Chapter Text
‘Langa-san!’ he heard another squeal. ‘He’s so handsome,’ another mutter caught on his ears. He could feel them turning slightly red. It was so embarrassing. Love notes and stuttered confessions were flooding Langa’s way regularly. He strolled to his locker quickly, wanting Reki to appear right there and then. Reki made everything okay.
Spotting no red locks or fiery gold eyes, he mindlessly walked into class, slumping his head on the table. The sky wasn’t blue today. Instead, splashes of orange tinted clouds decorated the sky, and yellow rays of the sun peeked through their curves.
‘Langaaaaaaa.’ He heard after a few minutes. Spinning his head around so fast his neck cracked, he saw Reki there, his grin as wide as usual. ‘Ma wouldn’t lemme go if I didn’t do some laundry for her. At 7 in the morning too!’ Langa swallowed, feeling his stomach swoop at the sight of him. With the faint sun draping over his face, he was prettier than Langa could ever admit.
Okay, he had to stop. Langa knew he’d been developing a little, fine, a medium crush on Reki for a week now. I mean, how the hell was he meant to not like him. The freckles dusting his nose were turning golden in this light. He looked away quickly, not wanting to be caught staring.
‘Langaaaa. What’s wrong, dude.’
‘Nothing, Reki.’
‘Well you seem mad. Are you mad?’ Reki fussed, standing so near him that he could smell his maple scent. The scent was comforting. He looked up and smiled at Reki’s pout. ‘You’re not mad at all!’ Reki smiled back.
‘Langa-san?’ a small voice sounded near him. ‘Uh- uhm- can I talk to you- in private,’ the girl added, glancing as Reki. He closed his eyes as he heard Reki sigh again. This happened nearly every day.
He caught the grimace in Reki’s encouraging smile as he unwillingly followed the girl. She had the same silky black hair, the same puppy eyes that were meant to be cute. Every face blurred into one. He didn’t have anything against them, but Reki was so full of colour and then there was them. ‘I’ve been admiring you for a while, Langa-san and…’ her supposedly sweet voice droned off, his mind not wanting to hear more.
He instead thought about those new wheels Reki had wanted to add to his board. He thought about Reki’s strong, warm hands lovingly attaching the wheels with no complaint… ‘Um, Langa?’ he was unfortunately snapped back to reality. Shit. She’d asked him something. ‘No…,’ he trailed off, unsure if that was the right answer.
Tears quickly filled her face. Shit. ‘You weren’t even listening!’ she cried before running away. Langa stood unsure for a few seconds before remembering Reki was waiting and hurrying away himself.
‘So, what happened this time?’ Reki questioned later as they walked home. Langa looked down and saw Reki staring up at him, the cutest furrow in between his eyebrows. Langa wanted to touch it so bad, but Reki was still waiting for an answer. ‘I think she asked me something but I wasn’t paying attention so I kind of…’
‘Huh? Go on,’ Reki urged.
‘Kind of made her cry,’ Langa admitted in a small voice. He heard a stifled laugh. ‘Don’t laugh!’ he muttered, turning pinker by the second. Reki laughed harder. ‘It’s okay man, let’s just skate.’ Reki grabbed him by the wrist, his thumb digging into Langa’s pressure point.
Langa swallowed, trying to keep his heartbeat under control at his warm touch. The ghost of his fingers lingered on Langa’s wrist. He wanted Reki’s hand back on his wrist. It felt so good, so grounding.
He smiled as he listened to Reki ramble on about the weather and that cute dog he saw in that park yesterday and Cherry and Joe buying a house together. ‘They’re so cute mannn…they make me want a boyfriend,’ he laughed, glancing at Langa.
Langa flushed at the thought of waking up with Reki’s maple scent in his nose, and his red locks scattered on his pillow while Reki mumbled sleepily in his arms.
‘Hah. Yeah, they do,’ he managed to reply wistfully.
_____________
Today he had Reki to wander with as he entered the grounds. He braced himself for the squeals and mutters solely about his looks. Reki must’ve noticed because that adorable crease appeared again. ‘What’s wrong, Langa? Did something happen?’
This was Reki, always looking after him, always making Langa was safe, was happy not anybody else but Langa.
‘No, Reki. I’m fine,’ he mumbled.
Reki didn’t question is further as they walked through the ground.
‘That blue suits him so much! He’s so handsome,’ he heard a giggle.
