angevon

Fandom: Persona 4 
Pairing: Yu/Yosuke 
Rating: G
Category: M/M
Summary: Yu likes to touch, and Yosuke is getting used to it. Slowly.
Author's notes: This is a crosspost from AO3 and ffnet.
Spoilers for November/December.
See this page for the series index.

---

Yu really liked Yosuke.

Which was fine. Totally fine. Yosuke liked him too. Yosuke also liked being liked.

But Yu was, maybe... too affectionate, sometimes.

Like now.

They were sitting next to each other at the Investigation Team's regular meeting place, the Junes Food Court. Yukiko and Chie were directly across from them, and Yu was completely distracting him from whatever they were talking about by rubbing his hand under the table. It took all of Yosuke's concentration to keep his face neutral.

"—Right, Yosuke?" Chie was saying.

"...Huh?" Yosuke blinked and tried to stop focusing on the feel of his hand under Yu's ministrations.

"Geez, why do I even bother with you sometimes?" Chie complained.

Yosuke shot Yu a quick, dark look. "Sorry... What were you saying?"

Yu's shoulders were heaving; he was trying not to laugh. Yosuke wanted to kick him under the table, but that would draw even more attention to them...

"I suppose it means I'm a bit more at home with myself," Yukiko said. "Or maybe I'm becoming more aggressive? I'm not sure..."

"...What are you even talking about?" Yosuke asked, thankful for the distraction from the distraction.

"We were talking about how Konohana Sakuya is now Amaterasu," Chie said, "and wondering what it says about Yukiko."

"Oh. Right," said Yosuke. "Well, the new one does have a sword... but the old one was prettier."

Chie opened her mouth wide in surprise. "You think so too!?"

"Well, I dunno, it looked like a dancing flower and—"

Yosuke paused for just a second because—

Dammit Yu what the hell are you doing with my hand?

—he was distracted again.

He rushed ahead to finish his thought. "—and it was pink like Yukiko's yukata!"

Pink as my face right now, he added as Yu continued to knead the back of his hand and play with his fingers, or whatever the hell he was doing.

"Not all of my yukata are pink." Yukiko sniffed. "I think Amaterasu's blades are more elegant. But I don't think a Persona's appearance is that important."

There was a pause in the conversation until Yosuke realized both girls were looking at him. "What?" he demanded, extra cross because Yu wouldn't stop.

"Frog Prince Yosuke," said Chie.

"Hey, Jiraiya was cool," Yosuke muttered. Yu squeezed his hand in apparent support. Yosuke fought to keep his eyes from straying downward to see what Yu was doing—not that he could see through the table. He shifted restlessly in his seat and hoped his partner would get bored before he snapped.

"Yeah, but if anyone kisses you, they might get warts!" Chie said. She laughed good-naturedly and nudged Yukiko.

"If that were true, I think I'd know," Yu whispered so that only Yosuke could hear. A flush formed on Yosuke's cheeks that he couldn't prevent. Aloud, Yu said, "In mythology, Susano-o is Amaterasu's brother."

Chie looked from Yosuke to Yukiko and back again, as if scrutinizing a family resemblance.

Yu added, "And they both spawned from Izanagi."

"Let me guess," Yosuke said. "You read it in a book."

Yu's eyes gleamed.

"It's actually common knowledge," Yukiko murmured.

"Whatever, I'm out," said Yosuke. He'd had enough of Yu's attention for the moment, so he stood up but nearly fell over in the sudden movement because Yu hadn't expected him to get up and hadn't let go of his hand. Yosuke recovered quickly and ran off before anyone could figure out why he'd been so clumsy.

---

"Partner..." Yosuke said on the phone later that night. "You have to stop doing that."

"Doing what?" asked Yu.

Ugh, did he have to spell it out? "Look, I don't mind when you, uhh, h-hold my hand, but... the rubbing..."

"Oh."

That was all Yu said. Yosuke cringed and hoped he hadn't hurt his friend's feelings. "Look, it's not that I didn't like it," he tried to explain, "but it almost gave us away, and we don't want that, right?"

Yu's "Right" sounded uncertain and took longer than it should have in coming.

For such a smart guy, Yu could be really thick about some things. Yosuke sighed heavily into his cell phone's receiver. "Yu..."

"You're my boyfriend," said Yu. "I want to touch you."

