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Reki swung his feet back and forth, blue sneakers scuffing against the clean white tiles of the hospital floor as he waited. The cool plastic of the chair against his back was a bit uncomfortable but grounding, keeping him safely set in reality and locked away from any rambling day dreams.
Which was a nicer way of saying overthinking.
He didn’t know why he was so freaking nervous.
It was just hanging out with Langa. It was just S.
It was just like every other Saturday night.
But for some reason, some pesky persistent annoying ass reason, tonight felt very different to his brain.
Reki slipped his red sweatband off his wrist and rolled it over his fingers, hoping to magically transfer the nervous energy from his mind to his hands. He counted the rotations as he picked up a steady rhythm.
1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…
A light giggle interrupted his count just as he turned the tenth time.
Reki lifted his head, finding warm brown eyes already on his, alight with something like a conspiratorial twinkle.
Langa’s mom had been looking at him like that more and more lately, like she knew something he didn’t.
He would really love to know whatever it was because it was driving him a little insane.
He almost mentioned it to Langa a few times but decided against it. The words always seemed to get caught on the way out, stumbling somewhere in his esophagus and falling back down into his gut. The syllables tip toeing on the edge of a cliff that he just couldn’t help but shy away from.
All of that sounded really dramatic when he actually thought about it. Like, it shouldn’t be such a big deal to ask why Langa’s mom was looking at him real funny.
But for some reason, it was.
Naturally, thinking about anything related to Langa would draw Reki’s attention to the boy himself.
Langa was staring back at his mom, a weird little pout on his lips and a dusting of pink on his cheeks. Those brilliant blue eyes shifted over to Reki before snapping back to his mother, the pink spreading a bit higher on his cheekbones.
Langa had such a subtle cute blush.
Reki was insanely jealous that Langa didn’t suffer from the embarrassing firetruck red disaster explosion of color that he was personally cursed with.
One time the guy had even compared it to a freaking flower, as if the whole thing couldn’t be more embarrassing.
“You remind me of these,” Langa had said in that quiet but abrupt way of his, pointing to the red hibiscus flower growing on the bush as they walked past.
“Whaー Why?!”
“It matches your hair. And sometimes your face too. Like right now, see.”
He said it as if he were reporting the weather and not the ridiculous redness of Reki’s complexion.
What the hell is that even?
Reki sighed, feeling his face warm just at the memory. He immediately dismissed it from his mind. That was just Langa being Langa and nothing out of the ordinary. Plus, talking about flowers with your bro isn’t weird or anything. Heck, Shadow won’t shut up about the stupid things, so it’s not a big deal really, he shouldn’t be so hung up on it.
Not that Shadow is a really good standard for normal.
Reki physically shook the thoughts from his head and then readjusted his headband so the hair wasn’t falling in his eyes.
He watched as Langa’s mom brushed a loose strand of his hair behind his ear and patted his cheek lightly with a fond smile.
Jealousy reared its ugly green head again, filling Reki with bitter confusion, because why would seeing Langa’s mom show her son physical affection make his insides twist?
It’s just fingers running through silky hair and a palm caressing smooth skin. His mom does that to him all the time too, it’s not like he’s missing out on anything.
Reki instinctively sat on his hands as his fingers twitched involuntarily.
Langa huffed softly and ducked out of his mom’s touch, frowning slightly as she only smiled warmly and shooed him off back towards the chairs.
Reki stood up quickly and flashed an easy grin, shoving his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels as Langa approached.
“So your mom’s really fine with you…uh, skipping out tonight?”
Langa shrugged calmly as he began walking towards the exit. “I’m not ‘skipping out’ on her. She said she wanted to work tonight.”
Reki hummed in acknowledgement, waiting for Langa to continue. He wasn’t sure when it happened, but now he could always tell when Langa had more to say.
“...I think it would be hard for her to be at home for New Year’s without my dad. She seemed really excited to be at the hospital with her work friends.”
Reki didn’t break his stride but drifted a bit closer to Langa so their shoulders bumped. It was times like these he just couldn’t help but touch Langa, even in some small way. He just had to let Langa know that he was there with him at that moment.
“But what about you?”
Langa turned to face him, head tilting as his eyes blinked quizzically.
“What about me?”
Reki scratched the back of his neck, awkwardly shifting his eyes to the side.
“Aren’t you gonna be…I don’t know, sad?”
Reki’s eyes slid back to study Langa’s expression anxiously.
“No. Why would I be?”
Reki could physically feel his cheeks reddening under Langa’s intense gaze.
“Well, I just thought, I dunno, we’re just going to S. It’s not that special and maybe you’re just gonna be bummed the whole time…”
Reki trailed off, not really knowing where he was going with that anyways.
“Reki.”
Reki’s eyes widened as Langa pinned him down with a feather soft look.
“How could I be sad when I’m skating with you?”
It was phrased as a question but somehow still sounded like the most obvious thing in the world when Langa said it.
Reki knew his face was fully on fire now and he was genuinely tempted to pull the hospital alarm just to end his own agony. Maybe if the overhead sprinklers got water in Langa’s eyes, his vision would be too blurry to notice the intense blush spreading all over Reki’s face, ears, and neck.
But as if oblivious to his role in Reki’s suffering, Langa had one more thing to say to completely obliterate him. And the worst part was Reki knew something else was coming before he even opened his mouth.