‘His eyes look even prettier today,’ another comment
‘Wow, I never thought someone like him would come to our school,’
Langa tried to act unaffected but as he met Reki’s eyes he saw a bit of sadness there. For what, Langa didn’t know. It wasn’t like they were attacking him.
‘Must be nice, huh,’ he smiled, albeit a little sadly.
No. He couldn’t be sad that they weren’t saying these things about Reki. Reki was so cute, and so pretty, he must see that, he must…
‘Your hair is nice today,’ he ended up blurting out. Shit, that came out really weird.
Some of the sadness faded from his eyes and he reached up, tugging on the dishevelled strands.
‘You think so?’ he grinned.
Langa let out a breath. He swore to himself then that he would make sure Reki never felt bad about himself again. Langa would protect him too.
‘Ooh, New Year is coming soon! You wanna do anything for it? I have ideas!’ Reki rambled.
‘I don’t really like loud parties that much,’ Langa admitted.
‘Aw, bro that’s okay! Let’s just go to park or something!’
Langa nodded, unable to help a smile at the idea of relaxing in a big, green field with Reki. They could lay soft blankets down and food. They might even end up holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes lovingly while Reki traced the skin on Langa’s palm…
He must stop daydreaming. He was going to crash and then his mum wouldn’t let him skate with Reki anymore. She was worried enough as it is, always sighing and examining his scrapes and bruises but saying nothing. His dad would’ve said plenty though. He missed him all the same.
‘So…is there anything you’ve wanted recently.’ Reki very obviously questioned.
‘Reki, I’m not clueless, you don’t need to get me anything.’
‘Aw mannnn! But I wannaaa,’ Reki whined
‘Okay, but I wanna too,’ Langa reasoned.
‘Hmph. Okay. Ooh, how about we surprise each other! That’d be fun, right?’ he suggested. ‘We’ll each get a random letter and you have to get the other something starting with that letter! How about that?’
‘Sure. I don’t want you to stress too much about it, though.’ Langa warned.
‘Well, you know I will anyway,’ Reki said quietly.
‘Reki. It’s fine. You already taught me how to skate. Don’t. Worry.’ Langa tried in a serious tone.
‘But it’s for you, it needs to be special,’ Reki let out a sigh, pouting.
Langa blushed yet again. How did Reki always know just what to say? It’s like a book titled ‘How to get Langa to lo-like you’ was wired into his brain. It was extremely flustering at times.
‘I’ll make sure yours is extra special then,’ he responded, determination making him furrow his brows. Reki laughed good-naturedly, but Langa was wholly serious about this.
‘Okay, I’ll say the alphabet in my head, and you tell me when to stop,’ Reki suggested, waving his fingers around like mini guns. Langa hummed and Reki started reciting, the cutest concentration face Langa knew coming upon him. His eyes scrunched shut and his mouth turned downwards, ‘Ah, stop,’ as he remembered he was meant to say stop at random.
‘Ooh…I don’t know, dude. This one’s a bit hard,’ Reki sighed. ‘Okay, go!’
A…B…C…D he may or may not have looked into Reki’s honeyed eyes accidentally while counting and may or may not have lost track. G? Okay, H it is. H…I…J…K…L ‘Stop!’ Reki loudly commanded. L? What the hell was he even meant to do for L? ‘That’s not a good one,’ he mumbled. ‘Can’t we do it again?’
‘Nope. You gotta stick with what you got,’ Reki sighed. ‘Are you hungry? Let’s buy ice cream.’ He jangled the coins in his pocket.
With the cold sweetness of the blueberry lolly in his mouth, he mounted his board, waiting for Reki to do the same. Reki wasn’t talking much, which was unusual for him.
He had the same concentration face on, though his eyes remained open. His brows were drawn in as he stared into the distance. He seemed to be mouthing something to himself. Langa contemplated whether he should poke him out of his trance or let him be.
Shrugging and deciding to let it go, he set off as a slower speed. ‘Hey! Wait up!’ he heard him call behind.
Langa came to an abrupt stop and waited. Unfortunately, Reki was going rather fast, which caused him to try come at a quick stop too. He tripped and sprawled on the ground, with his arms and legs spread out theatrically.
Langa couldn’t stifle his laugh as Reki’s expression. He tipped his head back as he did and Reki watched him with exasperation, a slight blush on his cheeks. Langa noticed and couldn’t help blushing at the attention. He stared down at Reki and Reki stared at up at him, a hint of a smile on his face.
