Work Text:
Langa is watching Reki make a skateboard. For a long time. Reki is wearing headphones, singing along (surprisingly well. Either that or Langa just loves his voice) to “Just a Girl.” Cute . Langa clings to the door frame, unable to stop looking at Reki’s elegantly clumsy dance with the table saw, so he takes a picture for later. Yeah, he’s going to stare at this for hours, isn’t he. Langa slides down silently to the floor, closing his eyes. Suddenly, he hears a yelp from Reki, who has just nicked his hand on a craft knife, of all things. Langa immediately rushes behind him and grabs his injured hand. “Are you okay?” Reki jumps, clearly spooked at the sudden appearance of his friend. It was almost funny how he didn’t notice Langa until now. Almost.
After Reki regains his composure, he responds, “Yeah! Fine. ‘Tis but a scratch, eh?” He giggles at this. Langa has no idea what he’s talking about, so he just brushes it off and grabs Reki by his unharmed hand. All he can think is- his hand is so rough and warm. Langa brushes his thumb against Reki’s palm. I’m holding his hand. After this realization, Langa’s breath hitches, and his pale face flushes pink. Reki is staring at their hands. Ah. Langa grabs a first aid kit on the way to the bathroom, dragging his friend with him.
Langa prepares the kit while Reki washes his hands. “So… looks like I have to patch you up again.” Reki doesn’t respond. Okay, what is going on? He’s never quiet. Did I do something wrong? Annoyed, Langa grabs Reki’s hand and presses an alcohol wipe to his wound without warning. “What– hey!! You could’ve… nevermind.” His sentence fades as his eyes drift to the floor. Is he nervous? Langa, still gently clutching his hand, lays one of their colorful band-aids on his hand. It’s teal, with little whales on it. So cute . Reki smiles again, staring at the same object. He seems to grow more comfortable, slowly, as they stare at his hand in silence.
“Aww. Won’t you kiss it to make it better?” It was just a joke, but Langa plays along. He smirks, brings Reki’s hand up to his lips, and gently presses a kiss to his wound. Reki goes red. “W-well I have t-to get back to work now. We’ve got…boards to sell.” He laughs awkwardly.
“Can I join you..?” Langa says, still holding onto Reki’s hand.
Reki gets flustered. “I…what… y-yeah sure!” Still holding hands, they walk back to the workshop.
♡
“I’m tired.” Langa pouts. “Stupid math . I can’t believe there’s a test. Tomorrow. I’m sorry Reki, I have to study.”
Reki smiles. “Sure no prob! I’m just gonna practice what Miya taught us the other day. Good luck!” He gives a dorky thumbs-up, and then quietly, “you’ve got this.”
Langa flushes immediately. “Thanks, you too.” He sits, leaning against the back of the halfpipe, and fishes out his notebook from his backpack.
He doesn’t end up studying for math. Of course he doesn’t. Watching Reki skate beats pre-calculus every day. The limit of Langa’s infatuation as Reki skates to infinity… I should really know how to finish that sentence by now. What even is a limit… ? He frowns at his page, littered with doodles of Reki and the yeti on his board. I wish I was calcu-less.
Reki glides closer, crouching down to Langa’s height as the board slows to a stop.
“Do you… know what a limit is?”
“Sure I do!” Reki winks. “It’s a... um...” His face scrunches up as he tries to remember. Adorable . “AH! Oh wait, nope. Sorry.”
They stare at each other for a moment before an uncontrollable cackle comes to both of them. This is.. Really nice. Langa meets Reki’s eyes again and gives him a soft smile. For some reason, his cheeks go red. Is he okay? It is a little cold, I guess. “You cold?”
A brief pause, then, “yeah, a little.”
Langa does not hesitate to put his jacket over Reki’s shoulders. He looks so good in it. I want him to keep it forever. Reki relaxes, moving off his board to sit next to Langa. Wordlessly, red hair meets blue as they lean closer together. Langa can’t contain himself any longer.
“Do you want to get lunch with me?” A new sense of determination rises. I’ve finally done it. I asked him out! This thought doesn’t last.
“Sure!! Oh, we should bring Shadow! I think it’s his day off or something. Anyway, I think if we beg hard enough he’ll pay for us.” He laughs mischievously, having no idea what he just ruined.