“It’s always fun when we’re skating together,” Langa finally said with a small smile, eyes sparkling in that subtle way of his whenever Reki mentions skating.
Reki coughed roughly, using the excuse of shoving his mouth into the crook of his elbow to hide his red face.
“R-right! Of course, dude! So, uh, let’s go then!”
He cringed at his own voice crack as he ran ahead to grab his skateboard from the lobby and darted out the automatic sliding doors.
He didn’t know why he was acting like this, getting so worked up over Langa just stating the obvious. Of course skating was fun with Langa! They have their DAP, they try out new tricks together, they bandage each others’ scrapes, they watch races together and cheer each other on! They were best friends, they both loved skateboarding!
That wasn’t a strange thing for Langa to say or for Reki to immediately mentally agree with but keep that thought to himself and not exactly confirm out loud.
“I want to skate infinitely with you.”
That wasn’t a weird thing to say either…just a bro committing to the sport.
With him.
Forever.
A goofy grin fought its way onto Reki’s face, breaking through the grip his front teeth had on his bottom lip, gnawing anxiously as his thoughts ran wild.
That had only been a few months ago and yet…every moment skating with Langa did almost feel like it could stretch into infinity.
Langa quickly caught up with him, the wheels of his skateboard grinding against the asphalt as he skated alongside Reki.
“Is your mom okay with us hanging out tonight?” Langa asked softly.
Reki brought his grin back down to his usual cheerful smile, the rush of skateboarding alongside Langa came with its usual excitement but also a calming feeling. This was right, this felt good. Suddenly all his erratic stressing seemed really silly; he was always content when skating with Langa. His anxieties fell away, lagging behind as the two of them skated towards Dope Sketch.
“Yeah man she was totally fine with it! I was kind of surprised too, honestly, because y’know we have a whole family thing. But when I told her I could stay for dinner, and I just wanted to hang out with you afterwards, she was all for it!”
Reki thought back to the conversation with his mom from yesterday. It had been kind of…interesting. Usually he would just sneak out to go to S, but because his whole family would still be awake he had to come up with some variation of the truth.
“Hey mom?”
“Yes Reki? Did you need something, honey? A snack?”
“No, uh…I was just wondering if I could spend New Year’s Eve with Langa?”
“Oh…hmm well you know your grandmother would be upset if you missed dinner with everyone. Even your father will be here. Is Langa not eating with his mother?”
“Uh no! He is! She’s just working the night shift at the hospital afterwards and so Langa is gonna be alone and I just thought we could hang out and go to…the skatepark together? Just like, for the countdown at midnight? Probably could see some fireworks too, I dunno…”
His mom had paused, her eyes widening slightly before crinkling as she smiled happily.
“Oh…oh! Yes of course, sweetie! You two have fun skating, just be safe and don’t be home too late, okay?”
Langa skated over to some planks forming a makeshift ramp, perfectly executing an indie grab before slamming back down onto the pavement and skating smoothly ahead.
Reki felt the adrenaline already pumping through his veins surge with new spirit, a wide smile chasing the thoughts of his mom away as his eyes sparkled in awe.
Langa tossed an excited look over his shoulder. The moonlight slipping through the scattered clouds shone down on him, making those icy waves of blue hair glisten as they fluttered around his face. The small smile on his lips tugged up a bit more than usual as his eyes caught hold of Reki.
Reki felt his adrenaline spike even higher than Langa’s jump.
His heartbeat felt like it did an ollie and then his stomach followed through with a kickflip.
So naturally, Reki’s feet did a railside to make up the difference.
Thankfully his internal organs seemed to calm down a bit after that.
They managed to stay that way even as they coasted into the small parking lot behind Dope Sketch and hopped onto the store moped that Oka had been kind enough to lend them for recreational use tonight. Reki strapped their boards to the back of the vehicle and sat down behind Langa, his hands gripping the seat edge for stability instead of wrapping around Langa’s waist. It would be far more secure to do so, but his stomach threatened another kickflip at the thought, so he only gripped the seat tighter.
His insides stayed settled as they arrived at the gates and hopped off the moped, parking it outside the gates to walk through side by side. It had become an unspoken agreement of theirs, to walk into S instead of ride. It was so they wouldn’t accidentally whizz past Miya waiting for them, as had happened a few times since he was always the earliest.
Reki didn’t know how to feel about how their hands would often brush against one another as they walked so close, side by side, packed in by the crowd, the tangling of their fingers lost in the rush of skaters flying past.
Langa’s knuckles were cool as they knocked against his tonight, just like they always were.
Still, Reki felt too warm.
“Hey, Slime Combo. Took you two long enough.”
Miya’s usual smirk was stretching his lips as he skated to a stop in front of them, catching his board in his grip with ease.
“Isn’t it past your bedtime, squirt?” Reki shot back with a smug look.
Miya huffed and crossed his arms, his purple tail accessory seeming to stand on end in his defiance.
Reki threw his head back in laughter, clutching his stomach as he hiccuped from the force of it. It was always too easy to rile Miya up with a dig at his age.
“It feels weird to be here before midnight,” Langa commented blankly, seeming unbothered by Miya and Reki’s squabbling.
“Well yeah, but it’s only an hour early, then besides that it’s just a typical night at S,” Reki replied airily after catching his breath, waving his hand around nonchalantly.
“Are ya kidding? This ain’t gonna be typical,” a loud voice rasped from behind them.
Shadow approached with a slightly crazed grin on his face, but the flash of his teeth was nothing compared to his makeup.
