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“I do not believe it!” an outraged Yusuke entered LeBlanc, disturbing Ryuji’s alone time with his hot and bitter cup of coffee. He should really stop ordering this. He requested the same drink every time he was in the cafe, in hopes of liking it more after a few tries. Sojiro’s legendary coffee wasn’t for him, it seemed.
He turned towards the man now standing behind him, who was pulling the stool on the bar beside him in seconds, sat down and buried his head inside the deep space inside his arms.
“Whoa whoa whoa, ‘suke, what the hell? What happened?”
“My artistic career is over!” he gestured with his hands dramatically, and Ryuji felt like he was watching his friend perform. He wasn’t, though, as Yusuke tended to take any kind of mishap to heart.
“Now that’s kinda hard to believe. Your artistic carreer? Over? Is that even possible…you’re like the best artist I know man.” he said with a tone of honesty in his voice. He couldn’t risk his friend to misunderstand his intentions.
“Do you know a lot of artists, kid?” a mocking voice sounded from the kitchen.
“Shut u-” Ryuji cut himself, realizing who he was talking to. “No, not really, Sojiro-san.” Goddammit. He was used to Akira throwing waves of ironic sentences from the other side of the bar.
Sojiro’s laugh echoed as he processed Ryuji’s mistake. Ryuji would have probably stormed out of the cafe right then and there, if it wasn’t for the desperate man moaning words of sorrow next to him.
He shook his head and decided to apologize to Sojiro later.
“Tell me what happened, ‘suke.”
“Where do I even begin…”
“From the beginning, duh.” Ryuji put his face on his palms, elbows resting on the bench. He was in a comfortable proximity to Yusuke, and he smiled at himself slightly.
“Alright.” he sighed. “My art teacher assigned me a model for a big project I’ve been preparing for a long time…we had arranged a meeting for today, but he contacted me only an hour ago to inform me that he can’t model for me after all. Oh, what have I done to deserve this torment?” he raised his hands in the air, as if speaking to someone invisible. The only entity that could be listening to Yusuke’s pleas would probably be Futaba, Ryuji thought.
“Can’t you just get another person to model for you?” Ryuji asked, as if it was obvious.
“But he was the right person for what I had in mind! Where else am I going to be able to find someone with hair as blindingly bright, unusual eyebrows and a rebellious spirit such as his?”
Ryuji felt like he was just slapped in the face. He was frozen in place, his head suddenly too heavy for his hands to carry. He would probably laugh if it wasn’t for their closeness, which now felt too near.
No one talked for a few seconds, and even the noises of dishes being washed from the kitchen came to a halt. Absolute, suspicious silence.
Eyes were now scrutinizing his face, and Ryuji felt a bit of a burning sensation on his cheeks. He found it impossible to tear his eyes away from the other’s as the other pair kept wandering around like bouncy balls dropped from above.
After a while of staring, Ryuji tried to say something, “Uh-”
“I’ve got it! Oh, how didn’t I think of this before?” Yusuke jumped up, grabbing Ryuji’s shoulders with his hands
“Wha?” his eyes widened and he looked between the two hands that were trapping him inside.
“Ryuji, will you model for me? You’re the perfect fit for my project!” he tightened his grip on his shoulders as he talked to him. Was he even aware of what he was doing?
“Uh, sure man. You know I can’t say no to ya.” he scratched the back of his neck and smiled. How could he reject the offer when only a minute ago Yusuke had accepted the tragic end of his carreer.
Yusuke beamed, “Thank you, Ryuji! Thank you!” he sounded ecstatic and he didn’t catch the expression on his face because he detected a soft brush on his skin paired with an unexpected smack on his cheek.
Experiencing what felt like the third heart attack of the day, Ryuji was once again speechless and a mess. Where did that come from? What should he do? What does it mean?
Yusuke rarely ever touched anyone like this, let alone kiss them. Ryuji decided to dismiss all his questions and blame it all on Yusuke’s excitement. Whatever this project was, it was obviously very important to him.
“Okay. When are we starting then?” he questioned.
“How about right now?”
“Oh, um, ‘kay. Lemme grab my jacket” he got up from his stool, and as he turned around he was faced with a smug Akira at the end of the stairs.
“Oh hey Akira.” Ryuji cringed looking at his expression.
“Why do you two always hang out here without me?” Akira complained.
“You coulda’ come down.”
“Right. You know, I’m not Futaba, I don’t spy on people!”
A judgemental ahem sounded from somewhere, but no one gave the fake cough no mind.
“Liar. You were watching us just now.”
