Chapter Text
“Reki, do you believe in aliens?”
“Ya I guess, it’s crazy to think we’re alone in the universe, ya know?”
“Yeaaaaa,” Langa mumbled.
Reki looked up from his skating magazine with a curious look, taking in the sight of his anxious boyfriend bouncing his leg as he sat at his desk. “Why? Do you?”
The words caught in Langa’s throat.
Because Langa had been trying to figure out how to tell his boyfriend he was half alien for weeks, oh man- months even.
Langa’s father is from a different planet and, through a process he’s not sure if he wants to know all the details of, a human hybrid with DNA from both his mother and father were created. Oliver isn’t actually dead, they decided he should stay on his homeworld after his cover was almost blown back in Canada.
Langa wanted to tell Reki almost immediately as he never felt so strongly for someone before but was cautioned by his mother. But when Reki and Langa started a romantic relationship, Langa and his mom figured it was best to tell him. And Langa has been trying… but he’s having a difficult time. He tried to watch space documentaries with him and segway from that but they just put Reki to sleep. He tried to write a letter explaining it all but it seemed too impersonal. He tried to drop hints about space and aliens but Reki didn’t seem to get any of them. And now that things are getting a bit more serious, a bit more physical, Langa can’t keep it from him any longer.
“Um, actually I need to tell you something.” Langa straightened in his chair.
Reki pinched his eyebrows. “If you don’t believe in aliens, that’s ok.”
“No... I do…” Langa said slowly wringing his hands. He was about to change everything. “I’m sorry, it’s really hard to say.”
Reki scooted to the edge of Langa’s bed to place his hand on Langa’s arm. “Dude, I’m so confused? Are you okay?”
Langa took a shaky breath and raised his eyes to meet Reki’s, the golden hue shone with care and love. Langa was so afraid to lose it. He knows this will already break some trust Reki has in him. With another breath, he tries to hold back the building pressure in his chest and the tears in his eyes.
Reki leaned back suddenly, “wait. I know what this is.” He curled into himself and sounded completely dejected.
“What?” Langa’s voice was hoarse.
“It’s okay, dude.” Reki mumbled quietly. “We can just go back to being friends, if you want.”
Oh…
Oh no!
Langa freezes. Reki thinks I’m breaking up with him! FUCK! What do I say now?
A moment passes and Reki shuffled a little further away and tried to nonchalantly wipe his eyes. The following sniffle spurred Langa from his frozen state, he quickly rushed to collect Reki in his arms, pressing their foreheads together. He placed gentle kisses on Reki’s cheeks and nose, his hands cradling his face.
“No no.” Kiss. “No.” Kiss. “That’s not-” Kiss. “what’s happening.” Kiss. “Reki, please.” Kiss.
Reki conceded and hugged him, effectively stopping the barrage of kisses. “Ok ok!” He says with the smallest chuckle. “Then what’s going on? You’re scaring me.”
Langa squeezed tighter muttering apologies. “Actually nevermind. It’s not important.”
Reki pulled away. “No, tell me. It’s obviously been weighing on you. You’ve been acting strange lately.”
“I haven’t”
“Yes you have.”
“No way.”
“Dude, you wanted to watch Cosmos instead of skating all last week and you keep asking about if I would ever want to go to space or believe in aliens or my thoughts on henti?! It’s been weird.”
Langa sighed and looked out the window. The sun had just set, the stars would be coming out soon. Rearranging himself, he holds Reki’s hands as he slides from the small single bed to kneel on the floor in front of him. “I’m not really Canadian.”
Reki’s eyebrows pinch together again.
“Well, I was raised there, but my dad isn’t from Canada,” He took a shaky breath, closing his eyes. It was now or never. “Or anywhere on Earth.”
Langa took the sudden silence as a bad sign and peaked his eyes open. Reki’s eyes were blown wide, his once flush face looking pale.
“Are you- Wha-,” Reki’s voice was panicked. “You’re joking. You’re changing the subject and you’re kidding, right?”