“Aw didn’t anyone tell you? The senior citizen Mardi Gras parade was last night,” Miya snickered.
“What is up with your face, dude?!” Reki exclaimed, taking in the excessive amounts of glitter painted over Shadow’s usual clown make-up.
“It’s New Year’s Eve, ya moron! We’re going all out here! Look around! You really think Adam is gonna go with the ‘typical’ vibe tonight? It’s gonna be one hell of a party!” Shadow growled, but even in his anger he still sounded excited.
“How many drinks have you had, old man?” Miya countered.
“Not enough!” Shadow barked back with a wild smile, clearly already a little tipsy.
“Yeah, go get yourself another beer grandpa, that bottle’s the only thing that’ll be touching your wrinkly lips at midnight,” Miya scoffed.
Shadow only sneered at him in warning and then sauntered off, likely in search of more alcohol.
“Huh. A party…” Langa mumbled, turning slowly to really look at his surroundings.
“How did you losers not realize this was going to be a big event? Do you not follow the S update threads online?” Miya asked haughtily.
Reki sputtered, for once lacking a snappy reply. Something about Shadow and Miya’s bickering had him feeling uneasy. His nerves were building again and just standing still felt impossible. He had to move, had to skate, had to do something besides staying put right here with Langa’s cool breath ruffling his hair and Miya staring him down like he was an idiot. But really, why was a party making him all that anxious?
Langa shrugged, unoffended by the jab. “If it’s a party, is there going to be free food?”
Reki let out a long sigh. Somehow Langa being so utterly Langa in that moment brought him some much needed comfort.
“Of course that’s your first question, bro,” Reki muttered, tone exasperated but fond.
Reki let his gaze wander from Langa, finally noticing the swarms of people around them. There was definitely double the usual crowd and they were all decked out, even more so than usual, and that was saying a lot for S skaters. Faces full of glittery make-up, not unlike Shadow, flashed by with their limbs covered in rad outfits accentuated by their glowing jewelry.
Reki looked down at his staple yellow hoodie, twisting his fingers in the drawstrings with a small frown. Everyone looked so cool and of course he didn’t get the memo, just looking like he rolled out of bed.
Nice going, man, way to dress to impress.
At least he had Langa, who probably wouldn’t even care had he known.
Reki looked up, ready to make a joke about it–
And…Langa was gone.
Reki turned around in bewilderment, eyes circling the area but finding no familiar tall head of light blue hair. Where the heck had he disappeared to?
“Miya! Did you see where Langa went?”
“My god, you really are hopeless.”
“Wha–”
Cool slender fingers ghosted over his temple and Reki immediately froze in place, the breath catching in his throat.
Langa stepped into view from behind him, his expression completely serene as he munched on some takoyaki.
“They had them by the food. I got you one that matches your headband.”
Reki’s eyes crossed as he looked up through the messy locks of red hair to eye the faint blue light on his forehead from the glow stick crown Langa had placed there.
Reki let his fingers graze the blue band, feeling his face color slightly
“Aw thanks man!” Reki mumbled happily.
Reki lowered his eyes back down to find Langa focused intently on his struggling efforts to close the plastic clasp of his own glow stick bracelets.
“Dude, here, let me help you with those,” Reki chuckled lightly.
He stepped forward to grab the glow sticks from Langa, who let go easily but still pouted a bit in that cute way of his.
Reki’s fingers brushed Langa’s skin as he secured the yellow bands around his wrist, who blinked down at his now cheap glow stick adorned hand in awe, as if Reki had slipped diamonds on his wrist instead of chemical filled plastic.
“Thank you, Reki,” Langa said earnestly, his eyes sparkling with gratitude.
The cerulean swirling in Langa’s eyes seemed to light up as he gazed back at Reki with open adoration.
Reki felt a little mesmerized by the sight, until he realized just how close Langa was, close enough that Langa’s pupils were reflecting the glimmer of his blue glow stick band.
Reki flinched backwards, fingers that somehow had become loosely wrapped around Langa’s wrist falling away.
Somehow the knee-jerk reaction to put some distance between him and Langa only left him feeling a twinge of regret.
“Ugh, gag. Remind me to stay far away from you two when the clock strikes twelve,” Miya groaned.
“What! Why? What do you mean by that?!” Reki questioned frantically, his voice pitching higher and higher by the second.
“Okay, we’ll remind you,” Langa replied simply, ignoring or perhaps entirely unaware of Reki’s distress.
“AH LORD CHERRY! YOUR HAIR LOOKS PERFECT AS ALWAYS!”
“JOE’S HERE! OMG HE’S SO HOT!”
“JOE CAN I KISS YOUR ABS AT MIDNIGHT?”
“CHERRY PLEASE MARRY ME!”
The shrill screaming of fangirls was practically painful as Joe and Cherry skated through the gates. Cherry’s eyes stayed straight ahead while Joe’s head turned side to side to smile warmly, winking and waving at all the gushing girls.
Joe blew a kiss at one fan and the girl literally swooned, the others cooing and cheering at the sight.
Cherry’s eyes finally wavered, sliding to the side to shoot a stony glare at the man skating next to him.
“Well, you’re certainly on tonight,” Cherry scoffed.
“Jealous? Maybe if you turned off the iWife, you could kiss a real girl!” Joe shot back with a smirk.
“For the last time, her name is Carla! You boorish baboon!”
