Chapter Text
On his first day of college, Reki Kyan learned that he was a fucking idiot.
He accepted the title after strutting into his first class, jazz shoes proudly swung over his shoulder, only to be met with a man lecturing a full theatre on ‘the importance of cremation in mortuary science.’ The lecturer shot him a glare - the kind of glare that made Reki believe he would be cremated if he didn’t leave that very second.
In that moment, he knew everyone he’d ever known had been right in assigning him the idiot label. Of course, strolling into the first building you see because it looks the most similar to the one on google is one thing, then there’s discovering mortuary degrees are a real thing.
And, apparently, everyone knew that.
Reki’s head fell on the outside wall and his forehead bounced against the brick. An alarm for any snoozing brain cells, supposing there are any brain cells left.
He checked his phone. 9:42. He searched for the correct building on maps, ‘Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music.’ 15 minutes away. He’ll make it if he hurries. Whilst it loaded, a text slid from the top of his screen.
Turn around.
Reki shouldn’t have been surprised. He should have smelt pests.
And here the pests stood. One head of cotton candy, one head of broccoli. Both with coffees in hand and a perplexed focus on the building’s entrance sign. Broccoli was the first to cackle.
“Interesting career change.”
“I hope you’re my first client.” Reki sighed. It had a hint of relief.
“You saw the mortuary science sign… and went inside anyway?” Cotton candy questioned.
“Yeah, I saw the sign.” Reki scoffed. “Totally saw the sign. You know me. I just love reading signs. Huge fan of signs.”
Silence.
“Right.”
Joe and Cherry. Two years Reki’s senior, five years Reki’s friends, too many years of getting lost and trusting he’ll be found. In the loneliest nights, the heaviest hearts… and mortuary science lecture theatres.
Cherry gave Reki a nudge and leant down to his ear. “Joe really can’t talk. He was late to his first singing exam because he was making out with the Mamma Mia choreographer.”
Joe raised his hands in surrender. “I still got an A. And made out with Leslie Odom Jr’s doppelgänger. So.”
Reki’s stare lay somewhere between judgement and jealousy.
“Don’t do that, though.”
Reki huffed. “Here’s the fun police.”
“We’re saving your sanity,” Cherry cut in, “There’s seven billion people on this planet, Reki. Your soulmate is not Link Larkin in your first production of Hairspray. ”
“Clock it.” Joe clicked his fingers.
The rest of the walk was warmed with Joe and Cherry predicting what other havoc Reki may stumble across in college. Reki was busy marveling at the campus buildings; some looked older than Japan itself, with grand archways and cobblestone steps that grew daisies in the cracks. Some looked fresh as river water, made entirely of the most pristine glass Reki had ever seen. At first, he doubted the glass was even there. He swore he could see into every little room, if he squinted - he saw squealing reunions between friends, the first sips of campus coffee, tendus at ballet barres and vocal warmups in front of mirrors.
If he squinted even harder, he could see himself there. And it felt oh, so right.
The three approached a cloudy cube with windows tinted blue. Joe and Cherry slowed as they climbed the entrance steps, letting Reki bask in a moment he would only get once.
They remembered their first time climbing these steps. The dizzying nerves, accompanied by the kindest voice whispering ‘welcome home.’
“Building body tea.”
“Joe.” Cherry groaned.
“Yeah...”
Cherry glanced at Reki. It warmed his heart, the way his eyes shone with such childlike wonder, looking his future in the face for the first time… and knowing he was already addicted.
This was Reki’s addiction. This world was his drug, his dream, his home.
Truly a theatre kid in a candy store, Cherry thought fondly.
“Where am I going again?” Reki asked.
“Keep following the signs for the auditorium. You’ll have a welcome talk there before jazz. Then vocal practice. That’s upstairs, in the very back of the right side. Don’t get lost.” Cherry said. He had a tendency to turn into Reki’s mom-away-from-mom.
“Okay. See ya!”
Reki sped off. Joe and Cherry stood there, dumbfounded, their prepared lecture to soothe his first day jitters crumbling into nothingness.
Reki’s entire being buzzed. His soul itched within his skin, begging his bones to leap and kick and twirl and belt and lift until they shattered into dust. He wanted his heart to be ripped out of his ribcage with every step on stage, over and over and over again. He vowed that no matter the trials or the tears, he would never lose the magic of it.
