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Reki woke up to the smell of bacon and the sound of arguing. At the sharp tones filtering through the air, he flinched, hunkering down into himself and wrapping the light blanket around his shoulders tightly.
And then, he realized his mattress was softer than usual. And the blanket atop him was much too light to be his weighted blanket. And the voices arguing outside the room both matched in their alto tones, neither being high-pitched enough to be his mother’s. And their arguing sounded... less angry than Reki had at first thought. More teasing than anything, really.
The teenager’s eyes shot open, and he lurched upwards in bed. His hands flew to the pink hoodie on his chest, gripping at the fabric as he tried to ground himself.
Last night… His dad had… And Reki had ran away. He’d fled, like a coward, after not even attempting to defend himself against his father. He’d gone to… He’d gone to Sia la luce, and Joe and Cherry had been there. And they had…
They invited him to live with them.
A sharp gasp flew from Reki’s lips, and suddenly, he was finding it hard to breathe. Vision swimming, the teen reached out towards the bedside table for his headband. He always felt better with it on, covering up his scar. His shame. But his vision was swimming too much, and he was lightheaded, and everything felt wrong-
He needed his headband. He needed his weighted blanket. He needed- he needed-
He didn’t know what he needed-
Losing his balance, Reki collided with the bedside table, hitting his ribs rather harshly, and collapsed onto the floor with a bang. The arguing- bickering- outside cut short, and then two sets of footsteps were rushing towards the room fast enough to make Reki’s heartrate pick up.
“Reki?” a voice called out. It… sounded like Joe?
“Reki, can we come in?” And that was… Cherry. Cherry? Why was-?
Oh, yeah. Reki was in their apartment. He’d forgotten in his panic.
Panic. Because he was having a panic attack. And he didn’t have his headband or his weighted blanket or Langa and- and- and-
And everything was wrong. Everything felt bad. The texture of the hoodie on his chest, the coolness of the floor, the warmth of his thick socks-
It. Was. All. Wrong-
“Hey, kiddo,” Joe’s voice was suddenly much closer, unmuffled by the door. “I’m sorry, but we had to come in without your permission. We heard you-”
“Can you breathe for us, Reki?” Cherry interrupted his partner, offering a hand towards the teen that Reki hesitated only a moment to grab. But when he grabbed it, he gripped it, tugging Cherry’s hand to his chest as he shuddered and tried not to sob. “Reki, breathe. In for four, out for four, alright? Like this.”
Cherry began to demonstrate the breathing technique he’d just iterated, breathing in deeply enough to make enough sound that Reki could follow with his ears- fortunate, seeing as how the boy’s vision was still swimming with dizziness and tears.
Joe sighed as Reki began to follow Cherry’s breathing pattern, sounding almost… relieved? Why would he be relieved? Because Reki was here, in their apartment, being a bother like he always was and-
“You’re not a bother, kiddo,” Joe said softly, now sounding… disappointed? Disappointed in Reki. Because Reki was a disappointment- “I’m not disappointed, kiddo, and you’re not a bother. Just keep breathing, Reki. You’ll be alright.”
“Keep breathing,” Cherry demanded, sounding softer even in his seriousness than Reki had ever heard him. Except maybe for last night.
Had last night even happened? Or was Reki hallucinating? Surely Joe and Cherry hadn’t- hadn’t-
Hadn’t cared enough to invite him to live with them? Right?
“Oh, child,” Cherry’s voice sounded sad now.
“Of course we care, Reki,” Joe croaked out. “We care about you. We care about all of you- Langa and Miya and Shadow included. We just- we just want to help.”
Reki let loose a short chuckle, because when had an adult wanted to help him? They all hated him. He was a delinquent to his teachers. He was a bother to his mother. He was a faggot to his father-
“Hey,” Joe’s voice was terse. “Don’t call yourself that. You are not a- a-” And then he sighed. “There’s nothing wrong with you, Reki. I told you last night, and I’ll tell you again. Forever, if I have to.”
Finally- blessed finally- Reki’s breathing began to even out. He was feeling a little less nervous at Joe’s reassurances, and Cherry’s breathing had helped him calm down some.