“At least baboons get with each other and not a calculator on wheels, asshole!”
“Are you seriously discussing primate intercourse right now? You’re disgusting.”
“Me?! You started it!”
The bickering only continued, raising in volume as Cherry and Joe drew closer.
“Monkeys have nothing on whatever weird mating ritual that is,” Miya muttered with disdain.
The argument finally ended when Cherry deftly swung his long ponytail over his shoulder, aiming the pink locks exactly so they’d smack Joe in the face, some strands even getting caught in his mouth as Joe sputtered and spat them out indignantly.
“Hello you three. I trust your evening is progressing well so far.”
“It was until now,” Miya grumbled.
“Good to see you too, kid,” Joe replied easily, smiling down at Miya.
Langa waved politely, or as politely as he could with his cheeks puffed up from all the food shoved in his mouth.
Reki warily eyed the crowd of Joe’s fangirls as they seemed to hover closer to their group than usual, whispering and giggling to one another with blushing smiles.
“Is there a reason they’re extra…”
“Cute?” Joe cut in with a wink.
“Shameless?” Cherry quipped just as quickly.
“...tonight,” Reki finished lamely.
Joe chuckled loudly, turning to throw another winning smile at the girls before facing Reki again.
“They’re all just hoping to be the lucky lady I smooch at midnight. Even Cherry Blossom girls are lusting after his lips tonight, ain’t that right, Kaoru?” Joe teased as he elbowed Cherry lightly.
“I told you not to call me that in public!” Cherry snapped.
“Oh but in private it’s another story?” Joe smirked devilishly.
Cherry’s responding glare could probably shatter mirrors but Joe only laughed harder.
Langa finally swallowed, followed by a loud burp that thankfully broke the tension.
“Why do they want to kiss you at midnight?” he asked blankly, still chewing absentmindedly on the wooden stick from his takoyaki.
“It’s simply a primitive holiday tradition, to exchange saliva with the object of your affection as we enter the new year,” Cherry explained calmly, his tone decidedly derisive.
“Some people are starting early though,” Joe added slyly. He nodded his head at two women to the right, one had a pink cherry blossom clip nestled in her straight black hair while the other was wearing an orange crochet top decorated with little suns.
Reki’s eyes widened and he quickly averted them as the Joe fangirl scooted a bit farther into the Cherry Blossom girl’s lap as they kissed sweetly.
Cherry rolled his eyes, but Joe only laughed heartily, elbowing the pink-haired man again.
He was still laughing as he wrapped a muscled arm around Reki’s shoulder, pulling him into a too-tight side hug.
“You’re real quiet tonight! Everything okay, champ? Or no, I bet now you’re thinking you want to find a midnight kiss for yourself too!” Joe said good-naturedly.
Before Reki could protest, Joe was twisting him around to scan the whole area.
“Hmmm, what about that girl? Long purple hair? She looks about your age, cool board too! I think I saw her watching your race last week too, huh? Ya think she’s cute?” Joe squeezed a bit harder as he shook Reki’s shoulders in encouragement.
Reki followed Joe’s gaze, his eyes spotting the girl in the crowd. Her violet waves swayed as she turned, brushing her bare waist exposed from her bright green crop-top. Neon pink nails drummed to the beat on her board, covered in green and purple splatters of paint and little alien doodles.
Reki stiffened in Joe’s grip. Sure, she was definitely cute, had a cool style and a sick board, but every second that he stared somehow made his skin crawl. He didn’t want to think about kissing her, he didn’t want to think about kissing at all! He’s never even had his first kiss! Didn’t they come to S to skate? How did the night go in this direction? He just wanted to grab Langa’s hand and pull him away so they could go somewhere else.
Reki’s eyes naturally drifted to Langa, but he wasn’t even looking at him. Those blue eyes were just staring off into space, looking bored. For some reason, that made Reki’s stomach twist into knots.
Reki thought he was being subtle in his discomfort, but Joe was surprisingly perceptive.
His grip slackened, shifting from a crushing hug to just a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“You look a little thirsty, man. Let’s get you a drink, okay? Follow me.”
“Need I remind you, underage drinking is strictly prohibited under my watch!” Cherry called after them.
“Relax! We’re just getting water! Why don’t you focus on pulling the glow stick out of your ass and actually enjoy yourself for once?” Joe shouted back.
Joe lifted his hand from Reki’s shoulder, pulling a water bottle from the cooler and tossing it gently to him. Reki fumbled to catch it, flashing a crooked smile in thanks before screwing off the cap and greedily chugging the contents. He hadn’t realized his throat was so dry until the first sip of water slid past his lips.
Joe watched him quietly for a moment before slowly taking a sip of his own water.
“What’s on your mind, Reki?”
Reki’s head snapped up at the sound of his name, caught in the warm auburn of Joe’s gaze. His fingers fiddled with the chain hanging from his belt.
“Uh not much really,” Reki mumbled.
Joe stayed quiet, simply holding eye contact with a patient smile of encouragement.
“It’s just…” Reki took a quick breath, scrunching his eyes shut as if to block out the nerves. “...all this talk of kissing or whatever, I don’t know, it puts me on edge, man.”
Joe cocked his head to the side, eyeing Reki carefully. His lips tugged up at one corner in a wry smile.
“And why’s that?”
Reki huffed, cheeks coloring a bit in embarrassment.
