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“Hanamura here again?” Dojima asked, peeking from above his newspaper.
Yosuke froze, every instinct in his body telling him to run like hell , but his feet were glued to the floor. Even after months of hanging out at Yu’s place, Dojima still paralyzed him with fear. It didn’t help that Dojima was a detective and had arrested Yosuke earlier in the year.
“I didn’t know you’d be home today,” Yu looked genuinely surprised. “I would’ve bought more at Junes.”
Dojima waved his hand. “Eh, don’t worry about it. I had some food at the station.” He turned to the next page absentmindedly. “You boys got anything planned for today?”
“Just studying.” Yosuke was glad that Yu talked for the both of them.
Yu started towards the stairs, Yosuke following suit, but he was naive to think that a day when Dojima is finally home, he would walk away scott free.
“Wait, let me talk to Hanamura first.” When Yu was heading towards him, he followed up with, “Alone.”
Yosuke gulped, hoping Yu would get his silent pleas of ‘Don’t leave me alone!’. When Dojima noticed that Yosuke wasn’t moving, he laughed. It was genuine, but somehow chilled Yosuke to his core.
“Don’t worry, I won’t arrest you,” Dojima gestured to the empty seat next to him. “I just want to talk.”
Yu patted Yosuke’s shoulder, a silent reassurement that in no way eased the tight clenching in his stomach.
“It’ll only be a minute,” Dojima says to him while Yu went up to his room. He was completely alone with Dojima. Detective Dojima . He could laugh at the complete irony that, once again, he found himself alone with Yu’s hardass uncle for a “talk” if he wasn’t so busy trying not to piss himself.
After several seconds of agonizing silence, Dojima finally spoke up. “So, Hanamura, do you drink coffee?”
Yosuke almost jumped out of his seat. “H-huh?”
“Coffee? Do you drink it?” He gestured to the empty mug right next to his. “Of course you do! You’re a growing boy! Black or cream?”
Shit, what was the right answer? “Uh, c-cream, I gue-”
“So listen,” Dojima’s tone suddenly shifted, his gaze solely focused on Yosuke’s. He moves forward, with every slide draining the life out of Yosuke. “I know what you guys are up to.”
Yosuke could feel the beads of sweat forming on his forehead. “W-what are you talking about…?”
“Oh come on, Hanamura. The midnight calls, the sneaking off to Junes, Yu coming home late at night because he was “studying”,” Dojima leaned back a bit, his eyes still focused on Yosuke’s. “I may be old, but I’m not stupid. Your friends didn't have to tell me what's going on, I knew all along.”
Crap, he knows . “W-wait! I can explain!” Yosuke started, but was cut off quickly by Dojima.
“No need. I don’t need to know all the, uh, details of what’s going on,” He shifted his tie a bit uncomfortably, looking away bashfully. “I just never expected you to be that sort of guy…”
“H-hey, Yu is that sort of guy, too!” Yosuke shouted, immediately shutting up once he was aware at exactly who he was shouting to. He wasn’t the only one with a persona! If anything, Yu was the freak show with how many personas he had at once.
Dojima let out a rough cough. “I know, I know! Hey, I was young too. I know what kids are...into these days.” He suddenly lets out a small smile. “But you know, he’s only in Inaba for a year…There’s only a couple of months left.”
“Don’t worry, sir, we can figure this out within the year, I’m sure of it! We’re so close to the truth!” Yosuke reassured him, returning a smile of his own. Dojima was taking all of this “fighting inside the TV, trying to find a mass serial killer” surprisingly well, but who was he to judge?
Dojima lifted a brow. “R-right, figuring things out. Well, I guess I was once curious too…” His face turned serious again. “Look, I don’t care about all the details, just… make sure you don’t do anything to hurt Yu, okay? You two seem like good friends. I would hate to see anything happen to your friendship.”
“I won’t let anything hurt Yu, Dojima-san. He’s my partner and we promised to always stay by each other’s side.” Yosuke smiled fondly. “Even after all of this is over...I still want to remain friends.”
Dojima smiled. “You seem like a good kid, Hanamura. Yu is lucky to have someone like you.” He took a cigarette out from his front sleeve, letting it hang from his mouth. “Alright, you can go back to your partner .”
