Chapter Text
Langa used to love the rain, there was something about being warm and cozy in his home while it was pouring on the roof made him feel so at peace. There was nothing quite like falling asleep to that quiet sound. After his and Reki’s argument, it only served as a reminder of that painful memory.
Reki had always hated rain, and apparently the rain hated him right back. It screwed up skateboards so he couldn’t skate, and by extension S was also closed, and the memory of his and Langa’s fight in the rain was still too fresh a wound. The only good thing that had come out of this type of weather was his second beef against Adam.
It was a Friday night and both boys had been planning to go to S together, but it was drizzling and only getting worse. Reki still wanted to go see Langa and spend the night together, he loves his family, but he needs a break. He flopped onto his bed and pulled out his phone, rolling his eyes at his sisters’ yelling in the background. Reki sent Langa a text asking if he could stay over and the reply was almost instant. With a grin, he leapt up and gathered the few things he would need. A few minutes later he tossed his board to the ground, yelling out a quick goodbye to his mother before setting off.
He enjoyed the quiet atmosphere for a moment before it became too wet for his board. Picking it up, he ran to the nearest vending machine. He made it a habit to bring a snack or drink for Langa whenever he had money on him, the way Langa’s face lit up every time more than made up for the cost. He sprinted the rest of the way to Langa’s apartment, though he still arrived completely soaked. When Langa’s building came into sight, he saw Langa shivering outside in the rain. “Huh?,” he muttered to himself as he picked up speed. The sight brought up those painful memories of their fight.
“Reki.” Langa hugged Reki the second he was close enough, and once he pulled away, they did their dap.
“What are you doing, why didn’t you wait inside like a normal person?”
Langa led him inside quickly while saying, “I wasn’t out there the whole time, just like two minutes.”
The rain had come with strong wind and he was shivering by the time he made it into Langa’s bedroom. Langa, of course, noticed right away. “Reki, go get a shower to warm up, I don’t want you to get sick.” Before Reki even had time to protest, Langa had shoved some of his own pajamas into his hands and pushed him in the direction of his bathroom.
“No, you were in the rain too and this is your house, I can wait while you take your shower first.”
Langa thought for a moment before coming up with a solution. “Why don’t we take a shower together instead?”
Reki tried to think of something else but he could find no real reason to refuse, and even though it was sure to be awkward, he did think it would be nice.
“Sure.”
Langa turned the shower on to let it heat up as he started to undress. Reki was slightly more anxious than his friend and talking more than usual was something he did when nervous.
“I brought my board, so tomorrow we can leave first thing and I was thinking about these new tricks I wanted to try, they seem super complicated, but they shouldn’t take too long to master,”
Before he knew it, he was stepping into the shower after Langa, being sure to keep his eyes glued to the back of Langa’s head.
Reki had thought that he would feel much weirder than he actually did, in such an intimate situation with his best friend, who he was quite sure by now he had feelings for. Langa being so calm helped him relax though. “Here,” Reki offered, “I can wash your hair for you, if you want.”
“Oh, thanks.” Langa said in response.
Langa closed his eyes at the feeling of Reki’s fingers essentially massaging his scalp, letting out a long sigh. Reki let his eyes wander a little and took a moment to admire Langa’s shoulders and back. Though he almost exclusively drew skateboard designs, something about Langa just makes him want to be able to capture his beauty on a page, though he doubts his skill could make a sketch look as beautiful as the real thing. He realized that he might have been taking too long, so he quickly rinsed the shampoo out of Langa’s soft hair, before adding conditioner and combing through it.
Once he was done, they switched, Langa turning to wash Reki’s hair, when he noticed Reki’s arms, which were almost always covered up by a hoodie.
“You have so many freckles Reki, they’re so pretty.”
Reki turned around and Langa saw his red face. “Dude!”
“Sorry,” Langa smiled, grabbed the shampoo and began on Reki’s hair. Before he rinsed out the conditioner, he gently pulled Reki’s hair straight up. “There, now you look like Shadow.”
Reki was confused until he poked his head through the shower curtain to see his own hair in the mirror. “Hah, do you think this is how he styled his hair for S?”
While they washed their bodies, Reki absentmindedly hummed along to a song that had been stuck in his head recently, Paradise by Rude-a, and Langa could hear. Langa couldn’t help but smile when he was around Reki, and he added Reki humming to the never-ending list of things he liked about the red haired boy.
Reki thought that even though they had just seen each other naked in the shower, it would feel weird to be walking around Langa’s bedroom without anything to cover up with, so he wrapped a towel around his waist quickly before exiting Langa’s bathroom. It was then that Reki realized, in his haste of leaving his own home in favor of going to Langa’s, he somehow forgot to bring pajamas.
A knowing smile appeared on Langa’s face. “Did you forget to bring any clothes?”
Reki rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Yeah.”
