off with a passive look, like he didn’t even want to be aquatinted with these slimes in the first place. Shadow and Joe had managed to stay up-right for the most part, both guffawing at their antics.

“Damn, way to put pressure on me!” Reki groaned, sitting up as Langa did. “That was a little stressful, if I’m being completely honest.”

“Oh, Kojiro is just joking,” Cherry sighed, appearing out of the blue. “He never learns to be serious.”

“Hey! I can be serious!”

“Tell me one time you were, you dopey gorilla.”

Miya sighed to himself as Langa observed the grownups quietly. Beside him, Reki had finally stood up and was offering Langa a hand in a quiet question.

Taking it happily, Langa rose as well and  smiled. Right now, with Cherry and Joe fighting, Miya in silent indignation, Shadow still laughing, Reki holding his hand and screams of excitement in the background, Langa couldn’t feel more at home.

His enthusiasm was short-lived, however, when the girl from before strode up to them, a frown evident on her face. 

Langa was surprised when she suddenly shot her hand out towards Reki, the latter squeaking in surprise and jumping away before he realized she was asking for a hand-shake.

“I’m sorry, Reki, for all the trouble I’ve caused,” Akito started, casting her eyes aside, seemingly not very happy to be apologizing. “That was a fun race, and I will respect your wishes to be with Langa from now on.”

Reki hesitated before nodding, his eyebrows furrowing as he reached his own hand out to shake hers. 

At least she’s not a sore-loser, Langa thought.

“I’ll leave you and your boyfriend to it, then,” Akito sighed forlornly as she turned back to her squad, knowing exactly what she was doing. 

Reki was a spluttering mess as his hand fell to his side in defeat. 

Langa was wondering if she was referring to himself as the boyfriend. That was a nice thought. 

Around them, S onlookers were now whispering to themselves, glancing between Reki and Langa in confusion and speculation. So she did mean it that way. 

A hand landed hard on Langa’s shoulder, and he looked behind him to see Shadow with a shit-eating grin on his face. 

“Well well well, little Langa! Looks like you two have finally stopped the pining and— what are you doing, Reki?”

Reki was currently waving his arms around like a mad man, his face flushed a deep crimson. After he calmed down, Reki glared at Shadow. “Me and Langa aren’t— we’re not—“

Shadow just started laughing at that. 

Langa was still a little confused, a pout resting on his lips now, but he could follow well enough. 

Reki was stopping Shadow from talking because he didn’t want Shadow to say something about Langa and Reki. 

Best not to think into it too much, because if he did, he would probably get the wrong idea. He still had a chance with Reki. Langa was half-way sure of that.

After a little while longer spent at S, Joe and Cherry finally stopped bickering enough for the crew to finally get to their last destination of the night: 

Joe’s restaurant.

Sia La Luce had a relatively calming demeanor to it, the atmosphere always smooth and inviting.

Not when the gang was there, after closing hours. 

Every time they were all crowded in their quaint little booth, the chaos would begin. Sometimes, food would get thrown, so would words, and the little restaurant would be filled with laughter and slander from various mouths.

It was like that now: Cherry and Joe doing who-knows-what in the kitchen (probably cooking, but Reki couldn’t be too sure), Shadow and Miya laughing, and Reki and Langa squished together on their side of the booth. It was a nice feeling, almost nostalgic, as Reki observed the scene before him.

Beside Reki, Langa was staring at the table with his brow furrowed. Reki vaguely recalled his best friend opening his mouth yet again to say something to Reki when he won the beef. Whatever he wanted to say, he clearly didn’t want to say in front of the others since he wasn’t speaking now. It must have been important if Langa wasn’t willing to say what was on his mind. 

Reki decided to ignore that for now when he turned to Shadow, smiling cheekily.

“Soooo, Shadow, tell us about it!”

Shadow was mid-laugh when he turned to Reki I’m confusion, a single eyebrow raised, “about what?”

Miya snorted beside Shadow, rolling his eyes. “Duh, your flower-shop-store-thingie. What else could Reki be interested in about your life?”

“Now listen here, punk, my life is very interesting—“

Miya waved his hand back and forth, the snark clear on his face. “Yah, yah, so how’s the business doing?”