Yosuke jolted up from his seat, bowing politely and effectively excusing himself from the table. Before he went up for Yu’s room, he swore he heard Dojima mutter something along the lines of,
“Is that what kids are calling each other now a days? Partner?”
===
Yosuke didn’t think too much of his conversation with Dojima last night. He was trying to figure out exactly how Dojima found them out, but sneaking around a small town like Inaba with gossiping eyes was bound to have their secret out. Honestly, what took Yosuke by surprise was how well Dojima took it. He figured Dojima would blow a lid off when he found out his nephew was sneaking around, fighting literal monsters , but maybe he too understood how useless the police are in this situation. Maybe the real heavy talk was for Yu, Yosuke only receiving a fraction of a “Dojima interrogation”, but who cares? He survived an one-on-one with Dojima, alive.
Walking to class with a beat in his step, he was surprised to see that the seat in front of him was empty. Just before he was about to ask Yu through text, Chie answered him.
“Someone said they saw him leaving with Ebihara-san.” Chie put a finger to her chin. “Probably skipping again.”
Yosuke rolled his eyes. “Ah, the ice queen again? Go figure.” He wondered what Yu saw in her, but wouldn’t lie and say she wasn’t attractive. Maybe underneath all that layer of makeup and scowls, there was a decent girl there and if anyone could bring her out, it was his partner.
Chie leaned in uncomfortably close, a coy smirk forming on her lips. “Jealous?”
Yosuke lifted a brow quizzingly. “...Of what?”
“Oh, that your boyfriend and little miss team manager are goofing around!” Chie chuckled. “But don’t worry, Yosuke-kun! Yu-kun is not like that! He wouldn’t cheat on you!”
Wait, wait. “...What did you just say? About Yu?!” Yosuke is practically shouting, feeling the blush creep on his cheeks.
“Oh, that!” The smirk on Chie’s lips grew even wider, her eyes sparkling. “Hey, don’t think you can hide anything from me! Yukiko told me all about the hug you and Yu-kun did! Who knew he could be so bold?!”
Yosuke abruptly turned his head towards Yukiko’s seat, only to see her swiftly shift towards the front of the class, pathetically trying to hide her deep blush behind her textbook.
Yosuke was flabbergasted. Just how exactly… Who else…
“W-wait, Chie,” Yosuke started, scrambling to find an excuse. “Y-you’ve got it… all wro-”
“Ah, crap! I put ideas in your head, huh?!” Chie gripped Yosuke’s shoulders, staring so intensely at Yosuke, he wondered if she was trying to reach his soul. “Listen, Yosuke-kun… I know that every girl here has practically asked out Yu-kun, that he’s a 10 and you’re a 4, at best , but believe me when I say that Yu-kun would never cheat on you! He’s too good for that!”
Yosuke didn’t know if he should be thankful or hurt. “Thanks…?”
“But listen! I saw the way you drooled over Rise-chan at the beach, and if you ever break Yu-kun’s heart,” Her fingers tightened around Yosuke’s bony shoulders. “I’ll break something of your’s!”
Yosuke gulped, trying to squirm out of Chie’s ungodly grip. “O-okay, Chie! I get it! I get it!”
Chie smiled, finally releasing her solid grip on Yosuke. He rubbed his shoulders, silently scolding himself that a girl was so close to breaking his bones. He quickly snapped out of his trance, shouting at Chie desperately.
“W-wait! You’ve got it all wrong! Yu and I-”
The classroom door abruptly opened. “Alright, class. Let’s begin the lesson.” Kashiwagi walked towards the front, everyone scrambling to their seats, including Chie.
Yosuke sat down, with a loud thunk of his head on his desk. There was no way… No way… Chie was messing with him, like she always does, right? But, there was last night with Dojima…
Yosuke half-mindedly listened to the lecture, wondering who else Yukiko told that day.
===
Normally Yosuke would be over the moon that his long admired idol, Risette, would call him out in the middle of the hallway, asking to meet at the rooftop for lunch, but after the conversation with Dojima-san and Chie...Yosuke should know better.
Still, like the idiot he was, he headed towards the roof and was not surprised one bit to see Rise with Kanji and Naoto also there.
