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VIBING WITH A MENTAL ILLNESS
"Hello, mom."
"Y/n..." She gasped. Her gaze quickly went from her son to the two boys by his side. "W-Who...What..."
"Reki Kyan!" Reki introduced gleefully with an extended hand. She hesitantly shook it and looked over to the blue-haired boy.
"Langa Hasegawa. Nice to meet you." Langa took her hand and smiled slightly. "We're friends of Y/n," Langa said, testing out his English once more. Reki pouted on the right side of their shared friend with pursed lips. He thought they were trying to show off.
"Nice to meet you! Come on in!" M/n said and Langa followed happily. Reki was the next one to go in with her son still being skeptical.
"She seems cool," Reki whispered and y/n narrowed his eyes without looking away from the doorway.
"She's being unnaturally nice right now."
Disregarding the feeling in his stomach, he followed behind his friends and sat himself down at the round table. He quirked an amused brow and looked underneath it.
"Whatcha doing?" Reki asked. He ignored him and continued searching for the 4 names underneath the table.
F/n - It's a new day
M/n - It's a new dawn
S/n - It's a new life
Thinking back on her quote, they probably should've picked up on the signs she dropped about a girl.
Y/n - For me ~
"As a child, he always hated that he got the shortest line." Ms. L/n started. Reki caught a few words but knew he would ultimately struggle with this visit.
Y/n looked back up from the table at the sound of his mother's voice. "Yeah. So I added that little wavy thing at the end so I could feel special."
"You boys were—" A swift glare from her son cut her off and she knew what he was getting at. He was watching her every move for any sign of disrespect. "You kids loved being the odd ones out. No care in the world."
Reki was visibly anxious and Langa took that as his queue to translate. When he did, Reki relaxed and asked Langa to say something for him.
"I can't imagine y/n being excited all the time."
"Mhm." He hummed, getting up from the table and heading to the fridge. "Mind if I grab a drink?" He asked and she nodded but he mentally cursed himself for being nice to her. Nevertheless, he grabbed a beer for himself out of the fridge making Reki gasp.
"We can't drink!"
"Why not? It's a beer, we'll be fine, Reki." He laughed but Reki kept his lips pursed. "In Quebec, the legal drinking age is 18. I'm 18 and you both are 17."
"I've had a couple of beers before. But I never liked them." Langa's face twisted in disgust. The mother just sat in confusion as she couldn't understand any Japanese.
"I'm not gonna force you to drink," Y/n said and Reki nodded. "I just need to be able to get through this night." He mumbled and sat back down at the table.
"So!" M/n exclaimed with clasped hands. "What have you all been up to these days?" She asked and Langa translated for Reki.
"We went to British Columbia, where I'm from, a few days ago," Langa replied and she nodded. He looked over to Reki to ask if he wanted to say something but Reki was already on it.
"We...taste B-Beavertails...!" He stuttered slightly but the smiles on Y/n and his mother's faces were unmistakable. The two boys looked between them and smiled. No matter how much their friend denied his bond with his parents when they smiled they looked identical.
"Yeah, we also went to get some Tims," Y/n said once he calmed his laugh down.
"Did you save me some?" She asked, trying to keep the light atmosphere going but y/n's smile faltered. He was torn between whether to make it light and happy or face his mother.
"No, sorry."
Then it went silent.
"Where have you been staying?" She interrupted the awkward silence that Reki would've been happy to interrupt if he could speak the language.
"He lived with Reki for a while but lives with me now," Langa answered and she nodded her head slowly. Y/n cocked his beer bottle in the air to get the last sip.
"Does the thought of me living with another guy make you uncomfortable?" He hissed, searching for any sign of discomfort.
"Not at all." She smiled softly. "I just wanted to know. And how about your sister?"
That Reki understood. "Sister?" He asked. He and Langa looked to their friend with interest. "You have a sister?" He switched to Japanese.
"You really feel the need to intervene, don't you?" He mumbled. "I'm going back to the hotel." Y/n stood up abruptly and headed for the door but a hand on his wrist stopped him. He looked back and Langa stood next to him, hand on his wrist while Reki was ready to rush after his best friend.
"Talk to us," Langa whispered in Japanese. His eyes were soft and welcoming and the only way to not pour his heart out to his friend was to look away and scoff.
He knew he was being mean.
He was being too harsh.
He didn't want to take out his pent-up anger on his friends. On the people he would risk his life for in a heartbeat.
"Y/n," Reki called, walking forward but he only took his grip out of Langa's hand and headed for the door.
"See you later."
The two boys turned to his mother with worry clearly written on their faces. Before they could even ask how to handle it, thinking she would be the best to know, she was already speaking.
"Go. Take care of him. Show him how much you care for him."
Reki and Langa exchanged the same look. "We promise."