“Well I mean, I’ve never even kissed anyone before so…”
“Well, hey, slow down. There’s nothing wrong with that. You don’t have to kiss anybody tonight. Not everything’s a race, kid,” Joe said gently.
“I know that! But what if I want–” Reki cut himself off as bright blue eyes glowed in his mind, the image of soft cool lips flickering past his mental barriers before he could stop the thought.
Reki made to run his fingers anxiously through his messy hair but got caught when his knuckles knocked against the blue glow stick crown. His hands abruptly dropped to his sides, slipping into his pockets instead. He felt his head move almost on its own, his eyes searching for Langa in the crowd, only to dart away as soon as he spotted that wintery blue hair.
Joe cleared his throat softly, drawing Reki’s attention back to him.
“Is this about Langa?” he questioned carefully.
Even with the unassuming tone, hearing Langa’s name sent Reki into a panic, his chest seizing up at the sound.
“I– Uh– No? What makes you say that?” Reki laughed nervously, feeling his cheeks flush with heat. “I dunno where you got that idea from but that’s really not it, couldn’t be it because well, y’know, we’re friends, bros!”
“Reki, are you trying to convince me or yourself?” Joe asked gently.
“Um…” Reki trailed off, suddenly out of gas for his usual stream of chatter.
“Do you want to kiss Langa tonight?”
“I don’t…I don’t know,” Reki mumbled pathetically.
It was an honest answer, for once, because the one thing he was sure of was that he wasn’t sure of anything anymore. Kissing Langa? That sounded insane to him but at the same time, the idea made his heart stutter not unpleasantly and all of that was so confusing to his racing mind. He’d never even considered it before! Well… that wasn’t entirely true. There was that moment when Langa had sat up slowly, after flying into his arms, fresh off the win against Adam.
“Reki…did I win?”
“You won. You did it! It was awesome, I was super impressed!”
And he had been insanely impressed, but he had also felt something else, some strange surge of affection. Langa had been gazing down at him so deeply and all he could do was smile back up at him, that warm bubbling feeling threatening to overflow. He had felt an almost electric tension between the two of them but just as the thought crossed his mind, the moment ended. The rest of the gang walked over to congratulate Langa.
But recalling that memory only served to increase his confusion as nothing like that had happened for months…with the exception of some lingering touches and too-long glances. Not unlike the glow stick moment from literally five minutes prior. But that didn’t necessarily mean anything, right? Unless he wanted it to? Did he want it to? More importantly, did Langa want it to?
Reki yelped in pain as Joe flicked his forehead, a teasing smile back on his face.
“I can hear you thinking, Reki.”
Joe stepped back to lean against the rocks, tilting his head back as he took another swig of water, nodding subtly at the space next to him.
Reki took the hint and slowly leaned back against the rough stone beside the taller man, watching the flash of rainbow strobe lights from the party in favor of looking at Joe.
“Don’t stress yourself out, kid. The more you think, the more you spiral, just do what feels right. No need to rush anything though.”
Reki huffed. “You don’t get it, dude. You’re so confident, you just go for it, and you never hesitate! And with the girls, it’s so easy for you. This is…this is different.”
“I get it more than you think, Reki.”
Reki startled at that, twisting his head to look at Joe in surprise, but Joe wasn’t even looking at him. He tracked the man’s gaze and it led him directly to…Cherry.
The tall pink-haired skater was glancing over Miya’s shoulder as he showed Cherry something on his phone, likely the new video game he had downloaded. Cherry was feigning indifference but it was evident that his attention was entirely captured by Miya’s demonstration, a quirk of his lips the only indication that he was pleased.
Joe’s eyes were impossibly soft as he smiled at the scene.
Reki quickly looked away, suddenly feeling like he was intruding even though Joe was the one who had invited him here to talk.
“Look, you don’t have to know anything right now, okay? Like I said, just do what feels right in the moment, whenever that is. Could be tonight or not, it’s up to you.”
Reki let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding in so tightly.
“Right, okay.”
Joe looked down at him again, holding Reki’s gaze.
“But just keep in mind, moments can be fleeting. If one comes, go for it! All it takes is guts and momentum, just like skating right?” Joe said with a knowing smile.
“Yeah,” Reki replied, finally feeling fully at ease for the first time that night.
“Thanks,” he added softly, an afterthought once his brain registered his own relaxed state.
Joe pushed off the rock, using his free hand to fondly ruffle Reki’s hair, messing it up even further.
“Anytime, kid.”
Reki followed Joe back to their group, immediately sidling up to Langa and resting an elbow on his shoulder, shooting his friend a bright grin.
Langa’s blank look broke into a small happy smile of his own as he noticed Reki’s presence.
“What did Joe want to talk about?”
“Oh uh, just a few tips on some skating tricks!” Reki replied quickly.
“Hm,” Langa hummed in acknowledgement, seeming satisfied with the answer.
“There’s still like 30 minutes ‘til midnight. Do you guys wanna head to the half-pipe for a bit? I don’t think they’re running beefs ‘til after the countdown,” Miya asked.
Langa’s eyes instantly lit up at the prospect of skating, capturing Reki’s attention like a beacon. He could never tear his eyes away whenever Langa got excited about skating like that.
“Yeah! Let’s do it!” Reki cheered in agreement.
“Now we’re talking! LET’S PARTY!”
Reki nearly jumped two feet in the air as Shadow’s voice seemed to materialize out of nowhere and boom directly into his ear.
