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"You know, mate," Reki says through a mouthful of food, not caring to cover his mouth as he speaks. He swallows, but doesn't say anything more, unable to think on how to keep speaking in English.
Langa stares at him. "Where did you learn that?" He swallows his food before speaking (in Japanese), because he's not a heathen.
"Duolingo!" Reki seems rather proud of himself.
"Why is Duolingo teaching you British slang?"
Reki blinks far too fast a few times, confusion itched into every feature of his face. "Wait, that's not Canadian?"
Langa shakes his head. "No."
"That's a scam!" Reki exclaims as Langa reaches into his bento box to steal a rice ball when he's not looking.
"Most things are, Reki."
Reki scoffs and crosses his arms, resting his head on the tall fence that's making sure that nobody falls to their death. "That app is stupid."
Langa takes a sip of the energy drink that's hidden in Reki's metal bottle. "Delete it, then."
"I can't!" A look of pure panic flashes onto Reki's face.
"Why not?"
"Because that stupid bird is going to fly over the rooftop and kidnap me if I do!" Reki gestures his hands wildly to the sky.
Langa looks up, watching a seagull fly over them and land on the opposite side of the rooftop, trying to deep throat a lonely baguette. It chokes on it and flies away, defeated by a stick of bread. "No it didn't." Langa looks back at Reki.
Reki slaps his forehead. "Not that bird, you moron. The green Duolingo bird that's like six foot and sends death threats if you delete the app. That bird."
"A bird can be six foot and green?"
"It's a costume, Langa."
"Oh." Langa steals another one of Reki's rice balls. "Why is a mascot sending death threats if you delete the app?" He pops the rice ball into his mouth.
"No clue. I'm pretty sure it's just their thing." Reki shrugs, tilting his head up to watch the clouds move and shift into shapes that look vaguely familiar to a morphed smiley face and a bit of nearly every dinosaur that existed.
Langa shuffles next to him, leaning his head onto Reki's shoulder as he slowly chews. He's always been a slow eater with a big stomach, vastly different compared to Reki who shovels food down his throat like it's his last meal even with a small stomach. Reki also gets travel sickness easily, but never with skateboarding, funnily enough.
Reki reaches over for his metal bottle, taking a sip of the energy drink that's still cold, if not a little flat. "You think our parents will be mad if they find us drinking this?"
Langa swallows. "Probably. Cherry-san would hit Shadow-kun around the head if he found out that he brought us it."
"I meant our mums."
A pause. "They would hunt Shadow-kun down when he's at the flower shop and wack him around the head with flowers. Then they'd feel bad and pay for the flowers."
"Yeah, that sounds about right." Reki tilts the bottle towards Langa, offering it to him. Langa takes a sip of it while Reki is still holding it. "You're so lazy." Reki laughs.
Langa pouts, pushing the bottle up so it doesn't spill and make their clothes all sticky. "Stop being mean."
"I can't help it!" Reki is still laughing as he tucks a piece of Langa's behind his ear, making Langa hum and close his eyes. "Woah, you got your ears pierced?"
"Mhm," Langa shifts, leaning more of his weight into Reki.
"Where?" Reki fiddles with Langa ear, staring at the amethyst earring.
"Back at home."
"Neat. You think I should get my ears pierced?"
Langa's eyes flutter open. "Mm. Miya-kun might bully you if you do." Reki gasps, opening his mouth to rebuttal and stand his ground (even though Miya isn't here at that moment) but Langa puts a finger against his lips. "But I think you would look pretty."
Reki's brain short-circuits. "Wha-?"
"I think you'd look pretty with your ears pierced." Langa repeats, cutting off Reki.
"Oh. You think so?"
Langa nods. "Gold would suit you."
"How would you know? Maybe I'd look absolutely dashing in silver." Reki grins, closing his eyes and putting a hand on his chest.
Langa stares at Reki intensely, trying to figure out whether Reki would suit gold or silver. Reki squirms, jolting Langa a little. "You give off gold vibes." Langa says after a few seconds later. "But you would still be pretty with silver jewellery." In reality, Langa thinks that Reki is the most prettiest person ever, but he'd never say that out loud.
"Ah, thanks dude!"
Dude. Langa's heart sinks.
"Sure." Langa takes the bottle, downing the rest of the energy drink.
Reki dramatically gasps. "Was that the last sip?!"
"Maybe."
"Langa, my guy!" Reki playfully shoves Langa, who smiles innocently. "You drank most of it, you jerk!" Reki shoves Langa over a little too harshly, pushing Langa to lay on the floor. Reki crawls over him, pinning him to the floor.
Langa looks up at Reki, his breathing becoming a little jagged. "I did no such thing." He says breathily.