Shadow, now apprehensive, side-eyed Miya before turning to Reki. “It’s not just a business, dumbass, it’s a place for people to come by to read and study, and not to mention the flowers,” Shadow’s eyes lit up at flowers. “My old manager decided it would be a good idea for someone to invest in this idea, so I made it happen. She was so happy when the news came—“

Reki laughed, teasing, “ah, so it’s all because of your old manager, huh? Probably because you’re in loooo—!”

Shadow snarled at him, his eyes aflame. Reki flinched back as if Shadow was going to lunge across the table and strangle him, which, he probably would do, but then something worse happened. 

A devious smirk grew across Shadow’s face, and Reki was regretting his decisions. 

“You can’t speak when you and Langa are—“

“AAAAH NO!” Reki was waving his hands around again, shooting flustered looks at Langa, who seemed to finally be invested in the conversation.

“Since Reki and me are what?”

“DON’T tell him!” Reki squeaked, then felt immediately guilty from the look of hurt on Langa’s face. “I mean— it’s just, like, it isn’t important and literally doesn’t contribute to this conversation—“

“I think it contributes plenty,” Miya laughed, but his eyes were completely serious. “You need to tell him, Reki. He’s going to keep getting suspicious if you don’t—“

It seemed like everyone was getting interrupted today. “Stop talking like I’m not here!”

Everyone stopped speaking as they turned to Langa slowly, their eyes wide. Langa almost never yelled, but he just did. 

Standing up, Langa went to push away from the booth but Reki was grabbing his arm. “Langa, you okay, dude?”

Huffing, Langa sat down again. “No, I’m not fine, you keep treating me like a— like a robot, or something!” Despite his angry voice, Langa’s eyes looked deadly neutral, not portraying any emotion on his face. It didn’t change the fact that Reki could read him like a book, though.

“Langa...” Reki whispered, feeling so, so guilty and responsible. He knew that lately he’s been leaving Langa in the dark because of his secret, and it was now that Langa finally snapped because of it. 

Miya and Shadow both didn’t know how to react, looking down at the table in silence. So Reki spoke up.

“Langa, listen, dude. There’s something I have to tell you, but it can’t...” Reki glanced at Shadow and Miya, Miya looking up hopefully and Shadow seeming confused. “It can’t be here, I want to tell you when we’re alone. I promise I’ll tell you everything after that.”

Except you won’t, a little voice in Reki’s head whispered, you’ll keep lying until you die if this keeps going on. He’ll never know how you truly feel, and even if he did he would just—

“Reki?” Reki looked up to see that Langa, Miya, and Shadow were looking at him peculiarly. Langa repeated himself, “Reki, you spaced out again...”

“Sorry!” Reki laughed, nervously scratching he back of his neck. “Sorry, you know how my thoughts get sometimes. I’m so scramble-brained.”

Langa frowned. “Reki, are you sure—“

“Yah, um, we aren’t doing that,” Reki said, shaking his head, “we aren’t going to let this become a bigger problem.” Reki faced Langa fully now, and Langa took in a deep, shuddering breath as their eyes met. “Langa, I’m so sorry that we made you feel like you couldn’t talk to us about this, you deserve to speak up when you want to.”

Langa stared back at him, and when Reki stopped speaking he took that as his cue to look away again. “I’m... it’s just, you know how I am. I’m not good with feelings or words, and I don’t know how to express them well.” He fiddled with the hem of his shirt. “But you guys sometimes treat me like... like I’m too dumb to understand anything. And I hate it. I hate being left in the dark. I hate not being able to see what’s going on. So from now on just don’t... treat me like a child. Just tell me what’s going on, I can handle it.”

When Langa finished, everyone at the table let out a breath they didn’t know they were holding. 

After a moment of contemplation, Miya spoke up. “Langa, we don’t think you’re dumb. Some things we just can’t say right now, but when the time is right, we will tell you. Right, Reki?”

Reki was caught of guard by Miya’s kindness towards Langa, but quickly nodded in return. “Yah, man, we’re here for you. No more treating you like a child. No more leaving you behind.”

Langa smiled, but before he could get another word in, food was arriving.

“Damn, who shit in your tea this morning?” Joe laughed as he and Cherry carried everyone’s food out, noticing everyone’s solemn expressions. 

Cherry looked about ready to kick Joe again. “You insolate little— we don’t speak with such vulgar language!”

“Now that,” Reki whispered, leaning over to Langa, “is what I would call being treated like a child.”

Langa snorted just as Miya overheard, giggling too. 

After that, dinner went mostly smooth.

Mostly.

Langa wasn’t feeling too well.