“I’m sorry Reki. I wanted to tell you sooner but I couldn’t figure out how and I have to be careful. If this gets out then we’ll have to move again and I-... Reki, I can't lose you.”
Reki was quiet for a moment. His eyes darted around studying Langa’s face. “You’re telling me that aliens are real and you're one of them?”
“I'm only half.”
“You look human… how?”
Langa had run this conversation about a thousand times in his mind. He practiced all the possible responses, yet his heart was still racing and his throat dry and slow to pull the words from his brain.
“Uh. I have a phenotype blocker. It turns off my dad’s genes so they're not expressed.” Langa feels Reki’s eyes rake over him again.
“What do you really look like?”
“Uhhhhh….” His mind drifted to the box of Reverser injections in his closet. “I can show you?”
Reki nodded quietly, his skin still rather pale. Langa slowly backed away, letting Reki’s hand drop after giving it a tight squeeze. He shuffled over to his closet to pull out the bland white plastic box. Inside are specially bioengineered injections that look like epipens, green and red pens. The chemicals inside will kickstart his DNA to express the correct genes or block them so that only human genes are expressed. He doesn't like using the reversers. The process is uncomfortable and he feels awkward in his natural body.
He grabbed the green Reverser pen and sat back on the chair at the desk. His heart raced which he knew was only going to make the transition even more painful. He spared a look at Reki who was studying him intensely before uncapping the injector.
“Oh, it's a shot?” Reki’s voice seems more normal.
“Ya… I need to put it in my leg.”
“Oh shit man, does it hurt?”
Langa put the injector carefully on the desk. “Not really.” Langa flinched at his own lie. He was done lying. “Actually yeah, it does. But it’s okay! I want to show you. I’m done hiding from you.” Langa didn’t miss the way Reki’s eyes watered as he busied himself with his belt. Langa tugged his jeans off and fumbled out of his shirt, they would be restrictive in the transition. He turned the chair to be facing the bed, facing Reki, who still looked misty eyed and awestruck.
Langa took a few deep breaths clad in his boxers before grabbing the pen again. “I’m sorry, this isn’t going to be fun to watch.” And slammed the injector into his thigh.
The chemicals burned as they entered his blood stream, cell by cell awakening the alien DNA. Langa squeezed his eyes shut trying to suppress the screams of pain, masking them with a groan. His racing heart accelerated the movement of the drug through his body. The worst part is always the arms; the third set of limbs that sprout from his shoulders and growing the short, curved horns that sprouted from the front of his skull. The rest is fairly simple; growing a few centimeters taller, the color of his dad’s skin cells shifts leaving him with blue tiger-like stripes, the arrangement of the muscles and ligaments of his legs to lengthen his feet and ankles. He knows some of his organs function differently but nothing he notices. His unusually high metabolism is the only constant symptom of his alien DNA. His pupils expand so that the blue of his iris spreads out to cover almost all the sclera. The grossest part is usually the four teeth that fall out and regrow. He’ll have to spit them out which always makes him nauseous. But he was never sure if just that was the cause since the whole painful process often made him so dizzy and nauseous that he used to alway throw up. He’s glad he outgrew that part.
With a shiver up his spine, Langa felt the transformation end. His body ached and his head was still dizzy. He slowly opened his eyes, looking at his lap. Blinking slowly, he catches his breath looking at the four hands resting on his thighs. His heartbeat raced in his ears and as it quieted he vaguely became aware of Reki’s quickened breathing.
He flexed all 20 fingers a few times with more slow breaths to recover. Keeping his gaze down, he’s not ready to look at Reki yet, he carefully checked over his horns and extra arms with his regular pair. The chance of the transformation leading to a mutation is always small but the scientists always told him to check. Then, he spat the shed teeth into one of his new hands as cleanly as possible and folded the new arms over his stomach.
Reki gasped. “What was that?”
