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The day had started normal enough for Reki. He woke up to the sun peering through his curtains, the cool breeze flooding into his room indicating that it was still early in the morning. Reki stretched happily, a full body stretch that caused his legs to shake and his mouth to open in a wide yawn. However, the pleasure didn't last long.
Reki was cut off mid-stretch by a stabbing pain coming from the right side of his stomach and hip. He curled into himself slightly, cringing at the sudden pain. He knew what would be there when he lifted his shirt, but he checked anyways, pain still evident on his face.
Yup, there it was
Across Reki's side was a gnarly bruise, all shades of blue, purple, and green. The boy fell all the time, sure. But that was from skating. This was-
Reki cringed again as the memories of being beaten in an alleyway and then getting hit by a car flashed across his mind.
It had been a week since all of that happened, and Reki was really trying to forget about it all. However, he found it hard to do with the ever-increasing, and unbelievably annoying, pain in his side. He couldn't even sleep comfortably on his right side.
At the time, Reki had decided that he had done enough damage to his friends and already scared poor Oka enough when he found Reki lying half-conscious in that alleyway, so he decided not to tell anyone else about that or the events that followed.
Realistically, he was fine. The car could've been going much faster, and who knows, those guys could've pulled out a knife and stabbed him! However that hadn't happened, and if all he had to deal with was a bruise (and strange dizzy spells that came out of nowhere that he chose to ignore), then he was going to keep his mouth shut and deal with the pain.
Should a bruise really be this dark after a whole week?
Reki shook off the thought. He had broken bones before for heaven's sake! If he was deterred by a lousy bruise, then he really needed to man up.
--
Reki swung his legs off his bed and promptly stood up to follow the smell of breakfast cooking from the kitchen. When he sat at the table, he allowed himself to relax a little, stretching his arms over his head once again, letting out a contented sigh when this one didn't send shooting pains through his side.
However, his happiness wouldn't last, as Koyomi, who had taken her own place at the table, had her eyes firmly locked on Reki's lower stomach, head cocked in confusion and eyes slightly drawn in concern.
Oh shit.
Reki hadn't realized that in the middle of him stretching, his shirt, which was arguably already too short for him, had rode up past his bellybutton, exposing part of the gnarly bruise that painted his skin. Reki's eyes widened a moment before he hastily pulled his shirt all the way back down, already moving to say something to keep Koyomi quiet.
"It's just a bruise. I got it skating, I'm fine. Don't you dare tell mom."
Koyomi was silent a moment, before whispering a small "you owe me" before their mother presented them with breakfast.
Reki decided that was the best he would get. He couldn't worry his mother, who was already juggling the girls and all the housework. If he could stand, he was fine. If he could skate, he was great. And he could do both, so no problem!
--
Since it was Saturday, and neither boy had a shift at Dope Sketch, the two agreed to meet at their favorite skatepark. After Reki finished scarfing his breakfast down, he ran to change out of his too-small pjs.
In the middle of changing his shirt, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. A small gasp left his lips as he touched lightly at his tainted skin. The bruise was much bigger than he had previously assumed, and the area around his hip bone had begun to swell. Even the light touch of his fingers hurt, so he quickly tugged on a new shirt and ran out of his room, praying the image of his damaged body would leave his mind.
Maybe if I wasn't so careless
After shouting his goodbyes, he skated off to meet Langa.
--
When he made it to the park, Langa was already there, doing lazy circles. The park was empty considering it was still morning, and Reki felt grateful to have the time alone with Langa.
"Yo, Langa!" He yelled, waving his hand over his head and grinning his usually wide mouthed grin
Langa turned his head around and offered Reki his own open mouth smile, waving back at the boy enthusiastically.
They rode up to each other, and fell into their usual routine of showing off new tricks they learned and teaching one another.
Easy, normal. Safe.
Langa had asked Reki if he wanted to try this snowboarding trick he had modified into something he could do on a skateboard. Reki, of course, nodded his head wildly and insisted that he learn the trick right this instant.