It wasn’t because of his food, despite the fact he had two whole pizzas to himself.

He wasn’t feeling well because he felt so alone.

Today was an interesting day. Starting with Shadow’s flower shop-slash-library, then college, then S, and now the restaurant incident. All the while he was trying to tell Reki his feelings, but now he just felt lonely.

To tell the truth, Langa always had. His entire life he had difficulty making friends, and now that he had them, he didn’t know how to deal with it. 

He had Reki, and it was as easy as breathing to be friends with him, even easier to love him. 

So when Reki avoided telling him something, Langa took notice. 

He knew the tell-tale signs of avoidance, of eyes glancing away shyly, of not explaining the situation. It was frustrating, but Langa vowed to let Reki take his time.

It was no wonder he snapped.

Langa hated being treated like someone who couldn’t hear. Like someone who couldn’t handle the truth, or understand how the world worked. 

He knew when they were lying, he knew when they were keeping something from him.

He wasn’t a child, and it made him frustrated that they treated him as such.

Langa was never good at conflict. He didn’t understand Reki’s feelings until he described them to Langa after their fight about ADAM, when they promised infinity. He sometimes avoided his problems, like with his father’s death. That was years ago, but the impact it had on him still affected him today. At first, he couldn’t even visit his father’s grave with his mom. Now, he could finally face his emotions and let himself feel.

That was scary. Feeling things.

Because then he didn’t know how to react, he just... blurted our his feelings when they got too out of hand.

Langa was used to caging everything up inside of himself, refusing to tell anyone. When he met Reki, that changed, and he promised he’d never hold anything in again.

Yet he subconsciously still tried to hide his feelings. Langa didn’t mean to, he just did. It was for many reasons, one of them being how kids used to make fun of his expressive ways. He became so aware of how he wasn’t normal, and would always try to hide that fact, even if he didn’t know what he was doing wrong.

Reki would be mad at him for thinking that way. He always reminded Langa that he was perfect the way he was.

But when he blurted things out, it lead to more trouble than it was worth. People called him rude, unkind, judging.

Langa hated it. He also hated the fact that he was more honest now than before Okinawa, what with his out-burst earlier. He felt so guilty when he realized what he’d said, and continued to mumble through the whole conversation. Now that he tried to connect his feelings with his words (which was a bit difficult to do), he realized how big the effects could be. They could lead to an argument, which was the last thing Langa wanted.

Langa regretted yelling at his friends. At Reki. God, Reki’s face when he shouted. He looked shocked and... hurt. Langa felt bad for the small hint of satisfaction he felt at Reki’s guilt. It was well deserved, but it didn’t mean Langa had the right to “solve a conflict” by lashing out. 

So yah. Langa didn’t feel his best right now, even after his third pizza.

Having not really listened to the conversation, Langa let himself tune-in and smiled at what he heard.

Reki was making wide hand gestures as he explained his ambitions for the future (at least, that’s what Langa gathered from his next words), and there was a grin so wide on his face it made Langa’s heart melt.

“And I want to start a business like Shadow! Well, not like Shadow’s business, very different from that  actually.” Reki explained, nodding to himself. “I want to build a skateboarding shop, not like dope-sketch, though. There would be more commissioned boards involved, and it would all be Reki-spectacular! Oh! I could also do—“

That wasn’t the first time Reki had mentioned his goals for later, but Langa was still listening attentively, smiling softly to himself. Which was his first mistake.

Joe saw it immediately, “Ah, the third child has finally stopped day-dreaming,” He smiled fondly, “back from la-la land?”

Langa blushed slightly, glancing at Reki, “I wasn’t spacing out, was I?”

Reki grinned at him, “we thought we’d give you time to yourself for a bit. You just pulled a Reki there!”

“A... Reki?”

“Yah!” Reki exclaimed. “Y’know how I always think too much? That’s what you just did. It’s fine, dude, we wanted to leave you and your thoughts to yourself for a bit.”

That wasn’t really a good idea, if I’m being honest, it just made me overthink, Langa thought, but he had enough sense to not say that aloud.

Cherry sniffed daintily. “Well, since you’re back from that, shall we discuss what you want to do with your future? You are in college now, and—“

“And mamma Cherry wants to make sure you get a good life,” Miya laughed, Cherry’s face going slightly red with frustration.

“How many times do I have to tell you, I am not your mother! I’m not even a female, brat!”

