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If you asked the people of Inaba to describe Yu Narukami in one word, mature would most definitely be one of them. He was calm, collected, and pragmatic, so he's definitely a mature guy,right? This wasn't wrong per see, Yu was all of these things and more. He did have one glaring area of immaturity, but people had never seemed to notice. While Yu was great with dealing with the emotions of others, he struggled greatly with his own feelings .His constant moving and absentee parents meant he had only experienced superficial bonds for most of his life, and he rarely experienced strong feelings about other people. In Inaba, he finally had the chance to properly bond with people, and that's where the trouble started.
He first noticed it while they were working through Kanji's dungeon. It started as an odd feeling whenever Yosuke made a snide remark at Kanji's expense, a slight pang of negative feelings. Yu dismissed it as being slightly hurt by the barbs, as he was aware of his own lack of attraction concerning women.As the year progressed he started feeling the pangs whenever Yosuke talked about girls, and got this warm fluttery feeling whenever Yosuke called him special. Once November came, he was too busy to give this any real though, and after what seemed like some mix of a week and an eternity, they caught the killer. Yu suddenly had a lot more time to reflect on this strange reaction. He had been relaxing by the river bed when it had hit him; isn't this how people describe a crush?
Crush didn't feel wrong, but it didn't feel like the best word to explain the situation. Weren't crushes supposed to be temporary, because he had been feeling this way for months. The more he thought on it, the more crush felt like an understatement. It was far too subtle, and rooted too deep to be described with a word that casual. It was like an infatuation that seemed to strengthen with time, like the embers of a burnt out blaze smoldering after the initial heat. A word came to mind…... something he never thought he would experience so strongly…..Love
He loved Yosuke. He was in love with his best friend. None of Yu's schooling had prepared him with how to handle this revelation, for falling slowly and subtly, and then all at once. He wasn't used to feeling something this intense, but to feel this way about another person was entirely forigen to him. His heart swimming with emotions, and the subtle humming of his personas matched his sea of thoughts, trying to figure out the best way to handle these new feelings, he decided to head home and figure out what to do after sleeping on his his newfound discovery.
Yu decided that if he didn't understand the feelings, and he couldn't keep them controlled, his best option was to pretend they didn't exist. He wasn't denying his feelings, he was just being smart about dealing with them. Or at least that's what he kept telling himself when he felt his personas stirring, muttering irately over the course of the week. He did his best to act normal, but if you were looking closely, you would see him distance himself just a little. Yu was fantastic at keeping his feelings in check, but some of his team didn't buy it.
Rise approached him first, asking if he was feeling alright. Yu brushed it off, saying that he was just adjusting to the extra free time. Naoto sent him a few worried looks when the team met in the food court, but a smile sent their way seemed to placate some of their worries. He almost had them convinced when he suddenly felt it. The muttering rose to a fever pitch, before each and every one of his personas fell silent. He could feel them start to slip away, as what had just happened dawned on him. He felt the blood drain out of his face, and ignoring his friends concerned looks, sprinted to the electronics section.
Yu fell into the TV, and after making his way to the copy of the shopping district, he saw a new path, leading straight to the floodplain had appeared. He walked along, before he noticed a doorway glowing bright against the dull rocks in the riverbed .Entering it he found himself in what looked like some kind of dressing room. When he tried the door it refused to budge, and trapping him inside the room.
Be patient, we can't have a show without our audience. Sit tight, I'll tell you when it's your cue.
~~~~~
Yosuke was kicking himself for not noticing that Yu wasn't okay sooner. He had been distracted by finally coming to terms with how he felt about his partner, so he hadn't been super focused at the time. After Yu bolted, Yosuke was the first to follow, and saw the screen of the usual tv ripple slightly, as if someone had just gone through it. It was weird to go through the tv without Yu, and after looking around he could tell the others felt the same. As soon as they landed Teddie and Rise got to work in trying to find any traces Yu left behind. The directions had barely left Rise's mouth before Yosuke took off, Investigation team in hot pursuit.
After he ran down the familiar path to the flood plain, he began to hear a voice.
Our special guests are almost here, then this show can REALLY get started.
The entire group stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of the portal. After a few moments of preparation, they dove in, determined to save their friend.
Yosuke was not expecting to wind up in some sort of studio, full of personal dressing rooms for each of them. Yukiko tried to open the door closest to her, but the voice called out again.