Unable to say anything, Langa plasters on a fake smile and texts Shadow.
They meet at an American-style diner, with booths and everything. Langa sits across from the others, alone on his side of the table. A nice waitress named Gloria takes their order. She seems a little worried about the number of burgers they’ve ordered, not to mention the concern she has for Shadow’s outfit.
Langa is always quiet, so Reki and Shadow don’t immediately notice the extra layer of brooding he’s added. Why can’t I do this right? I thought –
“Langa, you good?” A flash of concern crosses Reki’s face.
“Yeah I’m fine .” Woah. That was bitter. Where did that come from? “Ah! S-sorry. I’m just…thinking.” His sentence tapers off into silence, which lasts for about five seconds before Reki continues his conversation with Shadow. Suddenly, Reki bumps his knee into Langa’s. He looks up in confusion, but all he receives is a wink and a quiet “shhhhh.” When did Shadow leave ?
“We’re gonna prank him, aren’t we?” Langa giggles. “Y’know, he has zero spice tolerance…” Blue eyebrows wiggle.
Reki taps his nose. “Gotchu. So, hot sauce in his burger?”
The two end up slathering an ungodly amount of spice onto Shadow’s burger, hiding it between the lettuce and the tomato. Their knees touch again, this time by accident. Langa flinches, only for Reki to lean back and close his eyes, relaxed and trusting. Langa finds himself staring at Reki’s face. Shadow is taking his sweet time, so Langa enjoys this quiet moment.
After a minute, he sees Shadow approaching, so he reaches across the table to tap Reki. With one eye open, he gives Langa a silly grin. They manage to keep their snickers to a minimum while their friend takes a bite, but as soon as he does, Shadow screams . It’s somehow more shrill than that of a little girl, and coming from a dude in clown makeup, it’s downright hilarious. Does Reki have his phone out? Is he recording this!? Genius . After the pranksters stop laughing, Shadow stares them down.
“I am not paying for this.”
“Oh shit.” Reki winces. There were a lot of burgers on this table.
“Yeah, oh shit . You should have thought of that, dumbasses.”
Thankfully, they have enough money from working at Dope Sketch. Reki frowns.
“Reki?” Langa knows something is up.
“It’s just– there were some special wheels I was saving up for. It’s nothing.” Langa decides that it’s not nothing, and covers the whole check while Reki isn’t looking.
♡
That night, they meet up at S, despite their test tomorrow. They’ve preemptively accepted their failure. This time, Reki is racing some rando with a billion piercings. Langa tries not to think about how much it would hurt to fall on those, which he only manages because of the ongoing countdown. Red lights flash green and Reki– gone. He’s been working on his speed lately, but I never thought … On the screen, Langa sees a memorized face hardened with determination. Wind blows through his hair, looking like fire, and it really is, because Langa melts. Reki doesn’t slow down, not even for the corners, and Langa’s pining only increases. Maybe he can understand exponents now.
Reki finishes first by over 20 seconds, a new record. Joe and Miya were waiting for him at the end. But where's Cherry ? Langa could’ve sworn he saw him earlier. A hand falls swiftly on Langa’s shoulder, scaring the absolute shit out of him. Speak of the devil. A pink ponytail flutters in the breeze, dark mask shifting to accommodate the oncoming conversation.
“You have it bad, don’t you.” Cherry’s eyes pierce through Langa’s soul, knowing exactly how he feels.
“I…don’t know what you’re talking about.” Neither of them knows why he bothered with this lie.
“You should tell him." He smiles reassuringly, though it can't be seen through the mask. "I know what you’re thinking, but with Reki, nothing can go wrong.”
A bitter laugh. “As if. I asked him out to lunch today and he brought Shadow.”
Cherry knows this feeling all too well. He’s asked Joe out countless times since they met, only for their date to be crashed by one of their high school friends.
“It’s okay kid, you just have to be clear. You should try again soon!”
This time, a sad laugh. “Sure.”
“Langa.” Cherry ponders something. “You can’t keep this to yourself forever. It’s just going to get worse.’
“But what if–”
“I’ll stop you right there. He’s Reki . Do you ever think he could hurt you? No matter what he says?”
Langa smiles fondly. “No. He.. he really is Reki .”