“You love me,” Miya insisted, leaning back in his chair with a straw in his mouth and his arms crossed behind his head.

Cherry didn’t deny it.

As the bickering went on, Langa was once again thinking. 

“My... future..?”

Reki turned to him, an eyebrow raised. “Yah man. You’ve never thought of it?”

Langa scoffed. If anything, he thought about it too much.

Shadow was grinning at him, “what, never comprehended that you’re an adult now?”

Langa looked away. The truth was, he thought about his future, it’s just... he never knew what he wanted to do, or be.

He’d been stumped since his dad passed away. Since then, after his snow-boarding career was over, he didn’t know what to do.

College wasn’t helpful. He was following in his mother’s footsteps since he couldn’t follow his dad’s. And said footsteps just happened to be his least favorite subject: the medical field.

He was so bad at learning anything about it. Horrendous. Some would even say he was helpless.

All Langa wanted to do was skateboard with his best friend, but now he just sat at a desk in a class he didn’t understand, looking at words that didn’t make sense (and it wasn’t because his Japanese wasn’t all that good; he’d mostly gotten over the language barrier a few years back). 

So he turned to Reki now, realizing how hopeless this all was. “Oh my god, I don’t know what I’m doing with my life.”

Reki’s eyes widened as he stared back at Langa, their faces dangerously close what with Langa’s near proximity.

“Wait, what do you mean? You’re in college, you should know by now that—“

“Nooooo,” Langa groaned, turning from Reki and pulling at his blue hair, “I mean that I don’t even know what I want anymore. The medical field sucks, Reki. Seriously. Help me.”

Miya piped in then, ignoring Cherry and Joe as they argued over something Miya had just said, “I’m actually worried for you Langa. A whole year and a half of college and you don’t even know what you’re doing with your life? That’s just sad.”

“I know that,” Langa mumbled, sinking into his chair. “But I can’t just change my mind! Mom wouldn’t want—“

“Bah!” Cherry suddenly turned to Langa, apparently listening to him the whole time, “why do you care so much about what your mom wants— what if that’s not even what she expects of you!”

“Yah,” Joe added, cracking his knuckles thoughtfully, “maybe she just wants you to be happy, kid.”

Langa stared at Joe in panic. “But I dont know what makes me happy!”

Miya snorted. “Come on, Langa, what is the one thing you always seem to get high off of?”

Langa stared blankly at him before the answer popped into his head, “Reki?”

Reki was in the middle of sipping his drink when Langa answered, and his cheeks turned a bright read as he sprayed water all across the table.

Joe sighed as he went to go get a towel, meanwhile Miya was shaking his now wet hands off with a disdainful look on his face.

“No, you idiot!” Miya hissed, annoyed, “I was talking about skateboarding. Skateboarding!”

“Oh,” was Langa’s simple answer. 

Well, if that wasn’t a dead give-away of how he felt, he didn’t know what was. Turning to Reki, Langa found him blushing furiously, staring at his hands in his lap as Joe finally finished wiping the table down.

“Look, kid,” Joe sighed, seeming exasperated by the whole ordeal. “You like skating, you like Reki. Maybe mix the two together. Take a break from college. I don’t care! Just figure it out soon, because your life is finally just beginning.”

Langa was blushing slightly too at the prospect of combining his two favorite things together to make a living. Reki and skating, huh? That could work.

“I know!” Langa said, practically sparkling (albeit with a straight face), “I can just help Reki out to make the business thing work out!”

Reki perked up a bit at that, but then wilted. “Dude, you don’t have to do that. That’s, like, a lifetime commitment.”

Langa smiled at him, “all the more reason to help out.”

Reki’s face turned as red as his hair; he was blushing furiously, “okay, okay! Jeez. Way to embarrass a guy...”

Miya was miming gagging as Cherry and Joe watched on with amusement and satisfaction. 

Shadow, meanwhile, stole one of Miya’s pizzas. “Remind me not to get between the two of you when you make that happen.”

After a really long day spent with his friends, Reki and Langa were finally skating back home. Or, to the place Reki called home; he didn’t know how Langa felt about it. 

He hoped Langa’s home was with Reki, wherever that was.

As they skated past their skating park (their skating park! Reki loved to think of it like that), Langa turned to Reki, his eyes gleaming.

“Remember that day, Reki?” Langa asked, the skate park falling out of view in their hurry to get home, “when we promised infinity?”