Reki wrapped his arm fully around Langa’s shoulder, tugging him away from Shadow’s wild grin, his face flushed from liquor even though the makeup.
“I see someone’s properly sloshed now,” Miya snickered.
“Carla, please monitor Shadow’s blood alcohol levels for the remainder of the night,” Cherry directed with a disappointed sigh.
“Okay, master.”
------
The half-pipe was not exactly what Reki had come to expect.
The area surrounding the ramps had been converted into a giant light-up dance floor, with different color tiles flashing as people stomped on them.
The half-pipe itself was lined with LED lights and a row of sparklers that shot off every time someone did a jump. Reki assumed they had to be motion censored just like the dance floor.
Still, nothing could top the biggest surprise which was the flashy DJ booth set up against the back fence, with…was that the love hotel guy spinning the tracks?
As if this night couldn’t get any freaking weirder.
“Hey Kaoru, say why don’t we hit the dance floor and tear it up like we did in Barcelona?” Joe asked with a smirk as he jerked a thumb towards the mass of dancing bodies.
“I have no memory of joining you in that particular activity, nor do I care to do so now,” Cherry huffed out in reply.
Joe shrugged casually, laughing off the dig, but Reki thought back to their conversation and wondered if this was one of those fleeting moments he was talking about.
“JOE! OH MY GOD IT’S JOE! PLEASE DANCE WITH US!”
“Suit yourself, princess. Duty calls,” he snarked back with a two-finger salute, disappearing into the crowd of dancing girls.
“That guy…” Shadow grumbled, following bitterly in search of his own dance partner.
“Reki,” Langa said suddenly, drawing Reki’s attention away from the scene.
“Yeah, what’s up man?”
“Do you want to dance?”
“H-huh? For real? I thought you wanted to skate, dude!”
Langa shrugged, his face impassive as he glanced at the DJ booth and back towards the dancefloor.
“Miya took the half-pipe. Also, that DJ was really good at skating. It looked like he was dancing almost, kinda like Adam but different, maybe whatever music he’s playing inspires his movements. I want to try it.”
Reki swore his jaw grazed the dirt as he listened to Langa’s explanation. He supposed it made some sort of sense but he would never guess in a million years that Langa would want to dance.
…with him?
Before Reki would totally freak out, Joe’s words came back to him. Right, he doesn’t need to stress or overthink, just do what feels right.
It’s just a yes or no question. Langa asked him to dance, that’s all.
He doesn’t need to spiral or know anything for certain at that moment.
He just shouldn’t let it fly by.
Guts and momentum, right?
“Okay…yeah sure! Can’t promise I won’t step on your feet though,” Reki replied humorously.
Reki quickly realized that wasn’t going to be an issue.
He had thought Langa was just kinda perfect at everything. He always seemed to excel at whatever he tried.
Langa was a horrible dancer.
Reki truly had been joking, he knew he was decent enough to keep the beat. Koyomi had started dance lessons when she was little and was always excited to pull Reki around the house, showing him all the steps. Now Nanaka and Chihiro were starting up with lessons and he could never deny their demands to twirl around the kitchen with him while his mother cooked.
But Langa…man Langa just did not have a smidge of rhythm.
He had walked confidently onto the dance floor, that assured look in his eyes that he gets when skating. But then he just stopped in the middle, stared at his feet for a solid 30 seconds and then looked up at Reki like he was completely lost.
Reki pressed a fist to his mouth to suppress his chuckle as he stood in front of a very pouty Langa.
“Reki, I don’t know how to dance,” he practically whined.
Reki stepped side to side to the beat, in an exaggerated way to emphasize his movements, snapping his fingers as he did so.
“C’mon dude, it’s not that hard, just move your feet to the beat of the song. See?”
Langa watched his feet and hands in awe, eyes lighting up in wonder.
“Reki, you’re amazing.”
Reki almost tripped out of his simple movement, pausing to regain his balance while scratching the back of his neck bashfully.
“Please, I’m barely doing anything, this is nothing.”
“Reki, teach me,” Langa asked earnestly.
“To dance?! I don’t know if I’m qualified for that, dude,” Reki replied dryly.
“You’re better than me. Please, Reki.”
Reki dragged a hand across his face, shaking his head slightly in disbelief. He huffed out a laugh and finally smiled slowly.
“Alright, man. If you insist. I’ll try my best.”
Reki held out his hand to Langa, a mimicry of when he first taught the boy how to stand on a skateboard all those months ago.
“You can hold my hand if you’re scared,” Reki teased softly, repeating the same words from that day.
But Langa didn’t realize he was joking and didn’t reject his offer this time either.
He eagerly grabbed onto Reki’s hand, threading their fingers together, leaving their clasped hands hovering in the space between them.
“Okay. Now what?” Langa questioned calmly.
Reki was grateful for the neon lights painting everything in colorful hues because surely his bright red face would just blend in.
How could Langa be so chill about this? Figuratively and literally because Reki was all too aware of how sweaty his palm felt in Langa’s cool grip.
Reki tried to calm his racing heart and focus on guiding Langa’s movements. He gently pulled Langa side to side to the rhythm, smiling encouragingly up at him as he began to get the hang of it.
Langa’s eyes were glued to their feet, studying them with intense focus as he tried to mimic Reki’s steps.
“Yeah, just like that! Now you’re getting it, man,” Reki said happily, grinning up at Langa proudly.
Langa finally looked up from staring at the ground, those sapphire eyes locking onto Reki’s amber ones.
