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It felt right, perfect. Like sinking into water and finding it matching your body temperature perfectly, cradled in comfort you’d never known.
Yosuke had never felt so… well, not perfect. Because he wasn’t perfect (and he never would be), but he felt like that was okay for once, like his imperfectness just made him easier to love. Easier to care for. That every bit of him, every single flaw, was perfect for Yu.
He felt at home just in his presence, like his entire being yearned to be right here, like he was made to be right by Yu’s side. Their insecurities and issues cradled each others and lifted them up, filled in all the broken and jagged cracks so perfectly it was like nothing else mattered.
They couldn’t fix each other, but together it felt like fixing themselves just came naturally. That being a better person was just easy in each other’s company.
He thought ‘ this is what best friends are like’ for the longest time. That this was what true close friendship was.
But even as he shoved it down, he knew it was more. He knew the pull he felt when they were away, the ache he felt when he missed him, were things that friends felt. But the degree he felt them, the all encompassing way it took over his mind and being… That wasn’t friendship.
He was in love with Yu and (slowly he came to realize) Yu was in love with him. Their lives were meant to be intertwined, their souls meant to be connected. They were made for this, and Yosuke was sure of it. He couldn’t explain it any other way, couldn’t explain the ease with which the fell into love. Even through the hardships and the (inevitable) disagreements that all romantic partners had, it felt like loving Yu was the easiest thing he’d done in his life.
He didn’t know how to word any of it.
Yosuke got choked up and light headed when he even thought of saying it to Yu, so he was stuck to showing it in actions, in looks, in the little things.
He knew there was a word for it, something that people called it. But it was a cliche now, a thing people claimed constantly with no meaning behind it. He couldn’t call Yu that, not when it didn’t encompass the whole of his feelings.
So he stuck as much feeling as he could into every “partner” , every uttering of his given name, every held hand and kiss.
Soulmates didn’t cover all of what they were, so Yosuke was going to make sure that
partner
did.