Langa hadn't always been the best teacher, but that was alright. Reki picked up on technique easily, and watched Langa with skilled eyes a couple of times before confidently claiming he could do the trick himself.
Reki maneuvered his board in a similar way Langa had, positioning his feet in preparation and then-
smack!
He fell onto the concrete, scraping his arm slightly. No biggie! These things happen. He knew he wouldn't get it first try.
So, he picked up his board, positioned his feet, prepared to jump, and-
thud!
He fell. He braced himself better this time, and was able to get up once again. He was going to get this trick down.
He fell, and then he fell again. And again.
At this point, he was getting frustrated. The trick wasn't all that complicated, in fact it was a glorified ollie, just with extra steps.
Langa had been watching the whole time, offering "are you alright dude?" and "that was good!" when the situation called for it. the
Reki shook off the frustration at the sound of Langa's encouragement. If Langa could see his potential, then he should too. He was learning that recently.
Reki took a deep breath, clearing his mind for his next attempt. He could do this.
He positioned his feet, jumped,and-
Landed.
He went to celebrate, throwing his hands in the air over his head. However, before his excitement could last, dizziness swam in his vision. His head went fuzzy and his vision blurred, and before he knew it, he was stumbling off his board, heading for the ground.
His right hip met the concrete harshly, sending a sharp gasp of pain out of his open mouth. In his dizzy spell, he hadn't gotten his bearings straight, and failed to fall in a way that would have lessened the impact. Instead, his already injured body was met with cold, unforgiving concrete.
His head swam again, this time overloaded with the pain that spread from his hip into his stomach and arm. He curled into himself slightly, his right arm shaking against his will.
"Reki!" Langa yelled, rushing over to the boy's side.
Reki turned his head towards the blue-haired teen, teeth gritted together and pain evident in his eyes.
"Ah- Langa. I'm alright. Just a bad fall"
He moved to sit up, but was once again stopped by sudden dizziness. He swayed backwards, bracing himself for his head to hit concrete this time, however the pain never came.
Instead, his back was met with something solid and warm. Ah, it was Langa's hand.
Langa held him upright, searching his eyes for pain and discomfort.
"Reki, are you alright? What hurts"
"Man, I'm fine. Just a particularly bad fall. Don't worry!"
Reki moved to stand up this time, feeling slightly less dizzy with Langa's hand planted firmly on his back. He rose slowly, gritting his teeth in discomfort. Using Langa's shoulder for support, he was eventually able to get onto his feet, but not without stumbling for a moment.
"See, perfectly fine!"
Reki winced at the sound of his own voice, which was suddenly too loud for his throbbing head.
"Reki, I just watched you stand up like an old man who broke his hip." Langa deadpanned
"Seriously Langa, it's not a big deal. If I can stand I'm fine" The pain was actually somehow getting worse, and Reki couldn't hide the fact that his whole body was shaking now. However, he just prayed Langa didn't notice.
He did.
"Reki, your whole body is shaking. It's okay if it hurts or if something's wrong. Just let me help you."
The sincerity and concern in Langa's eyes made it hard for Reki to deny anymore. The pain suddenly became overwhelming, and his knees felt like jello. He buckled slightly before catching himself on Langa, laughing at the absurdity of it all.
"We're going back to my place" Langa had decided
Reki didn't have his wits about him to object, and allowed Langa to throw his arm around Reki's shoulders to help the boy walk. Langa collected both their boards, carrying them under his other arm with slight difficulty.
"I can carry my board" Reki slurred, his eyes blinking slowly.
"No, it's fine. Let's just get back to my house, okay?"
--
By the time they got to Langa's apartment, Reki was tired. It hadn't been that long of a walk, but his body ached and his head throbbed, and his vision was still swimming in and out of focus. He dragged himself into Langa's room before swiftly falling asleep.
When Reki woke, the sun was setting.
He lifted himself up slowly, blinking and taking in his surroundings.
