OVERFLOW / OPEN

[rekd]

TFLN / OPEN RP / THREADTRACKER

Comments

[rekd]

o shit whats good dude
im getting my shit together rn just hit me w a pin

[ first thing's first, he's gotta tear all of these braids out of his hair. then, he's grabbing the keys and speeding out to the bike, texting along the way. ]

can u like
tell me whats goin on

[tongxue]

ummmmmmMMmMmmMMmmm

[ she gives him the address before expounding on that piece of eloquence, and also sends reki another picture of a close-up of qi fang's profile — rather, the sour look on his face as she shoves his own phone right up in there. ]

just u know
family stuff
idk how much hes already told u
so ill leave it to him
to be a fucking man about it and talk to u :p

also we should double date sometime!!!1 my gf is rly cute u will like her

[rekd]

[ oh well. worth a shot. ]

lmao ok enuff!! i see that grumpy face too much already
& ive been tellin him ugh
just hmu whenever u wanna do smthn & ill drag him along
b there in 20 ok?

[ it's not that far away, but... stops need to be made. ]

[tongxue]

[ the location she sends him should be familiar to him: proudly showcased on qi fang's wall, noticed by reki himself the first time he brought him there. the graffiti isn't shown in any of sun jing's selfies, but the grassy hill they're laying on should look familiar enough. ]

ugh ig u can bring him
idk hes kinda a downer
cant believe this is the first time were talking wtf

[rekd]

[ considering he's getting drunk in public, reki knew it had to be one of like two places. lucky this one's more palatable than the other.

and yeah, he's texting and driving. it's been one day, he's pro enough now. ]

ikr
he lured me into all this w promises wed all eat lunch together but that never happened
steal my # well get up to some shit

[tongxue]

[ see, sun jing's assuming he's skating there. apparently skating and texting is a-ok in her book. ]

greedy asshole tbh
keeping u all to himself
im saving ur num now!!
hell probs steal his phone back soon

[rekd]

[ what sun jing don't know can't hurt her. ]

fr he's been holdin out on us!!
text me anytime like
we gotta chill & im fiending for tea on ur new boo~♡

[tongxue]

[ this is why they're going to be best friends. ]

o shit YEAH
her names qiu tong shes the most beautiful girl u ever saw

[ and then — radio silence again. at least eight minutes this time, wherein reki can probably get a lot of yelling and wrestling is happening. ]

Don't encourage her she'll never shut up

You don't have to come all the way here btw
She's being dramatic

[rekd]

i wont come if u don't want me to

[ like, he's already practically there, but still. it's not like qi fang actually called him. ]

[tongxue]

I didn't say that
Shit
We were supposed to go on a date tonight

[ practically a second after qi fang's text, reki will receive one from a new number. ]

whatever hes saying dont listen 2 him
hes being dumb rn
he needs u

[rekd]

it's fine forget about it
just lmk what u want

[ and to sun jing, now that she's on her own phone: ]

u sure??
what if he just wants to be w u
he didn't even tell me about any of this stuff til this morning
there's prob a reason

[tongxue]

[ sun jing, for better or for worse, happens to be a much faster texter. (typos notwithstanding...) ]

ya cuz hes a fucjing dunbass!!
he neverr tels any1 anything i had 2 find out from my mom cuz our talk
im not here bc he chose me over u im just here bc i knew 2 look
hes hurting
u care about himrite?

[ qi fang, meanwhile, takes a lot longer to ponder over his words. ]

I want to see you
But I'm kinda a mess right now
Are you ok to meet up later?

[rekd]

[ this is why qi fang gets left on read while reki and sun jing savage their keyboards at each other ]

ofc i care
but i don't wanna be like THAT boyfriend u kno
if he needs space i should give him space
& i still dont know what's goin on like it's not even any of my business
i should just wait til he's ready or w/e
right??

nvm ill be there in a sec

[ eventually, he'll get back to qi fang on that: ]

whats that matter
we've been messy ill brt

[tongxue]

thatta boy
dont let this jackass get his way
he doesnt jnow what he wants ir needs!
ur his bf and u care so ofc its ur bzns

[ more delays on qi fang's end, an internal battle between what he's used to doing and what he wants in that moment. in retrospect, stealing his dad's whiskey wasn't the smartest choice. ]

Yeah ok
See you soon

[rekd]

u rite u rite
or he'll end up resenting me forever but w/e
ok im comin up now

[ qi fang doesn't get a text back; reki elects instead to just show up, killing the motor at the edge of the hill. he slings his backpack over one shoulder and makes the trek up, waving as sun jing comes into view. she's his first stop, offering some dap and a bright smile. ]

Damn, the drip is flawless today. You're always lookin' fresh as hell.

