one month later
Langa awoke, slowly and blearily, to a mouthful of Reki's hair. He screwed up his face, trying to push the hair away with his tongue, warm under all of the covers with Reki's back snug against his chest. He rubbed his mouth on the pillow and then buried it in Reki's shoulder instead, squeezing his eyes shut against the light bleeding through his curtains, and Reki mumbled something in his sleep, something that sounded like "baby."
Langa's face felt even warmer. He snuggled closer, burying his mouth more deeply in Reki's shoulder and breathing him in, sighing at how good Reki smelled. He smelled like Langa, like Langa's home, nestled close to Langa's heart in one of his old t-shirts, mumbling incoherently against Langa's pillows.
Langa snuggled closer, cozy and content. He was home.
"Baby," he mumbled against the warm, warm skin of Reki's neck, hugging Reki's waist, and Reki shifted closer, breathing a soft noise into the gentle morning. Underneath the blankets, his scabbed heels pressed to Langa's shins, and Langa felt himself smile, the curve of his mouth hidden in the worn fabric of Reki's t-shirt.
They lay there for a while, breathing together, and Langa kept his eyes closed, quietly marvelling at all the tiny moments of Reki waking up: the way Reki's feet stretched out, scrabbling against the sheets, the way Reki shifted closer to Langa's chest, his shirt twisting around him, the way Reki covered his mouth to stifle his garbled yawn. "Good morning," Langa whispered against him, and Reki's voice was scratchy when he said,
"Mornin', baby,"
and Langa buried his smile deeper in Reki's shoulder, as Reki yawned again, relaxing against Langa on the exhale. He squirmed a little, getting comfortable, and Langa felt warm inside, knowing that Reki was so, so comfortable with him, calling him baby with his brain still half-asleep, settling against him so easily, as if Langa's arms were his safe place.
The day still felt fragile, with how early it was, and Langa brushed his lips carefully against Reki's neck, whispering, "Yeah?" Reki made a throaty humming sound of affirmation, so Langa kissed him there, slowly, his mouth wet and gentle against Reki's skin. His palms felt warm, one hugging Reki's soft waist, the other trapped under the pillows, and he could feel Reki's pulse thrumming under his lips, slow and sleepy.
He kissed the edge of Reki's jaw, and Reki tilted his head up, giving him room, and Langa savored the prickly feeling of Reki's facial hair growing in, a new addition to the jumble of things Langa had discovered about him.
He loved every single one of them.
Langa nibbled softly at Reki's jaw, and Reki huffed a laugh, squeezing Langa's hand. He tasted like sweat, his face creased from the pillowcase, and Langa kissed his cheek and the faded dent of his dimple, one of his favorite places to kiss. And then Reki turned his head and kissed the corner of his mouth, still warm with sleep.
"Baby," he mumbled against Langa, and Langa laughed again, smothering the sound by kissing him again, and Reki made this satisfied sound in his throat, shifting on the lumpy mattress, turning his body so he could kiss more easily, and they lost themselves in each other for a while, the sun creeping up behind the broken blinds of Langa's bedroom.
"You taste like sleep," Langa whispered against him, and he felt Reki's mouth curve up, even as Reki clumsily pushed at his chest.
"Yeah, well, last night you tasted like garlic," Reki said, and Langa was startled into laughing, his neck flushing.
"You bought me that pizza," he protested, his voice still raspy from waking up, and from the smile itching his cheeks. He felt a little embarrassed, but mostly he just felt warm, because Reki had wanted to kiss him anyway, hadn't he? Reki had kissed him so much last night that Langa's head had gone dizzy, his hands helpless and forgotten on the couch cushions beside him, his mind full of only Reki, Reki's hands on his face, Reki's weight against his thighs. Reki had kissed him until he stopped thinking, until he stopped worrying, the world falling away for a moment, blurring pleasantly into something close to heaven.