All of the rooms have been custom tailored for each of you, so wait in your room until we're ready for you.
After several seconds of contemplation, Naoto opened their door, and the others followed suit.
Yosuke brushed aside the curtain covering the back of his room to discover what looked like the set of a daytime talk show. He walked out onto the stage and sat down in the chair marked with his name. There was a puff of smoke, and then He appeared. It was Yu, but he looked older, his usual glasses replaced with a wire rimmed pair, and he was wearing a button down under a dark blue sweater. His soft smile was off-putting, thanks to those glowing yellow eyes. Yosuke gulped, he was looking at what he thought couldn't exist, Yu's shadow.
Don't be afraid Yosuke, I'm not here to hurt you.
"Bullshit, tell me where Yu is. Now".
He's perfectly safe, and he's watching us right now.
Yosuke looked up and saw his partner, sitting in the front row of the audience, screaming, but no sound came out.
I'll let him talk in a few minutes, I just can't have him cutting me off while I explain the situation.
"How is he supposed to accept you then?"
That comes later, but first tell me how you think Yu feels about you?
"Uhhh... we're partners so I hope he trusts me, and he thinks of me as his equal, he told me that I was his best friend….what are you playing at here?"
Good, and what if we were to tell you that you don't know the half of it?
"What do you mean?"
Let's just say, we don't think of you as a friend anymore.
"Wait,what? What did I do wrong, and why didn't he tell me!"
What we meant by our earlier remark, is the word "friend" is an understatement.
Yosuke sat there for a while before he fully processed that statement.
"Duh, friend isn't strong enough, that's why I call him partner".
My god you are dense, we want to be a different kind of partners.
"When you say it like that it makes it sound like he wants to date me or something".
That was intentional
"Wait, are you saying he likes me romantically? That's ridiculous, why would someone like Yu want to date someone like me?"
Because we think you're one of the most beautiful people we've ever met. Because you're the most important person in the world to us. Because you love so unconditionally, that we were pulled in by your warmth and couldn't escape even if we wanted to. Why would we date you? Because we're head over heels in love with you.
Yosuke gaped open mouthed for what felt like an eternity, and he felt his face burn. Even in his daydreams he would never admit to having, had he imagined Yu loving him like this. He knew from experience how shadows could twist words, so it meant nothing to him until he heard it from Yu himself, not his denial running rampant.
"So, is that what partner was denying?"
Not entirely. It's more so us denying that we needed to express our feelings.
"I'm….not sure I follow?"
We were denying having strong feelings because we were scared. Scared that we couldn't control our emotions for once, scared that we didn't know how you would react, and scared to be open with our feelings after playing the stoic for so long.
"Is that it?"
Yes, consider the status lifted.
"Wait! Um….can I say something first?"
Alright
"Partner, it's fine that you're scared. Everybody gets scared when they feel like they aren't in control. Talking about personal stuff is terrifying, but you were the one that told me partners would never judge each other's feelings, and I really needed to hear that. So take your own advice, you idiot!"
We are rather slow when it comes to matters of the heart. What do we think?
Yosuke watched Yu stare at the floor, and almost didn't realize he was talking, as he was whispering, voice sounding like it was about to shatter.
"I'm hopelessly in love with my best friend, and I was too scared to deal with how I felt to tell him. Some brave leader I am."
Seeing his partner like that broke Yosuke's heart and he felt himself walk across the stage and approach Yu.
"I'm not much better partner, I was afraid to tell you how I felt, was worried that you would never feel the same way.
Yu looked up weakly, tears beginning to fall.
"I love you Yosuke. Will you be my partner in the gay way?"
Yosuke rolled his eyes.
"Of course I will, can't have anybody else call you partner, can I?"
Yu looked like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
"I'm ready. You're me and I'm you".
The two boys watched as the shadow faded away, and stood there, hands intertwined, until there was a flash of light.
~~~~~
Yu stood back in the floodplain, hand in hand with Yosuke, and with the rest of his friends overjoyed to see he was alright. Chie saw them holding hands and made a joke about Yosuke being in the closet before giving both of them hugs. Naoto wished them well, as Rise and Teddie knocked the two to the ground. Kanji helped the two boys up, and offered a sheepish congratulations, while Yukiko clapped and giggled about having known they liked each other. The group fell into easy banter as they headed back to the exit, and Yu was happy. Perhaps, talking about his feelings wasn't all that bad.