Langa, still not looking up, cleared his throat. “I uh- regrow four teeth. The old ones fall out.” He tongued over the new large canines, swallowing the last of the blood on his gums.
“Oh.”
Another tense minute passed before Langa couldn't take it anymore. With a labored breath, he looks up at Reki, blinking a few times as his more sensitive eyes get used to the light.
Reki’s eyes are blown wide and his skin is pale. Upon seeing Langa’s eyes, Reki swiftly covered his mouth with his hand, the other clenching his hoodie collar.
“You’re serious. This is real? I’m not dreaming or hallucinating?”
Langa didn’t really know how best to reply. “Ya, this is me.”
“Fuck, Langa,” Reki whispered in shock. “Like, oh my god.”
Langa hummed in acknowledgment, looking at his transparent reflection in the window. It was always jarring at first, the pearl colored horns and big blue irises, but he didn’t hate how he looked. He had long accepted the two parts of him. He hoped Reki would too.
“And you’ve been to space? Like, to other planets?”
“Yea.” Langa was growing more and more uncomfortable with being mostly naked. His gaze drifted around his room for his tank top. He spotted it by the foot of the bed, he reached for it, causing Reki to recoil on the bed a bit. He mumbled an apology and slipped his arms into the tank and carefully pulled it over his horns and onto his body.
“Langa this is- I can’t,” Reki stumbled over his thoughts. Growing more confident, he leaned forward more thoroughly inspecting the changes. “Can I touch your horns?”
Langa nodded, leaning forward, offering his head. Reki gently traced the smooth curve of the first horn with his fingers before copying the movement on the other. “Can you feel that?”
“Not really,” Langa blushed. It was considered taboo to touch other’s horns on his father’s home planet.
“What about down here?” Reki’s finger poked softly at the base of the horn where they met his skin at the edge of his hairline.
Langa gasped and Reki jumped away, “sorry!”
“No, no it's okay. They're a little sensitive.” Langa’s blush matched Reki’s as he rearranged himself back on the chair.
“And I’m not going to wake up?” Reki disbelievement clear in his voice still. “Langa! You have four fucking arms! And stripes! God damn, how are you still so hot? You have teeth in your fourth hand and dog feet!”
“What?” Langa blinked up at him as he rose from the bed.
“I got to- We’re ok, but I need to leave. This is a lot.”
“Y-yea. Okay,” Langa stood to walk him out. Immediately the dizziness returned; he felt lightheaded and black dots clouded his vision. Stumbling forward, reaching out to find the chair, he finds Reki’s arms instead.
“Whoa,” Reki gripped his primary upper arms and guided him onto the bed. “That must take a lot out of ya?”
“I guess. It’s usually not so bad.” He felt his heart shudder before saying, “I was really nervous- I am still really nervous.”
“Aw, dude,” Reki bounced back on his heels, hands quickly leaving Langa’s shoulders to be buried in his hoodie pocket.
“Reki,” Langa begged. “You can’t tell anyone.”
“I won’t. Of course not.” Reki said earnestly. “I’m just, like, freaking out right now. I can walk myself out. I need to- I gotta gather my thoughts or something.” He opened the bedroom door. Turning back he added, “I’ll text you!”
Closing the door half way, Langa heard him say something to Nanako who was in the kitchen and then the main apartment door shut.
Feeling simultaneously relieved and more anxious, Langa tossed the teeth on his desk and wiped his spit and sweat from palm on his bare thigh. With a shaky exhale, he flopped down on his bed and buried himself under the covers, all four hands clutching the soft blankets. It wasn’t too long before he heard a knock on the door.
“Hello my little cocoon.” His mother peaked into his room.
Langa groaned in response.
“That didn't go too poorly, huh?”
Another groan and wiggles to tighten the comforter around his body.
“Can I come in?”
Langa let out a muffled, “Ya.”
Soon he felt her weight on the bed as she sat on the edge of his bed. His mother quietly rubbed his form over the blankets. “He gave me a shocked look and said that he’d text you. He’ll be fine. It’s very overwhelming. Remember the people at JAXA?”
