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*
Josuke remembers their first kiss, although at the time it wasn't even anything.
It was a Saturday morning in Autumn, and Josuke was up much earlier than normal for a weekend. His mother had commented loudly on this fact over breakfast, wondering if it was due to an act of God or a new video game release. The annoyed teen had mumbled something noncommittal though a mouthful of rice and had hardly cleared his plate before he was out the front door.
Now that he was out in full view of the world, he did his damndest to maintain his usual Cool Guy saunter while on his way to – predictably – the game store. But his composure lasted only for a block or so before an eager grin broke out across his face and he pitched forward, quickening his pace to a jog. He recalled all of the badass illustrations he'd seen of the game's main protagonist, and began to picture himself as a hot cop navigating a zombie apocalypse. So cool.
But if, perhaps, he hadn't been so enveloped in evading imaginary bad guys, he may have noticed that the very real sky above him was growing darker. Alas, the siren song of gritty violence had completely preoccupied him, and so by the time the imminent storm became apparent, it was already too late to turn back.
Plink!
At first, he wasn't even sure he had felt it. He snapped back to reality, his smile vanishing, his pace slowing to match that of the gears that were once more beginning to turn in his mind.
Plink! Plink!
This time, one hit his cheek. He reached up to touch his face, instinctively, then stared blankly at the bit of wetness that remained on his fingertips. “Oh, shit – ”
The heavens opened up, bombarding him at once with a thousand tiny bullets.
“Aaaa-aaaah!” he yelped, bolting forward, hands reaching up uselessly in an attempt to shield his hair from the onslaught. Panicked eyes darted around the neighborhood as he sought somewhere to hide. If he didn't find cover quick, his hair was going to melt into a sad, sticky mess, and there was no way he was going to be seen in public after that. And yet, he needed to get to the store! He didn't have time to repeat his daily hair routine! What if the store was sold out of copies by then?! Josuke was certain that he'd never in his life been in a more perilous predicament. What he needed right now was a –
“JOOO-SUKEEE!”
...Lo, a miracle.
The voice cut through the rain and the panic and the boy whirled around to find the source of it. There, at the end of the side street, emerged a shining ray of hope in the form of a teenager wildly flailing his umbrella. Josuke matched this frantic energy, arms breaking from their defensive position around his hair to thrash about overhead. Words failed him.
And then there was a low sound, one that resonated in his guts, and a sudden rush of air that preceded Okuyasu's appearance. They were suddenly stumbling into each other, the umbrella's merciful canopy covering them both.
“Bro!” Okuyasu exclaimed, eyes wide, “What are you doing out here without an umbrella? Your hair, man!” He fretted at the older boy's stray locks for just a moment.
“I know!” Josuke shouted back, not missing a beat, though he grabbed the other boy's shoulder to steady himself in their sudden closeness. “Holy shit. You're always there when things get dicey, bro.” He punched Oku's arm in an act of manly gratitude.
Okuyasu returned the gesture. “Heh heh. Yeah. All in a day's work. But uh, seriously, what are you doing out here? I figured you wouldn't be up for like, another five hours at least.”
Josuke sobered up a bit at the question, his lips forming into a pout as he debated telling Okuyasu the whole truth. His friend only blinked, waiting. Josuke closed his eyes and sighed.
“Alright, listen man, I was going to try to keep this a secret but it's no use now.” He hesitated, building suspense, and Okuyasu continued to stare. Josuke cracked an eye open to make sure that he was paying attention. “I was actually on my way to pick up your birthday present.”
Okuyasu's wide-eyed stare still didn't falter, although now he tipped his head to the side and mulled it over for a moment before replying, “Uhh, my birthday isn't for a few weeks still, dude.”
“Well yeah, I know that, dumbass.” Josuke put a hand on his hip. “I was gonna play it for a bit before I gave it to you. You're gonna need to use my console to play it anyway.”
Oku blinked again. And once more. Josuke could see the math working itself out in his friend's mind. “So you're getting me... a video game?”
“Yeah, bro.”
“Today?”
“YEAH, bro.”
A beat, and then, “JOSUKE!” he exclaimed, leaning in even closer. Vacuous confusion was replaced by excitement and disbelief as the significance of today's date – promoted for months in adverts that the two boys had pored over together – fully dawned on him. Tears welled up in his eyes. His lips trembled, trying to formulate a coherent response, but all he came up with was, “ZOMBIES!”
Josuke chuckled, delighting as always in his best friend's unbridled enthusiasm. “ZOMBIES, OKU!”
“WE'RE GONNA KILL SOME ZOMBIES!”
“FUCK YEAH!”
The two immediately dissolved into gleeful laughter and whatever dancing could be contained within the umbrella's protection. Josuke beamed, taking in the sight of his buddy utterly blissed out over the idea of low-poly violence, and he was suddenly overwhelmed with that contagious joy. Electricity shot through him in that moment and he put both hands on Okuyasu's cheeks, closing the distance between them 'til their foreheads bumped together.
“Josuke, man, you're the best,” Oku said, struggling to hold back the tears.