“Hi, Yosuke-senpai!” Rise waved ecstatically.
Yosuke looked around. “Why are Kanji and Naoto here?”
“In case you try to run!” Rise answered innocently. “Now, sit! I want to ask you some things!”
“Wait, wait!” Yosuke shouted, ignoring the startled looks of his underclassmen. “I-I’m not dating Yu!”
All three of them blinked and looked at each other, Yosuke praying that would be the end of it. Naoto smirked, finally speaking up after a while. “I knew it. Thanks for the confirmation, Yosuke-senpai.”
“Wait, but Yukiko-senpai told me all about it!” Rise put her hands on her hips, pouting. “She told me she saw you and Yu-senpai last week, hugging after you confessed your feelings at the riverbank!”
Yosuke tried, but failed, to hide his flushed face. “T-that’s now what that was about!”
“Ah, come off it, guys,” Kanji rubbed the back of his head. “It was obviously private, we should jus’ let ‘em be.”
“No way! If someone on our team is dating someone, especially Yu-senpai, we have to know!” Her dazzling idol smile suddenly turned menacing. “And I always find out the truth.”
Naoto gripped her cap, shifting her gaze upwards. “Maybe Yosuke-senpai was crying because Yu-senpai broke up with him, hence the bruised eye he had the next day…It was a nasty break up, but they didn’t want to break team morale, concluding why they kept it a secret.”
Kanji patted Yosuke’s back sympathetically. “No one takes a break up well, huh Yosuke-senpai?”
Yosuke jolted away from Kanji, frantically waving his arms around. “Wait, WAIT . Please, stop talking for me! I never went out with Yu in the first place! All that stuff was private, but it wasn’t romantic or anything like that!”
Rise tilted her head. “...So you’re not gay?”
“Of course not!” God, can this day get any worse ?
“But… Yu-senpai likes you!” Rise went back to pouting. “It’s so obvious by the way he looks at you and always invites you out to lunch and how you two have cute nicknames for each other!”
Yosuke felt like he could light the whole roof on fire. “We’re just best friends!”
“Not the way I see it…” He heard Kanji muttered, but decided to ignore it.
“Look, the point is,” Yosuke sighed, feeling drained and defeated. “We’re not dating, we never were, and we’re not going to.”
After a moment's pause, Rise sighed heavily. “Fine. Geez, if you two aren’t dating, can you turn the flirting down a notch?” She grabbed her bag with a huff, already heading out the door, Kanji following suit. Naoto stood there for a moment before turning to Yosuke completely.
“Senpai, if you decide to actually date Yu-senpai, might I suggest acting upon it? He only has a couple of months left here… Who knows when will be the next time he comes by?” Naoto’s tone was surprisingly serious, almost startling Yosuke a bit.
“Heh, you almost sound like Dojima-san.”
“Call it detective’s intuition, but,” Naoto smiled, “Yu-senpai seems to be fond of you and you seem to be fond of him. The only reason we came to the conclusion that you two were dating was because we all noticed something there. I notice the way he looks at you and you look at him. I say that you two are a good match for each other, romantic or not.”
Yosuke was a bit taken back. “T-thanks, Naoto-kun.”
She smiled one last time, leaving him alone on the roof. He should be mad, furious even, that the whole team caught him in a vulnerable state and accused him of dating Yu. Yet, all he can think about was the tears that fell that day, the strong grasp Yu had around his waist, and Yu’s entire warmth enveloping him.
===
The walk home was an agonizing one. He nearly bumped into a pole, tripped over an outside cat, and took the wrong turn all because of... him .
This was ridiculous. Of course he didn’t like Yu that way! Yu was his best friend, his partner, a guy! It was only natural they hanged out every day; Yu was a city guy like him and the only guy that actually saw him as Yosuke , and not Junes boy or the king of disappointment. So what if he felt a pang of jealousy whenever Yu hanged out with someone other than him? That just further proves how pathetic and sad Yosuke is on the fact he has no friends. Or no friends like Yu…
No one was like Yu… No one in this town came close to his partner’s kindness, his courage, his intelligence, his weirdness, his total lack of humor, his determination, his good looks…
Wait, good looks? Well, Yu is attractive; anyone can see that. Not that Yosuke’s ever checked him out or anything, just quick glances during his basketball games...and during battle...and during their study sessions, when Yu’s lost in thought, biting on the tip of his eraser, and shuffling the tips of his bangs-
“Are you going to come in, Yosuke?”