Langa flipped under the covers to peak his head out, his hair a wild mess. “This is different, mom.”
Nanako’s brown eyes softened as she moved the hair away from his face, “I know.”
“I love him!” He cried as he threw himself back under the blankets.
His mother squeezed the lump of blankets he was hiding in. “I know.”
Another groan.
It was quiet as she rubbed small circles on his back. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on just the comforting pressure but his mind was reeling. They were supposed to work at DopeSketch together tomorrow. He considered calling off but he couldn’t make it seem like he was avoiding Reki. He would show up and act totally normal and talk to him the second they were alone. Or maybe Reki would call off and he’d spend the whole shift stewing in his thoughts. That seemed worse. And there was an ‘S’ tomorrow! He couldn’t skip that since he had a beef with Shadow. Reki promised him they could sneak off to make out after he won. What if Reki was afraid of him? Under it all, Langa was still the same person, he just wasn’t an entirely human person. He’d been secretly hoping Reki would be excited and want to visit outer space with him. They had a trip planned to visit his dad in a few weeks. Reki could theoretically come with, after signing confidentiality forms with their rep at JAXA. He had been daydreaming about showing Reki all the amazing things on his other planet and introducing him to his dad. And now Reki might be totally against it and break up with him and never look at him with his copper honey eyes that sparkled when his laughed and- and- and-
His mother’s comforting rubs became more like pressured kneading and then shaking. “Stop thinking so loud! Jeez! I can hear your spiraling from out here!”
She kept shaking until it was tickling and he unfolded from the blankets with a disheveled sigh and a chuckle.
“It’ll be okay.” His mother said as she fixed his hair again.
“Ok.”
“Want to eat before you change back?”
On cue, Langa’s stomach growled loudly.
Nanako rolled her eyes, “I’ll take that as a yes.”
👽👽👽
Reki called off so Langa worked a 6 hour shift by himself. And the only text he received from him was a smiley face after Langa sent him a skating TikTok. It was a grueling shift with lots of people asking questions about products he didn't know about or wanting to know when Reki would be done making or fixing their boards.
“Everything okay with Reki?” Oka asked him halfway through the day.
“Uh,” Langa wasn’t sure. “Ya, he said he wasn’t feeling well last night so…”
“You guys have a fight?”
Langa’s chest tightened. “No! I don't, I uh-”
Oka gave him a knowing look, setting some boxes on the counter for Langa to scan. “Is he doubting himself again? The new skaters at S are really good.”
Langa slowly started scanning. This was something Langa thought about often, how Reki tries to be so much without even considering that he is already enough. He wasn’t sure how his confession factored into Reki’s anxieties. “That’s not it. I just told him something and I guess he’s processing it.”
Oka tapped at something on the register before looking up with pinched eyebrows. “Is this a sex thing?”
Langa fumbled and dropped a helmet box. “No!” he exclaimed through clenched teeth.
Oka chuckled and shrugged, “Give it time, I’m sure he’ll come around. You know how he is.”
“Ya…” Langa hoped he would soon. Waiting around was driving him crazy.
Finished with the scanning, he pulled out his phone.
Today 2:43pm
Langa: Are you comin to S tonight?
Langa: I can pick u up
Langa knows that Reki knows that Langa would just show up if not told explicitly otherwise. He hoped something like this would at least get some kind of reply. He chatted some more with Oka and helped a few more customers before feeling his phone buzz. He slipped into the backroom.
3:02pm
Reki: sorry I can't. mom wants me to watch the twins
He typed a reply trying to ignore the way his heart sank with disappointment.
Langa: ok
Langa: are you okay?
Langa watched the three ‘typing’ dots appear and disappear, his palms sweating.
Reki: ya sorry for skipping work today
Reki: I didnt sleep
Langa: im sorry
Reki: can i see you tomorrow? I’m sorting out my questions.