What else was passion for? What else was love?
-
Sprained ankles.
That’s what else.
Reki’s body slumped against the wall of the school’s entrance. A tight pain echoed through his entire left foot, his skin already tinging purple.
“It sure is one way to make a teacher notice you, I’ll give you that much.”
Miya Chinen, Reki’s first - and favourite, if he dared speak too soon - college friend said, laughing lightly. He held Reki’s ankle in the air, as if he had won it as an award.
Reki’s eyes met Miya’s, his gaze coated in an apology. Miya’s smile told him there was no need.
“At least my voice didn’t crack in vocal practice.”
Miya hummed. “That would have been worse.”
“Way worse.”
“Imagine being known as the boy who only got a trial run of puberty.”
“I’d just have to die,” Reki cried. Miya giggled so hard he nearly dropped Reki’s ankle.
“You do have an amazing voice, though.” Miya’s voice fell to a mumble. There was a wall in front of his words, and it was a wall Reki knew; the wall that swore your excitement was a burden, that the love you have to give was overbearing.
Thankfully, with Reki, there was no such thing.
“Shut the fuck up, mister I-reached-a-high-C-with-no-breaks! Do you know how insane you sounded?! Disgusting. The way you glided up there like fucking silk!” His hand was tightly pressed in an Italian chef’s kiss.
“And I have never heard a soprano so controlled I was personally offended,” Miya smirked, “so we’re even.”
Reki beamed up at the hints of a peach sunset. “What a perfect first day.”
“Even with this?” Miya lightly squeezed his ankle.
“Especially with that.”
Reki watched as the last few students made their way out the building, complaining about teacher’s agonising warmups and hastily pulling out hair buns. Some wiped sweat from their forehead, whilst others declared they were heading to the gym.
There was a kind breeze that slow-danced through the evening, soothing his exhausted body. He wanted to drink up this moment. This peace was new to him, and he welcomed it warmly.
And it was quickly shattered by a piercing car horn.
Miya winced. Reki’s entire life flashed before his eyes.
The culprits pulled up against the entrance stairs at a speed that caused Miya to hold his breath. Lo and behold, entered Elphaba and Glinda, with worry in their eyes.
One was a concerned worry. The other was worried he wouldn’t keep a straight face.
“I’m guessing this is your ride?” Miya asked.
Reki shot Joe a glare before he had the smallest opportunity to scare Miya away.
“I wish it wasn’t.”
“Well that theatre dreamer shtick lasted a good two minutes,” Joe’s words were shaky. The laughter was begging to burst.
“No! This has done wonders for my lore. The tragic injury before my big debut.” Reki spoke with his index finger raised.
“Exactly. It’s character building.” Cherry agreed, kneeling down to inspect Reki’s ankle. The small hiss he gave at first glance widened Reki’s eyes beyond their sockets, to which Cherry waved a hand to say it’s not as bad as you think. Reki and Miya both deflated in relief. He looked up, eyes softening.
“You must be Miya. Or, as Reki called you in his text, his Jesus.”
Miya scoffed, “loving thy neighbour and stuff. You must be Cherry!”
Cherry glanced at Joe and dropped his voice. “You don’t need to know him.”
Miya’s head tilted, “Joe, ri-”
Cherry shushed him, “-no. This is for your own good.”
They giggled in hushes as Cherry began to help Reki on his feet.
“You need a ride?” Joe asked Miya, “We’re gonna be screaming the Aladdin soundtrack and we need a Jasmine.”
“If I didn’t live literally right around this corner, I’d be diving in that car.”
Reki couldn’t help but reach out an arm and pull Miya in an awkward side hug. He caught the faintest whiffs of apple and bubblegum shampoo, and he stiffened. His heart wobbled a little. It was the same shampoo his sisters’ used.
It was home, cupping his cheek, whispering it is not a place - but moments.
As Miya walked off, Reki noticed his heart giving him a nudge. A nudge he hadn’t felt since meeting Joe and Cherry. Like a child looking into the eyes of a teddy bear and feeling like the world had placed a guardian angel in their hands.
That one, it said. Keep that one.