"Boyfriend!?"

"Yep. We hug and kiss and hold hands. We're dating."

"We're not..." Yosuke protested, but he paused.

"And I even cook for you sometimes." Yu sounded quite proud of it.

It took a short while for it to come together in Yosuke's head. "Huh, we are dating, aren't we?" Yosuke wasn't as upset about it as he thought he'd be. Dating. His best friend. Huh.

"Mmm-hmm," Yu said. Yosuke blushed at how unintentionally seductive it sounded.

"W-well, let's still keep it from everyone else."

Yu made a disapproving noise.

"Yu!"

"Chie and Yukiko wouldn't mind that we're dating," Yu said softly.

"No way!" Yosuke exclaimed. "Are you kidding me? Chie would never let me live it down!"

"Fine," said Yu. "We can keep it a secret. Our dirty secret."

"What are you even saying? It doesn't have to be dirty." Yosuke loosened his jacket's collar. He was getting sweaty all of a sudden... "It's just, I mean—we've got to figure each other out before we can be open about it. We've only just started... dating..."

"I want to touch you, Yosuke. You're my boyfriend." Yu had said the same thing earlier, but somehow the inflection this time was far more suggestive, and the temperature in Yosuke's room now seemed a few degrees higher.

"Look, I'll come over tomorrow after school, okay?" Yosuke said while fidgeting with his headphones. "Then you can... touch me all you want."

Yu positively purred on the other end of the line before hanging up.

Yosuke stared at the phone in his hand for a bit before deciding he needed a cold shower.

---

On most days Yosuke was pretty happy that he sat behind Yu in class. He could get answers from his friend, or poke him with his pen when he got bored. Sometimes he threw bits of paper into Yu's collar just to see his puzzled look when he stood up after class and a cascade of paper fell over his shoulders.

Today was different, though, because seeing that silver hair all day in front of him just made him think of their after-school plans, which was way too exciting to think about in a school environment.

Yu was excited too, he could tell. Yu dropped his pen on the floor a few more times than normal just to glance back at him with a barely-hidden smile while he picked it back up.

Unfortunately, Yu had already made plans to spend his lunch period with Naoto, so they couldn't talk during it. Yu apologized, but Yosuke told him it was cool. He wasn't bothered by it at all—his mom had packed him a lunch—but he still felt a guilty thrill when he spotted Yu by the stairwell later rejecting everyone who asked to spend the afternoon with him.

As the afternoon classes trudged on, though, Yosuke began to get nervous. What exactly had he signed up for? Was going to Yu's house too forward? Were they going too fast? How much touching would Yu want to do... and, umm, where? What if they ended up in Yu's bedroom... And in all honesty, Yosuke was still getting used to simply holding hands under the table...

---

Yu's tongue was in his mouth.

Yosuke almost pushed him away when he realized it—too fast, much too fast!—but he was still processing that it was even there, and his mind, in its disbelief, couldn't seem to keep up. So he just... sort of let it happen.

It wasn't an unpleasant experience, anyway. Yu tasted faintly like blueberry Topsicle, which was odd because they hadn't had any Topsicles all day. And Yu's little contented murmurs had a strangely musical lilt to them that made Yosuke happy to hear them. In fact, Yosuke found himself kissing back just to hear more.

They were on the small couch in the Dojima living room. They'd started by sitting really close to each other, and then Yu had taken his hand, and then Yu had kissed him on the mouth, and from there Yu had gently pushed him up against one of the far ends of the couch, and Yu was now pressed fairly heavily on top of him. Yu's hands grasped and twisted Yosuke's shirt while they made out. Yosuke's hands were kind of stiffly at his sides because he didn't really know what to do with them and with Yu right there he was kind of pinned down anyway.

Eventually Yu pulled away and rested his head on Yosuke's chest. He hooked one arm over Yosuke's shoulder and then seemed content to stay in that position. Yosuke didn't have the heart to push him away, even though he was losing feeling in his left arm since it was pinned against the couch's armrest. When it began to hurt, he shifted his position just enough to free the arm, which Yu then grabbed to cuddle.

If Yosuke learned one thing from this experience, it was that Yu loved physical contact.