“Happy birthday, dude!” exclaimed the other, and then suddenly, instinctively, he pressed a kiss to his friend's lips.
Another jolt of electricity, fingers and toes tingling. Looking back on it, Josuke would be reminded of Jotaro's Stand; the way everything in that moment had halted, even the rain, preserving the moment in his mind like a photograph, and yet when all was said and done only a second or two had passed.
When the moment was fully over Okuyasu had just laughed, as though kissing his best friend on the mouth was the most natural thing in the world. “Stop screwing around Josuke, we gotta get to the store before it sells out!”
“Right!” agreed the other, and the two went on their way.
**
Josuke remembers the first time his dumb ass acknowledged his own feelings.
It was a few years after the kiss, and in that time there had been plenty of small moments that Josuke wouldn't have shared with any other friend, perhaps not even with any of the short-lived quote-unquote romantic partners he'd had in high school.
Moments like... getting close and comfortable on the couch during movie nights. Long embraces to celebrate each other's wins. Eyes dried on t-shirts when someone's burden got too heavy to carry alone.
In all this time and after all these moments, Josuke had conceded to many curious onlookers that their bond was special, unbreakable. Of course it was. Okuyasu was his best bro. He never understood why so many people asked about their friendship, like there was some treasured secret of the universe that they were hiding.
“People are just jealous, man,” Oku had said once at lunch, waving a dismissive hand. “Honestly, I feel sorry for them. They don't know what true friendship is. Anyway,” he finally swallowed the mouthful of food that he'd been barking through, “are you coming to my game tonight or what?”
“Wouldn't miss it for the world, Okuyasu,” Josuke replied with a wink.
Yes, all of that, and still, the truth didn't even begin to sink in until the summer of 2003.
Okuyasu had easily convinced Josuke to go on a roadtrip with him on the threadbare premise of “looking at universities,” in giant air-quotes, of course. Josuke wasn't sure his friend would even apply to school, let alone actually attend, but he wasn't going to miss out on several weeks of new food and the open road with his best bud. Not after all the stress and lukewarm heartbreak he'd endured during the past semester of his own academic endeavors...
“... I gotta admit, man, you're not exactly sellin' me on the idea of university,” Okuyasu finished.
Josuke chuckled and looked over at his friend in the driver's seat. The late evening sun played nicely on his skin, bronzed from long days spent outdoors doing odd jobs around Morioh. His elbow was propped up on the open window, idly letting the wind play through his fingers the same way it did in the waves of his top-knot and in the thin fabric of his tank top. Josuke smiled but was silent, turning now to look out his own window. The sun was working its magic here too, turning the coastal woodlands into gold. The silence in the car passed easily, comfortably, until finally Okuyasu let out a yawn and nodded towards an upcoming road sign. “Wanna get off here for the night?”
“Works for me.” Josuke slouched back into his seat, getting comfy. “I'm starving. Grab something to eat and then find a place to crash?” Okuyasu nodded sagely. “Oh, but find somewhere with cable. After all that walking today I just wanna watch some shitty B-movies until I pass out.”
“Obviously,” Okuyasu replied.
And so it came to pass.
And it was that night, in the stale-smelling and sparsely decorated room in the cheapest lodging they could find, that Josuke had an epiphany.
He awoke abruptly in the middle of the night, eyes bleary, apparently roused by the music of some cheaply-produced infomercial that had come on after the monster movie marathon had wrapped up.
“Hmmmmn,” Josuke grumbled, a bit too loud, waiting to see if Okuyasu responded. Nothing at first, and then, a soft snore. Ah. Okay. So Josuke would have to be the one to get up and turn off the TV.
However, as his mind started to process the concept of moving, he slowly became aware of a slight weight that was holding him down. It was Okuyasu's arm, curled loosely around him, hand resting on his chest. And something about this felt... different, to Josuke. He pondered over the situation.
It wasn't weird that they were sharing a bed. It never had been. Well... maybe the first time, a little, but that time Oku had dismissed Josuke's hesitation with a, “Oh, quit bein' stupid.” And so Josuke had quit it, and then it had never been weird again.
And this... this wasn't weird, either. It still felt right, somehow, and just as effortless as all those times Oku had rested his head on Josuke's lap while they studied or watched TV or whatever, or when Josuke's shoulder had become a pillow during long boring ceremonies.
No, this wasn't weird, but this was... different, new, somehow more intimate than even they were accustomed to.
There was a strange flush in Josuke's face and that tingling he'd felt years ago returned, the same one that occasionally accompanied the first physical contact between himself and a cute guy or girl on campus.
But... this was... Okuyasu? This wasn't some hot guy from his Bio class –
… although sure, Oku was a handsome guy. But Josuke wasn't attracted to –
… okay, to be fair, Okuyasu was also definitely his type. But Josuke wasn't smitten with –
… well, he did love being around the guy, and felt that most situations would be improved with his presence. But...
But what? The question buzzed in Josuke's mind. What, exactly, made his feelings for Okuyasu different from any other romance he'd pursued? Any difference he could think of only made this relationship feel more significant, more essential, more robust. What was he missing, here? And how the hell had he missed it for so long?