However, for now, his two most cherished teddy bears put their arms around him and helped him fall into Joe’s car. ‘Arabian Nights’ sparkled through the car speakers and as Bruce Adler’s voice hypnotised them, a blanket of contentment was wrapped around Reki’s shoulders. He rested his cheek against the window and beheld the moon’s beauty - a crescent moon snug in a honey-glow. He found it so comforting, knowing the moon always made sure he got home safe. It was peaceful.
The sound coming from the front-half of the car was a striking contrast.
They soon arrived at the student apartments Reki was living in, with his eardrums begging for mercy, and he assured them he would manage to hobble to his apartment alone. Reki managed to get out of the car by himself, albeit painfully slowly.
The whole time it took Robin Williams to sing about friendship, to be exact.
“Just say you don’t want us to eat all your mom’s curry in your fridge.” Joe grumbled.
“I don’t want you to eat all my mom’s curry in my fridge.”
“Queen Masae would want us to eat her curry in your fridge.”
“Shut up,” Reki giggled and blew the two kisses. Cherry caught his. Joe threw his out of the window.
“Come over to our place tomorrow. We’ll make you ramen,” Cherry waved goodbye as Joe slowly reversed back. They both mouthed a ‘love you’ through the car window before disappearing into the road.
When Reki stepped a swollen foot into his apartment, the quietness was eerie. The door echoed shut behind him and his dance bag landed on the floor with a solemn thump. After growing up in a house as boisterous as the sun, he knew this quiet would irk him for a while.
But he was thankful. How lucky he was, to be loved so loudly, that the slightest quiet made him uneasy.
He stumbled to his bed, which was luckily only five and a half steps away from the front door. It was as if the universe knew he was an injury prone idiot, so ensured the stars would only let him afford a shoebox studio. A tour of the place is complete by merely opening the front door.
Reki adored it. His pocket-sized home wrapped in one set of fairy lights, where two posters made the wall look crowded.
The day sank into his muscles as he slumped onto his bed. He threw his ankle on top of an octopus squishmallow - Mr. Ten Tickles, to be precise - and felt the throbbing lift almost instantly. His phone reminded him to google how long sprained ankles take to heal when it vibrated against his leg, accompanied by the vine boom sound.
He was also reminded to change his text-tone.
The notification was from a new contact, named ‘Jesus (real).’
HEY REKI ITS MIYA (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶) .ᐟ.ᐟ JUST WANTED TO POP A MESSAGE
Reki felt his heart swell. Pop a message. Miya was like the human equivalent of a cupcake.
HI BFF! MESSAGE POPPED
how’s your ankle?
a bit better tbh ty!
yippee! totally okay if you’re not up to it but some ppl in our year are going to a party tn and i think im gonna go, just if u wanna come too :))
Reki took a look at his ankle. It was stained purple, with crooked veins piercing and pulsing and swollen through the wound. It begged for mercy. Its bruised eyes looked to Reki with the despair of a man with everything to lose.
‘Please,’ it croaked, with the last drop of energy it could spare. ‘Please, let me rest.’
OF COURSE IM COMING LOL BE SERIOUS
YAY :D WANNA MEET ON CAMPUS AT 9?
sure thing!!!
Reki reached to turn his speaker on and soft, cozy music hummed through the room. He scrolled through instagram mindlessly, yet every post began to blend into one. Captions became fuzzy. The mellow tingles of sleep tempted him. A ten minute nap was well earned, he thought.
Lo and behold, ten minutes did nothing. Snooze it is…
…one more snooze. Just one…
…one final snooze encore…
…and after six more snooze encores, Reki finally arose. His nap clouded his vision and left swirly indents around his wrists, both arms numb and fuzzy. There was little to no difference between current Reki Kyan and a slug. He embodied the slimiest, slowest slug there ever has been.
Mind, body and spirit.
And smell.
God, his smell. It would send other slugs into disease.
With the grace of said slug, Reki hauled himself out of bed and hobbled into his bathroom, in which the toilet, sink and shower were all one fingernail width apart. His sink was close to crumbling from holding Reki’s soap and buttercream candle. The bear on his bath mat had to gain a few wrinkles and laugh lines on his cheeks to fit on the floor.
It looked pathetic, which was Reki’s intention. How excited he was, to laugh about the cracks on the bathroom ceiling and the broken fan in five years.
He turned the shower on for the first time. Calling it a dribble was generous. Calling it warm was gaslighting. Perfect.
