Chapter Text
Reki bounced on the balls of his feet at the finish line of the S course. He could just see two people rocketing their way down the broken stairs. Reki dug his nails into his palm. It would be close. Langa’s hair whipped in the wind as he made an impossible jump and skidded down the railing to shoot across the finish line. Reki stumbled back as he caught Langa’s full weight. As he usually liked to, Langa had launched himself off his skateboard and into Reki’s arms.
“Did you see, Reki?” he asked, buzzing with excitement. His cheeks were flushed. There was a wide grin on his face. Reki could feel Langa’s heart thudding under his hands.
“Yeah,” Reki grinned up at him. “You were incredible.” Langa smiled in a self-satisfied way and adjusted the mask across his eyes. Reki disentangled himself from Langa. “You’re getting too heavy for this, man.”
“But you’ll still catch me, right?” Langa frowned.
His earnest concern was endearing. “Of course, man,” Reki said and lifted his fist for their fistbump. Langa had just tapped his fist to Reki’s when his opponent came up behind him.
“Until next time, Prince Langa,” Adam whispered into his ear. His red eyes were sharp under his own mask. Langa turned to look at him.
“It was fun, thank you,” he said earnestly to Adam. Reki shuddered at the look on Adam’s face that Langa apparently didn’t register.
Adam nodded to him and snapped his fingers. His assistant, Tadashi, materialized out of nowhere. “Let’s go, my pet.”
Reki and Langa watched them go before turning back to the crowd. Everyone was still talking animatedly about Langa and Adam’s race. It wasn’t often that the two of them could be out at the track, but whenever they were, it drew a ridiculous amount of people. Langa was listening to a younger skater talk to him. His head was tilted as he listened intently, hair falling into his eyes. It didn’t matter how good Langa was, he never thought of himself as different and was genuinely interested in every skater he met. Reki allowed himself a moment to look at him fondly before tugging on his elbow.
“Sorry, we gotta go.”
“Okay.” Langa nodded at the boy he was talking to and followed Reki out of the abandoned warehouse. Reki took the car keys out of his pocket and unlocked the doors. Langa slid into the passenger’s seat while Reki started the car. As soon as the doors were shut and locked, Langa took the mask off from his eyes and dropped it in the console between them. He wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve.
“Do I really have to wear this?”
Reki smiled. They had this conversation every time they skated at S. “Yes,” he said. “If everyone finds out you’re the prince, I’m dead, you’re dead, and you’ll never be let out of the palace again.” Langa put his chin in his hands and stared out at the blackness rushing by them. Reki shook his head. He knew what Langa was thinking. “Sorry, Your Highness. That’s just how it is.”
Langa pouted. “Why don’t you have to wear one? Won’t everyone know who I am if they see you?”
“No one’s paying attention to me,” Reki said. “Besides, I have plausible deniability. Maybe I have another friend who’s a good skater with blue hair. It’s possible, you know,” he added after glancing at Langa’s face.
“I pay attention to you,” Langa said, a bit petulantly.
“I’m honored,” Reki replied with a grin and put a hand to his chest. “Thank you, Your Highness.”
Langa huffed and looked out the window again.
Reki pulled into one of the palace’s garages after showing the guard his ID. Luckily, they could keep Langa’s S runs a secret for the most part. The head of PR, Cherry, skated with them as well and knew how to pull some major strings, for which Reki was thankful. It was one of the few things that kept Reki and Langa sane. Reki put the car into park and looked over at Langa.
Langa had fallen asleep on the ride over. His head was pressed against the glass. His chest rose and fell gently with each breath and his hair fell into his face. He looked relaxed and peaceful. He must have been more tired than I thought. Reki’s eyes lingered on him. Without realizing, he reached out to push Langa’s hair out of his face. Reki curled his fingers into a fist at the last second and shook Langa awake by the shoulder.
“Hey, Langa, we’re home.”
It took Langa a second to wake up. He sat up and blinked a few times. “Okay, Reki,” he said and closed his eyes again.
Reki shook his head and got out of the car. He opened the passenger’s side door and shook Langa again. “Wake up,” he said. “You can’t fall asleep out here.” Langa made a noise of protest and tried to curl up into himself. Reki sighed and reached over him to undo his seatbelt. He picked up his mask from the center console and tucked it into his pocket. Bracing himself, he pulled Langa’s arm around his shoulder and pulled him out of the car. Reki grunted. It had been much easier when they were teenagers. Once he had pulled Langa to his feet, Langa started to wake up. He stumbled behind Reki through the dark palace and back to his room.
Langa flopped down the bed and immediately hugged one of the pillows to his chest, burying his face in it. Reki rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. He tugged Langa’s shoes and socks off and put them away. Langa was snoring softly already. Reki walked quietly across the room. Before he shut the door, he heard Langa say sleepily, “Thanks Reki. You’re the best.”
Reki smiled to himself. “Of course, sleep tight, man.”
Reki was pretty happy with his life. His three younger sisters were annoying sometimes, but they weren’t evil. His mother and father adored him. He had a good job. He had skating. He had friends. He even had a best friend. Actually, the best best friend. Though his best friend was a prince, Reki was no damsel in distress. He had no need for a fairy godmother, a genie in a bottle, or even a shooting star. Everything was good. There was nothing for his heart to ache for.