Ah, Langa's house. After he fell and ate shit.
He reached for his headband, but instead found its absence. He looked around again before spotting it on Langa's nightstand.
Langa, where is he anyways?
Reki rose slowly to a sitting position, and that's when he heard the sound of pans softly clinking in the distance.
He pushed off the bed, no longer feeling dizzy, and made for the kitchen, where he found Langa cooking, lost in thought while he mindlessly poked at the food in front of him.
"Langa?"
He jumped slightly before turning around and smiling at the red head
"You fell asleep before I could interrogate you. But I assumed you needed the rest, so I let you. There's water in a cup there for you, and medicine in the cabinet"
Reki smiled softly. This all felt so...homey
"Thanks man, I appreciate it"
Langa only nodded slightly in response, turning back to his food.
Once Langa was done cooking, he made a plate for both him and Reki. The two ate in relative silence, as Reki was still bleary from sleep and slightly distracted by the pain still throbbing in his side, while Langa, on the other hand, looked lost in thought.
Once the two had finished, Reki offered to help wash the dishes, which Langa took him up on. Reki hummed to himself while he cleaned, a tune Langa couldn't recognize but appreciate anyways.
After the place had been cleaned and the two boys retreated to the comfort of Langa's room, Langa decided it was time to break the ice.
"So, your side. Does it still hurt? I need to take a look at it, make sure there's no chance you broke something."
Reki immediately snapped his head downward, biting his lip nervously. He knew that if Langa looked, he'd know all that bruising couldn't be from a simple fall. And then he'd push for answers, and Reki would have to tell him what happened.
"Langa, I'm alright, really. I feel better already, thanks to you. So, thank you, but I'm okay."
"I can tell it still hurts, I caught you wincing when we were eating. Just let me look and I'll leave you alone?"
Langa had pulled out his puppy eyes, and Reki really really couldn't say no to that look.
"You- You can't freak out, okay? Promise me."
"I promise? Why would I freak out?"
"Just- Let's go to your bathroom. Better lighting, and you keep your little medical kit there. We're probably gonna need it" He mumbled the last part, but Langa caught it.
Slightly more concerned now, he dragged Reki into the bathroom and flicked on the bright lights.
"Too bright" Reki whined, vision flooding with familiar dizziness.
"Sorry, I can turn one off."
"Thanks man" Reki offered as real as a smile he could muster before sighing deeply.
No way out of this now.
In one swift move he pulled his shirt up and over his head. He hung his head low, scared to look at Langa's face, scared of the judgment.
Langa was quiet, and this willed Reki to look up and peek at Langa's face.
Bad idea.
Langa's eyes had gone soft with worry, and his bottom lip quivered slightly.
"Reki..."
He reached out to touch at Reki's side, but Reki flinched away, shame washing over him. He moved to cover his body with his arms, self conscious of how ugly and gross he must look, however he never had the chance to cover himself, as Langa carefully wrapped his arms around Reki's neck, burying his face into the redhead's collarbone.
"Dude-"
"That can't just be from this fall, Reki." Langa's voice was soft, barely above a whisper, but it was stern.
"I told you not to freak out"
"This is me not freaking out, Reki."
Langa pulled back and surveyed Reki, placing barely-there touches onto Reki's bare hip where the worst of the bruise sat.
"Alright, so tell me how you got this"
"Langa-"
"No Reki, I'm being completely reasonable about this. Now tell me before I do something you definitely won't like, like calling an ambulance"
Reki's eyes widened before he accepted defeat, perching himself on Langa's countertop.
Langa took the spot in front of him, not close enough to be in between the redhead's legs, but just in reach of Reki, just in case.
"I uhm, I really don't know where to start."
"Just try"
"You know when we were fighting because I was being stupid?"
"You weren't being stupid. Continue."
