#it literally has not left my head since you posted about it yesterday iougyfhj

[that-was-anticlimactic]

time stops, though you don’t take a breath (renga)

aka boiling rock but renga written for @capt-snoozles alta / sk8 au

word count: 1,940

~

There was nothing quite like the feeling of Reki’s hair tickling his chin. His hair was so soft and had enough poof for Langa to bury his face in it.

“Langa,” Reki giggled, turning his head so he could look at his boyfriend. “You’re gonna mess it up!”

A soft whine escaped his throat as Reki turned, causing Langa’s chin to slip. “Mmm,” he grumbled, squeezing his arms tighter around Reki’s middle.

Reki sighed and shifted back to where he was before, allowing Langa access to replant his face in the ginger’s hair. “There you go, you big baby.”

Normally, Langa’s cheeks would’ve turned a bright shade of red at the comment, but he just couldn’t bring himself to care right now. It hadn’t even been a day since the group escaped Boiling Rock, and Langa was determined not to let Reki out of his sight for awhile.

The impromptu trip to the prison was to free Hakoda, Cherry, Joe, and Shadow. To be honest, Langa had not been prepared to find Reki or Suki there too. He thought that Boiling Rock was for high security prisoners like supposed war criminals and people who committed treason. He didn’t think the Fire Nation would send two kids there.

Langa could still feel the pang in his chest and the breath of air rushing in his lungs when Sokka had cried Suki’s name. He could still remember the rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins when he looked over the balcony and saw not only Suki sitting on a bench, but also Reki.

Reki did something to him that nothing else could. Reki made him feel strong and whole and like anything was possible.

That was probably why, in the heat of the moment, Langa had attempted to jump off the building and into the courtyard.

Yeah, he could also still feel the pressure of Zuko’s arms wrapping around his chest and forcing him back onto the balcony and Sokka’s calloused palm when he slapped a hand over Langa’s mouth to prevent him from screaming Reki’s name and blowing their cover.

Suddenly, their plans had changed. There were two more people they needed to rescue because Langa was not going to leave Reki behind. Not again.

“What’re you thinking about?”

The glorious, heavenly sound of Reki’s voice drew him back to the present and Langa blinked. “You,” he answered truthfully.

Reki blushed, his cheeks turning nearly the same shade of his hair, and Langa hid a soft smile behind one of his curls. “Langa!” Reki pouted.

Spirits, Langa missed him.

“I was, though,” Langa said. “I missed you.”

At that, Reki smiled, the blush (unfortunately) fading. “I missed you too,” he replied softly.

There was nothing like the warmth that filled Langa’s body when he reunited with Reki to escape. They hadn’t been able to tell the redhead their plan in advance due to his echolalia, so Langa still hadn’t been able to hear his voice or hold him or tell him how much he loved him. They had to rely on Suki to relay the message shortly before the escape.

Langa had wanted to abandon the cooler—let Sokka and Zuko roll it down—the instant he saw Reki. And he almost did. It was only Zuko’s quiet “Don’t you dare” through gritted teeth that prevented him from doing so.

Then they were on the ground and Reki was there. He was just a few feet away.

So, Langa opened his arms and Reki came running—

Nothing compared to holding Reki—nothing except perhaps being held by Reki.

The second that Reki had made it to him, the second their arms were around each other, Langa had lifted him up, twirling him around. Reki’s mouth was pressed against the nape of Langa’s neck, so only he could hear his boyfriend’s laughter. Despite how muffled it was, it still filled the night in Langa’s ears.

Reki instinctively wrapped his legs around Langa’s waist the second his feet were off the ground, and Langa didn’t put him down for awhile, even after he stopped spinning. He didn’t want to let go.

Normally, he wouldn’t be able to hold Reki in the air this long—he didn’t have the strongest upper body—but this was Reki and it had been months since they last saw each other. It helped that he firmly planted his feet into the ground once he stopped spinning, and he thanked the Spirits for giving him incredible leg strength.

It also helped that Reki felt a lot lighter than usual, but that wasn’t good.

Langa shuddered at the memory of realizing that Reki was much easier to lift, and when his gaze flickered to Suki (who was having a whispered conversation with Zuko and Sokka), he noticed that she looked thinner than normal too.

And oh, how his blood boiled.

No, he hadn’t put Reki down until after they decided to stay and see if Hakoda, Cherry, Joe, and Shadow were arriving with the next batch of prisoners., despite Reki’s protests and Chit Sang’s complaints that they were disgusting (and they were used to it—they’d heard it all from Miya).

That was when he’d seen the dark bruise coloring Reki’s stomach. He saw it for the briefest of moments when Reki had lifted his arms to stretch after being put down, but they didn’t have time for that now.

“You okay?”

Again, it was Reki who grounded him, it always was. His voice was the gravity that pulled him back to the present and held him there.