Reki: we can get ramen at that place you like
Langa: Yes!
Reki: okay. Be there at 12?
Langa: 11:30?
Reki: ok <3
Langa’s chest swelled as he typed every heart emoji into the chat. Maybe things would be okay.
👽💞👽
Miya would not lay off his case at S that night.
“Did you guys have a fight? Was it your fault for being such a lame boyfriend? Are you sad?”
The younger boy skated circles around him as he slowly skated down the track. Langa pulled at his gloves and shot Miya a glare. “It’s none of your business.”
Miya scoffed. “That’s what Reki said too.”
Langa stopped in front of Myia, forcing him to stop too. Miya looked thoroughly pleased that he had gotten under Langa’s skin. “You saw Reki today?”
Miya grinned. “Ya he was at the skatepark.”
“Did he say anything to you?”
Miya rolled his eyes, “Ya” and then in a mocking voice, “It’S nONe oF yOuR BusInESs.”
Langa flicked him in the forehead, “No, you little brat. Please. This is, like, a little serious.”
Miya let out a yelp and rubbed his forehead before giving him a mildly sympathetic look. They made their way to the sidelines as the first beef was starting soon. Langa and Shadow's match was third in the lineup and then he was planning on going straight home.
“He was being a little emo kid with his sketchbook at the skatepark by my school. I peaked at what he was drawing and he freaked out for literally no reason. Then he refused to skate with me and so I went home.”
“What was he drawing?” Langa’s heart rate increased.
Miya dug some gummies from his backpack and started munching on the soft chews. “It looked like some DnD character or a monster in an RPG. I don’t know. Something for four arms and horns.”
Shit. Reki drew him. “Oh.” Langa tried to not freak out. “Weird.”
“Ya I know,” Miya offered him some candy. “Especially since I’m pretty sure he doesn’t do that stuff.”
Langa took a small handful. “Ya, he doesn’t.”
Miya and Langa watched the race in relative silence and then walked back up to meet Shadow at the top.
“Snow! Where’s Reki!?” Joe shouted from his spot next to Cherry on the edge of the halfpipe.
Langa didn’t have it in him to deal with Joe and Cherry. He just shrugged in reply and kept walking. Miya ran over shouting about how they’re having a ‘fight’. Langa’s chest tightening. He didn’t think it was a fight but it was definitely something. He hoped no one would ask about it next week but knowing his friends, that was impossible. Eventually he made it to the starting line and sat with his stuff looking for Shadow.
He was drinking water when a clap on his shoulder made him choke. Shadow laughed as he turned to glare at him.
“Don’t get your panties in a twist, Snow! I heard lil’ red head isn't here to cheer you on?”
“He had to watch his sisters.” Langa wondered how news spread so fast.
Shadow threw his arm around his shoulder. Langa leaned away, Shadow smelled kinda weird. “He just didn’t want to watch you get absolutely crushed tonight.” The older man flexed to crush Langa more into his chest.
“Ugh, no!” Langa pushed away. “Everyone here knows I’m faster than you.”
Shadow growled and straightened his cape. “We’ll see about that!”
Despite many firecrackers and flash bombs, Shadow lost and Langa won car rides to and from ‘S’ for a month.
👽🤡😺👽
Langa arrived early at the ramen restaurant and sat at the table in the corner. He leaned his head on the table with eyes trained on the door. He already texted Reki that he had a table. He didn’t sleep much last night, after getting home from ‘S’, he spiraled more about how today would go. He was a little unsettled that Reki chose a neutral place like this and not one of their houses, if he was ending things it would be easier for him to leave. But Reki knows how much he loves the food here so it was a toss up.
At some point he must have closed his eyes because the next thing he knows, Reki is squeezing his shoulder and sliding into the chair across from him.
“I hope you didn’t sleep here overnight, dude!”
“Reki,” Langa breathed. His heart skipped a beat seeing him, “Hi.”