Reki’s gaze softened as he paid more attention to Langa than the pavement. “Yah, man. I remember.” Blushing, Reki turned back to the road and smiled to himself. “How could I forget?”

They didn’t say another word as they raced each other to the ramp outside of Reki’s bedroom window.

Climbing up to the window was a small obstacle they had to overcome each time they came back from S (yes, they went to Reki’s house that much. What? It was just bros being bros). Every time they did, they would help each other up, tugging on each other’s hands until the two best friends landed in a heap on Reki’s floor.

It was nice, this time, as he remained glued to Langa’s chest, his ear against his best friends heart as they lay on the ground. Their limbs were tangled around each other, Langa’s arms encircling Reki’s waist. Reki never had had many friends, but he doubted that’s how buddies usually acted. 

Instead of pondering it too hard, he focused on Langa’s quick breathing and sporadic heart-beat. Why was it beating so fast, he wondered?

He hoped he knew the answer, but that was just hopeless pining. Again.

As they continued to breathe heavily, not quite sure where one ended and the other began, Reki’s eyes started to close slowly.

He was surprised when Langa suddenly sat up, shifting Reki’s limp body to a more comfortable position. Reki clung to him, groaning softly in his half-asleep state. 

In response, Langa stuffed his face in Reki’s hair, breathing him in. Reki’s heart startled at that, waking him up. What was Langa doing?

The blue-haired boy started to envelop Reki more in his arms, hugging him tightly to his chest once again. Reki, surprised, went to wrap his own arms around Langa. They stayed like that for a bit, Reki side-eyeing Langa in confusion.

As they sat before the window, the blue night glow filtering through the window, they found peace in each other. Langa’s head was resting on Reki’s shoulder, and Reki was practically in Langa’s lap. It felt... really nice. To just be with Langa. To be with his best friend. To be with the possible love of his life.

Reki smiled at that, nudging his head atop of Langa’s. Langa couldn’t be too comfortable right now, with his back hunched over to lean his forehead on Reki’s shoulder. He wasn’t complaining, but Reki wasn’t about to let that slide.

“Langa?” Reki whispered, careful not to startle the guy. 

A moment passed, and Reki almost considered thinking Langa had passed out, but then he heard a simple, “hmm?”

Reki grinned. That was just down-right adorable.

“Langa, we can move to the bed, if you want.” 

Once again, there was a pause as Langa contemplated, then nodded against Reki’s collar.

Reki lifted one leg up to step out of Langa’s lap, clumsily making his way to his bed. Langa was slower, but eventually followed, both of them flopping down and immediately seeking each other’s warmth as they drifted under the covers.

“No skateboarding videos tonight, then?” Reki yawned, snuggling into Langa. 

Langa didn’t answer, and once again Reki thought he was asleep, but then he mumbled, “Reki, I really need to tell you something.”

Reki sat up abruptly. Was it about earlier? Had Reki really upset him that bad? Langa startled beside him, looking alarmed. 

“What? What happened? Why are we sitting up now?”

Reki shook his head as Langa leaned on his own arms, the both of them fully awake now.

“Sorry, I mean— no, I’m sorry!” Reki exclaimed despairingly, trying to keep quiet as he got the wrong idea. “I really hadn’t meant to keep anything from you, I promise, I’ve been trying to tell you something for like a week now and I don’t know how to—“

“Reki,” Langa whispered soothingly, “it’s okay. It’s behind us now. As long as you promise to never do that again, I’ll be fine.”

Reki sighed in relief. “Okay. I promise to never lie to you again or treat you like a robot.”

Langa snickered, his eyes bright. “I didn’t mean to literally promise, but I guess that’s close enough.”

Reki smiled at him, shifting so they were facing each other more comfortably. He reached forward, taking Langa’s hand in his own. “What did you want to say?”

Langa hesitated, a vibrant blush coloring his cheeks. “Y-you go first. You said you had something to confess, right?”

Confess, Reki thought, yah, if only.

“Right.” Reki licked his dry lips nervously. “It’s— well... it’s embarrassing!” And just like that, Reki was turning away to face the wall closest to the bed, his hands covering his red face. Of course he chickened out— of course!

But Langa was still there, and there wasn’t a single interruption. Sighing, Reki resigned himself to his fate and turned half-way back to Langa again.

Langa was meanwhile reaching out as if he were about to touch Reki, but stopped once he saw Reki face him. An encouraging smile quickly overtook his face. Reki had started to notice lately that Langa only reserved those smiles specifically for him. Once again, it made him feel special.