His vision now clearing, Reki was able to take in the sight of Joe crouching beside him, Cherry sitting in front of him. Cherry still had his hand on Reki’s chest, palm feeling the teenager’s heartbeat slowing. The man’s face was stoic, although his eyes seemed pained behind his glasses. Joe had a hand wrapped around Cherry’s shoulder, his own face hiding nothing. The hurt, the compassion, the love-
Reki had to look away from the both of them.
“S-Sorry…” the boy mumbled on a broken breath.
“Kid, you don’t have to apologize-”
“You’re alright, Reki,” Cherry soothed over his partner’s voice. “Now, let’s get you up and into the kitchen before breakfast burns.”
Grateful for the abrupt change in subject, Reki allowed himself to be hefted up from the floor and led into the kitchen. Cherry had let go of his hands, and Reki felt his own fingers twitching in want to grab the man’s wrist again, but Joe’s heavy palm on his shoulder helped the teen calm enough to be able to stumble into the kitchen on his own.
Reki eyed the chair nearest himself, then thought better of it. He needed his back against a wall, not towards the door, just in case Cherry and Joe split up and-
The thought had him freezing in place.
This- this was Cherry and Joe. They would never lay a finger on him, so why was he-
“Reki?” Joe intoned, sounding worried. His grip on Reki’s shoulder tightened ever-so-slightly, but it was enough to have Reki wincing away from the touch. Joe paused, looking horribly guilty, and said, “Sorry, kid, I didn’t mean to-”
“What’s for breakfast?” Reki interrupted, trying to put as much of his usual good-natured positivity into his voice as possible. As the teen took a seat, he ignored the looks that Cherry and Joe sent one another over his head.
“American-style today,” Joe replied. “Bacon, toast, and eggs. Sound good?”
Reki nodded, his grin not meeting his eyes as Joe sat a heaping plate of food in front of him. Even though the boy’s stomach was rumbling, a familiar nausea hung over Reki’s throat that he just couldn’t brush off. He ended up cutting up the eggs, allowing the yolk to soak over everything else, and pushed around his food as much as possible to make it look like he was eating. Joe and Cherry ate their own fills, and even though Joe had twice the amount of food as Cherry, he finished first. Pushing away his plate, Joe leaned back in his seat and groaned, rubbing his stomach.
“I may have overdone it,” he chuckled.
Cherry rolled his eyes. It almost seemed fond to Reki. “Of course you did, you gluttonous oaf.”
“Ouch, babe.”
“Don’t ‘babe’ me, you-”
At Cherry’s sharp tone, Reki had to fight down another wince. But something must have shone in his eyes, because Cherry was instantly falling quiet.
Joe took a sip of coffee before turning to face Reki fully, clearly attempting to change the subject. “I called Hiromi this morning.”
Reki frowned. “Hiromi?”
“Shadow,” Joe amended with a chuckle. “He agreed to come up and help us get some of your stuff from your mom’s place before he goes into work.”
Reki froze, face paling as his nausea ramped up. No longer trying to save face, he pushed the plate away from himself as his stomach churned with the little bit he had managed to choke down.
“Reki…” Cherry began softly, placing a hand on the table in front of the teen. Reki’s own hands yearned to take Cherry’s, but he fought that urge valiantly. Cherry had been kind in holding him last night- and Reki would have blushed at the memory if he weren’t so nervous- but the kindness could only go so far. Cherry wasn’t a touchy-feely person in general, even if his partner was. He wouldn’t want Reki touching him so casually. “Reki,” Cherry began again after pondering his words for a moment. “We understand if it’s too soon to go back. You can merely make a list of things you need if you would like, and we can retrieve them for you.”
“If you want to go, though…” Joe started. “Shadow and I will both be there. Cherry, too.”
“L-Langa?” Reki couldn’t help but ask.
Slowly, Joe nodded. “It’s a school day, but I’d bet Ms. Hasegawa wouldn’t mind him missing to come help. I don’t think we should invite Miya, though. He’s a bit… young. And sensitive.”
Reki nodded understandingly. He barely wanted to pull Langa into his bullshit problems, much less Miya. He already felt guilty enough having Shadow, Joe, and Cherry be there for him. After all, if it was a school day, then surely all of the adults had work too, right?
As if reading Reki’s mind, Joe said, “I’m having Kaya and Marco take care of Sia la luce today. No worries. And Kaoru didn’t have any pressing appointments.”