♡
It’s really late. 2:30 am or something? They’ve shifted from watching skating videos to their favorite anime, “Stake the infinite.” It’s about vampires. The episode ends, and Langa is just about to put his phone away and pull out the sleeping bag, when Reki’s head falls on his shoulder. He’s breathing slowly, snoring softly. It’s really cute. So, he tells him this. “You’re so pretty.” Langa swipes his thumb over Reki’s eyelashes, pulls off his headband, and leans over to turn off the lamp. Langa looks through the window, and releases a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He looks back down at Reki, barely visible under the meager starlight. Langa kisses him on the head and shifts them into a sleeping position, looking at Reki longingly before deciding not to pull him close. “Goodnight, Reki.”
The next morning, Langa wakes up to Reki’s snoring. He’s annoyed, briefly, until he notices Reki’s arm around his waist, their legs tangled together. Langa stays there, indulging in Reki’s warmth for what feels like hours. He wants to stay like this forever. But it doesn’t last. Reki’s sister opens the door and stares in confusion, eyes widening slowly… Langa shoots her a desperate look, and at least she stays quiet while taking her phone out to snap a photo. She giggles, runs out of the room, and drags Reki’s baby sisters over to see this spectacle. “Look, they're basically boyfriends!” Langa sees Reki stirring, so scared that he will wake up to another queer-coded comment from his sister. Shit, Langa doesn’t even know Reki’s views on that. He’s never been interested in girls, but Reki certainly has, and never once has he mentioned liking a guy.
Langa thinks about what this means for them, how his dreams would burn in front of his eyes before they even took off. Nausea swells up from his stomach, an oncoming storm of dizziness ready to drown him along with his tears. As if through thick fog, he hears a muffled voice coming from the doorway. “Are you good?” Reki’s sister takes a step back into the hallway, giving Langa the opportunity to stumble out of the bed and flee to the bathroom.
He can’t breathe, or… he’s breathing too much? Langa’s head is spinning. He sits down against the door, fingernails carving little marks in his arm. His breathing slows, just as Reki knocks, sleepily mumbling, “Langa, you okay?” Langa puts his hands to his face, surprised to find fresh tear streaks. His voice is raw. “Yeah!” The false positivity is tangible. He takes another breath and tries again, “yeah, I’m fine. Just–” Wow. He does not know how to explain this. “Just overwhelmed.” Langa can hear Reki’s frown through the door. “Oh. I’m.. sorry.” Upon hearing this, Langa stands up and opens the door, which causes Reki to fall forward. “You have nothing to be sorry for.” His hand moves cautiously before ruffling Reki’s hair. So soft . After a few seconds, he finds himself being pulled by the wrist to the kitchen.
♡ Reki’s POV ♡
Reki’s been wanting to catch up. He’s tired of feeling inadequate, like he doesn’t belong with any of his friends. After a long and painful training session with Miya, the two of them go out for lunch at Joe’s Italian restaurant. Reki’s not sure what he ordered, as he was sort of spaced out. Probably pizza. He always goes for pizza. After a few minutes of chatting about school, the conversation shifts to Langa.
“So. Any progress with Langa? You two are so slow it’s killing me.”
Reki takes a slow sip of water. “...I d-don’t know what you’re talking about.” He lies, more to himself than to Miya.
“Oh please . Ask him out already so I can win my bet.”
Any attempt Reki has to calm down goes out the window. “ Bet?! What are you–”
“I bet 800 yen you two would be going out sometime within the next few weeks. Joe already lost, the romantic thought you’d do it last month for Valentine’s day, but Cherry said it would never happen, because you two were too thick-headed to do anything about it.”
Reki is too close to choking for someone who hasn’t even gotten their food yet. “Wh-when ddid you place bets??”
“Oh, only in December.”
Reki squeaks. “ December?!”
“Hey look, our food is here. Wait, is that… Lasagna?” Miya stifles a laugh. He is clearly up to something. I wonder why I ordered this. I must not have been paying attention… oh wait. I think I said Langa when the server asked me what I wanted. Shit. Miya grins, and being unable to contain his mischief, he waits for Reki to take a bite (because of course he does) before saying, “I bet you wish you were eating Langa instead.” This time, Reki actually chokes. That causes a little scene. After he finally composes himself, Joe sneaks up from behind and gives a hearty slap on Reki’s shoulder that makes him face plant into the lasagna.
