Chapter Text
Reki stared at the wedding invitation lying flat on the kitchen table, the soft cream cardstock practically glowing in the morning light. Elegant cursive ink spelled out his doom in looping silver letters. His eyes locked onto the line near the bottom- simple, polite, and absolutely terrifying:
"To help with seating arrangements, we kindly ask that all guests bring a plus one- romantic or platonic."
On paper, it was harmless. Thoughtful, even- that everyone could at least sit next to someone they were close to and not be split up. But in Reki’s already spiraling brain, it translated to:
“Show up alone and we’ll shove you at the leftover table with your six-year-old cousins and the one uncle who smells like cigarettes.”
His chest tightened. Of course it meant romantic. Who actually brought a platonic date to a wedding unless you were forty and divorced? This was his aunt’s wedding- fancy, floral and full of people who hadn’t seen him since he was missing his front teeth and obsessed with Tech Decks. There was no way he was going to be that guy, sitting solo while everyone else was clinking champagne glasses and slow dancing under fairy lights.
He rubbed the back of his neck, heart pounding.
Okay. No big deal. He just had to find a boyfriend. A fake one. In under four weeks.
Simple.
Except it wasn’t.
Because there was only one person he could even think to ask- and the idea of Langa pretending to be his date made his brain short-circuit entirely.
-
"...So you want me to pretend?"
Langa’s voice was calm, almost amused, but Reki could barely meet his eyes. The midday breeze danced across the rooftop, tugging at the ends of Reki’s red hair and ruffling his untucked uniform shirt. The distant sound of students laughing in the courtyard below felt miles away compared to the way his heart was hammering in his chest.
He hadn’t meant to ask him here, not like this. But he’d panicked- again- and dragged Langa up to the school’s rooftop during lunch, blurting out the request before he could think too hard about how insane it sounded.
Reki nodded, trying not to look as desperate as he felt. “Yeah. Just for one night,” he said, voice a little tight. “Please, man, I really need this.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t wanna be the guy my family corners at the reception just to ask why I’ve been single for 18 years. I mean, we’re in our last year of school, and I’ve literally never brought anyone home. They’re gonna pity stare me into the floor, I just know it.”
Langa didn’t answer right away. He just looked at Reki for a beat too long- head tilted slightly, expression unreadable. Reki’s stomach twisted. Maybe this was weird. Maybe Langa thought he was joking. Maybe he should just say that he’s sick on the day of the wedding and skip it entirely-
“Okay,” Langa said softly, cutting through Reki’s spiral like a breath of fresh air.
Reki blinked. “Wait- what?”
Langa shrugged, the breeze brushing a strand of blue hair across his cheek. “I said okay. I’ll go with you. As your boyfriend.”
It was that simple. No teasing. No awkward hesitation. Just Langa, casually agreeing to pretend to be something Reki had no idea how to handle.
-
And that’s exactly how he ended up in this mess.