"Yeah well...when I skipped school I ran into these guys I used to be in a skating group with. They were mad that I left and called them posers. They were uh, really mad. Ended up punching me in the face a couple of times, as well as kicking me in the stomach. It hurt pretty damn bad, and I lost consciousness. Oka found me half awake in the alley they left me in." Reki chuckled sheepishly, scared to look up from his fidgeting hands that sat in his lap.
When slender pale hands met his own fidgeting ones, he slowly raised his head, bracing for whatever expression Langa wore.
It's not exactly what he had expected.
Langa's eyes had gone dark, almost possessive. He looked pissed.
"Look dude, I'm sorry! I'm okay, don't be mad..."
Langa quickly snapped out of his trance to respond to the shaking boy in front of him.
"Reki, I'm not mad at you. Why would I be? I'm mad for you. Mad at those douchebags."
"Well..That's not all that happened" Reki rubbed the back of his neck in shame
"Continue?" Langa asked, voice shaking slightly
"Uhm, after Oka found me there, he told me Shadow was in the hospital. So I ran to see him, but you were there, and we still hadn't made up, and I was delirious from being beat up pretty badly. So I ran. And, well, I ran straight into a moving vehicle?"
"You- You got hit by a car??"
"It wasn't going very fast! Only fast enough to knock me out, and well, leave me with this nasty bruise"
"Reki."
Langa had moved impossibly closer, fully tucked in between Reki's thighs. His hands moved towards Reki's hips, resting lightly, wary of his injuries.
Reki's face flushed a deep red at the sudden intimacy, and he shied away from the touch slightly.
"Why didn't you tell me any of this?"
"I already screwed up big-time by ignoring you guys. I didn't want to make it worse by worrying you over something that wasn't a big deal."
"You were knocked unconscious twice??"
"Well, at least the second time the guy took me to a love hotel, so I wasn't just unconscious in the middle of the street!" Reki attempted to joke, but Langa had none of it.
"He took you to a love hotel? Reki, what?"
Langa no longer looked angry, he just looked concerned.
"I-"
Reki wasn't sure what to say, was there even anything he could say that would fix this?
He opted instead to pull Langa back in to a hug, nuzzling his head against Langa's collarbone.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But I'm fine, I promise"
"Don't give me that bullshit" Langa responded softly, voice muffled by red hair.
"Look at you, you're literally black and blue."
Reki laughed, despite Langa's seriousness
"I know I should've gotten myself checked out at the very least, but I really didn't want to make a big deal of it. I thought I was fine, but then I got dizzy while skating and then had that fall that landed us up here so...."
Langa once again pulled back, this time to make eye contact with Reki
"You were dizzy?"
"Uh- yeah. That's why I fell"
"Have you been...feeling dizzy a lot recently?"
"Yeah man, sometimes. I get more headaches now too"
Langa hummed, now inspecting Reki's head and face with his hands.
"You probably have a concussion" He muttered before offering a hand to Reki in order to help him down from the counter.
Once Reki was stable with both feet back on the floor instead of dangling off Langa's sink, Langa firmly planted his hands onto Reki's shoulders, causing the teen to look up and meet his best friend's gaze
"Don't ever scare me like that again. If you're hurt, tell me, circumstance doesn't matter. I'll let it slide this time just because I don't think you broke anything and I already know how to help with your concussion"
"What are you, a doctor?"
Langa shrugged
"My mom's a nurse"
Then, he was offering Reki his hand, and oh my god, if Reki wasn't dizzy before, he definitely was now.
Langa made grabby motions, urging Reki to grab his hand, so Reki obliged, face turning bright pink in the process. And then Langa was dragging the redhead back into his room, and forcing him to sit down on the bed.
"Stay here, get comfortable. I'll be back. Don't do anything stupid"
Reki only laughed before situating himself on Langa's bed, making himself at home in the myriad of fluffy blankets and soft pillows Langa kept on his bed.
His eyes began to droop, the emotional and physical weight of the day dropping down on him. Although Langa finally knowing made him feel slightly less guilty, he couldn't help but feel like a failure, like dead weight.