Cherry nodded. “Our schedules are clear for all day, Reki.”
“But I- I’m not…” Reki’s voice trailed off.
“Not what, kid?” Joe encouraged him to speak.
“I’m not… I’m not worth that. Your time. And effort.”
“Oh, Reki,” Cherry said as Joe slid from his chair into a crouching position, taking Reki’s hand in his own and looking up into the boy’s downturned face.
“Reki, kiddo,” Joe spoke with a damp voice. But that couldn’t be right- why would Joe be upset in this situation? “You have always been- and will always be- worth our time and effort. I said it last night, and I’ll say it again- we care about you, Reki. We always will.”
“And,” Cherry chimed in, “As your pseudo-guardians, it wouldn’t be proper for us to leave you without your possessions.”
“Anything to help you settle in, kid,” Joe nodded. “That is, if you still want to stay here-”
“I do!” Reki blurted out, then blushed a brilliant crimson to match his hair. “I- I do- I just… I don’t want to i-impose.”
“No imposition at all,” Cherry chided the boy gently. “We’ll go get your things and then spend today settling you in.”
“How’s that sound, kid?” Joe asked him with a smile. It wasn’t an overtly large smile, but it was still blinding. Reki couldn’t help but melt under its warmth.
“Yeah. Yeah, okay.”
Reki’s house was nearly a half hour away, which- considering he’d walked in the rain to Sia la luce the night before- was a bit concerning. Shadow met them there in his bright pink car, and he had stopped to pick up Langa- per Ms. Hasegawa’s not only permission, but insistence- who immediately rushed over to his boyfriend and enveloped Reki in a tight hug.
“Reki,” Langa said his boyfriend’s name urgently as Reki flinched before melting into the hug.
“L-Langa-” Reki choked back on a sob.
It was Shadow who approached and said, “You’re safe now, kid. We’ve got you.”
Reki couldn’t help the tears that rose to his face. Rubbing at them furiously, he turned towards the walkway to the house’s front door.
“You ready?” Joe asked the teen.
They didn’t know what they were walking into- if Reki’s dad was still home, if his mom and sisters and grandmother were safe, if there would be any kind of altercation- but still, with nearly his entire pseudo-family by his sides, Reki felt… ready.
“Yeah.”
Reki used his key to enter the house, and a feminine voice immediately called urgently from its depths, “Reki?!”
The teen winced backwards when his mother appeared, tears already falling down her cheeks as she rushed to hug her son. “Oh, baby, my baby-” she sobbed out. “I-”
“Mrs. Kyan,” Joe interrupted the warm reunion. “We’ve only met once before. I’m-”
“Ah! Yes,” the woman exclaimed, scrubbing away at her tears much like her son had not five minutes earlier. “Do you prefer Joe or Nanjo-san?”
“Kojiro is fine,” Joe said with a small smile. “You may remember my partner, Kaoru?”
“Yes, yes of course,” Mrs. Kyan said even as her face paled. “Reki, your father is out right now, but-”
Cherry piped up, “With your blessing, Mrs. Kyan, we’re here for Reki’s things.”
“His- his things?” Mrs. Kyan paled even further. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
Shadow huffed. “It’s obvious that Reki isn’t safe here-” Mrs. Kyan bristled, opening her mouth to object, but Shadow plowed on, “So Kojiro and Kaoru have kindly offered up their apartment for him to stay.” And then, under his breath so that only Cherry and Joe could hear, “At least until your husband pulls his head out of his ass.”
Cherry subtly elbowed Shadow’s ribs, earning a grunt and a glare from the younger man. “It appears to us, Mrs. Kyan, that Reki would indeed be safer in a less… antagonistic environment. Especially since he has no intentions of leaving his partner.”
Langa stepped forward then, grabbing his boyfriend’s hand tightly as he said, “Please, Mrs. Kyan.”
Mrs. Kyan considered her son for a moment, looking equally frustrated and concerned. “Oh, Reki,” she sighed, “I love you. So, so much. Please never forget that.” Leaning forward, the woman stood on her toes to reach her son’s forehead and leave a kiss there. “But… your friends are right. This might be for the best.”
Something in Reki’s chest snapped at that. Be it a rib or his heart, the teen didn’t know, but something inside him broke that day.