Yosuke wasn't sure what he felt about it, himself. He wasn't really one for touching, but that ran in the family—he could hardly remember the last time his mother had hugged him, but then, from what Yosuke gathered, Yu's family was the same way, so it was strange that Yu had turned out to be so hands-on...

But... hearing Yu breathe, feeling Yu's warmth, being so close to his friend and partner... Yosuke thought he might actually like it.

He felt Yu's fingers curl around his shirt collar. He seemed to be trying to crawl his hand down the back of his shirt. Yosuke swatted him away irritably with his free hand, and Yu sighed and pulled his hand back, then snuggled against Yosuke's still-captured hand.

After a minute, it didn't seem like Yu was going to move anytime soon. Yosuke noticed his partner's eyes had closed, and his breathing had slowed down considerably.

Poor guy's exhausted, and we didn't even do anything, not really...

A curious impulse hit him, and Yosuke used his free hand to brush away Yu's bangs. Yeah, Yu had eyebrows, and they were that weird silver color, too...

"Yosuke," Yu murmured with his eyes still closed.

Yosuke pulled his hand away, and Yu's bangs fell back over his forehead. "Y-yeah?"

"I like you."

Yosuke's face went red, and he was thankful Yu wasn't looking since it'd be even worse if he was. That Yu could say such a thing without being embarrassed... Yosuke really had no response. He almost shook his head in wonder.

And while Yosuke thought his words over, Yu smiled.

---

An alarm went off, interrupting their precious peace. Yu sat up with a sigh and released Yosuke's arm from his grasp. "She'll be home soon," Yu explained.

"Ah..." said Yosuke. "Nanako-chan."

Yu nodded. "She'll be glad to see you. Can you stay for dinner?"

"Well, yeah. I'm not gonna kiss you, then ditch you." Yosuke sucked his teeth; that statement had sounded far less crude in his mind, but fortunately Yu didn't seem bothered by it—a smile was growing on his face. "Especially if you're gonna cook," Yosuke added with a return grin. "I didn't have any of your cooking yet today. What did you make for Naoto, anyway?"

"Mmm. Thai-style egg rolls. She seemed to like them. Today's dinner is going to be oden. Don't worry, I'm not using tofu."

"Thanks, partner."

Yosuke offered to help with the cooking, but Yu, master of his own kitchen, turned him down, so Yosuke stayed on the couch. He thought of putting on his headphones and turning on some music, but it seemed wrong to disturb the peace, so he idly listened to the sounds of Yu moving around in the kitchen; he seemed to be chopping up something for the pot.

He found it surprisingly relaxing here. The Hanamura home was noisy. The phone was always ringing—mostly people wanting to get in contact with his dad concerning the store—his parents often argued, the TV was always on even if no one was watching it...

Yu began to hum some tune that he didn't recognize. Thankfully, it wasn't the Junes theme... He might have to break up with him if it was, haha...

"I'm home! Big bro!"

Yosuke heard Nanako-chan squeal with delight; Yu had probably picked her up in a sweeping embrace. He stood up from the couch and sheepishly walked to the edge of the dining area, trying not to intrude but also wanting to let Nanako-chan know that he was there so it wouldn't be a surprise. Yep, the two cousins were locked in a precious hug.

"Yosuke's staying for dinner," Yu whispered in her ear, loud enough for him to hear.

She turned her head to look at him. "Yosuke-nii!" She smiled, and when Yu put her down, she rushed to Yosuke's legs and wrapped her arms around them. He hadn't been expecting that! He patted her head affectionately. "Nanako-chan, it's good to see you!"

"Mm-hmm! I'm going to my room now!" She pulled off her pink-and-blue magical girl-themed backpack and ran off.

"I'll trade you Teddie," Yosuke whispered after she was gone.

"No deal," said Yu.

Yosuke took a seat at the dining room table and watched Yu taste the simmering soup in the pot and add a few more shakes of soy sauce to it. Yu hummed and stirred the ladle, and then took out a short stack of bowls from under the counter and placed them side by side. By the way he moved, it was obvious that Yu enjoyed himself while he cooked. Maybe that's what separated him from the girls. They only played at cooking, whereas Yu saw it as just another facet of himself. But it also probably helped that Yu was just naturally—unnaturally?—good at everything, anyway.

"Where'd you learn to cook?" Yosuke asked, curious now.