“HAH. Bet you wish you were faceplanting into Langa too.” This comes from Joe.
“Are you two working together?!” Somehow, Reki’s redness outshines the pasta sauce on his face.
“Just ask him out already, kid. What could go wrong?”
“Miya could lose his bet. Seriously though, only 800?” Reki is a little disappointed.
“I kinda agreed with Cherry but I couldn’t bet the same thing, could I? I only bet a little ‘cuz I don’t want to lose too badly.” Miya sticks his tongue out, like the catboy he is.
“You’re not going to lose . I’ll do it.” Reki may as well get something out of this, so, “but you have to give me half of your winnings.”
“No way am I–”
Interrupting, Joe offers, “confessions are easy, don’t worry about it.”
“Oh really, easy?” Reki deadpans. “Then how’s it going with Cherry?”
Upon hearing this, Joe promptly shoves Reki’s face back onto his plate. Miya and Joe are hysterical . Reki doesn’t bother lifting his face. As if they didn’t get enough already, everyone’s attention in the restaurant is on them.
“Kay this was real fun, but the kitchen awaits. Say hi to Langa for me.” He winks at Reki before sauntering through the swinging doors. They eat the rest of their lunch in peace, Miya smirking throughout it all.
♡ Langa’s POV ♡
It's late at night. God knows what time it is. Langa’s awake, thinking about Reki. Again . Enough is enough. Shit, am I really doing this now? He sneaks out of his room and runs over to Reki’s house. It’s a two-story house, with a spacious backyard littered with toys, and a large maple tree just outside Reki’s window. Climbing trees is a lot harder than he thought. Eventually, he manages to perch on a small branch just within reach of the glass. With one foot on the branch and one on the windowsill, Langa’s light taps on the glass turn into impatient knocks as he thinks about what he’s going to say. What he’s about to do . He’s so lost in thought he doesn’t even notice when Reki opens the window. In surprise, his foot slips and he falls through the window. Right on top of Reki. Great.
“Langa. What are you doing here?” Pinned on the floor, Reki’s face flushes and his eyes dart back and forth between Langa and a nondescript patch of ceiling.
“Reki. I…have something to tell you. I can’t wait any longer. “ He pauses. “I really like you.”
“Yeah I.. I like you too!”
Frustrated, Langa says “No! Not–” Breathe. “Not as a friend, Reki. I like like you. I can’t ever stop thinking about you.” Only now does he become acutely aware of their position. Reki is lying face up on the ground with Langa’s hands either side of him, their faces separated by just over a foot. “I like your smile, your creativity, the way you make me feel like I’m having fun whenever I’m with you. You amaze me every day and I can’t imagine being without you.” Langa pauses, the both of them realizing the weight of what he just said. Reki is speechless, for once. His golden eyes grow larger and larger. Scared out of his mind , Langa tries to get up, but is swiftly stopped when Reki pulls him back down.
“Don’t go.” They are now closer than they were before. Langa is on his elbows, Reki's fist is around his collar. Their legs are a mess. “I like you too, Langa. How could I not?” His right hand is still clutching Langa's shirt, so he rakes his left through Langa’s hair. “Let’s go out.” His voice is tender. It's Langa’s turn to be speechless now. He’s so tired . He puts his head down in Reki’s neck, and all he can manage to say is “mmmmmm.” Reki smirks, knowing exactly what that means. “So, that’s a yes then?”
Langa picks his head back up, and oh, it’s really close to Reki’s. Really close. Langa drowns in his sunny eyes, reflecting starlight from the open window. “Can–” Langa looks away, embarrassed. He takes a deep breath. “Can I kiss you?” Reki gives a small nod. He smiles so wide right before he pulls Langa further down. Now their noses are brushing. They look into each other’s eyes for a moment. Then Langa leans closer and they kiss. It’s careful and soft, but it ignites something in the two of them that will never go out. This one is our first, but something tells me every kiss with him will be just as memorable. After a few seconds, they break apart.
Nervously, Reki asks, “so, how was it?”
“Perfect.” His quiet voice hushes into an almost inaudible whisper. “ You’re perfect.”