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“Hey, uuuh,” Kuwabara says, and it’s already an awkward start because he honestly doesn’t want to know. But he’s asking anyways, because Kuwabara is a good friend. “What’s going on between you and Kurama?”
Yusuke scowls down into the ramen bowl he’s assembling for the salary man sitting beside Kuwabara. If ramen could, it would shrink away shaking. As it is, the salary man just hunches his shoulders and says an overly polite thank you when Yusuke hands it to him, loudly slurping it down while making himself as small as possible.
“C’mon, man,” Kuwabara says, leaning over the bar. “What’s up?”
“Mind your own business,” Yusuke grumbles, turning his back.
“Urameshi.”
“Fuck off.”
“What, you scared of talking about your feeeeelings?”
“No, now shut up.”
“Pussy.” Kuwabara ducks the ladle thrown at his head. The salary man swallows down the rest of his (still steaming) bowl and leaves too much cash on the table.
“Oi, you left too much!” Yusuke calls after him, but the guy is already out the door. “Dammit,” he huffs.
Kuwabara watches, slurping at his own noodles and trying not to laugh because Yusuke counts the money three times before he’s satisfied he’s got the sums right and slipping the extra money into a donation box.
“Nothing’s going on,” Yusuke finally says. “So drop it.”
“Doesn’t look like nothing.”
Because it looks like a lot of complicated crap going on from Kuwabara’s point of view. One day, Yusuke’s sleeping at Kurama’s place three nights out of the week, picking Kurama up from his college on his motorcycle, asking Kurama around to make sure the potted plant next to the register is doing well. And the next, well…
The plant that’s usually green and blooming (even out of season) is looking rather withered. Yusuke won’t even look at it.
“I said drop it.”
“Alright man, whatever you say.” Kuwabara sighs and stands. “I’m out of here then.”
Yusuke just grunts and doesn’t look up from where he’s chopping more vegetables. Stepping out into the cool November air, Kuwabara shrugs on his coat and turns for home. And stops up short.
Kurama doesn’t look… quite right, standing just out of eyesight under the awning of a closed coffee shop, his arms crossed over his chest and leaning against the brick. Kuwabara had no idea he was there, so he must be taking great pains to mask himself.
“Kazuma,” Kurama says quietly in greeting as Kuwabara approaches.
“Kurama,” he greets back, just as quiet. Kurama gives him a tight smile. “So, you went for stalking instead of something more productive.”
Kurama’s brow twitches, and Kuwabara would be scared for his life if he wasn’t absolutely sure that Kurama likes him. As it is, Kurama’s eyes cut to the side guiltily.
“Seriously, you two are driving me nuts. I’ve seen Hiei more this week than I have, like, ever, since I’ve known the guy.”
And that’s the truth, because Hiei’s been sitting on Kuwabara’s window sill since Monday, steadily reading his way through Shizuru’s collection of horror novels.
“If Yusuke pissed you off, you should just tell him why, because he’s an idiot and won’t get it if you don’t—”
“Yusuke kissed me.”
Kuwabara pauses. “Okay…” he says slowly, trying to catch up. “And?”
Kurama’s glare is enough to make Kuwabara shrink to the size of an amoeba. “And he shouldn’t have.”
Kuwabara is really trying to figure out where this conversation very suddenly went. “Dude… I’m really confused. Why shouldn’t he have? Haven’t you two been dating for like years now?” As awful as Kurama’s glare is, the dumbfounded expression on his face now is somehow worse. Kuwabara backtracks quickly. “Sorry, I know you’re really private about that stuff, but it was hard not to notice.”
“Kazuma-kun…”
“He didn’t tell me or anything, so don’t turn him into fertilizer. I swear, he’s been just as quiet about it. I mean he talks about how pretty you are and how cool you are all the time, but he doesn’t—”
“Kazuma!” Kurama says, and Kuwabara shuts up. Kurama’s staring at him, green eyes wide, and Kuwabara prides himself on being a sensitive guy. Because no matter how cold and calm Kurama likes to think he is, Kuwabara can see all the desperate hope and fear in his eyes. “What…”
“Oh,” Kuwabara says, because he’s just suddenly caught up. “You guys are idiots.”
Kurama doesn’t even look offended, because it seems like he’s caught up too, by the way his attention has zeroed in on the doorway to Yusuke’s ramen shop. Shaking his head, Kuwabara pats Kurama on the shoulder and heads for home. At the corner he turns, just in time to see a flash of red hair disappearing into through the doorway, the blue curtain flapping in the wind for a moment, before hanging still.
The next time Kuwabara comes around, the potted plant is blooming with roses, despite not being a rose bush the last time Kuwabara was here.
(Hiei is still haunting Kuwabara’s window sill, and scowling even more about it.)