Chapter Text
It didn’t take long for Langa to notice the whispers.
“Who the hell does he think he is?” “I wouldn’t want to be him.” “I heard his name was Remy or something.” “I bet he’s a groupie for Langa.” “Did you see the way he looks at Snow? It was like Joe and his fangirls.” “Faggot.”
Their words crept under his skin and replayed in his mind a million times.
“Some kind of queer.” “I bet he follows Snow around for the fame.” “I heard that Snow taught the red-haired kid how to skate. Lucky.” “I bet Snow feels bad for him.” “He’s a weirdo.” “Always grabbing onto Snow.” “A freak.”
They didn’t know what they were talking about.
“Ah, son of a bitch!” Reki cursed.
“You okay?” Langa called out across the skate park. He pushed his board over to where Reki was laying with his arm across his eyes to block out the sun.
“I’m fine,” he groaned as Langa reached him.
Reki had been trying to perfect a trick he saw online for over three weeks. Every day he was getting closer, but he couldn’t hold his balance for long enough to land it. Langa had tried to help, but their skating styles were too different. He didn’t hold himself in the same way and when Reki tried to listen to him, he nearly cracked his head on the pavement. As much as Langa hated it, Reki had to figure it out on his own.
“Do you want some water?” Langa asked, holding out his hand.
Reki grabbed it and pulled himself up. His hands were warm and calloused. Langa felt a twist in his stomach when Reki let go, but his smile was wide and wild and Langa couldn’t help but mirror him.
“I almost got it that time,” he said excitedly.
Langa smiled, watching as Reki’s face morphed from frustration to hope.
“Maybe you should take a break.”
“No, no. One more. I can do it!” Reki nearly shouted.
His eyes were so sure. He was determined even though bruises and cuts covered his whole body.
Something squeezed in Langa’s chest as he looked into Reki’s eyes. It was a familiar feeling, but he didn’t have a name for it. It was the feeling that happened after he mastered a trick. Or he won a race. The feeling of his stomach twisting into knots and his heart beating in his ears. There was a name for it, but Langa couldn’t place it.
He watched Reki get back into his position at the base of the ramp. His shoulders were taught and his eyes were narrowed as he glared at the ramp like a giant.
Reki took a deep breath, and pushed off.
He gave himself a good start up the ramp and jumped once he’d reached the top. Langa had watched him do the same move a million times before, but he was always surprised by how easily it looked for Reki to glide through the air. Even before he started teaching Langa how to skate, he seemed to do everything with the same level of reckless abandon and determination.
He was halfway through the air when Langa’s lungs squeezed. Something was wrong. Reki was going to fall again. His balance was perfect, but he didn’t jump high enough to get his board back under him.
“Reki!” Langa screamed.
He was falling too fast.
Reki’s momentum made him spin nearly upside down. His bright eyes were wide in realization.
Before Langa could move, he hit the ground hard and rolled to the bottom of the ramp.
“Reki!” Langa nearly tripped over his board as he scrambled to Reki’s side. “Oh my God. Please- please tell me you’re okay.”
His eyes were closed and a bright red line of blood drew from his mouth.
“Reki?”
He didn’t move.
“Reki, please.”
Tears were pooling in the corners of Langa’s eyes.
“Reki,” he whispered, gently cradling Reki’s head in his lap.
His bright red hair was damp with sweat. His chest was rising and falling slowly and his breaths came out in small puffs. Langa couldn’t hold back his relief and hunched over Reki’s face.
“Please wake up.”
As if he could hear Langa’s cracking voice, Reki winced and slowly opened his eyes to peer up at him. All of a sudden, Langa could breathe again. His tears fell onto Reki’s cheeks and he softly brushed them away with his thumb.
“Langa? Are you okay?”
Reki’s voice was barely over a whisper. His eyes were wide, but Langa couldn’t read his face. His mouth was in a tight line and the blood that sat on his chin shone like a star against his skin.
“I wasn’t the one who fell,” Langa half-laughed. “Are you okay? Seriously. That must have hurt.”
Reki started sitting up, but quickly fell back onto Langa’s lap. His eyes were slightly unfocused, but he blinked them back to normal quickly.
“Sorry,” he whispered. “I got dizzy.”
“Well, stay here until you aren’t.”
“I- I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
Reki furrowed his brows like the answer was obvious. He turned away from Langa and toward the park where a handful of skaters were talking to each other. Langa recognized a few of them from S. He had never spoken to any of them, but it was obvious that they knew him. They were all whispering together in a huddle until one of them laughed and met Langa’s eyes. They stared at each other for a moment before the group turned and walked away from them, still whispering amongst themselves.
Langa didn’t want to imagine what they were saying.
“You might have a concussion, Reki.”
“I’m just a little dizzy,” he said, trying to pull himself up again. “I didn’t hit my head or anything.”
“Reki,” Langa sighed.
“Look.” Reki stood over him and smiled with his arms wide. “See? I’m perfectly-”
His eyes glazed over again and his weight shifted. He swayed backwards and blinked quickly.
Without thinking, Langa jumped up and caught him before his head actually hit the ground. He pulled Reki’s head into his neck and wrapped his arms around him tightly, binding him to his chest.
His stomach flipped again.
Why did it do that?
“Langa! Let me go.”
His heart was pounding.
“Langa!”
Reki fought against him, but Langa kept his arms locked.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not.” Langa’s voice was breathless. He didn’t mean for it to sound that… broken, but it made Reki stop pushing against him. They stood there, frozen in place long enough for Langa’s tears to dry and for Reki’s breath to return to normal.
Then, Reki moved.
Langa tightened his grip so he didn’t try to break out again, but Reki didn’t pull away. Instead, he fixed his feet and head into a more comfortable spot and wrapped his arms around Langa. They were sturdy and warm as they wrapped around his waist and rested against his lower back.
Langa’s heart squeezed.
“Do you think he has a crush on Langa?” “Is that why he follows him around like a lost puppy?” “What a freak.” “Faggot.” “Queer.”
“I’m fine, Langa. I’ve been hurt worse.”
“That’s not a good thing.”
“Hey,” Reki pulled back just enough to look at Langa. He had a small smile on his lips and his eyes were soft. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he froze with his mouth open just enough for Langa to see his tongue.
His chest tightened.
Before he could stop himself, he unwrapped himself from Reki and stepped away.
“Queer.”
Langa cleared his throat.
“Your lip is bleeding,” he said, handing over a tissue from his pocket.
“Oh, shit. Really?”
Reki took it and wiped the wrong side of his mouth. He inspected the tissue and tried again, just missing the cut.
“Here,” Langa took it back and used his other hand to hold Reki’s chin. “Don’t move.”
As gently as he could, he dabbed the tissue against the cut. A piece of it broke off and stuck to the bright red spot. He inspected it for a second, then continued to clean up Reki’s chin and any blood that smudged across his cheeks. Then, he ran over to his water bottle and wet the corner of the tissue. He handed the bottle to Reki and grabbed his chin again to rescue the trapped paper.
Once he was all cleaned up, Langa inspected his lips one last time before he caught Reki’s eyes.
They were blown wide as they watched him. His pupils were dilated and his cheeks were a bright red. Langa would have been worried if Reki’s chin wasn’t still resting in his hands. He could feel his short puffs of breath against his thumb.
“There. All done.”
His heart hurt. It squeezed and pulled and his breath felt shallow and ragged.
“Ew. Do you think he likes Snow?” “Groupie.” “Faggot.”
Why? Why did he care what they thought? Why did it seem like anchors pulling on his chest? And why did Reki look at him like that?
Why did he want Reki to look at him like that again?