"You did!" Reki knocks their foreheads together, their lips brushing against the other's lips ever so slightly.
Langa's brain goes blank.
Reki's stares at Langa, his reaction delayed.
Until it practically hits him like how a train crashes against a wall at max speed.
Reki blushes like mad (which is vastly different compared to Langa's barely visible blush), scrambling to get off of Langa, swearing and spewing apologies under his breath.
Langa doesn't let Reki get away far, tugging on his hoodie underneath his uniform. Reki stumbles forward, their noses brushing this time.
"Stay." Langa blurts out, not really thinking over what's he said.
Reki's eyes narrow. "Wha-"
Langa tugs on Reki's hoodie again, pulling him down and pressing his lips against Reki's lips in a full-on, proper kiss, not some flimsy brush of lips like before, effectively cutting off Reki's speech.
Wait.
He's kissing Langa.
Holy shit, he's kissing Langa.
This wasn't how Reki had dreamt of his first kiss of going.
In his mind, he thought his first kiss would be with a smoking hot chic. Maybe in an alley after impressing her with his sick skating skills. It would a perfect balance between being hot and steamy and gentle and sweet. They would laugh about it afterwards, and if Reki was lucky, he'd try and shoot his shot. If not, he'd brush it off and never speak to her again.
Never, ever, in a million years would Reki thought his first lip-locking experience would be with Langa. Langa, whose his best friend. Langa, whose a boy. Langa, who Reki could never pull into an alley after impressing him with Reki's sick skating skills and kiss him silly with a dopey smile.
Fuck, he's smiling.
Which is ridiculous.
Langa wouldn't laugh the kiss off and pretend it never happened, because that's not Langa.
And he'd never shoot his shot with Langa because he's a boy! Like him!
Oh, Sugar Honey Ice Tea. Does this make him gay?
No, no. It can't! Reki stills, and forever will, find girls attractive. This means nothing. Plus, they're both wearing socks. It's fine. Everything is fine. Reki is not gay for kissing Langa.
Reki is abruptly pulled out his inner monologue by Langa's lips leaving his. They stare at eachother in silence for a few seconds, either at the other's eyes or lips.
"Sorry." Langa says, breaking the silence.
"Huh? What are you sorry for?"
"For kissing you. You didn't enjoy it."
Reki's lips turn down into a frown. "I never said that."
"You didn't kiss back."
Oh. He didn't.
That was fucking stupid of him.
Reki opens his mouth, about to make up some flimsy excuse, but Langa cuts him off - again. "Well, technically, we didn't kiss."
Reki stares at Langa as if he had grown an extra arm. "We did."
"No. A kiss involves two people kissing."
"That's obvious fact."
"Mhm. I kissed you. You didn't kiss me. It was a one-sided kiss." Langa says, somehow sounding confident and deadpan at the same time.
So Reki didn't waste his first kiss with Langa. Thank fuck.
"Huh."
Langa nods. "So we didn't kiss. And that means you owe me kiss."
Reki blinks a few times far too fast. "No, I don't."
"Yes, you do."
"How?"
"Because you didn't kiss me back."
Although what Langa said did make sense, Reki didn't particularly want to kiss Langa again. Reki just felt off by the idea of kissing his boy best friend.
Wait.
Reki felt put off by the idea of kissing Langa because he was a boy. He could just... imagine Langa was a girl.
Langa's hair was long enough to maybe pass for a girl's hair. Yes, he was taller than Reki, but he could pass of for a tall girl.
Yeah. This may work.
Langa waits ever so patiently for a reply, still lying on the concrete floor of the rooftop with Reki on top of him. The strings of Reki's hoodie was dangling in his face, kind of restricting his vision of the boy on top of him.
In Langa's eyes, Reki was the prettiest person known to mankind. Down to his looks, personality, optimism and his sheer love of skateboarding. Everything about Reki just screamed perfection. Reki always made Langa into a lovesick fool and always making him have a stupid little dopey smile on his face.
He might be overstepping the line of what was normal for a crush, but Langa can't get the feel of Reki's soft lips pressing against his lips out of his head. He wanted to kiss him as much as Reki would let him. He wanted to kiss Reki stupid. He wanted to kiss his cheek, his temple, his jaw, anything. He wanted to kiss him before school, before class, before a match at S. He wanted to give Reki a celebratory kiss after he won a match at S. He wanted to kiss him under the moonlight in the skatepark before they went their separate ways.
But - and even though Langa was terrible at reading other people's faces - the look on Reki's face seemed to want the very opposite of what Langa wanted.
Reki didn't want to kiss Langa.
But Langa wanted to kiss Reki.