Renga Oneshots

Not-So-Secret Anymore

The warm evening breeze rolled through the park, carrying the faint sound of skateboard wheels against pavement. Reki adjusted his grip on his board, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. He could feel the nervous energy zipping through him, and judging by the way Langa stood beside him—calm, composed, and only slightly fidgeting—he knew his boyfriend was feeling at least a little of the same.

Boyfriend.

That word still made Reki's brain short-circuit sometimes.

"Are you guys gonna say whatever dumb thing you dragged us here for, or can I leave?" Miya's voice broke through Reki's thoughts.

Reki shot him a look. "Jeez, impatient much?"

Miya, perched on his skateboard, raised an eyebrow. "You texted me, 'Big Announcement, Life-Changing Moment, Not Clickbait.' So yeah, I expected something dramatic."

Joe, who was standing nearby with his arms crossed, chuckled. "Gotta admit, you hyped this up pretty good, kid."

Cherry sighed. "And yet, I have a feeling this is going to be painfully ridiculous."

Reki groaned, raking a hand through his hair. "Okay, okay! It's not ridiculous, it's—"

Langa, ever the lifesaver, cut in smoothly, "Reki and I are dating."

Silence.

It stretched on for an awkward beat.

Then—

Joe let out a loud, "HA! Knew it."

Miya's foot slipped on his board. "Wait, what?"

Cherry... sighed again, rubbing his temples.

Reki blinked. "Wait—you knew?"

Joe grinned, arms still crossed over his chest. "Dude, please. I've been waiting for you two to figure it out for months."

Langa frowned slightly. "But we only started dating two weeks ago."

"Yeah, well, that just means it took you that long to catch up," Joe teased.

Reki felt his face heating up. "Oh my God, you're actually the worst."

"Wait, wait, wait." Miya's eyes darted between them. "So you guys are actually together? Like, together-together?"

Reki rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. You know, couple-y stuff. Dating. Boyfriends. That whole thing."

Miya made a face. "Ew, gross."

Reki gasped dramatically. "You little brat."

Langa, ever patient, tilted his head. "You don't approve?"

Miya blinked, looking caught off guard. "What? No. I don't care. I just don't wanna see any gross couple stuff."

Reki smirked, crossing his arms. "Ohhh, I see how it is. So it's totally fine when you and Kiyomi are getting all buddy-buddy, but the second I hold my boyfriend's hand, it's 'gross'?"

Miya's face turned an alarming shade of red. "Wha—that's not even the same thing!"

Joe grinned. "Wait, wait, wait—holding hands? Miya, my man, you holding out on us?"

Miya scowled. "I swear  if any of you say another word, I will push you all into traffic."

Reki cackled. "That's not a no~."

Joe burst into laughter. "Oh man, this was worth showing up for."

Cherry sighed, rubbing his temples. "I regret being here."

Langa, still holding Reki's hand, simply said, "Too late."

Joe groaned.

Miya muttered, "I hate this."

Cherry, who had been unusually quiet, finally spoke. "Well. This explains a lot."

Reki turned to him. "Wait, are you also saying you knew?"

Cherry adjusted his sleeves. "Not in those exact words, but let's just say... it wasn't subtle."

Langa gave a small nod. "We weren't trying to hide it."

"Could've fooled me," Miya muttered.

Reki sighed. "Look, the whole point of this was to tell you guys, so—surprise! We're dating! Also, Miya is a menace, Joe is insufferable, and Cherry is apparently a mind-reader."

Joe clapped a hand on Reki's shoulder. "Well, for what it's worth, I'm happy for you two. Just don't be too lovey-dovey around me, yeah?"

Langa tilted his head again. "Too late."

Joe groaned.

Miya muttered, "I hate this."

Cherry crossed his arms. "Congratulations, I suppose."

Reki grinned, nudging Langa. "See? That wasn't so bad."

Langa gave him a small, fond smile. "Not bad at all."

But, of course, it didn't end there.

Later that night, the group ended up at Joe's restaurant, gathered around a booth with a mix of food, drinks, and way too much teasing.

"So, who confessed first?" Joe asked, leaning forward with an annoyingly smug grin.

Reki groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Dude, we're not playing 20 Questions about my love life."

Langa, completely unaffected, simply said, "I did."

Miya nearly choked on his soda. "Wait, you confessed first?"

Reki waved a hand. "I know, I was shocked too."

Langa shrugged. "It wasn't that hard. I just told him I liked him."

Reki scoffed. "Yeah, in the most casual way possible. Like, you literally just went, 'Hey, I like you,' like you were talking about the weather."

Joe burst out laughing. "Damn. Cold-blooded."

Cherry smirked slightly. "And how did you respond, Reki?"

Reki groaned. "Badly! I panicked!"

Miya snickered. "Sounds about right."

Langa, amused, reached for Reki's hand under the table, giving it a light squeeze. "But you kissed me after."

Reki's face turned bright red. "Why would you say that out loud?!"

Joe whistled. "Oho, so that's how it happened."

Cherry sighed into his drink. "You're all insufferable."

Miya made another disgusted noise. "See? This is exactly what I was talking about."

Reki huffed, but there was no real heat behind it. "You guys suck."

Joe threw an arm around him. "Nah, you love us."

Langa, still holding Reki's hand, nodded. "I do."

Reki glanced at him, a little stunned. Langa's voice had been soft—quiet, but sure. And it made something warm settle in Reki's chest.

He squeezed Langa's hand back, then looked around at the people he considered family.

"Yeah," he admitted, grinning. "Me too."