Chapter Text
Okuyasu stared up at the ceiling from his mat. Josuke was less than a meter away. The lights were off, the crickets sang, and a soft warm light spilled through the curtains from the street lamps outside. Okuyasu had one thing on his mind.
Neither of us said 'no homo,' he thought. Am I gay?
He turned his head to were his friend lay. His soft lips were parted and he was sprawled across his own mat, but Okuyasu still had to try.
"Oi, Josuke," he whispered. The other boy didn't respond. "Josuke!" He tried again. A long snore erupted from Josuke's mouth as a response.
"Oh. Uhm. No homo. About the kissing. I don't know if it counts since you're asleep, but I thought I should say it anyway."
The words hung in the air, and Okuyasu watched Josuke for a while longer before rolling over and trying to sleep.
Somehow, the 'no homo' felt empty, and it didn't give him the closure he thought it would. His mind ran about for most of the night before sleep finally dragged him under.
It had been a week. Okuyasu and Josuke were fine, everything was great. Except, maybe it wasn't. Josuke hadn't said no homo, and Okuyasu hadn't since that night he did. They didn't mention it, either, but it was constantly occupying Okuyasu's mind.
"Ahhh, I failed that test in Math," Josuke sighed as he held the paper over his lunch, interrupting Okuyasu's thoughts.
"Ah...I could ask Yukako to help you study," Koichi offered. Josuke's face paled.
"Ha, no, that's fine, really," he said, waving his hand. He frowned at his paper. "Maybe we can study together?"
"I have so much to do, though," Koichi whined. "I can't join y'all. Yukako and I already have plans. We're going to the theatre."
"What? Why didn't you invite us?" Okuyasu butted in, glaring and crossing his arms.
Koichi scratched the back of his head and furtively looked away. "Well, it was more of a date thing."
"Koichiiii," Josuke interjected, "you never take us on dates!"
"It really hurts, bro," Okuyasu agreed.
Koichi huffed and rolled his eyes. "Well, I can't invite you guys everywhere! Me and Yukako need time to ourselves, you know?"
"Huh?" The other two said, leaning in, eyes wide and mouths hanging open.
Josuke's lips curled into an sly smirk as he reached forward to scrub at the smaller boy's hair, "Koichi, you dog!"
His face turned red and pulled away, embarrassed. "It's not like that, you pervert!"
Okuyasu and Josuke leaned on each other, snickering as Koichi turned redder in his shame.
"Y'all are terrible," he grumbled.
Their juvenile giggling tapered away after a bit, and they continued their meal in amicable, mindless chatter.
Okuyasu was fine for a while, but he beginning to become aware of how achingly close Josuke was. Was it normal for two bros to sit so close that their knees touched? Was it normal to want to be closer?
Okuyasu hated answers with no obvious answers. There was nothing he could do to answer it, either. If he said something, Josuke might pull away. Koichi would know, right? So he would have to wait until he was alone. But what if Koichi would tell Josuke? Ah, decisions were never Okuyasu's strong suit.
"Oku, are you alright? You have a really scary expression, right now," Josuke said, cutting through his internal monologue.
"Ah, I'm trying to think."
"Oh, I could help," Josuke said, leaning in closer in the way he did. Okuyasu scoffed and looked away, feeling heat rise to his cheeks.
"Ah, well."
"That won't do any good. You two have a whole brain cell between each other," Koichi lamented.
"Eh? Koichi, you're really mean sometimes," Okuyasu whined loudly.
"There's no need to be so rude," Josuke pouted, crossing his arms. "We share at least four, when you're around."
Okuyasu grimaced. "That's way too many."
"Whatever. My point is, you might not be able to help Okuyasu."
"Then why don't you help, too?"
"Yeah, that's what I'm offering."
"Oh."
"Er, guys, I like that y'all want to help, but it's personal," Okuyasu muttered, looking away.
Immediately, the two had their eyes on him, Josuke grinning too wide and Koichi looking very concerned.
"Oi, Josuke, why are you looking at me like that-"
"You have a crush!" The boy shouted, grin stretching further as Okuyasu's face grew bright.
"O-oi! I didn't say that!"
"It's okay if you do," Koichi said, "do you need help asking her out?"
"W-well, it's not like that's the case. I'm just... Well. I was wondering about some things. I'm going to ask Rohan-sensei, though."
"Rohan?!" The other two wheezed in surprise.
"Yeah," Okuyasu said, standing and gathering his lunch, "I think he's the best one to ask about this."
Josuke and Koichi watched as he left them sitting there, their eyes wide.
"Woah. Koichi, I think something's up with Okuyasu."
"Yeah. There's not much Rohan would help out with, so why does he think he will?"
The two were quiet for a long, pensive moment until Josuke gasped and lifted his head.
"What if he wants to become a mangaka?"
Koichi frowned. "I don't think that's it Josuke..."
"Really? I'm certain that it is."
They were quiet again and Josuke propped his chin up on his hand. Rohan wasn't a kind man, so if Oku was going to ask him a question, it must be important.
Why wouldn't he trust his best friends with a question so important?