“No I wasn’t, I just came down.” he defended himself.
“Well I guess next time we’ll make sure to call you, kay? Anyways, we gotta get going, seeya Kira.” Ryuji was waving one hand at him and grabbed Yusuke’s arm with the other, pulling him to the exit.
“Wow guys, thanks for hanging out with me, it was fun.” Akira rolled his eyes.
Ryuji shushed him and they were out of the cafe in seconds.
Akira heard shuffling from somewhere and a moment later Sojiro appeared from the kitchen, walking sneakily outside.
“Thank god, they left. You don’t know what I just witnessed out here. Are they always like that?”
“Ohhhh yeah.”
“Damn.” he chuckled.
“I know.”
One would assume getting to Yusuke’s dorm would be a rather easy feat, but Ryuji should be expecting this. Half-way through their voyage with the train, Yusuke stepped out of it.
“Huh? Yusuke, this ain’t our stop. I don’t remember ya livin’ this close to Akira.” Ryuji followed him reluctantly.
“Ah, yes, in fact, I tend to walk home from here. I enjoy a stroll through the city from time to time.” Yusuke said naturally, but Ryuji could tell there was something off. Yusuke tended to get swollen by the eart into himself whenever he was hiding something, and he was doing just that right now.
“Stroll? Yusuke, we’re talkin’ about an hour away here.”
“Oh, really? I always thought it was shorter than that. I suppose time passes by like the wind when you’re enjoying yourself.” he said, hands in his pockets. There was that guilty look again.
“It’s literally freezin’ as fuck out there! ‘Suke, what’s really goin’ on here?” he demanded. He wouldn't move if he didn’t receive an answer.
Yusuke sighed. “Alright. The truth is…” he was fiddling with his hands, “I only have a ticket for half of the route. So I walk the rest of it.”
Ryuji looked at him, bewildered.
“Dude. That’s effed up. Why do ya never tell us anything?”
“I do not want to be a burden-”
“You’re never a burden to me- to us, ‘suke. You could've told me.” he touched his arm gently.
“Thank you, Ryuji. You are a great friend. I will try to reach out next time I’m in need of a train ticket. Actually…” he motioned towards the ticket he was holding.
“Uh, yeah. Let’s go get ya a ticket buddy.” he pulled the other’s hand, and they headed to a booking window. Yusuke seemed to be startled by Ryuji’s ignorant gesture but didn’t retire his hand from his graso. It was really cold outside, after all.
“A ticket for this man, please.” Ryuji waited crouched in front of the glass partition separating him from the grumpy salesman.
“200 yen.” he said, not even looking at him.
Ryuji fiddled with his pockets searching for his money, and he started counting the coins on his palm.
“Shit.” he stared at his palm. “I don’t have enough.”
The temperature difference between the outside world and the interior of the school dorms was very significant, and even though Ryuji maintained a blush throughout the whole walk from the station due to his and Yusuke’s ongoing hand-holding, he still was relieved by the air conditioned atmosphere. At least Yusuke didn’t freeze to death living in here.
They did have to climb up the stairs worth five floors though, and Ryuji was already exhausted enough. His leg wasn’t at its best today, having already exercised it longer than usual at track team practice.
“Hoo boy.” he exclaimed, getting his crane from his bag and unfolding it.
Yusuke just waited for him to get ready and didn’t pay him much mind. He used his crane quite regularly when his leg was more tired than usual so his friends were pretty used to it.
When Ryuji was all settled he mumbled a “less’go” and they were climbing the stairs. Or Ryuji was climbing them, because Yusuke seemed to have raced his way up and disappeared from Ryuji’s line of sight. He wondered if Yusuke had some kind of superpower, because his speed was inconceivable. He picked up his speed in order to catch up with him, and he finally could see traces of Yusuke’s back, and it was like finding river in a desert.
His leg couldn’t take much more though, and oh, he went beyond his limit without even noticing. Goddammit. He grabbed his knees, panting, his cane falling down. He’ll just rest for a minute and he’ll be fine-
“Ryuji! Are you alright? I am so sorry, I didn’t realize I was going so fast, I apologise!” a very panicked Yusuke loomed over him. Shit, he’s genuinely worried about him.
“‘S fine ‘suke, it’s my fault really. I should’a taken it easier.” he reassured him, but to no avail.
“No it is not, we should have taken the elevator or-”
“There’s no elevators in ‘ere, man. And stop panicking. I’m alright, see?” he got up on his legs, and stood with his crane in hand. “See? All good. I just needed a small break.”
Yusuke sighed. “Fine. I still feel responsible for causing you pain though. How could I ever repay you?”