Reki blushed fiddling with the paper menus on the table. “Hi.”
“I beat Shadow last night so we can get rides to ‘S’ for a while.”
“I’m not surprised, but congrats, dude,” Reki said before getting the waiter’s attention. They order their food, one bowl of shio ramen and one large tonkotsu ramen with extra soft boiled eggs, and they order two regular bubble teas. After the server left, Reki pulled out his notebook and opened to a page covered with questions. Langas palms started to sweat.
“SO,” Reki stated. “First thing, are you hiding anything else from me?”
Langa couldn’t think of anything specific. “No? I mean like there's a bunch more stuff to tell you that I couldn’t before but nothing big.”
“You don’t have a super crazy alien arranged marriage or something?” Reki narrowed his eyes playfully.
Langa smiled, “No?”
They were virtually alone in their little corner, the servers seemed occupied in their own world and there were very few other people seated so Langa felt it was relatively safe to talk about the alien stuff as long as Reki didn’t shout anything.
Reki crossed a line off his list and Langa laughed. “Next, do you have a spaceship?”
Langa nodded. “We keep it at Tanegashima Space Center.”
Reki seemed surprised by that answer, “Oookay? And you can use it whenever.”
Langa shrugged. “Ya, as long as we clear it with Chiho-san. She’s our rep at JAXA.”
“Holy shit so do you go a lot? I don’t remember you leaving since we met?”
“Well, it’s been a while since I’ve gone. My mom went by herself a little while ago. Remember when we had finals last term and were studying at my house since the twins wouldn’t bother us?” Reki nodded and scribbled something down on the bottom of the page, it looked like a date. Langa eyed Reki to gauge his reaction before saying, “I’ve uh- I’ve been cleared for a trip in a few weeks though, and I can bring you.”
“Me? To go with you to space?” Reki said the last part a bit too loud.
Langa looked around but no one seemed to have heard. “Ya, it’s a two week long trip, over spring break.”
“Don’t I need like a thousand hours of training? Holy shit, I never thought that was a possibility.”
“No, it's fine. I know how to fly it.” Langa smiled. “It’s advanced alien tech. Way easier than the Earth stuff.”
Reki’s eyes bugged and his breath was erratic, “I don’t know dude. What would I tell my mom?”
“You don’t have to answer right now.” Langa said, eyeing the long list in Reki’s notebook. “What are the other questions?”
“Right!” Reki looked over his notes again. “Where were you born?”
Langa’s face scrunched. “That’s a hard one.” He spied the server headed their way and waited until they had their order before continuing. “So I wasn’t born from my mom. I guess I was a ‘Test Tube Baby’,” he made finger quotes, “But I was created on Anrora using DNA from my mom and my dad. Oh ya, that's my dad’s planet.”
Reki crossed another line a little further down his list, “So were you raised there? When did you come to Earth?”
Langa had started eating. He shook his head as he chewed before saying, “Uh no, I grew up on Earth. I guess we came here permanently when I was two.”
“All three of you?”
Langa was chewing again. He nodded, pulling more noodles into his mouth with his chopsticks.
Reki stirred his noodles thinking a second before asking, “And your dad was able to live here?”
Langa nodded again, swallowing. “Yea, he has some biotech thing; camouflaged his molecules or something, it's different from mine so I don’t really know how it works. I’ll have to ask him.”
Reki was silent for a second, processing what he had said. “Langa, is your dad still alive?”
“Uh- ya.” Langa took a slip of bubble tea. That was probably something he should’ve mentioned earlier when Reki asked if there was anything else he was hiding. That was the lie he was supposed to keep up, and the lie he told Reki all those months ago.
“Ooookay,” Reki looked a little startled and took a slurp of his ramen. They ate in silence for a minute before Reki continued, “And if I were to go with you to Aurora, would I meet him?”
“Anrora,” Langa quietly corrected. “And ya, that would kinda be the point. He keeps asking about you.”