Yu stopped in mid-stir, surprised at being addressed. He hadn't realized Yosuke was watching him, which made Yosuke suddenly feel like an invader. But Yu turned away from the pot, smiled lightly at him, and said, "I read it in a book."

He said it so seriously that Yosuke didn't realize it was a joke until he started laughing. It was a great sound; Yu didn't laugh often, though he seemed to be doing it more in recent days. "You're so weird," Yosuke complained. "I almost believed that!"

Yu turned back to the pot and toyed with the ladle. "I actually learned it the same way Nanako-chan's learning it." Yu's voice was low and somber; this time it wasn't a joke.

"I'm not sure what you..." Yosuke began, but trailed off as he understood. Dojima-san was often away for dinner, so Nanako-chan was learning to cook all on her own. Then, Yu's own family...

As if on cue, the telephone rang, and Nanako-chan came from her room to answer it. Dojima-san was calling to say he would be late.

The scowl on Nanako-chan's face after hanging up the phone needed to be wiped away, so Yosuke asked her to show him her favorite toy so they could play with it together while Yu finished making dinner. She excitedly led him into her room—which was a typical little girl's room, full of pink and purple and little girl things; Yosuke tried not to think about it. She picked up a purple plush bunny that she called 'Chan-chan' from atop a chair and put it on the floor in the center of the room. She added a few more animals from various shelves, naming them as she took them down. Then she sat on the floor, and Yosuke crouched down next to her and listened while she explained the different animals' relationships to each other. It was all very complicated, but Yosuke did his best to keep it straight in his head so that he could play with her without making a mistake.

At some point she began to point out the animals' accessories to him. "And this one's Chan-chan's favorite," Nanako-chan explained, holding up a little red ribbon, "but she's letting Toko-chan borrow it for now." She wrapped the ribbon around a plush fox's neck.

"What's Chan-chan going to wear instead?" Yosuke asked.

The corners of Nanako-chan's lips curled downward. "I don't have any other ribbons."

Yosuke thought about it for a moment, and then, on impulse, he took his headphones from around his neck and placed them around the plush rabbit's head. "How about that?"

Nanako-chan looked at him in astonishment. "Are you sure, Yosuke-nii?"

"Well, at least until after dinner." He gave her his most disarming smile.

"It's perfect!" Nanako-chan declared, hugging Chan-chan tightly.

Nanako-chan then began to tell him what songs Chan-chan was listening to. As she spoke, the hair on Yosuke's neck suddenly began to rise; he sensed they were being watched. He glanced casually at the door, and sure enough, Yu was standing there, looking directly at him with such undisguised fondness that he had to look away quickly from pure embarrassment.

Yosuke remembered that his concern for Nanako-chan in the hospital was what made Yu realize what he felt for him, and he began to squirm.

"Yosuke-nii, are you all right?" Nanako-chan asked. "Oh, big bro! Is dinner ready?"

"Whenever you two are ready," Yu said, grinning at them.

---

Dinner, was, of course, superb. Yosuke never doubted it'd be anything less. The potatoes were just the right softness, the soy was definitely present but not overbearing, and the kelp wasn't chewy...

"Man, how do you do it?" Yosuke asked, shaking his head and holding some konnyaku in his chopsticks.

"The key is lots of practice," Yu said. "I wasn't very good at first. But oden is an easy meal. Anyone can make it."

"Even Yukiko and Chie?" Yosuke laughed.

Yu averted his eyes and avoided answering. "Honestly," he said instead, "with oden, I usually like to make it the day before so that it can simmer in the broth longer, but Nanako-chan asked for it since it's so cold out today."

"Mm-hmm! It's great, big bro! Thanks!" Seeing Nanako-chan's big brown eyes so full of delight was a reward on its own, Yosuke decided. There was no way Yu could have refused her.

When they'd finished the meal, Yosuke offered to do the dishes. "It's the least I can do. I feel like a mooch."

"It's fine," Yu said cheerfully. "You aren't a mooch. I'll do them. I know where everything goes. What you can do" – Yu leaned forward over the table, his eyes sparkling – "is watch the quiz show with Nanako-chan."

---

It'd been a long time since Yosuke enjoyed a kotatsu. His family had one in the living room, but really, who wanted to hang out with his parents...? He preferred being in his room, even if it was cold.