“How about carrying me upstairs?”
Yusuke put an arm behind him and they went on.
“Finally.” Ryuji said as he stepped over the last stair and headed towards Yusuke’s room. He didn’t like Yusuke’s arm leaving his back, but he will manage, hopefully.
“Are you feeling any better now?” Yusuke asked while trying to unlock his door. And failing.
“I’ll be better when I get to sit down. Why have ya got so many keys?” he watched his friend fiddling every key around the keyhole, none of his attempts succeeding so far.
“Ah, they’re art room keys. I always go earlier to practice, so I’m responsible for opening them all up. It is no chore to me really, but I always struggle to open the doors.”
“Damn, that’s some keys ya got there.” he said.
Watching him fail so miserably really messed with his nerves, so he grabbed the keys from Yusuke’s hands, “Here, I’ll do it.”
He scrutinised them carefully while Yusuke complained that he had almost gone through all of them, and he chose his first candidate. “I choose you!” he picked it up and used it on the keyhole. Click.
“Hell yeah!”
“Wha-? Unbelievable, you got it on the first try? You must have a very good eye for keys!” Yusuke said, too impressed. What does ‘having a good eye for keys’ even mean?
“Eh, I was just lucky,”
They walked inside in comfortable silence, Yusuke getting settled to start his project and Ryuji jumping forcefully on his bed with an ‘ahh, comfy’.
Looking around the apartment was always a blast for Ryuji. The only type of decoration was Yusuke’s art, and Ryuji thought it was the most awesome thing ever. This place felt like home.
Yusuke sat down on his stool in front of a canvas and looked at him.
“I would offer you some tea, but I think it would be better if we get this over with before midnight.”
“Yeah, ‘s fine dude, I don’t really like tea anyways.” he felt a bit embarrassed and he scolded himself internally. No need to be shy in front of a good friend.
“Shall we begin, then?” he said while tapping something on his phone and suddenly a pleasant tune echoed in his ears.
“Dude, you like Mitski?”
“I enjoy her voice quite a lot. It’s very calming while I’m painting.”
Surprised, Ryuji moved on the bed and sat cross-legged while Yusuke put his phone somewhere steady.
“So uh, what should I do?”
“I was thinking you should do a pirouette pose, I think it would be very contradictory with your overall appearance and that is exactly what I’m aiming for with this art piece.”
“You want me to do a pirouette.” Ryuji looked at Yusuke as if he said the dumbest thing in the world. “You know I can’t do that for shit, right?”
“You do not have to do it perfectly, I can fill in some voids if necessary.”
“Fine, I can try I guess.” he got up from the bed and in position. Yusuke’s eyes were fixated on him and he was getting self conscious. Fuck it, he thought and bent his knee and stretched his hands.
He stayed still like that for a while, the only thing audible in the room being Yusuke’s phone singing through tiny speakers. Five more minutes, and he was down. “Ow. This isn’t really workin’ for me, ‘Suke. Can I at least hang on my crane during this?”
“Of course you can, Ryuji. I want this to be as pleasant for you as possible.” he smiled.
“Thanks.” he said, grabbing his crane and getting back in his position.
A few hours had passed and Ryuji was singing along to the lyrics of a song out of boredom. He realised (embarrassingly, it took him 4 times of the song looping to realise that) Yusuke had the same song on loop for the entirety of their session. And so he sang and sang and sang, Yusuke not really bothered by him. Ryuji thought he saw him smile to himself earlier, but he wasn’t sure.
His grip around the crane was getting sweaty, and finally Yusuke spoke, “Alright. You can sit down now. I am almost finished.” and Ryuji didn’t need to hear more, he rolled back on the bed in relief.
“Can I see?” he asked excitedly.
“In a moment!” Yusuke chuckled.
Yusuke’s hands were moving so quickly that Ryuji couldn’t keep up with their speed. The noise of brush scrubbing on cotton was a satisfying one, and Yusuke’s concentrated expression with his tongue sticking out of his mouth in the corner was even cuter.
When he was done, he got up and grabbed the canvas carefully from the sides. “Are you ready?” he asked and Ryuji nodded like a kid being offered candy.
“Ta-dah!” he turned it around.
Ryuji’s eyes scrutinised every spot of painting he detected, eager to take it all in. Vibrant and soft colours were contradicting each other, Ryuji’s stance angry and delicate, and his hand was still holding a crane.
“How come you drew it too?” he pointed at the object, careful not to touch any of the paint though.
“Why wouldn’t I?” Yusuke asked with a puzzled expression.
