Infinity, Taken Literally

Acceptance 8

The first thing Reki registers when consciousness pulls him from the darkness is how comfy he is. Which is strange, because he could've sworn he was just sitting in a chair letting Cherry look at his back.

Creaking open his tired eyes, Reki is met with the sleeping face of a certain blue-haired familiarity. Mouth parting in surprise, he realises the gentle rise and fall of Langa's chest had been his pillow up until a moment ago. Slowly lifting his head up, he freezes when Langa's eyes scrunch up, holding his breath until they relax again, and Langa remains asleep.

Suddenly thankful that Langa is asleep right now, and therefore isn't able to see him staring, Reki slowly turns so he can look around the room.

Since when did he get to Langa's room? And why is he sleeping basically on top of the guy? With a glance to the side, he barely notices the clock next to Langa's bed which reads 6:50 a.m.

Langa shifts beneath him and Reki still again. Blue eyes don't open, however, the grip that he had been ignoring, tightens around his waist, pulling him closer. His head lands in the crook of Langa's neck with a soft 'oof'. Through the furious blush taking over his face, he mentally takes notes that Langa smells like pinecones, Like winter. How would Langa react if he woke up right now? If he saw the way they are lying together.

"Reki?" Okay, he takes it back, he didn't actually want an answer.

Jumping up, Reki pushes out of Langa's arms to sit up. "Hey dude," He winces at the awkwardness of his choice of words and the pain associated with the sudden movement. Langa's eyes instantly fly open, blinking away the sleep to look over Reki for the source of the wince.

"Are you okay?" Reki offers an awkward smile as strong hands steady him.

"I'm fine, I promise." Langa does not look at all convinced. "But how did I get here?"

"I carried you" He blinks in surprise.

"You what?"

"I carried you; Cherry gave us a lift here." Langa rubs his face, yawning. "I figured you wouldn't want to worry your mum, so I brought you to mine instead."

"Oh," The image of Langa carrying him, has Reki looking away to hide his face. "Thank you," He doesn't miss the way Langa smiles. Not sure what else to say, Reki looks down at himself. Now that he's sitting up, he can see the array of bandages wrapped up his torso. Langa follows his gaze, face falling.

"I'm sorry Reki," Swallowing the lump in his throat, Langa looks away. "I couldn't protect you."

"It's not your fault. It's not your job to protect me. I'm sorry that I didn't win." Reaching out for Langa, Reki pauses. It had been instinct to comfort Langa, but he wasn't sure where to put his hand. Would it be too weird to place it on his shoulder? Was he overthinking this? He was definitely overthinking this.

Seeing Reki's inner turmoil, Langa raises his own hand and meets his hovering one. intertwining their fingers together, he brings their hands down to rest on his chest. "You keep getting hurt," Langa rubs his thumb against Reki's palm in slow, comforting circles.

"That's just how skateboarding is," Langa gives him a look to point out that wasn't what he was talking about. "I can look after myself anyways." He gives him another look to say he doesn't believe that at all.

"But I want to look after you Reki. I want to protect you. I hate seeing you hurt." Reki blinks, taken aback by both the words and the soft pink tinge that'd spread across Langa's cheeks as he spoke them. For a moment, Reki just stares, heart fluttering and brain failing to compute. "How do you feel this morning?" With a concerned frown, Langa reaches up with his free hand, the one not holding Reki's, to place the back of it against Reki's forehead.