Preparing to step in, his skin built an armour of goosebumps to shield from the cold. Reki flinched as the first droplets pierced through, forcing a hiss out of him more violent than a python.
…Was that a C5?
He pushed his voice to replicate the note, falling into lazy hums and random riffs he learnt in class. The tiles were his kindest listener, echoing the silky ripples around the room so gracefully, like skates swirling around an ice rink. The water fought its way to warmth, and the warmer it became, the smoother his voice slid through melodies.
“Oh shampoo, without you I am blue ~ your texture goo ~ your smell brand new ~
your love blinds me ~ your chemicals too ~ your price kills me ~ you break my bank, you do ~
shamPOOOP ~ WHOOP WHOOOP-”
The water started to laugh at him.
Reki froze. He took a glance around the shower, seeing nothing but droplets. He poked his head out of the shower curtain, seeing nothing but steam.
He stared at the showerhead. It poured streams of wheezes, with tiny pauses in between, which would burst into the most colourful laughter that spluttered through hiccups.
As Reki turned down the intensity of the shower, he confirmed it wasn’t the shower who was laughing.
It was coming from the other side of the wall.
Reki remained frozen. A mix of embarrassment, surprise and confusion flailed around inside him as the laughter persisted. Louder, louder and louder it boomed, the wheezing becoming more disjointed and verging on painful.
Excitement got the better of him.
He leant a shoulder against the tile, grabbing the bottle of conditioner.
“Oh conditioner, meet our visitor ~” Reki’s tone was deep and sultry, doing his best to sound operatic.
More wheezes followed.
Reki kept quiet. An invitation to his invisible duet partner.
“I sure do...uh, love being your listener? ~”
A voice so delicate. So kind. A soft hum of a lullaby in another room.
“I rinse my hair awffff with the sprinkleeerrr ~”
“Er… sprinklaurrr, oooo yeah ~”
The pitch was terrible. The worst Reki has ever heard. His laugh was so intense it was silent.
“I get it in my mouth, it tastes bitter ~”
Time for the grand finale. Reki took a deep breath, mustering the most glorious note his head voice could possibly reach…
“...conditioner is the new liquooor! ~”
Reki rested his cheek against the wall to hear light applause. His ear strained, pressing ever so intently to pick up as much of this stranger as he could. All he knew was their shower ran heavy, their claps were earnest, and their voice a shooting star.
A star that murmured ‘beautiful, beautiful.’
“Where’s my encore?” the star teased.
“Where’s our encore, you mean,” Reki scoffed, “Zac Efron. Vanessa Hudgens. You in?”
Grins were a silent thing, of course. But not in this case.
“As long as I’m Gabriella.”
And so, it began.
And oh, did something begin.
Start of Something New from High School Musical was written for this exact moment. Reki was certain of it. It was a song he had performed more times than he could count, but he knew this was the first time he was singing it.
It ended in applause from both sides. Reki hoped the stranger was taking a bow alongside him.
“I hope to hear you sing again, mister.” The voice was timid, yet inviting. Reki’s heart sank a little when he heard their shower slow to a stop and the whisk of a curtain opening.
“Wait, hey! Who are you?!”
But the only listener that remained were the tiles.
-
Reki found the smell of alcohol oddly comforting.
It made the music louder. Eyeshadow gained a twinkle. Heels became backbones. Words came alive.
His relationship to parties was complicated. His idea of fun more resided in theatres, sushi bars and watching bad movies at Joe and Cherry’s - but he didn’t hate parties. Hate was a strong word. Love was too, however.
Vodka lay heavy in his stomach as he stood outside the front door of the sorority house that the party resided within. It looked like a shit with windows. He looked to his left where Miya stood, with his nose lightly scrunched up. His thumb frantically rubbed along his knuckles, which nerves had painted pink.
“First party, huh?” Reki knew the answer by the prey-like fear in Miya’s eyes.
Reki held out his hand.
“One squeeze of my hand if you need to step outside. Two squeezes if you wanna go home. Kay?”
Miya shook his head lightly, mouthing a shaky ‘I’m fine.’ It was as if turning down kindness was a reflex.
“Miya,” Reki asserted, “if you want to leave, we leave. No questions asked. No matter how much fun you think I’m having. Promise?”