He couldn't help but release a contented sigh when he arranged the kotatsu's blanket over his crossed legs. "It's so warm," he remarked, and Nanako-chan smiled and nodded at him in agreement before turning her attention to the TV.

Nanako-chan was better at the quiz show than he'd expected, especially considering it was a random smattering of world-wide topics and issues. Whenever she got a question right, she cheered so adorably, and when she didn't know an answer, Yosuke either tried to guess with her, or made jokes about the answer. "That was an unfair one—you weren't even born then!" he told her once after a particularly hard one.

Yu soon joined them. He took the seat across from Nanako-chan and to Yosuke's right. Yosuke shuffled his legs a bit under the kotatsu; Yu was just a bit taller and needed more leg room than he did. Yosuke kept his hands in plain sight above the kotatsu, just in case Yu got it in his mind to play with them like at Junes the previous day. He didn't need a repeat of that just now...

With Yu on the team, they started getting a lot more questions right. Yosuke wondered where he kept it all—the damn genius—but he was surprised to find that there were some topics Yu was utterly clueless about: sports, popular music, and contemporary politics. Yosuke was certainly learning a lot today... and very little of it was content from the quiz show.

Yosuke enjoyed the friendly atmosphere for as long as he could, but it was starting to get late, so during the next commercial break, he sighed and said, "I wish I could stay, but I'd better get home before my parents wonder where I am."

"Can't you stay?" Yu asked quietly.

Yosuke opened and closed his mouth. The look Yu was giving him was vaguely hopeful. "Erm..." he managed.

"It's snowing, Yosuke-nii," said Nanako-chan. "It's really cold out..." The three of them looked out the living room's sliding glass doors, and sure enough, snowflakes were pouring down from the sky.

"She wants you to stay," Yu said, as if Nanako-chan was the final authority. "We have a spare futon in the upstairs closet. I'll bring it out for you."

"Ah, I'm fine with the couch," Yosuke muttered. "It's not that big a deal."

"You can stay in my room. It'll be a sleepover."

Yu could have been a statue for all Yosuke could read in his face. Yosuke tried to stem the panic rising within him. Stay the night in his room...? Was this an invitation to something... more? He tugged at his jacket's collar, but his headphones weren't there, and he became painfully aware of the fact that Nanako-chan was watching him curiously. "Uh, sure," he finally decided. "I haven't been to a sleepover since I lived in the city. I remember we stayed up late watching horror movies and eating ice cream. Fun times. Haha."

The commercial ended, and Nanako-chan was absorbed in watching the TV once again.

Yosuke leaned closer to Yu and muttered his name in a reproachful tone of voice. He meant to chastise his partner for pushing him into staying over like this, and maybe discern his intentions.

Instead of answering, Yu took his hand. Yosuke jerked it away. "Not in front of Nanako-chan!" he hissed.

Yu glanced pointedly at the girl, who was so busy shouting answers and laughing gleefully at the TV that she was completely oblivious to their conversation.

"Yeah, well, kids pick upon these things fast, you'd be surprised," Yosuke said, not completely mollified.

"I work at a day-care," Yu replied, well-aware of the fact.

"I'm just saying," Yosuke said, "I don't want to be outed by Nanako-chan, of all people. Eh, anyway, don't you have to get Dojima-san's permission to let me stay?"

Yu shrugged. "He's not here. He can't stop you from staying."

"Well, you'd better tell him anyway. Imagine Nanako-chan telling him in the morning that I'd stayed the night, and then him wondering why you didn't tell him. It doesn’t take Naoto to figure that one out."

"You imagine too many things," Yu complained.

Well, yeah! he wanted to say. Right now he was also trying hard not to imagine what staying the night in Yu's room would entail.

Yu relented. "I'll call him. Watch some TV."

While he watched Nanako-chan continue to answer questions, he wondered if Teddie was in his room right now, also watching the quiz show. Damn, thinking of Teddie reminded him that he'd forgotten to call his parents. He'd been so worried about Dojima-san... Looking out the sliding glass doors again, it was obvious that the snow wasn't letting up at all, and it was dark out, so he had a passable excuse for staying over. Teddie was going to be pretty annoying tomorrow, though, knowing he'd stayed the night with his beloved Sensei.