Langa rolled his eyes affectionately before walking over to his dresser to pick some lounge clothes for Reki to sleep in. He caught the clothes he was tossed, a loose pair of sweatpants and an oversized blue t-shirt. “Thanks man.”
“It’s okay, you can change wherever, I’ll have my back to you.” Langa said.
Finished changing, Reki turned around to see Langa curled up on his bed. He chuckled a little at the sight, “Dude, you look like a shrimp.”
“Yeah well-BOOM!” He was interrupted by a loud crash of thunder outside his window, causing them both to flinch.
The comfortable atmosphere had been broken so Langa left that thought abandoned, “I can make us some eggs if you haven’t had dinner yet.”
Reki looked down at his phone and realized that he had in fact not had dinner, and it was 7:32.
“Now that you mention it, I’m starving.”
Once Reki had done the prep work, Langa began making omelets, as per Reki’s request. Reki was still feeling a little cold, so he wrapped his arms around Langa while he was cooking, hugging him from behind to feel his warmth pressed against him. He rested his head on Langa’s shoulder, sighing and relaxing.
Langa was thinking about how horribly domestic this all was. He smiled at the image of them doing something like this years from now, in their own apartment as a couple. When he was done with both of their omelets, he felt the way anyone would when they have to move after a cat has fallen asleep on their lap. Though it pained him to do so, he was hungry as well, so his hunger won out. “Reki, they’re done.”
He got a muffled grunt in response. “You’re so warm. Don’t wanna move.” Despite his words, he did unlatch from Langa.
Langa adored his now sleepy look, “Aw you look so tired,” he said as he ran his hands through Reki’s hair. “We can head to my room and sleep once we’re done eating.”
Langa absolutely loved listening to Reki talk, watching him get so excited and passionate, but he also loved when Reki was tired and hardly talked. When he was tired, he touched Langa even more than usual, grabbing his arm, bringing him into a hug, and maximizing the physical contact between the two overall.
They ate almost entirely in silence, but they were both comfortable and content, and didn’t feel the need to break it.
They left the dishes for the next day, as both of them were not nearly awake enough to care about the mess. Though neither of them really wanted to, they shuffled into the bathroom with yawns to brush their teeth. In Reki’s amazing feat of packing, though he had managed to forget clothes to sleep in, he had remembered his toothbrush and salt crystal toothpaste. As he pulled it out of his bag, Langa made a slightly disgusted face, to which Reki remained oblivious.
They had just finished brushing their teeth when Langa started opening every drawer and cabinet in his bathroom in search of something. Confused, Reki asked, “What are you looking for?”
“A hair tie so I can wash my face without getting my hair wet again, I swear, I had so many yesterday...” Langa trailed off.
“Oh, no problem, just use this,” Reki said as he pulled off his headband and offered it to his friend.
“Thanks Reki.” Langa gave up his search and instead put on Reki’s headband.
He thought he looked a little silly, but Reki’s opinion was that Langa looked absolutely adorable.
Finally ready to actually sleep, they walked into Langa’s bedroom fighting their droopy eyelids.
They had no energy to prepare any other sleeping arrangement besides them both sharing the bed. It was a tight fit, but they both managed to squeeze together onto the mattress. Reki loved the feeling of just being surrounded by Langa. In his bedroom, wearing his clothes, and cuddling right up to him to feel his heartbeat, Reki felt a rush of love for his best friend.
With Reki’s face sufficiently squished into Langa’s chest, they were both relaxed and ready for sleep to take them. Though there was something on Langa’s mind that he knew would keep him awake.
“Hey Reki?” He said tentatively.
“Yeah?”
“I know we’re friends but,” at that, Reki’s breath caught in his throat. “I’ve never wanted to be this close with anybody else. Showering together, cooking, sleeping like this, I really like it Reki, but only with you. I really like you.”
Reki was feeling too much emotion to put anything into words, so instead, he just leaned forward. He paused just before their lips were touching, making sure Langa wanted this, “Can I-”
“Yes.” They both leaned forward the mere millimeters it took and kissed. All his previous tiredness forgotten, Reki’s brain felt like it was melting in the best way possible. He thought he had been completely relaxed before, but this?, this felt like nothing else. As he pulled away, he couldn’t help the soft laugh that escaped him at the sight of Langa’s stunned face.
“What, you said that and didn’t expect me to kiss you?” Reki couldn’t stop smiling.
“Well, I didn’t really think you would like me back. I mean, you do actually-”
“Yes, dummy, I do really like you too.” He leaned in again, this time finding a better angle and pushing against Langa’s lips with more force. When they parted for air, Langa gave him a peck on the cheek. Then on his nose, forehead, and started kissing all over his face, leaving Reki a laughing, blushing mess.
“Reki, Reki,” he was laughing now too, overcome with the joy of this moment. “I like you so much, will you be my boyfriend?”
“Of course, can you be mine?”
“I want to Reki, I’ve wanted to for so long.”
They embraced each other, small kisses being exchanged before they finally drifted off into sleep to the sound of rain.