Reki was grateful he had enough skill to keep moving on autopilot, otherwise he would’ve surely frozen in the spot under Langa’s warm gaze.
“I’m having fun, thank you Reki,” Langa whispered, but it sounded impossibly loud to Reki’s ears, the words ringing sweetly over and over in his brain.
Reki opened his mouth to respond but the words halted in their tracks when Langa suddenly grabbed his other hand and pulled him in, so close their bodies were practically touching, just a breath of space between them.
“W-woah, hold on man, I think you’re skipping the rest of the tutorial,” Reki squeaked out awkwardly, feeling the flush returning to his face in full force.
“My gut told me to get closer,” Langa said as if it was the easiest thing in the world.
Jeez, Langa might be an awful dancer but he had the whole ‘guts and momentum’ thing down for sure.
“Your instincts are something else, dude,” Reki mumbled with a wobbly smile.
Reki couldn’t tear his eyes away from Langa if he tried, almost hypnotized by Langa swaying so close to him.
The music seemed to fade, sounding softer and softer as Reki’s head filled with a fuzzy warm sensation. Even the lights of the dance floor seemed to dim in comparison to the bright blue eyes staring into his.
Reki suddenly had the urge to try something stupid, sending out a quick thank you to the universe for giving him sisters who begged him to twirl them all around the house.
“Hey Langa, think you’re good enough for a spin now?”
For once, Langa’s cool composure cracked, his eyes widening a bit in surprise.
Reki’s lips stretched into a wide smile as he released Langa’s left hand, raising his right one to spin him around in a small circle. It was probably a little corny and ridiculous of him, and nothing like the way the people around them were drunkenly dancing up on each other, but Reki couldn’t care less. It felt right, felt like them, and he couldn’t stop himself from grinning so hard that his eyes crinkled closed in mirth as he spun Langa again.
That turned out to be a mistake as Langa’s two left feet got crossed, tripping on nothing and sending them both tumbling down to the floor.
Reki let out a painful wheeze as Langa’s weight crashed on top of him and his head smacked against the hard ground.
“Reki! Are you okay?” Langa asked anxiously, scooting his weight back on his legs even as he winced from the strain of it.
With a little less weight pinning him down, Reki was able to prop himself up on his elbows, bringing one hand up to rub the back of his head with a groan.
“This feels familiar,” he muttered through the pain.
Langa huffed out a quiet breathy laugh, looking relieved that Reki felt okay enough to make a joke of it.
Reki frowned slightly when he realized the solid beneath him wasn’t the dancefloor but just bare rock. He hadn’t even noticed them drifting away from the crowd to the edge of the dance floor.
The masses of people had gathered close to the front by the DJ booth, where a giant screen was projecting the countdown to midnight. Everyone was dancing and cheering as the clock displayed only one minute left until the new year.
How the heck had that happened? He could’ve sworn only a few minutes had passed while they were dancing and yet…
He guessed time had a funny way of standing still whenever he was with Langa.
But maybe just for the two of them.
Reki dragged his eyes back to look up at Langa, who was still running his eyes all over Reki’s body with concern.
“I’m so sorry Reki! Are you hurt?”
Reki tried for a weak but reassuring smile.
“Nah, man, I’m fine.”
Langa reached a hand towards his head but then hesitated, looking uncertain.
Reki rolled his eyes fondly and grabbed Langa’s wrist to pull his hand down to the side.
“C’mon dude, relax! We’ve both had way worse falls.”
Reki’s eyes darted above Langa’s head, catching the timer as it hit the 30 second mark.
Langa nodded slowly, his face gradually relaxing back to normal as he moved to get his weight back on his feet and stand up.
Before the butterflies thrashing in his stomach could argue otherwise, Reki’s hand shot forward to grab onto Langa’s wrist once more, his fingers sliding over the glowing yellow bracelets to tangle their fingers together, squeezing tightly so their palms pressed close.
Langa’s eyes widened again, like they had when Reki spun him, but he let his weight fall back down towards the ground.
Towards Reki.
Reki, who hadn’t a clue what the hell he was doing right now, but knew one thing for absolutely certain.
He didn’t want this moment to end.
Langa blinked slowly, reluctantly, as if he was fighting the involuntary. He stared intently into Reki’s eyes, like he couldn’t close his own eyelids for even a second when Reki was in view.
Reki was struck by a sudden sensation, a surge of affection, a thought so demanding that it practically screamed for attention at the front of his mind.
He could see infinity in Langa’s eyes.
But the problem was he could also see the countdown and he only had…
10…
to figure out the wave of feelings crashing over him
9…
from the very first meeting when Langa caught his runaway board
8…
to watching him soar overhead as the sparklers snowed down around him
7…
to the promise sworn under a moonlit skatepark sealed with a DAP
6…
and a smile shared under peeking sun rays before skating their first race together
5…
to dancing hand in hand under the cover of rainbow lights
4…
to the way Langa was looking at him right now.
3…
His gaze dropped to Reki’s lips.
2…
“Is it okay if I…?”
1…
“Yeah.”
Reki didn’t wait another second after hearing Langa’s soft reply.
He reached his other hand forward, gently wrapping it around the back of Langa’s neck, twirling strands of light blue around his tan calloused fingers.
He only managed a light pull before Langa was leaning down, moving on his own accord to meet him halfway.