Reki looked more startled as he ate more of his soup mumbling, “An alien knows my name. My boyfriend's dad is alive and is an alien and knows my name.”
“Sorry, I should’ve mentioned that earlier.” Langa picked at the slice of pork in his bowl.
“No it's okay, I guess,” he took a sip of his tea, chewing on the tapioca. “I have a lot to be filled in about. Why is he dead on Earth?”
This was still a tough topic for Langa. “His cover was blown in Quebec. There was an extremist group from Anrora, they exposed him and tried to kill me. There was a big cover up and mom and I moved here and he had to go back to settle things on Anrora.”
“Oh my god, dude,” Reki reached over to touch his hand, Langa put down his chopsticks so he could properly hold it. “I’m so sorry. That’s literally terrifying.” He squeezed Langa’s fingers before releasing them. “But I guess the silver lining is that it brought us together.”
“Yea. I guess.” Langa smiled, reveling in Reki’s touch. He was starting to relax. Reki seemed to be in good spirits even with all of the overwhelming information. “Next question?”
He looked at his notes. “Do you speak alien? Or whatever language is spoken on your dad’s planet?”
“Yea but not super well anymore. What else?” That was an easy one.
Reki glanced around the restaurant, “Is what I saw Friday all the changes you have?”
Langa wasn’t sure what he was asking. About his internal organs? “Uh, I guess I can breathe in lower O2 concentrations and I’m pretty fast and strong? I heal faster and I think my heart works a little different and-”
Reki shushes him, “No no, like nothing else physical on the outside?”
Langa narrowed his eyes confused, “Um, no? I’m not sure what you’re getting at?”
“Ya know,” Reki gestured at this lap and looked at him with a faint blush. Langa shook his head, still confused. Reki blushed profusely and leaned over the table and cupped his hand to whisper, “Your dick, Langa!”
“Oh,” Langa flush matched Reki’s. “No, uh it’s the same. I guess my human DNA was chosen for that department.”
Reki scribbled something down and looked relieved. He stuck the pencil behind his ear and took another bite of ramen. Langa finished his noodles and tried and failed to balance a whole soft boiled egg on his chopsticks.
“Ok, now that that’s out of the way,” Reki sipped more of his bubble tea. “How long can you stay in human form?”
“A while, like 7 years or something.”
“Jeez okay.” Reki noted that. “Do you like one more? Like do you miss having extra arms or whatever?”
Langa hadn’t really thought about it. “No, I like the human me more now because I can be with you.” Langa said earnestly.
“So cheesy, dude.” Reki flushed and finished the rest of his soup, uncomfortable with the attention. “How often did you visit, uh, Anrora growing up?”
Langa fished out the last of the bean sprouts out of his bowl. “Mmm we spend most summers there. And we’d visit for birthdays and holidays sometimes. It depended a lot on the CSA, the Canadian Space Agency, but they were pretty nice.
“This is crazy, so the governments know about aliens?”
“Oooohh ya! There’s even some ETs working for space agencies.” Langa could think of at least six different species working for the CSA when they left last year. He still talks to a few of them. Nice guys.
Reki ran his hands down his face. “And what? The public has been deemed too stupid to know the truth?”
Langa gestured with his bubble tea. “More like, too unpredictable.” He swallowed the tapioca he was chewing. “And I’m trusting you not to tell anyone. If anyone finds out, Aaron from the CSA will have my head above his fireplace and Chiho-san will probably have to wipe your memory.”
“Really?!” Reki exclaimed.
Langa shrugged, finishing off his drink. “Are you going to risk it?”
Reki shook his head with a shy smile. “I still can’t believe this… You’re so- I just don’t,” Reki shook his head again, running his finger through his hair to straighten his headband. It was so cute. Langa couldn’t wait to be able to cuddle him, feel his soft hair and kiss his cheeks. He almost lost himself in thoughts but Reki slammed his hand on the table to get his attention. “Do you think your other form can skateboard?”
👽🛹👽