Yosuke snapped out of his trance, noticing that he was lingering in front of his house for who knows how long. Teddie was hanging by the door with a worried look on his face.
“S-sorry, I’m completely out if, man,” Yosuke sighed, heading towards his room.
“Hm, what’s wrong?” Teddie asked once Yosuke put his bag down and collapsed on his bed. “Beary bad things happen with your beloved Yu-sensei?”
“We aren’t-” Yosuke sighed, feeling deflated. “You know what, forget it.”
“I’m so jealous you get to date someone as handsome as Sensei!” Teddie sighed dramatically, Yosuke just rolling his eyes in response. “I bet he’s super romantic and cooks for you all the time!”
Yosuke thought back to all the shared lunches they had, how Yu’s eyes would practically sparkle whenever Yosuke would compliment him. “...He does.”
“Oh, I bet his hugs are the warmest and his hands are too!”
The riverbank. “...They are.”
“You get to see all the small, intimate details of Sensei too! I’m beary jealous!”
He didn’t need to date Yu to see all that. They were just that close. The way he brushes his bangs whenever he’s nervous, how he rolled his neck whenever he was stressed, usually after a long battle, his eyes that were just as sharp as his steel sword, the way his lips would lift upward whenever he smiled, his cheeks tinting pink, radiating a warm glow that could only be compared to the sun...
“I bet he kisses really nice too!”
Yosuke launched a pillow at Teddie’s face, effectively shutting him up.
===
“I hope I didn’t miss too much.” Yu pulled out his notebook from his desk, pencil in hand to copy Yosuke’s notes.
“Nah, it was just Kashiwagi going over the test last week.” Yosuke waved his hand. “I say that, but really it was just her rambling on and on about how she lost the pageant, again .”
Yu smiled. “Glad it wasn’t too important.”
Yosuke chuckled, suddenly realizing his isolation with Yu in his room. Just the two of them. Together. Alone.
“H-hey, uh,” Yosuke rubbed the back of his head, Yu looking up from his notes. “Did Dojima...talk to you about anything?”
Yu lifted a brow. “No… I was meaning to ask, but what did you talk about last night?”
Yosuke focused on the figures on Yu’s shelf, feeling the blush heating up his cheeks. “Er, nothing, but, uh, he asked me not to hurt you… In the dating way…”
Yu stood still for a moment. “...He thought we were dating?”
Was it always hot in Yu’s room? “Not just him… Everyone in the team too…”
Silence, then came an awkward cough. “I-I’m sorry.”
Yosuke snorted a laugh. “Dude, what are you sorry for? It’s not your fault!”
Yu had an uneasy smile. “I don’t know, I feel like I should be sorry.”
“Geez, save your sorrys for the rest of the team! You have to apologize on my behalf!”
Yu blinked once. Three more times. “...I’m sorry?”
Yosuke rolled his eyes, finally meeting Yu’s own. “You have to apologize for me to them for lying that we aren’t dating!”
Yu blinked several more times before his face turned a full-fledged pink. “We’re...dating…?”
“Uh, only if you want to!” Yosuke waved his hands apologetically, his face turning an impossibly shade of red. “I just thought, since we’re so close, and… Ah, man, I made this awkward, hu-”
Yosuke was abruptly interrupted by the sudden brush of Yu’s lips against his. He inhaled a sharp breath, stunned. Once the reality set in, his heart was beating rapidly, his face was on fire, and an entire warmth spread throughout his body. He thought he knew all the small details of Yu, all his quirks and smiles, but never imagined how warm and wonderful his lips could be against his.
“I’m sorry…” Yu shakily mumbled against his lips.
Yosuke grinned, lightly chuckling. From Yu’s absurdity or from the complete ecstasy he was in, he didn’t know. “Dude, stop apologizing! Just, uh…”
Yu backed up a bit with a confused expression. “Hm?”
“Just...be there with me when we tell Dojima-san?”