Their lips brushed, barely a breath of a touch, but Reki’s senses were already singing, his eyelids fluttering closed.
Reki felt like they were underwater, nestled in their own bubble, the deafening shouts and cheers of celebration sounding muffled when all he could hear was his own heartbeat thundering in his ears.
Reki pressed his mouth against Langa’s again, a longer sweeter kiss that made him feel like he was floating. It was a little imperfect, their lips slightly fumbling against one another, not unlike their very first DAP.
It made Reki smile at the memory, breaking the kiss with a light chuckle.
Langa drew back, tilting his head curiously with a little pout.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” Reki smiled again. “I just really like you, dude.”
And as soon as he said it, he realized just how true it was. A truth that now seemed so ridiculous to ever doubt, only left wondering how he could’ve ever missed it to begin with.
Langa smiled widely in return, a rare show of teeth, the flush on his cheeks the pinkest Reki had ever seen.
“I like you too, Reki!” he responded quickly, practically shouting in his rush to get it out.
Reki laughed fully now, bumping his fist against Langa’s chest.
“Yeah, Langa, I kinda figured that out just now.”
“I really like kissing you,” Langa said bluntly, as if that was a completely normal thing to say to someone and wouldn’t send Reki into cardiac arrest.
Langa saved him from having to respond through his sputtering as he shifted to stand, extending a hand to help Reki to his feet.
Langa didn’t pull his hand away even once Reki was standing, simply squeezing it a bit tighter as he pulled Reki back towards the crowd with a little smile. The fireworks exploding with color in the sky behind him were great, but nothing compared to how beautiful Langa looked in that moment.
“Happy New Year, Reki.”
“Heh, yeah, Happy New Year, bro.”
“Gross. I see you two finally figured it out. Congrats, I guess,” Miya said with a constipated look towards their joined hands as he suddenly appeared, pushing his way through the crowd.
Reki was already blushing from before but he could feel his ears burning as Miya scanned them with a knowing look.
“Oh sorry, we forgot to remind you to stay away,” Langa said blankly.
“Yeah, don’t worry, I remembered on my own,” Miya replied sarcastically.
“Don’t listen to the brat. He’s just butthurt because Cherry disappeared while he was trying to show off his new tricks.”
“THAT’S A LIE.”
“Matter of fact, where is Cherry… and Joe? They’re missing the fireworks,” Reki wondered aloud.
As if summoned by uttering his name, Cherry pushed his way through the crowds, the shrieks of his fangirls announcing his presence.
“LORD CHERRY! HAPPY NEW YEAR!”
“CHERRY’S HAIR IS DOWN? I’VE NEVER SEEN IT LIKE THAT.”
“HE LOOKS SO STUNNING AHHH.”
Cherry nonchalantly brushed some of his long pink locks over his shoulder, huffing lightly, almost like it annoyed him to do so, even though his hair still looked perfect.
“Happy New Year,” Cherry said, with his usual stiff delivery, as he approached.
“Happy New Year!” came another much louder and jovial voice.
Joe pushed his way through the crowd from the opposite side, grinning wide as he waved towards the group.
Reki raised his hand to wave but belatedly realized it was still snug in Langa’s hold. He blushed and dropped their joined hands, raising the other instead to wave back.
Joe’s eyes tracked the movement with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.
“Guts and momentum go a long way, huh?” he said with a knowing wink, reaching forward to ruffle Reki’s hair again.
But as he drew back, Reki noticed something, a flash of bright yellow against Joe’s tan wrist. At first he thought it was a glow stick bracelet, just like Langa’s, but then he blinked and his eyes widened in recognition.
“Is that…Cherry’s hair scrunchie?” he asked without thinking.
Joe’s smile stiffened on his face, his eyes flashing in shock for a moment before he composed himself, so quick Reki barely caught it.
He made a show of looking down at his wrist in mock surprise, as if the scrunchie had walked itself off Cherry’s head and onto his hand.
“Oh? Is it? Wonder how that got there,” he said with an easy laugh.
He deftly slipped the yellow band off his wrist and slingshot it directly at Cherry’s face with a smirk.
“Here ya go, Pinky.”
Cherry’s hand shot up with inhuman reflex to snatch the scrunchie out of the air right before it hit his face with a piercing glare.
“Immature imbecile,” he bit back.
Reki’s eyes darted back and forth between them as the realization slowly dawned on him, his jaw falling open in shock.
Shadow leaned over and closed it with a flick of his pointer finger and a sigh.
“Relax. This happens every year. They’re just getting more obvious about it.”
Miya mimed gagging and rolled his eyes while Langa seemed blissfully unaware of the situation.
Reki shook his head in disbelief until a tug on his hand captured his attention. Langa’s eyes were shining with excitement as he smiled down at Reki.
“Reki! It’s after midnight, can we skate now?”
Reki chuckled. “Of course that’s what you’re focused on right now,” he replied fondly.
His teasing fell on deaf ears as Langa made a beeline for their discarded boards, pulling Reki along with him.
They threw down their boards and hopped on, flying towards the abandoned mine while sharing happy smiles.
The familiar feeling of exhilaration raced through his veins and Reki truly couldn’t decide which he loved more, getting to skate with his best friend or kiss his boyfriend on New Year’s Eve.
Then he realized it didn’t really matter.
Now he had both.
…except he never officially asked Langa to be his boyfriend, did he?
Well, maybe whoever won this beef would get to do the honors.
But Reki still kinda hoped it was him.