He redirected his attention to Oku's arm. The embrace felt safe, like it always had. But this new line of questioning in him had him in the mood to experiment, to test these newfound waters of maybe-crushing-on-his-best-friend. He nudged an elbow into Oku's ribs, just enough force to jostle him awake. Then Josuke closed his eyes, and waited.
“Hnn? Wha?” Oku groaned, lifting his head from the pillow. He stared at the TV with half-lidded eyes for a moment, then glanced down to see his supposedly-sleeping best friend. There was a pause, in which Josuke assumed the other would realize the error of his ways and sheepishly roll over to his other side.
Instead, Oku let out a small huff and settled back down, pulling Josuke in even closer to be his little spoon. Josuke's lips parted in shock but he held back the gasp, continuing to feign sleep until he heard the telltale snore once again. Then, emboldened by his friend's reaction, Josuke wiggled his own hips backwards into Oku's, his body now filled with fireworks and an entirely new feeling that curled gently below his stomach.
In the morning, there was no reckoning. Okyuasu patted Josuke's hip, stood from the bed, stretched, and then asked what he wanted to do for breakfast.
The late night epiphany stayed in that bed as they left on the next leg of their adventure.
***
Josuke remembers the first night in their apartment.
The decision to become room mates had been a no-brainer. With the Speedwagon Foundation taking over care of his father and their “pet,” Okuyasu had no need for a big, old, empty house that carried nothing but painful memories. And Tomoko was 1,000% done with Josuke being in the house, even if it was just during his breaks from school. So the two of them had found a decent enough place mid-way between their respective responsibilities, signed some papers, and now they had their own Real Life Adult Home.
The first day had been rough, as all moving days are, and in the end all they had to show for it was a bare mattress on the floor and a tiny TV precariously balanced on one of the many towers of unopened boxes.
So when they finally decided to call it a day, they sank onto the aforementioned mattress with a couple of beers in hand, and turned on the first sitcom they could find. They watched with rapt attention, their bodies sore and hair disheveled, both of them dressed in shorts and hoodies, and Josuke couldn't help but notice how nice this felt.
Oku's arm was around Josuke's shoulders, his beer pressing condensation into Josuke's entirely too expensive hoodie. Normally, Josuke might have pushed the bottle away with an indignant sniff, but on this night the damp spot on his clothes only served to remind him of that day when the two of them had kissed. The electricity that had sparked between them, and how it had gone unmentioned, tucked away in the crevices between fist bumps and high fives and half-conscious spooning.
He glanced up at Okuyasu's face, peering shyly through his long lashes.
“Oh, come on,” Oku snapped at the TV, rolling his eyes. “He's such an idiot. I've never been so mad at a fictional character before.” Josuke didn't take the bait, and eventually the silence made Okuyasu look down, his disgruntled expression softening when he saw the hazy look in Josuke's eyes. He quirked a brow, questioning.
“...hey,” Josuke said quietly, the word shaking a bit as it left him.
“Hey,” replied Oku, uncertain.
Josuke bit his bottom lip, and he watched as Okuyasu's eyes followed the movement and lingered there. Oh, fuck. The heat rose up in his body again and he turned around to properly face the other. “Okuyasu?”
“W-what's up, Josuke?”
As was often the case between them, spoken words wouldn't be sufficient here. Josuke placed a hand on Okuyasu's neck and pulled him in closer. He went slowly, leaving opportunity for the other to escape. But, perhaps to both of their surprise, there was no resistance. Okuyasu submitted to Josuke's will and eased into a soft, lingering kiss.
“Mmh,” Josuke gasped when their lips made proper contact, somewhat in disbelief. He felt Oku's mouth twitch into a little smirk, and oh, that just made his insides melt even more.
He leaned back onto the bed then, Okuyasu still following his lead, and their beer bottles clattered, forgotten, to the floor. Oku adjusted himself to be properly on top of his friend, and yeah, Josuke knew this was for the sake of comfort, but he thought perhaps he detected a hint of dominance in the action too, and that only added to the fire.
Evidently Oku felt the same, letting a soft moan escape into the kiss. He reached one hand up to tangle his fingers with Josuke's, while the other got lost in fistfuls of dark, conditioned hair. A younger version of Josuke may have objected to this, but at this point he was atoning for five years of not making out with Okuyasu, and besides, he kind of enjoyed the pinpricks of pain that blossomed along his scalp, turning into goose-bumps down the back of his neck.
At last they broke away from each other to catch their breath in heavy gulps, though Oku nipped eagerly at his friend's full bottom lip, indicating that this was far from over. Josuke cracked opened his eyes to take in the sight of his best bro gazing down at him with an intensity that he'd never seen before.
Josuke laughed, nervous, unsure of himself. “What... What are we doing?” he breathed.
Okuyasu leaned in again, kissing at Josuke's neck, sucking a little, teasing his teeth gently against the skin. He shrugged. “Whatever the fuck we want.”