[tongxue]

[ "Thanks, but I'm taken," comes sun jing's easy response, flipping her low ponytail over a shoulder. "Speaking of... I promised I'd meet her for dinner and I'm already late. Do something about this mophead, huh?" her tone is crass, but the hand she puts on reki's shoulder as she passes by him is gentle, as is the brief, grateful smile she gives him.

she spares a glance over her shoulder towards qi fang, and while reki won't be able to see the look she gives him, he can safely assume it isn't a kind one from the way qi fang scrunches up his nose at her. then she's gone, disappearing past his bike and leaving the two of them together.

qi fang hangs back, hands in his pockets, hair mussed up and shirt stained from the grass. ]

...Hey.

[rekd]

[ oh no. mophead. that's too cute. reki nibbles on his knuckles to keep all that to himself, though, smiling back at sun jing and waving her off.

and then, yeah, they're alone. reki glances over his shoulder and then closes the distance between them, gazing up at qi fang searchingly. ]

Thirsty?

[ he sniffs. ]

... For somethin' that's not 80 proof, I mean.

[tongxue]

[ there's some tension slipping away as reki crosses over to him, but he still keeps his hands to himself like he's not entirely sure if he's allowed to reach out or not. there's a sheepish twist to his lips, not quite a smile, but not quite a grimace either. ]

Yeah. [ his voice cracks, rough like he'd just spent the last few hours yelling at the top of his lungs. ] I could use a drink.

[ he takes a breath like he means to say something else, but seems to decide against it at the last second, defaulting to just chewing on the inside of his cheek instead. ]

[rekd]

[ that's a start. reki slips his bag off his shoulder and finds a spot beside qi fang to curl up and start digging. there's a still chilly bottle of gatorade in there, but instead of passing it over, reki tugs at his shirt for him to sit beside him. then he can have it. ]

We can hang out here awhile longer. Unless there's somewhere else you'd rather go?

[tongxue]

[ it kind of guts him that reki doesn't finish closing the distance, but even in his addled state he realizes he's just as much at fault (if not more so) since it isn't like he made any moves either. the tug on his shirt is a little reassuring, and he lets himself slump down till he's sitting on the grass right beside the other.

he puts a hand on the ground behind reki, using it as a post so he can lean over and press his forehead against the other's shoulder. he's just going to. rest there for a bit, don't mind him. ]

Nah. S'nice here.

[ a beat. ]

Thanks for coming.

[rekd]

[ slowly but surely, he's working his way up to it. the anxiety about getting rebuked is steep, but at least with qi fang's head on his shoulder, he's not too terrified to wrap an arm around him and pull him in a little closer.

just, y'know. he still feels bad. ]

Sorry. I know you wanted to be alone, but I couldn't...

[ well, obviously qi fang knows how that story ends. he squeezes a little tighter. ]

Don't worry, though. I'm just here to be here, y'know?

[tongxue]

[ at the first touch of a hand around his shoulder he's scooting closer, pressing right up against reki's side. it occurs to him now how much he'd wanted this, how badly he's tried to deny it from himself hours earlier. ]

Nah, don't be... I was stupid.

[ still am, in many ways. ]

Shoulda called you. I wanted to, I just...

[ a shrug, a sigh. sometimes some habits are hard to shake. ]

[rekd]

It's okay.

[ no rebuking. now he can stop being such a baby and start stroking through qi fang's hair, pausing only to press a kiss to the top of his head. ]

I'm here now. And Sun Jing blew up your spot so I know to be here in the future too.

[tongxue]

I shoulda called. [ he says it again, like this time he's trying to engrave it into his mind. ] Shoulda at least let you know what was up.

[ the kiss to his head, the fingers in his hair. qi fang starts nuzzling into the side of reki's face before he can even think about it, desperately seeking out that closeness. ]

Did I worry you?

[rekd]

[ it makes his heart ache, hearing qi fang talk like that. that's something he's set aside for now, needs to keep setting aside until he's sure everything's ok, but it's a little bit harder to breathe for a second. ]

Of course I was worried, [ he murmurs, cupping qi fang's cheek in his palm, turning his face so they can be just as close as they both need to be. ] You mean a lot to me. I'm gonna worry. But it's okay.