His shoulders dropped a little from his ears.
“I’m so lucky you’re my friend, Reki.”
He took Reki’s hand and the two made their way inside. The white lights above gradually transformed into blue and the chatter became background noise to a grungy indie song, the bass like thunder in their chests. Reki and Miya squeezed their way through an ocean of shoulders, drinks dribbling on their heads, slurred yells overpowering all thought. Steam hounded the windows. The air was hot and heavy.
They drowned in the crowd, yet Reki felt completely dry. There was a knot that tightened in his belly; a knot he first met in a sixth grade classroom, when he was the last one without a partner. If he listened to its pulls for too long, he could feel the cold bench on his legs as he sat alone during lunch. He felt the burn behind his eyes as he stood by his front door, waiting for a friend that never came.
He was terrified of that little Reki being the real Reki. So, he went to parties in an attempt to prove it wrong.
The night would swim on. Reki would float above it.
Only this time, he wasn’t floating alone.
Miya’s hand tugged on his and pulled him to the kitchen counter, where a group huddled around bowls of snacks. A girl with lively pink curls gasped when she spotted Miya, bouncing over and throwing her arms around him. Reki recognised her from jazz class - he had never seen kicks that flawless in his life.
“Reki’s here, everyone!” Miya sang. He welcomed Reki into a circle of smiles that embraced him, melting his nerves before he had the chance to cower. A blonde boy with six-inch heels gave him a handful of marshmallows, and a voice like dark chocolate asked if his ankle was okay.
They all stayed bobbing above water. His heart gave him several nudges that night.
Around two hours - and too many shots of tequila - into the evening, and in the middle of Reki and Miya throwing popcorn into each other’s mouths from across the room, the stars sprinkled their magic on Miya Chinen. Time, in its entirety, stopped for him as a series of piano chords struck his heart. Reki recognised Lorde’s voice creeping through the melody.
Before he could recall the song’s name, he was dragged into the center of the room.
Miya could taste every lyric he was singing. Both hands held Reki’s now and he spun the boy around, stumbling and falling into the sea of shoulders, and Reki’s laughter was spraying sunshine, and the room was shimmering, and maybe, Reki thought, it was safe to drown.
He was ready to dive, head first.
Until he felt a push in his spine.
He was catapulted towards Miya’s chest, the alcohol rushing to his skull, the ground getting closer. He prepared for the hardwood floor to bruise his body, hands ready to save his fall.
But another pair of hands beat him to it.
A warm arm was around his waist. That was all Reki had time to process. Before he could question anything, or thank whoever had caught him, he was brought to his feet.
He was met with a pair of stars. Gorgeous stars, rich with concern. Strands of aqua fell loosely around them, perfectly shaping rosy cheeks. Reki saw his mouth moving, but couldn’t comprehend a word of it. How could he?
He was face to face with the very essence of the ocean.
The room rippled back into focus. A voice was in his ear.
“Answer me! Are you okay?”
It was a yell in lowercase. It was as if his voice was afraid to be loud, in such a loud room.
A voice so delicate. So kind. A soft hum of a lullaby, right in front of him.
Reki exploded into laughter.
The stars filled with confusion. With a hint of fear.
“I’m good,” Reki spluttered, holding onto the stranger’s arms. “I’m so, so good.”
Their eyes were glued in each other’s gaze. Reki couldn’t look away, even if he wanted - he was transfixed. It felt like an anchor.
The music bellowed louder, luring the two in its trance, and Reki held the stranger’s neck and sang Lorde lyrics into his flushed cheeks. The stranger stayed silent, enamoured, his hands so steady on Reki’s waist, and the entire world only existed in this very room.
The stranger closed his eyes. Reki mourned them already.
“You’re so familiar,” the stranger spoke in a hush.
Reki brought his forehead closer. All his melted heart could do was giggle.
“It feels like I know you already.”
“Nope. I wouldn’t forget you.” Reki rubbed a thumb along the stranger’s neck. So soft.
The stranger leant into the touch, giggling through a grin.
“Then, it’s nice to meet you…”
“Reki.”
“Reki…”
Reki had found his new favourite song.
“And it’s nice to meet you…”
The stranger opened his eyes.
“Langa.”
Reki met his gaze once again.
And the stars were smiling.