Reki took in a shuddering breath. It was now or never. No interruptions. No sisters, or friends, or weird skater girls to disrupt his question. It was the first time he could ask without and distractions. 

And if he didn’t take this opportunity right now, he never would.

Langa waited patiently as Reki took another deep breath, then he turned to fully look Langa in the eye.

“Langa,” He said seriously, and Langa let out a nervous giggle at his stoicism. Reki ignored it. “Langa, will you do me the great honor of—” Langa’s eyes widened, “of— oh my god, just, willyoumoveinwithme?”

The last words came out in a rush from Reki’s mouth, and he had the sudden urge to clap his hands over his mouth in embarrassment.

But Langa...

Langa was just gaping. Shamelessly.

“Um... earth to Langa?”

Langa’s mouth closed abruptly, and then he had the nerve to ask, “what do you mean?”

“Oh my god,” Reki mumbled, pulling at his hair, looking away from Langa. “Don’t make me elaborate— I want to move in with you, dummy!” Reki was going to start a rant now, he could feel it. “I want us to live together! I want to grow succulents in little pots in an apartment, I want to taste your cooking every day, I want to wake up to your stupid face, I want to take turns using the shower after a long day. God, I want a cat like the one we saw the other day!” Reki couldn’t stop. “I even picked out an apartment— god, that’s stupid, isn’t it? It’s near the college we go to, down the street from Shadow’s shop, just by our skatepark. It’s not the best thing in the world, but i love it anyways.”

“Reki.”

”And I’ve invested so much money into renting it out! And then in the future we can buy a house all to ourselves, we can invest in my— our business, and it’s near Ms. Nanako’s house, your house, or maybe not your house anymore, I don’t know—“

“Reki!” 

Reki’s eyes snapped up to meet his best friends, and was shocked at Langa’s wide grin. Then he realized there was no need to worry in the first place, because this was Langa he was talking about.

“Langa?”

Langa was over the moon. He was in love, and happy, and could just about kiss Reki right now. 

So he did.

Langa launched himself at Reki, his arms wrapping so lovingly around his torso. And they went tumbling to the bed’s comforter, Langa’s hand cushioning Reki’s head from the fall even though his best friend— his roommate, clearly didn’t need cushioning what with the soft sheets. Force of habit, he supposed. Reki started to laugh for a moment, but was cut off abruptly by Langa’s lips.

Langa’s. Lips.

Reki squeaked in surprise, and Langa was immediately pulling away. “Sorry!” Langa started, forgetting to speak Japanese and immediately switching back. “Sorry, I didn’t ask if I could do that first, I’m—“

But Reki was pulling him back, and Langa couldn’t feel more ecstatic. 

As they kissed, Langa’s hand went up to tangle in Reki’s hair, and Reki leaned into the touch adoringly, tilting his head just slightly in a way that made Langa positively melt.

People always said that the first kiss was always the best kiss. Langa hoped that it wasn’t, because he wanted more of this, more to get drunk off of.

But for now, this definitely was the best thing that’s happened to him. Except for meeting Reki. And skating with Reki. And everything with Reki. Langa knew that sounded silly, and kind of obsessive, but all he could think right now was Reki, Reki, Reki as their lips moved against each other’s. 

Langa relearned three things about Reki that day.

One: his lips were chapped. But not in a bad way, more like in a I use chapstick way too much because of it way. So now, Reki’s lips tasted faintly of peppermint from when he used it earlier that day.

Two: he really did use salt-crystal toothpaste. Langa already knew this, but it became even more apparent as he deepened the kiss.

And three: Reki was so, extremely touchy. As in, his hands roamed everywhere and anywhere he could reach: Langa’s face, his hair, his hands, his waist, just always moving. It was endearing. And amazing for Langa in every way.

Right now, Langa was about to cry from happiness as they pulled apart to breathe heavily, acknowledging the fact that, yes, they were breathing heavily from kissing, and not just skating. 

That thought made him grin as he slid his hand down to Reki’s cheek, their foreheads touching.

“....wow,” was all Reki whispered. 

Wow, indeed.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for so long,” Langa whispered, because how could he not be blunt at a time like this.

He could already feel the tell-tale heat of Reki’s cheeks as Reki blushed below Langa’s hand. Reki’s blushing was possibly the cutest thing Langa had ever witnessed.

