Renga

My sunshine boy

Langa breathed a deep sigh as he spotted reki riding towards him on the street near his house.  He was running late, so he got a little worried he wouldn't come.  It wasn't that reki was one to stand people up or flake on plans, langa just had this itching feeling in the back of his brain that something bad might happen to him and it made his heart clench. 

The sun was setting on the horizon and the last rays of soft evening light blessed langa with an image of reki so holy he dared not blink.  The dying light cradled reki as if he were the most precious thing the universe had created.  It was like the sun clung to reki as its last moments faded away into darkness and langa was awestruck at the way his red curls burned like fire before being doused by the night. 

"Hey man!" Reki hopped off his board enthusiastically, a little too enthusiastically, and nearly toppled langa, who had been standing with his hands in his pockets and was now precariously off balance with no way to catch himself. 

Langa grunted an incoherent exclamation before trying to tug his hands free from his pockets at the same moment that reki grabbed him tightly, in an attempt to stop him falling. 

Langa felt something horrible.  His elbow connect with rekis nose as he jerked his hand free from his pocket and reki let out a groan dropping langa on the concrete. 

"Mmph!"

"Mmmmm'sorry, ooh, ouch!" Reki apologized, holding his face in his hands. They were now enveloped in darkness but langa could still see the blood dripping out from between rekis fingers. God, reki was his only friend and this was how langa repaid him? A bloody nose? Really langa?

Reki was chuckling, though his eyes watered, "Oh man, langa, I guess that's what I deserve for coming on too fast."

"No," langa choked, "no, no, reki I'm so sorry oh my god," he reached for reki instinctively, grabbing his wrists gently, "can I see?"

He didn't want to look, not really, but since he had been the one to cause the injury, it was the least he could do to try to fix it. Oh god he felt like such a screw up for hurting his favorite person in the whole world.

Langa forgot everything and focused on reki as he moved his hands away from his face to assess the damage. There was a lot of blood but it didn't look crooked or broken. He did need to get cleaned up though, and an ice pack wouldn't hurt.

He pulled reki toward the house. They were going to hang out for a while anyway before S started. Maybe they shouldn't go now. Reki might want to though. This could be an issue. Langa was already worrying and overthinking and the night had barely begun.

As he came back to reality he realized reki was watching him. Waiting.

"What?" Langa inquired, with a soft quirk of his eyebrow.

Reki blinked and then shook his head lightly, "nothing, I just knew you were thinking about something so I was waiting for you to come back to me."

Langa made a strangled noise in his throat. Well that was embarrassing, "sorry," he mumbled, now self-conscious about the way his mind wandered.

"No dude! I don't mind it. It's kinda — well it's fun to watch you think."

Heat creeped up langas neck at that. It felt like an eternity before they finally made it to the bathroom and langa sat reki down on the edge of the tub, before he began pulling out the drawers and flinging open the cabinets, grabbing some supplies to clean and bandage reki up and some medicine for the pain. He filled a glass of water and handed it to reki with the pills, pausing before letting go, "I really am sorry, Reki."

And reki could tell he meant it. He meant it with his whole heart even though it was only an accident and his heart swelled with appreciation for his best friend, "it's really okay langa, it was a big accident, we're both clumsy idiots."

Langa didn't laugh but his eyebrows relaxed and his mouth was no longer pressed in a firm line.

He ran a washcloth under warm water and began cleaning the blood gently from rekis face, "you're moving too much," Langa mumbled as reki adjusted his position for the third time. Langa used his freehand to hold rekis jaw, so that he would be still. At least still enough so that langa didn't end up hurting him even more. He was already so sorry. Reki breathed against the palm of his hand and langa shuddered. He was so close to touching his mouth. That mouth that always had the brightest sunshine smile on it. He absently brushed one of rekis dimples with the pad of his thumb as he continued wiping the remnants of blood from the corners of rekis mouth, but the corners of his mouth turned up every so slightly in the most adorable way and oh how langas heart forgot how to beat and his blood stopped cold because he knew that he was done for. And his dimples got deeper and langa couldn't help himself as he rubbed his thumbs across them gently, with reverence. Reki emitted a low hum as he closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. Langa suddenly had the strangest urge. There was so much want in his brain, he didn't know if he could form a single coherent thought, unless that thought was reki. And since he couldn't, in that moment, come up with a reason not to, he kissed reki. He kissed the corner of his mouth, tenderly, trying to avoid touching his nose, "I'm sorry," he whispered against Langas cheek, "I hope it doesn't hurt a lot."

"It doesn't," reki lied, keeping his eyes shut so he wouldn't give away that it did, in fact, hurt. Because langa was so precious and he didn't mean to and he already felt bad enough so why burden him with it? It was unnecessary. If it meant langa would be happier, it wasn't a problem at all.

Langa had finished cleaning rekis face long ago but he didn't want to stop pressing his thumbs to rekis dimples and pressing apologetic kisses to his cheeks, his temples, his lips...

So before langa bandaged rekis nose, he decided to continue his bravery streak for the night and slung his arms around rekis neck, leaning in close, "did i mention that I'm s—"

Reki cut him off with a rough kiss. Their lips pressed together firmly and reki had grabbed the front of langas shirt in his fist and oh langa might pass out. Reki pulled back, "don't say it again," and he looked meaningfully into langas eyes, "I'm serious."

Langa shuddered and could only manage a small nod, because reki, his reki, had kissed him back. Even after he gave him a bloody nose. It was incredible. Unbelievable. Wait was he dreaming? No. He definitely wasn't dreaming. They would've kissed a lot more in a dream.

"And kiss me more," he mumbled, looking at langas collarbones peeking out from beneath his t shirt collar, "I like it."

Langa wanted to. So badly. He had for a while. But... "let me finish bandaging you up first. And I'll cook, we need some dinner."

Reki pouted slightly, "but I'm injured. I'm
Supposed to get what I want."

Langa laughed and leaned in, and reki rose to meet him, overeager and almost knocked langa over again, but it was okay because they were kissing and langa had never felt more awake.