He would've never been in that alleyway or running out of the hospital like a maniac if he just got over himself. But here he was, injured and wallowing in his own self loathing in his best friend's bed. Though him and Langa had made up and were better than ever, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling of being a bother to everyone, especially his best friend.
With these thoughts circling in his mind, he drifted off into a muggy half-sleep, listening to the sounds of Langa in the kitchen mindlessly.
--
Reki woke to someone lightly shaking his shoulder.
"Reki, I made tea. And brought you some snacks."
Reki peered over his shoulder at Langa, a soft smile covering his face.
"Thanks man"
He sat up to take the tea from Langa, cradling it in both hands like it was something precious.
"So...are you alright? And, I don't mean physically"
Reki tensed at the question, ready to rattle off some bullshit answer of yeah he's perfectly fine what would be wrong with him!
But before he could, Langa added on to his question
"And, please be honest. Reki, this whole thing has me so worried. I just- I need honesty from you, please"
What was left of Reki's smile fell
"Uh, I don't know honestly. I know we made up but I still feel like I'm dragging you down. Inferiority complexes don't go away in a week, y'know"
He chuckled softly before continuing
"And the injuries, the dizziness, the pain, it reminded me of how stupid I was being. I feel so guilty, honestly. If I had just gotten over myself, none of this would've happened. I was being dramatic, and now I'm paying for it"
"Reki...you weren't being dramatic. You were hurting, and you did what you knew how to do. I'm just glad you're alright and not half dead in an alley somewhere."
Langa hugged him for the hundredth time that night, awkwardly smooshing the teacup to Reki's chest.
"And Reki, you don't drag me down. You're my passion, you're the reason I skate. I need you."
He whispered the last part, as if it was a confession
Reki's breath hitched, and he reached one free hand up to Langa's soft blue hair, twirling a strand idly.
"I- I need you too Langa. Shit, you make skating fun. I just want it to be fun"
"It's always fun, with you"
The two broke apart, and Reki took the opportunity to place the teacup onto Langa's nightstand. He hadn't had a chance to turn back to the boy, however, as Langa tackled him down to the mattress, Landing right on top of the read-headed boy.
"Langa-"
He stopped whatever protest or complaint that was about to come out of his mouth when he met Langa's eyes, which were soft, softer than ever, filled with an unnamed emotion.
"Reki."
Langa stopped to tuck red disheveled hair behind the boy's ear before continuing.
"You mean so much to me. I've always cared, but seeing you hurt like this, it makes me realize how much you mean. I-"
Before he could continue, and before Reki could think about what he was doing, the redhead's hand was on Langa's cheek, thumb stroking idly at soft skin. And then, he was leaning in, and Langa was meeting him halfway.
Then they were kissing, a proper kiss, soft and real and perfect.
Langa sighed in relief, deepening the kiss slightly. Reki returned with similar ambition, tangling his hand into the back of Langa's hair.
When Langa pulled back, Reki moved to protest, but was quickly shut up by the soft, barely there kisses Langa was leaving all over his forehead, and then cheeks, and then nose.
"You have no idea how long I've wanted that" Langa said, a lovesick glint in his eyes
"I don't think I realized how bad I wanted it until now" Reki admitted, face blushing in embarrassment.
Langa moved to kiss Reki again, this time once on his lips, then along his jawline and behind his ears. Reki hummed in content, eyelids fluttering shut. Then, once Langa was done, he dropped his weight carefully onto Reki, mindful not to hurt his already injured body.
"Langa, be my boyfriend?"
"Of course"
And then the two of them slowly began to drift off together, holding one another. Reki's mental health wasn't magically fixed, and Langa was totally going to track those guys down and give them a piece of his mind (or his fist), but for now, all they needed was each other. The chaos was quieter, muted by the tenderness of the night.
Eventually, Reki would heal, both physically and mentally, learning to love himself and his wonderful boyfriend. But for now, all they needed were each other.