Chapter Text
“Yo! Okuyasu!”
Josuke took a final glance at the door then shrugged, heels clicking on cobbled concrete with each step. His eyes wandered, pity (or was it guilt?) heavy in his eyes as they met now-decrepit statues of beautiful women (“with huge tits!” rang through his mind accompanied by the image of Okuyasu groping the air) and overgrown ivy coating the stonework. Josuke found himself sitting on the lip of a fountain, watching as insects danced across the murky surface. His fingertips danced over each other, and he sighed. He raised an eyebrow, pulling his sleeve up just enough to check the time. He nibbled on the inside of his lower lip before standing and bursting his way through Okuyasu’s front door, sealing it behind him.
His heart raced, pounding through his ears as he raised his arms, cupping the back of his neck with his hands. A deep chill shuddered down his spine at the sound of chains rattling above him, and Josuke finally released the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Get it together,” he groaned to himself before lightly patting his cheeks. He turned, his feet finally following where his body wanted to fall, each step punctuating the tired moans of the floor beneath him. He coughed at the dust looming through the air, disturbed by his spectacular entrance, and he rubbed his eyes before they finally found what he was looking for.
Josuke crouched down, running his fingertips along the scattered keys of a piano so delicately that it seemed like he was scared of breaking it further, even if it was beyond repair. He hummed, watching as Crazy Diamond reached their hand out, pink light delicately emanating from the ruins. Legs snapped back into place with an audible crack, and he stood back as spun steel and copper of vastly different lengths wove through the air, restringing themselves into the heavy frame. Pedals skated around his feet, lodging themselves into the base of the piano. Dozens of forgotten keys found their place once more, soft notes reverberating as the felt hammers realigned with them. Tension long forgotten in the strings sighed as they settled, and the room was still.
He whistled softly, placing his palm against the seemingly freshly polished wood and he smiled. He didn’t know why the piano was there in the first place, exactly, but figured that there was a good reason with how expensive they are. Josuke sat on the long bench, pecking the occasional note before swiping his fingers across the length of the keys. “Gotta see if they work somehow, right,” he reassured himself, haphazardly dragging his fingers along them once more.
The dramatic notes hung in the air, their presence heavy enough to mask the sound of a door opening and careful footsteps finding their way to the parlor. A warm laugh from Josuke followed, tears prickling in the corners of his eyes. He had never seen anything like this before, and his joy dissolved at the thought of what caused the grand piano before him to fall from grace. He lowered the guard over the keys delicately before leaning forward, propping himself up on his elbow and tracing the intricate carvings of the frame with his thumb. “What happened to this place, Okuyasu,” he thought aloud, burying his face in his hands. The floorboards creaked behind him, and Josuke turned, only to be met with the sad eyes of his friend, tears dripping wordlessly down his cheeks. He started to stand, but was waved down by Okuyasu as he joined him on the bench. Josuke frowned, digging into his pocket and pulling out a small package of tissues, which Okuyasu graciously accepted. “I’m sorry, man, if I woulda known you were there—“
“You woulda felt that way anyways,” Okuyasu groaned, tearing the crumpled tissues to shreds in his hands. He furrowed his eyebrows together, pursing his lips before rolling his neck and letting out a frustrated sigh. Josuke sat back, fingering the ends of his sleeves. His eyes followed the subtle shaking of Okuyasu’s hands as they fumbled with the weighted guard hiding the pale keys of the piano. Okuyasu let his hands roam the keys with the delicacy of a feather brushing away dust, and a deep breath shook through his body. “Dad broke it,” he murmured, idly pricking the occasional key. Each note echoed and moaned with the sway of the house, the wind whispering alongside them. The fine hairs on Josuke’s neck stood straight, a shiver loosing down his spine. The bench creaked beneath the two boys while Okuyasu’s fingers began to waltz across the keyboard. He frowned, likely more in frustration than in sadness, and Josuke stifled a laugh as he noticed Okuyasu’s tongue sticking out the slightest bit from in between his lips.
“When m’heart is… unsettled,” Okuyasu mumbled, the chord he struck grasping at Josuke’s heart with the lightest touch, “...tossed about… ...emotions…”
Josuke turned to face his friend, straining to hear the soft murmurs falling from Okuyasu’s lips as he settled into playing. He inhaled deeply through his mouth, chest tight from the melody. He shifted, inching closer to Okuyasu and gripping the edge of the bench.
A soft sigh later, Okuyasu found the words to speak. He hesitated before saying, voice barely audible as if he was talking to someone that was on his shoulder, “...m’fingers go to the… the... the keyboard,” he whispered, fingers tripping over each other and finding stray keys. Okuyasu paused, shook his head just enough to get his bearings, then continued:
“Where my… ...my soul bleeds the pain, to the pain, to the music, ‘n I look for p-peace--”
A guttural wail shook through the empty house as, Josuke noticed, teardrops trailed down Okuyasu’s scarred face. His shoulders heaved with emotion, his playing becoming more frantic, and Josuke shuddered as the harsh notes crashed against his lungs. His eyes burned, angry tears threatening to spill, and Josuke clenched his hands, knuckles white against the dark wood of his seat. He ground his teeth together and narrowed his eyes at the sound of another scream from the top of the stairs. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath which escaped as a hiss as his well-manicured nails dug into the wood. Josuke was angry, angrier than he could remember being.