“I was…” Langa trailed off, licking his lips. “I was so worried about you.” And then it all came rushing back—finding out that Reki was gone, that the Kyoshi Warriors that came to help were Azula and her friends, the pure rage that filled his body and consumed his mind when Azula said Reki’s name during the battle of Black Sun. Langa suddenly felt like crying all over again. “You were… you were there one day and then you were gone. Reki, I couldn’t—I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’re amazing, Reki, you’re the most important thing in my life.”

Reki’s face softened and he squirmed until one of his arms escaped Langa’s hold, lifting it up and placing it gently on Langa’s cheek. “Hey, I’m okay,” he assured. Although it was a moment of comfort, something to help him calm down, all Langa could see was his bare wrist.

“Wait. Where are your friendship bracelets?”

Reki shifted uncomfortably. “They took them. We weren’t allowed to have anything with us when we got there so…”

Langa scrunched his nose. “But… your wrists. You need them or you scratch and hurt yourself.”

At that, Reki scoffed lightly. “I know you care about my tics, but the Fire Nation doesn’t. It’s not a big deal.”

But it was a big deal. When Langa squinted, he could see red marks on Reki’s wrist. He could seen faint lines where his nails had dug into his skin. It wasn’t fair; Reki didn’t deserve that.

“Hey, Shadow?” Langa called, raising his voice so the man in question would hear it from across the room (everyone could see that the two boys needed some personal time together so they gave them some space, but Joe, Cherry, and Shadow were still a bit on edge and didn’t want to let them out of their sight).

Shadow looked up from his own hushed conversation with Cherry and Joe. “What’s up? Are you okay?”

“We’re fi—“ Reki began, but Langa wouldn’t allow that.

“They took Reki’s friendship bracelets,” he explained, frowning. “Can you make him more?”

The older waterbender’s face shifted from confusion to understanding, and he sent the two boys a small smile. “Of course. Joe, you feel up to making some more charms?”

Joe cracked his knuckles, wiggling his fingers. “You bet I am!”

“And you’ll actually make them good this time?” Cherry said casually, twisting a strand of hair.

The comment made Joe’s eye twitch, and suddenly Shadow was stuck trying to break the two up again. Langa couldn’t tell whether they were trying to strangle each other or if they were making out, but either way, he did not envy Shadow.

Reki chuckled at the scene. “I missed them.” He tilted his head enough to look into Langa’s eyes, and blinked thrice. “You didn’t need to do that, you know.”

“Maybe. But I wanted to,” Langa said seriously (and Reki’s face flushed again—Spirits, it was the cutest thing). “You’re hurt. They hurt you.”

“They just took some string. It—“

“But they’re important to you and they help you so you don’t scratch yourself! And when you lifted your arms the other day I saw…” Langa swallowed, taking deep breaths because he couldn’t cry right now. “I saw a bruise. I don’t know how many more there are—there’ve been. You’re too thin, you and Suki both. They hurt you, Reki.”

Reki faltered for the briefest of seconds, his lips trembling. “I… a lot has happened the last couple months,” he said eventually. “But I’m fine, okay? I’m fine.”

And since Langa knows Reki, he knows what I’m fine actually means and he doesn’t believe it for one second. “Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not. I’m fine now that I’m here with you,” Reki said, and oh, how Langa’s heart melted.

“But what about—“

“I’ll be okay,” Reki interrupted, his eyes wide and swimming with something that Langa couldn’t quite discern. “You’re here, right?”

Langa nodded perhaps a little too aggressively. “Mhm. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I know.” Reki clicked his tongue and his neck twitched. “We’re gonna get through this together, okay? All of this.”

“Okay,” Langa agreed, pressing a kiss to the top of Reki’s head. He paused and then said: “Are you hungry?”

There was a moment’s silence as Reki’s face twisted and he muttered the words under his breath a couple times. “Not really,” he eventually said, giving Langa an apologetic look.

That wouldn’t do. Reki needed to eat… but Langa wouldn’t force it. Not right now, at least. Everything’s happened so fast eating might be too much for him. Langa could still feel the adrenaline pumping in his chest (it hadn’t gone away. it had been there from the second they were running onto the gondola and a firebender had directed a burst of flames Reki’s way, from the moment Langa had shoved Reki behind him and drew water from the boiling lake below and doused the bender in it…) and he was sure Reki still felt it too (he could still see the way Reki’s chest had heaved when Ty Lee was about to hit Langa with her chi blocking—Reki hadn’t hesitated, he pushed himself between the two and blocked her fist).

“Okay. Are you thirsty?”

For a second, Langa was sure Reki was going to say “no”, to which he would’ve had to protest because who knows how much water the Fire Nation had given them while they were imprisoned. Luckily, though, after a moment’s thought, Reki nodded.

“Okay.”

Langa couldn’t help the wide grin that overcome him, and he (reluctantly) unwrapped a hand from around Reki’s waist and wiggled his fingers, popping the flask at his side open and bending the water inside so it floated to Reki’s face.

Reki rolled his eyes, playfully nudging Langa, but opened his mouth anyways, allowing Langa to direct the water inside.

“Thank you,” Reki murmured once Langa had bent the rest of the water back in the flask and made sure it was shut, snuggling closer to his boyfriend. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”