“Dunno…wouldn’t the paintin’ be more pretty without it?” he scratched the back of his neck.
“I don’t see your reasoning behind that, if I’m being honest. I think it’s a beautiful part of you, why should I conceal it?”
“B-beautiful? Part of me?” Ryuji said in awe.
“Of course. You shouldn’t be ashamed, Ryuji. Nothing could ever take away your magnificence.”
“Wow. Th-thanks, Yusuke. By the way, I love this. It’s very…nice.” Ryuji could punch himself. Why did he have to forget all of his wide range of vocabulary now?
“I’m very glad you like it. In fact, why don’t we celebrate with tea?” he said and headed towards the small kitchen, Ryuji following suit behind him.
Tea was nice, despite Ryuji not being the greatest enjoyer of the beverage. He’d probably enjoy anything if Yusuke was involved in it, he thought.
They drank and chatted, and it was time for Ryuji to go home. He headed to the door, stopped right behind it. He remembered something.
He turned to Yusuke who was waiting a little further inside. “By the way, you can put this on your key and then you’ll know which one’s for your apartment.” he got a smiley face sticker from his pocket and stuck it to the key.
It was a lovely gesture, and definitely a huge time saver.
“Ryuji. I think you got the wrong key.”
“Shit.”
Ryuji was patiently waiting at some park outside the train station for Yusuke, who had called him just an hour ago to tell him about some big development and to not be late. He seemed quite joyful on the phone, so Ryuji assumed it would be good news.
The hubbub of the busy crowd around him was silenced by energetic music blasting through his ears. He moved his feet in unison to the song while looking around.
It wasn’t long until he saw Yusuke emerging from the train station, (thank god he used the train this time) and he pulled off the headphones he was wearing as his friend was approaching.
He hadn’t seen a Yusuke this lively in his life. The man was practically jumping like a child in between his steps, moving his hands in unison as if he was doing a happy dance. Ryuji made sure to record the scene playing out in front of his eyes deep inside his brain, and handcuff it there for eternity.
When their eyes connected, Yusuke’s smile grew even wider, and it probably was contagious because Ryuji’s cheeks started hurting a few seconds later. They were finally close enough to hear each other, and Yusuke didn’t lose a moment to move his lips.
“Ryuji! I’m ecstatic! Today’s art presentation was a total success! I sold all of my paintings, and my reputation has escalated!” he said, beaming.
“Woow, nice, ‘suke. Proud of ya.” he went on to hug the boy, but regretted it and flinched back a little. Yusuke seemed to notice that, as he put Ryuji’s hands back so they were wrapped around him and did the same with his own.
He continued to speak like that, his head resting on Ryuji’s trembling shoulder.
“It was like a dream, everyone seemed in awe while I explained my thought process to them, and they especially loved the one we did together.”
“That’s amazin’. That was all you, though, I didn’t do that much.” he said, trying to keep calm.
“Of course that’s not true. Do not say that! I couldn’t have done any of this without you, Ryuji.” he was now facing him, and he felt soft lips over his and it was a staggering experience. It was all a dreamy sequence that rolled too smoothly for Ryuji’s poor little mind to process. But the first wave of his shock faded and he was able to enjoy himself in the kiss, his first kiss with the most special person in the world.
It lasted a few sweet moments until Yusuke pulled back, and Ryuji’s expression was probably priceless right now. Not in a good way.
“Wh-wh-wh-wh-wha???? How, huh???” Ryuji tried to exercise his brain to produce a reasonable reaction, but he apparently had lost the ability to do so.
Yusuke chuckled and covered his mouth with his palm. “I apologize, was that too sudden? I couldn’t restrain myself.”
“No, it wasn’t sudden, I just, didn’t think- didn’t expect you’d want to like, y’know…” he was too embarrassed to fill in his own sentence.
“Didn’t expect me to…what, exactly?” Yusuke asked, genuinely curious.
“Y’know…like me? Like that?” he didn’t mean to pose his words as a question, but he wasn’t functioning right now anyway, so no surprises.
“It must have come as quite a surprise then. But yes, Ryuji, I do like you. Quite a lot actually.”
Ryuji stared, dumbfounded, until coming back to his senses to reply, “Wow. I hope this ain’t a dream or somethin’. I like you too Yusuke, in case you didn’t know already.”
He was met with a fond smile, and they walked towards the city hand-in-hand.
After finally coming to terms with this recent development of their relationship, they decided to grab some food before heading back.
“I think I’m in the mood for ramen, would you like to join me at our usual place? It will be my treat of course.”