When Yu returned, he excused himself to call his house and let his parents know the situation. His mother seemed surprised, but when he explained the unexpected heavy snow, she seemed okay with it. Her main concern was that he didn't have a change of clothes on hand, and he just assured her that he'd be fine. He could borrow something of Yu's, probably.

---

Yosuke hovered outside the room as Yu put Nanako-chan to bed. He didn't want to intrude... and it was awkward to hear them say goodnight to each other.

"Goodnight, Nanako-chan."

"Goodnight! I love you, big bro!"

"I love you, too."

...Very awkward.

Yu smiled at him after closing Nanako-chan's door. "My room?"

"Uh, y-yeah..."

"You know where it is," Yu said. "I'll be right there."

Yosuke went on ahead with some trepidation. He found the spare futon already laid out—Yu must have done that after he'd called Dojima-san. To his relief, he hadn't put it near his own futon. He'd placed it right under the TV.

Yosuke had been in Yu's room before, and though it'd been a while ago, it didn't seem like much had changed. Yu had acquired a few new books, but none of them looked remotely interesting to him. Why Yu felt compelled to read every book given to him, even shoujo manga, Yosuke couldn't begin to guess. The table bore a neat stack of origami paper and some envelopes, but it seemed like the envelopes hadn't been touched in a while. Yosuke was glad—folding envelopes had always seemed like a waste of Yu's precious time.

Yosuke discovered something new: a couple of model robots on the shelf next to the TV. Yu had some strange hobbies, and it was nice to see one that was relatively normal.

"I expected to catch you looking under my futon."

Yosuke jumped and nearly dropped the Heavy Armor Agni he'd been inspecting. "Shit, man, don't sneak up on me like that. I almost broke it."

"Nothing a little glue couldn't fix," Yu said—but he took the robot from his hands and put it firmly back on the shelf.

Looking for something to talk about, Yosuke turned towards the TV and scanned Yu's DVD collection. "Dude, you ever watch any of these?"

"Don't really have time for it..."

"Huh, no horror movies. And I guess it's a bit cold for ice cream..." Yosuke chuckled nervously.

"Yeah..." Yu had picked up one of the robots and was bending its poseable arms into a different position.

There was an uncomfortable silence that Yosuke yearned to fill. "Uhh... so what are we gonna do?" he finally asked, facing the inevitable.

"How good are you with your hands?" Yu's eyes were fixed on the model robot.

Yosuke twitched. "A-ah, err..."

"Because," Yu continued, "you could help me with my next model." He picked up a box from the lower shelf and showed it to him. The box had a picture of a motorbike on it. "I started it already, but it's maybe only halfway done."

"Uh, sure, I guess."

They spent the evening working on the model. Yosuke almost glued his fingers together at one point, but he found that it was fun to work with his partner on a project like this: trying to make sense of the directions, searching for the tiny labels on the tiny parts that the plan asked for, holding a part still so that Yu could glue it...

And by the end of the night, they'd finished it! Yosuke rolled the model motorbike along the tabletop. It had a silver base with green trimming; Chie would probably like it. "Huh, pretty cool."

"Yeah." Yu's eyes were on the bike while Yosuke rolled it back and forth. Yosuke's eyes were on his friend's satisfied-looking face. Yu seemed so happy to have completed the project; he was almost glowing like a little kid after being given some candy. It was delightful to see him so unguarded; Yosuke wished he could take a picture without distracting him.

Then the spell was broken, and Yu began to sweep the plastic scraps leftover from the project into a pile and ultimately into a trash can. He took the motorbike model from Yosuke and placed it proudly on the display shelf. Yosuke stood next to him while he admired their handiwork. "There are four more robots in the series. Maybe I'll have time to get them all done."

Yosuke didn't answer. Yu was looking at the models, but he... he was still looking at Yu.

Before he could chicken out, he took Yu's hand, leaned in and kissed the corner of Yu's mouth. It was just a light peck, but it was enough to astonish his partner. "Yosuke?"

Yosuke knew his face was beet red, but he clutched Yu's arm the same way he'd seen Rise do before.

"Yosuke?" Yu repeated. "I thought you were scared... I didn't want to pressure you into anything."

"I am scared!" Yosuke admitted. "But... I'm curious too, and I trust you, and... I want to touch you too, dammit."

Yu laughed. "Go right ahead."