Nodding numbly, Reki slunk back out of the house and towards the shed, Langa trailing after him and still holding his hand. Shadow accompanied them while Joe went to Reki’s room to grab clothes and toiletries, Cherry staying behind to talk through their plan with Mrs. Kyan.
Reki gathered his tools together, noting the numerous boards-in-progress lining the walls of the shed. He stared at them for a moment- too long, it seemed, because Shadow was grunting out, “I’m sure Cherry and Joe won’t mind you bringing them all.”
Slowly, the teen shook his head. “No. I don’t- I don’t need them.”
Langa whined. “At least take a few, Reki.”
“Langa, I don’t-”
“You’ve worked on these for years, Reki. Please, at least take one.”
Reki looked back to the grouping of unfinished skateboards, eyes hovering over each one. There was the in-progress birthday present for Joe, the barely-started commission from Oka, the green and purple board for Miya that Reki had planned to give him for Christmas…
But his eyes stopped on one board in particular. It was smaller than the others- a city board- and it was in the stages of being painted bright pink with yellow flowers. With shaking hands, Reki picked it up. “This is… was for Koyomi. For her birthday.”
“Why can’t it still be for her?” Langa inquired.
Reki shrugged. “I dunno when I’ll see her again.”
Langa’s eyes were full of concern and empathy when he said his boyfriend’s name again. It was Shadow who piped up, “Kid, I’m sure that Cherry and Joe will let you come see them-”
“My dad said he was staying,” Reki interrupted. “At dinner last night. That’s what we were celebrating. He’s staying home for the foreseeable future. No more business trips.”
Shadow grew quiet at that, the mere, “Oh, kid,” that he murmured nothing more than a whisper.
Langa opened his mouth to speak, but just then, there came shouting from the main house. Reki’s blood ran cold when he recognized one particular voice amid Joe’s and his mother’s own shouting.
“Dad’s home,” he gasped, dropping his duffle of tools to limp out of the shed. Ignoring Shadow’s and Langa’s calls for him, Reki rushed as quickly as he could on his strained ankle towards the house. His mother’s screeches were growing louder, and Joe’s own shouting had risen in peak, accompanied by Cherry’s own whisper-shouted hisses.
It was his father that Reki heard first, though. His father’s shouts of, “No wonder my kid’s a fuckin’ fairy, hanging out with faggots the likes of you two-”
In a sudden bout of bravery, Reki pushed open the front door and snapped, “Don’t call them that!”
Like a twig snapping, the shouting in the room came to a sudden halt. Reki’s father, closest to the door, whirled around and glared at his son with narrowed eyes. “You,” he snarled, lunging forward to grab onto Reki’s shirtfront, slamming the teenager sideways into the wall. Reki cried out as his bruised ribs were jostled, his hands rushing upwards to clutch at his father’s wrist helplessly. “You little fag, you ruined our family! You hear me?! Ruined us-”
“Take. Your hand. Off him.”
Reki’s stomach dropped out when he realized the words didn’t come from Joe or Shadow, nor even Cherry. Instead, it was Langa who had a protective hand gripping Mr. Kyan’s shoulder in a vice. The teen’s eyes were the coldest Reki had ever seen them, their ice blue a tundra that Mr. Kyan was being swallowed into. Langa’s jaw was clenched, his whole body tense as he ordered once more, “Take your hands off him.”
“You’re the boyfriend,” Mr. Kyan spat, “Aren’t you?”
“I am,” Langa agreed with a nod. “And you’re the abusive asshole.”
“Why you-” Mr. Kyan swung at Langa, though his fist wobbly enough that the teen was able to dodge. And then, Langa lunged forward-
And socked Mr. Kyan right in the jaw.
“Langa!” Reki exclaimed, feeling a flood of emotions that he couldn’t decipher. His father was spread-eagle on the floor, struggling to pick himself up. Langa was shaking off his fist, knuckles torn raw, as he turned soft eyes towards his boyfriend.
“Are you alright?”
There he was. The soft, kind, loving best friend that Reki had known for nearly a year, now. He had Reki’s heart melting, and the redhead rushed forward to hug his boyfriend tightly.
“I’m okay,” Reki promised into Langa’s shoulder, his body shuddering as Langa’s arms wrapped around him. “I’m okay, babe.”