“R-really?” Reki asked, pressing closer, “is that what you wanted to tell me, then?”

“Yes,” Langa breathed. “God, yes, I’ve been trying to tell you for what feels like the longest time.”

“How long?”

“....a week.”

Reki looked surprised at that, pulling away. “Really? Because same. I’ve been meaning to tell you about the whole moving-in-thing for about a week as well.”

They stared at each other, Langa’s hand slipping from Reki’s cheek to reach for his hand instead. And Reki promptly started laughing.

Langa pouted for a moment, but couldn’t help but let in a chuckle himself. Because they’d been trying, both of them, to say something so important to the other and of course the whole time they were both getting distracted.

Langa sighed as Reki finally stopped snickering, still trying to keep as quiet as possible in a situation like this. 

“Sorry,” Reki giggled, “it’s just that it feels like it’s been forever.”

“When’d you get the idea?” Langa whispered, remembering how thin the walls were.

“About a month ago. I decided to ask you two weeks later, but then something happened and I kind of chickened-out for a whole week.”

“What happened?”

Reki smiled, glancing down at their intertwined hands, “I realized my feelings.”

Langa blushed, because he just realized that that was the first time either of them confessed. Yes, Langa kissed Reki, but he never confessed. And Langa  never told him that he would want to move in with Reki. Crap.

Langa’s eyes widened as he answered quickly, “I hope you know that I do want to move in with you. As soon as possible.”

Reki snorted, “Yah, I figured with the whole getting excited and kissing me thing.” Despite Reki’s words, the boy still looked unsure.

Langa smiled. “I like you, too, Reki. Almost creepily so.” He grimaced at that, while Reki laughed softly.

“I don’t think it’s creepy. It’s sweet. I like when you show your feelings.”

Langa was gone after that. Reki liked him expressing emotion? No one ever did. God, why was Reki so perfect? Langa could kiss him again, but he restrained himself.

“I think I’m in love with you,” Langa sighed dreamily instead.

Reki blushed as Langa grinned from ear to ear.

“What makes you say that?”

Langa ducked his head down, avoiding Reki’s eyes, “no one’s ever liked my emotions.”

Reki paused, then leaned forward to ruffle Langa’s hair fondly. “I like them. Our friends like them. Your mom does, too. I think that’s enough, Langa. Promise to be honest with how you feel from now on, okay?”

Langa smiled, “Yah.”

Reki’s face twisted up then, and he muttered something under his breath.

“Hmm?” 

Reki looked up shyly, “I said that you should know what you’re getting yourself into, you know, since we’re laying it all on the table.” Reki looked so nervous, and Langa frowned at that.

“You just said to be honest. What’s going on, Reki?”

Reki bit his bottom lip, working it between his teeth. Then he spoke up, “do I ever... annoy you?” Before Langa could speak his offended response, Reki quickly went on, “I mean, I know I don’t, it’s just that... I talk a lot. I always space out. Shadow and Miya are always making fun of it.”

Langa stared at him for a moment, dismayed that his friend— boyfriend? Would even think that he’d be annoyed, or anything close to that.

“Reki, look at me.” Reki did. “Reki, I don’t care if you talk for hours straight, I love listening to you. And about you spacing out, I do it too. I don’t care about those things, if anything they make me love you more. I’m not usually good with words, but I know one thing for sure, and that’s how I feel about you. You’re amazing, Reki.”

Reki was as red as his hair, unable to meet Langa’s eyes again. Langa opted to just squeeze his hand instead.

They were set in a comfortable silence for a moment, before Reki whispered, “thank you, Langa.”

Langa smiled at Reki, then leaned in for another kiss, and the inevitable happened.

The door slammed open as an annoyed and tired-looking Koyomi entered the doorway.

“Can you guys keep it dow—?”

Langa and Reki’s faces were mere centimeters apart when Reki’s little sister had barged in.

“Uhhhh,” Reki mumbled, blushing furiously for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

Langa had good enough sense to back away from Reki as Koyomi stared at them in disbelief.

After a moment she just shook her head. “It’s about damn time.”

“Language!”

“I don’t even hang around you guys often and I still know what’s going on between you two before you guys do.” She yawns, “anyways, just keep it down. I’m tired.”

As she finally headed out of the room, closing the door gently behind her, Reki turned to Langa.

“That is at least the twentieth time we’ve been interrupted this week!”

All was right in the world