“Huh? Do you even have the money for that? It’s kinda pricey y’know.”
“Of course I do. My art pieces sold quite well so I have a little amount of money available to spend.” he answered simply.
“Dude, you’re broke most of the time and now that you have some money you’re spending it on me?” Ryuji was flattered from the idea, but he really didn’t want to mess with Yusuke’s savings.
“Yes. What is wrong with that? After all, I owe you so much for all that you’ve done for me.”
“You know you don’t have to repay me for anythin’, right? It’s not why I lend you money all the time.” he answered as seriously as he could. Did Yusuke really think he owed him this?
“I know. I suppose I worded it wrong. I want to do this, Ryuji. I don’t feel like you are manipulating me into liking you.”
“Wha? When did I say that???” he put his hands on his chest, offended.
“I’m only teasing you.” he laughed. Oh, what a sweet sound. “Come on, we should join the queue.”
They stood at the end of a crowd outside the restaurant, waiting for their turn to enter. Ryuji looked down at his and Yusuke’s hands. They were standing shoulder to shoulder, and they were almost touching. Should he grab his hand? What if it was too weird? They were in public after all.
He moved his hand just an inch towards the other’s, flinching. He let it go, back to its original position. He was overthinking this. He made a determined move, this time more confidently, and he closed his hand, only to be met with nothing. Yusuke’s hand had disappeared. Eyes wide open, Ryuji searched for it. Did he make Yusuke’s hand disappear?
No, he hadn’t. Yusuke was fixing his fringe with it, the hand safe and sound.
“What? Why are you staring at me?” Yusuke asked when he noticed him. Great.
“Oh, um. Nothing.” he gave him a guilty smile and a kiss on the cheek. Stupid.
A table was available for them eventually and they entered the restaurant.
“Finally.” Yusuke murmured. “Such cold…” he seemed to be speaking more to himself than to Ryuji, so he didn’t say anything.
And so, another opportunity presented itself as they neared their table. Ryuji headed to the table with a bit of a rapid step, reaching it first. He went on to pull the chair for Yusuke to sit on. Proud of his thoughtful gesture, he didn’t notice Yusuke already sitting on the chair across from him.
Feeling just a tad disappointed, he slumped into the chair with a frown.
Yusuke’s giggle echoed through his ears, and he immediately shot up.
“It’s rather cute to see you attempt to impress me. There is no need for that, I hope you are aware of the fact.” he was looking at him so fondly that Ryuji could melt right then and there.
“Ugh. I know, I know. I’ve made a fool of myself haven’t I?”
“Not at all. I think you’re adorable. But you don’t have to force yourself to do things like that if it’s not who you are. I’m already quite smitten with you, heehee.”
Ryuji covered his cheeks with his hands. “Don’t say things like that, ‘suke!”
“Apologies. I couldn’t help it!” he giggled.
The waiter brought them the menu and they were pondering their orders.
“Hmmmm what should I get…they have lobster and mushroom somen!”
“Don’t you dare! Lobsters are my friends. We don’t eat them.” he softly knocked his hands on the table.
“You’re not being serious.” Ryuji stared in awe.
“Of course I am. Why would I lie about something like this?” he was wearing his iconic ‘How could you ever think I’m joking about something I could totally be joking about’ expression as he spoke.
“Fine, I won’t get any lobster I guess.” he rolled his eyes at his boyfriend, he hoped that word was accurate, not actually annoyed at him.
Yusuke completely ignored him though, because he was looking behind him with a very shocked expression and a wide open mouth.
“My goodness.” he went on to cover his mouth with his hand.
“What is it?” he turned around to see where Yusuke’s eyes were and he was surprised to see a familiar sight in front of him. “Wait, that’s-!”
A painting was hanging proudly on the otherwise empty robust wall, and he recognized it immediately.
“This is the best compliment I have ever received in my entire life! Someone thought my painting is good enough of a decoration to be the only thing hanging on this wall? Ah!” he moaned with happiness and Ryuji extended his hand with a proud smile.
“Tha’s right. I’m very happy for you, ‘suke.” he squeezed his soft palm. Yusuke’s hand was much colder than his but he didn’t mind one bit.
The waiter interrupted their moment and their orders were taken. Time passed by like a lit match, burning it’s way through the two boys’ evenings. Food was served, conversations were held, laughter was caused. And now they were heading back, their hands warm against each other’s.
“So uh…we’re boyfriends now, right?” Ryuji said with his head bent over.
“It would make me ecstatic if we were.” they were now looking at each other directly.
“Well then , we definitely are, cause, same.”
And they leaned in to each other for a kiss.