Work Text:
Nanako appears deep in thought before glancing over to Yosuke, and finally to me. With her brows still furrowed as though trying to recall something, she finally pipes up.
"Big bro?"
"Hm?" I reply, looking over to my partner for the briefest of moments before refocusing my attention onto my cousin. Yosuke hasn't been paying attention for the past few minutes, busy looking over his phone, but that's not entirely out of the ordinary -- Teddie is either making a fool out of himself as always, or he's just catching up on a few current events real fast.
That's about when a look of epiphany shows itself on Nanako's face. Without any further hesitation, she asks her question.
"Is what you and Yosuke-nii have together considered a 'shocking love'?"
To say I'm dumbfounded is an understatement. Where did she hear such an odd phrase...? I blink as I try to piece together a response, but Yosuke's already beaten me to the punch.
"Wh-what kind of question is that, Nanako-chan?! We're just partners," he attempts to reassure, but Nanako's not buying it and so he looks to me for help. She's smart as a whip, even without Yosuke's floundering about in a vain attempt to hide how flustered he really is. Sighing, I suppose it's up to me to finally answer.
"Before I can answer that, Nanako... could you tell me where you heard such a saying?"
"Umm... it was back when you and the others were performing with Rise-chan and Big Sis Kanamin during the Love Meets Bonds festival. Kanamin's dance instructor talked about it a little. He was really nice!"
"I... I see." ...Actually, I didn't, but I had a hunch there was more she wanted to say.
"He talked about how I'd one day experience such a love, and I said that sounded like it hurt... but then he said some stuff about how pain makes life sweeter if you get past it. So I thought... you and Yosuke-nii have been through some hard times. But you're happy together."
I can't help but allow a soft smile to show, nor can I help the gentle chuckle that follows after it. Yosuke seems to have calmed down a bit as well, but his relieved laughter has hints of nervousness present. Leave it to my partner to worry about the most ridiculous stuff...
"You could definitely say that--"
"W-wait, what's that supposed to mean?!" Huh. That was almost record timing for him to interrupt me like that. Nanako looks between the two of us, her expression softening into something more downcast. I have to fix this.
"Calm down," I begin, and thankfully he obliges with my request, although I can see on his face that it's reluctant. "There's no use in hiding it from her. Nanako has always been very perceptive." I give her a soft smile, and she returns the gesture in kind. "Besides, we both pledged to be more honest with ourselves. You're right; you could describe it that way. But it's a little more than that."
"Dude, c'mon... uuughh. Fine... I really like Yu, and he really likes me. So... we've been seeing each other, I guess." ...heh, I'll never get over his embarrassed, blushing face. "D-don't just look at me like that after making me say those kinds of things, geeze...!" Nanako and I both share a laugh as Yosuke playfully punches at my shoulder, and after a few more exchanges of questions and answers between the three of us, the conversation dissolves naturally into a comfortable silence occasionally punctuated by idle commentary.
I think it's safe to say that today's been pretty good.