Josuke could feel the pain resonating through the ragged notes as they bounced around his chest, and he fuckin’ hated that Okuyasu had to deal with whatever it was that his dad did to him, what his brother did. Shit , his brother too. He was supposed to take care of Okuyasu, not make him feel like he was worth less than the dirt on his shoes. He bit his quivering lip to still it and dragged his sleeve across his eyes. His forehead ached, eyebrows still relentlessly tensed with his frustration with the piece of shit upstairs, the shit that made his best friend feel like an idiot his whole life, the shit that couldn’t fuckin’ think of anything else to do when he was pissed off than to take it out on a couple of kids that didn’t know any better. Josuke hated that he had to look at Okuyasu crying when something like this should be good for him, he should be happy because that’s all that Josuke wants for him because he loves him and fuck , he should be okay--
“Josuke?”
He jerked his head to find that he could hardly see Okuyasu’s red-tinged eyes scanning his face, and it was then that Josuke noticed his own bared teeth and choked sobs escaping from between them, tears dripping under his chin and down his neck, staining his yellow shirt. The house was still as Josuke wept, and he fell forward into Okuyasu’s arms. “Why’d he have to do that to you, man,” he cried, repeating that over and over again as his body shook with a deep, repressed sadness for his friend. “Y’were a fuckin’ kid… And your brother , dude… He was fuckin’... god, he was worse! Treated you like shit all the time--”
“Jooooosuke.”
Josuke’s body heaved as he tried to still himself. His breaths were coming through in shallow hiccups, and he felt himself trembling. Warm hands ran over his back, and he felt short puffs of breath against his neck. Slowly, he raised his own arms, embracing Okuyasu as he began to cry.
“Thought I was s’posed to be the only crybaby, bro,” Okuyasu laughed, pulling Josuke against him tightly before letting him go. He looked at Josuke, and a flush crept across his cheeks at the sight of him: his hair was disheveled, wispy strands dusting his forehead. Teardrops clung to his lashes like dewdrops, and his blue eyes peered at him beneath the long lashes. Okuyasu took no notice of this as his gaze followed the dip of Josuke’s cheek, and it was then that he noticed just how pretty he was. Words caught in his throat at the sight of Josuke’s lips, puffy and red, formed into a pout that made his chest ache. He was...confused, to say the least. Has he always known about how pretty his best friend was? His lidded gaze, the way his hands looked just like they would fit perfectly against his--
“Oku? You okay, bro?”
“Yeah, yeah, ‘m fine, thanks, Josuke,” he sighed, the warmth from Josuke’s hand on his back spreading to his cheeks. He turned his gaze back to the keyboard, the air as heavy as his eyes. Okuyasu felt well and truly shy for the first time in a long time.
Josuke smiled, straightening his back and stretching his arms dramatically before letting his hands fall to his lap. He looked at Okuyasu and arched an eyebrow. “Sure you’re okay, man?” he asked, and at the lack of response, he scooted against him, pinching his chin between his fingers and turning Okuyasu to face him. Okuyasu jumped beneath his touch before settling, eyes darting everywhere except for Josuke’s face. Josuke laid his palm across Okuyasu’s forehead, concern heavy in his eyes. “Look like you’re burnin’ up over here… You’re like, sweating, and your face is all red,” he murmured, running his fingers down his cheek. He tilted his head, his teeth finding the inside of his lip. “You can tell me anything, Oku, I promise,” he said, letting his hand rest on Okuyasu’s shoulder.
“I, um,” Okuyasu started before turning towards the piano. He took a deep breath, then began plucking at the keys. He drew his eyebrows together, then exhaled. “I don’t play this real good, Josuke,” he said, propping his chin up with one hand and playing with the other. “Only do it ‘cause of my ma, ya know.”
“What ‘bout that thing you were saying earlier?” Josuke asked, knitting his brows in focus. “Something about, like, lookin’ for peace?”
“Oh,” Okuyasu paused, letting his hands fold across each other in his lap. He closed his eyes, letting his head fall back. “Was somethin’ my ma said t’me. Knew I had a hard time with my feelings or whatever ‘n figured I could, like… I dunno, figured I could talk better with this.”
Josuke let out a soft whistle before reaching out, gingerly cupping his hand around Okuyasu’s side and propping his chin up on Okuyasu’s shoulder and studying the eyes now peering into his own. He smiled, his right hand finding its way around Okuyasu’s waist, and he pulled him into an embrace, burying his face against his cheek. “You’re great , Okuyasuuuu,” he whined, pulling away and grinning. “Can you play how you feel right now?”
“Jooooosuke!” Okuyasu groaned, burying his face in his hands. “I dunno how I feel right now! It’s all… too much?”
“Then,” Josuke started, pulling his hands away from his face, lacing their fingers together as his lips grazed Okuyasu’s ear, “show me how you feel about me, Oku. ”