When they finally parted, Reki saw that Shadow had lifted Mr. Kyan by his shirtfront and was spitting threats into the man’s face. Joe stood behind the younger skater, arms crossed over his chest protectively as he glared at Reki’s father. Cherry had disappeared, but quickly reentered the room with a full duffle tossed over his shoulder.
“I’ve got your clothes and toiletries,” the man nodded to Reki. “Did you get your tools?”
“Almost,” Reki replied. “I’ll- I’ll go get them.”
“Please do,” Cherry nodded back. Just as the teen turned to go back to the shed, Cherry called out, “And Reki?”
“Yeah?”
With a vindictive grin, Cherry replied, “Please. Take your time.”
Glancing back over to where Shadow was still ripping his dad a new one, with Joe chiming in as his mother watched on in a mix of horror and resignation, Reki couldn’t help but smile a little.
Because these people cared about him. Joe and Cherry were opening their home to him, Shadow was being protective, and Langa-
Langa loved him.
“Okay,” Reki replied easily. “Yeah, okay. I will.”
…
Langa must have texted Miya, because as soon as they got back to Joe’s and Cherry’s apartment from Reki’s house- his old home- the child was rushing towards Reki and slamming his fists into the teenager’s stomach.
Reki coughed, completely winded from even the small punch due to his bruised everything. Shadow stepped forward, grabbing Miya’s wrist as Cherry whispered something to the child. Miya paused, and Reki took in the sight of him. The boy must have come straight from school because he was still in uniform. His eyes were wide- wider than Reki had ever seen them- and they were full of… tears? Why was Miya crying? Were his friends being little assholes at school again? Reki thought they’d gotten better…
The teenager asked what was wrong quietly, and Miya rounded on him.
“Wrong? What’s wrong?” the child spat. “What’s wrong is you’re hurt! Again! You stupid slime, you keep getting yourself hurt and- and- and I-” Miya hiccupped, sniffling as a tear rushed down his cheek. “I don’t want to see you hurt, you stupid, stupid slime!”
And then Miya was rushing towards him again, but instead of punching Reki’s gut, the child was wrapping his arms around Reki’s torso, hugging the taller boy as tightly as he could.
It all took the wind from Reki’s lungs once more- not just the hug, but the knowledge that Miya… cared. Sure, Reki knew that the kid cared about them all, but he thought that Miya cared maybe just a smidgen less about him. After all, Reki would never be on Miya’s level in skating…
But maybe that didn’t matter here.
It was a wild thought, but maybe… maybe Miya just cared about Reki, not Reki’s skating.
Slowly, Reki returned the hug, stroking Miya’s hair as the boy cried into his chest. The kid had risen in height since Reki first met him- just a few inches, but it was enough that Reki was able to turn his face downwards and bury it in Miya’s hair.
“Thank you,” the redhead choked out, feeling Langa embrace him from behind. Two heavy hands touched either of his shoulders, and a more slender hand cupped the back of his head. “Thank you all. So, so much.”
Joe said, “You have nothing to thank us for, Reki. This is what friends do.”
Shadow grunted the affirmative. “This is what families do, kid.”
Rather than tense up like Joe and Cherry had assumed he would, Reki utterly melted under Shadow’s words, his sobs ramping up as he held tightly to Miya. The child didn’t seem like he wanted to go anywhere at the moment, though, so all was well.
All was well, now.
Reki was safe. Safe, and loved.
“Let’s get inside,” Cherry said quietly. “Kojiro will make you all some food.”
Joe scoffed, “Kojiro will?”
“Yes, he will.”
Shadow boomed, “I’ll take a bowl of ramen!”
“I’m not cooking ramen!”
“Why not?!”
And Reki-
Reki laughed.
For the first time in nearly twenty-four hours, the boy threw his head back and laughed, shoulders shaking and tears running down his cheeks.
And then, he heard his friends laughing, too. Miya was giggling, Langa was grinning, Shadow was cackling, Joe was guffawing, and even Cherry couldn’t help but give a few chuckles.
“Let’s go home, kid,” Joe said, clapping Reki on the shoulder gently.
“Yeah,” Reki said as he entered the apartment, looking around the well-lived space with a fond eye. “Home.”
…