Langa held out his hand in an attempt to break the awkwardness, swallowing when Reki’s palm slid against his frozen one, which was cold even in the warm light of the setting sun.
‘My house?’ Reki grinned. Langa nodded and they set off to Reki’s warm, cosy and extremely noisy household. Reki bounded up his room and they soon threw themselves onto his red and orange sun-patterned duvet, Reki stretching and yawning. ‘Man, I’m so tired. Wanna nap?’ Reki suggests.
Langa’s stomach flutters because the last time they had napped together… Langa remembers Reki’s waves tickling his chin, his face burrowed in Langa’s shoulder as his arm grasped him almost desperately. It wasn’t romantic of anything. But simply being touched by Reki turned him red and slightly breathless, like he’d ran a race. He wanted it again.
‘Yes.’ Langa gabbled as fast as possible.
Reki smiled sunnily at him, his slightly crooked teeth on display. Langa knew the middle ones were slightly tilted in opposite ways outwards, the two teeth next to them sharp like fangs. He knew this pattern by now.
Reki lay on his side facing Langa, his eyes on Langa as he moved closer. ‘This okay?’ he confirmed. Langa nodded immediately. His warmth emanated toward Langa, and he wanted to sigh in relief at the comfort. Reki was quite like the sun, his warmth making sure Langa was warm wherever they went.
He himself lay down properly, watching as Reki’s eyes fluttered shut with a mumbled ‘G’night’ Langa couldn’t help smiling at him, staying awake just to watch his eyelashes flutter on his freckled cheeks, to sync his breathing to Reki’s, just for a while .
Sometime his eyes also found themselves closing, sleep overtaking him just as Reki had with his life months ago.
Langa huffed out a breath in the hot Okinawa sun. Dragging his feet, he searched from shop to shop, hoping and hoping he could find what he had looked for so long. ‘Sakurayashiki Calligraphy’. He hummed and knocked on the door, where an angelic looking pink haired man stood. Glasses framed his pale face, a patterned kimono on his body. ‘Can I help?’
‘Um…do you have any job positions open?’ Langa got straight to the point.
‘Come in, come in,’ the man, who he assumed was Sakurayashiki, ushered him in.
‘I do have a job. I am in dire need of a secretary. Carla can only handle so much.’ he said theatrically, looking fondly behind him where nobody stood. Who’s Carla? Langa wondered. He frowned at Langa’s uniform. ‘You seem to be a teenager though. What is a young man like you looking for, working?’
‘I…just moved here. From Canada.’ he said quietly , ‘I wanted to support my mother’s earnings, that’s all.’
Sakurayashiki’s frown smoothed out and he smiled. ‘Unfortunately, I cannot employ a minor. You must understand.’
Langa nodded sadly and got up, bidding the pink haired man farewell.
He stood unsure on the pavement, wondering where to go next.
He looks at his feet, the year old blue Converse on them when a he sees a large rectangle on wheels roll by.
Confused, he looks up, hearing the shouting of someone coming from the same direction.
A red haired boy waves his hands, screaming, ‘Hey!! Hey!!Could you please stop that skateboard?!’
Langa manages to reach the board and stop it with a foot. Turning, he sees Red Hair stop in front of him, breathing heavily.
‘Thanks dude! Oh, wait it’s you! New Guy,’ he grins at Langa ‘I -uh forgot your name.’
‘Where do I know you from…’ Langa wonders, not quietly enough.
‘From schoolll. Dude you literally sat on the table right next to mine,’ he throws his hands outwards.
Red Hair is very expressive, it kind of makes Langa want to smile.
‘Sorry. What’s your name?’ he tries.
‘Reki Kyan. And you’re… Ah! Langa!’ he loudly says. Langa mumbles in assent as he stares at the skateboard in his hands. It has near-murderous scratches on its back.
‘Oh-uh…yeah the back’s all busted. But the front still works.’ he smiles at Langa. Despite the long, tiring day behind him he finds himself smiling back.
Reki set the skateboard down on the pavement. He looks as if he’s about to whizz off. Langa, despite himself, doesn’t really know if wants him to leave. Not with that seemingly wondrous skateboard.
Reki looks up, brushing his hair out of his eyes as he does.
‘Do you wanna skate?’ comes the question. The question that basically changed Langa’s entire life.