It was embarrassing, but... Yosuke took his word for it, so he pressed his fingers into Yu's side, into his back, into his neck, into his hair and ears, and all Yu did was chuckle nonstop, which did nothing to make it any less embarrassing.

"Dude, it's not that funny..." Yosuke stepped away from him when he'd had enough of the teasing laughter.

"I'm sorry," Yu said, not sounding sorry at all. "Is it my turn now?"

Yosuke backed away automatically. "Y-your turn? Uh, I mean..."

Shit. He cursed himself for responding like that. It was like he'd just insulted Yu, like he didn't trust him or something, and he did, he really did... "I'm sorry," he tried. "It's just... You can touch me, it's only fair. I mean..."

Yu shook his head. To Yosuke's surprise, he was still smiling, apparently unhurt by Yosuke's hesitation. "It's all right. We have school tomorrow, anyway. We'd better get ready to go to sleep."

Yu was way too understanding... but Yosuke was relieved anyway. "Oh, yeah. I don't have anything to wear..." He scratched his head sheepishly.

Yu opened the top drawer of his dresser and scrounged around in it until he pulled out a gray set of pajamas. "Here. Uncle got me this so I'd have an extra set, but I've never worn them."

"Oh. Thanks," Yosuke said, accepting them. The color was so bland that he easily believed Dojima-san had picked them out thinking they'd be perfect for Yu.

Yu opened his mouth to say something, and then apparently thought better of it. But Yosuke had noticed, and was curious now. "What is it?" he asked.

Yu was looking away from him, cheeks faintly pink. "Nothing. The bathroom's down the hall—you know where it is."

"I wanna know what you were gonna say," Yosuke said stubbornly.

"It was just, ah..." Now Yu's cheeks were very pink. Finally, Yosuke thought, now Yu knew what it was like! He had almost believed his friend was immune to embarrassment. "It was... I was just thinking... Maybe you would have liked it better if I had worn those pajamas before."

Yosuke threw the pajamas at him. "You are just... ugh, what is wrong with you?" But he couldn't stop laughing with Yu anyway.

Yu tossed the pajamas back to him and then picked up his own set from atop his futon. "Are you going to get changed or not? Because I'm going to change here. Unless you want to stay and watch. I don't mind..."

Instead of answering, Yosuke walked stiffly out of the room, like one of the model robots. He could hear Yu giggling behind him...

---

Yu was sitting on his futon in the corner of the room when he got back, wearing his own pajamas: a set of black bottoms with some generic pattern and a plain white top. He was all seriousness now. In fact, he looked quite tired. "The light switch is by the door. Would you mind?" he asked.

"Sure, partner," Yosuke said. He turned down the light. Fortunately there was enough light from the window for him to get to the spare futon.

"Thanks..."

After getting comfortable in his futon, Yosuke wondered if Yu was interested in talking before going to sleep, but since Yu didn't say anything, he assumed not. Yosuke sighed and fluffed up the spare pillow and stared up at the TV above him.

He'd been worried sick earlier about how the day was going to go, but it hadn't been bad at all. In fact, he'd had a great time. Yu was... weird, but sweet. Sweet, huh... That sounded a bit... girly, but, at the moment, it didn't bother him at all.

He wondered—and not for the first time—why, of all the people in Inaba, Yu had chosen him. Their shared experiences? They had been through a hell of a lot...

He'd always thought Yu was special... maybe he could dare to hope that Yu thought there was something special about him, too? He flexed his toes at the thought. He shouldn't be thinking stuff like this in Yu's room, with Yu right there, even if he was asleep.

Yu was asleep. Yosuke could hear his steady breathing. He was expecting Yu to be a snorer—he had to have some flaw, right?—but so far it seemed like he wasn't. Yosuke hoped he himself didn't snore and end up waking him. He'd had to throw pillows at Teddie the few times he'd let the bear share his room instead of using the spare room. It was pretty annoying.

...These pajamas weren't too bad. They smelled a bit musty from being in the drawer for a long time. They didn't smell like Yu. Ha. Maybe Yu was right. Maybe he would have liked it more if these pajamas had been worn by him.

God, he felt like a creep just thinking about it.

He yawned. He should get to sleep, he really should... but it was just so peaceful here. He found himself wishing he could just lie here in Yu's room for... well, maybe not forever, but a very long time...

---

Previous - Index - Next