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Yosuke power-walked to a secluded corner of the warehouse, double-checking that no one was around to see the blush that was inevitably about to be on his face; he really couldn’t help it nowadays. Then again, a little warmth in his cheeks probably wouldn’t hurt right now considering how cold he was.
Satisfied that he was alone, Yosuke pulled his cell phone out of his apron pocket and held down the 2 button.
He had wanted Yu to be #1 in his speed dial, but unfortunately that went to Voicemail by default and there was no way to change it (he had tried).
Yosuke sniffled and cleared his throat as he waited for Yu to pick up, hoping not to alarm Yu too much with how his voice currently sounded.
Yu picked up before the end of the second ring.
“Hello, Yosuke,” Yu said way too formally, which made Yosuke smile for the first time in hours, followed by a grimace as he realized how tight his lips felt.
“Hey, Partner,” Yosuke croaked, crossing his arms for warmth and trying to stop himself from shivering so hard that he dropped his phone. He cleared his throat again and said, “Sorry I can’t talk long, but I have to stay and work a couple extra hours. I know it’s Christmas Eve and we have plans and all, but—”
“It’s fine, Yosuke,” Yu interrupted. “Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad I’ll get to see you tonight… What’s that sound?”
“Sound? Which sound?” Yosuke asked since there was all kinds of noise in the warehouse, but as soon as he stopped talking and listened closely for a second, he heard it.
Yu answered, “It’s a… clicking sound?”
Knowing he was about to get in trouble, Yosuke sighed, “It’s my teeth.”
“Your… teeth?” Yu asked. “That’s your teeth… chattering? From the cold? Are you outside?”
“I’m in the warehouse,” Yosuke sighed again, knowing he had to spill the beans now. “I’ve been working here and outside all day. The guy in charge of receiving is sick, so I had to fill in. We’re getting a bunch of stock today to fill the store back up after all the holiday craziness, so it’s been pretty much nonstop.”
“I can’t believe they could afford to not have you out on the floor…”
“Well, Dad’s been taking care of that, as much as he can, anyways. Even Teddie is working his ass off!”
“Yosuke, it’s freezing outside. Are you wearing gloves? A heavy coat?”
“Uhhh…” Yosuke said nervously. “I’m wearing a jacket?”
“Yosuke,” Yu scolded in that gentle, disappointed way of his that made Yosuke’s heart sink.
“I didn’t know I’d be working outside today!” Yosuke defended preemptively, though the thinness of his voice kind of detracted from the strength of the argument. “And I know Junes sells that stuff, but I don’t wanna spend money on stuff I already have! Not like there was any time to shop anyways, and I would’ve had to fight through that crazy crowd of customers who really should have done their Christmas shopping before today…”
Yu asked, “Are you sick?”
“Maybe? I mean, probably, yeah… That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Ugh, I’m really sorry, Partner, but I don’t think I can go out tonight like we planned, I’m not feeling too hot. I really don’t wanna cancel on you, but—”
“I’ll be there soon.”
“Wait, what? What do you mean? Yu?”
“Don’t worry about anything. I’ll be there soon,” Yu repeated, and Yosuke could hear Yu rustling around like he was getting dressed.
“Yu, seriously, you don’t have to—”
“I’m just glad I’ll get to see you tonight,” Yu said with a cute little dash of warmth in his voice that shut Yosuke right up.
“Okay…” Yosuke said. “Well, I’ve gotta get back to work now.”
“You can’t avoid working until I get there? Just act like it’s your homework.”
“Very funny, Partner.”
“I’m serious.”
“Gotta go. See you soon, I guess?”
“Mhm. Goodbye, Yosuke.”
“Bye.”
Yosuke hung up and ran his tongue along his teeth, as if that would help warm them up enough to stop them from chattering. As predicted though, his cheeks were indeed warm, just like they were after every phone conversation with Yu, and most interactions with Yu, honestly.
Yosuke had certainly gone through the ringer of thoughts and emotions to get here, including the five stages of grief over the loss of his heterosexuality, but at this point even he couldn't deny that he was in love with Yu Narukami.
And, startlingly enough, it was pretty hard to deny that Yu felt the same way about him.
They had gotten closer than ever lately, and when they were alone there was some pretty obvious flirting from both sides. They had almost kissed—twice, actually—but both times they got interrupted and then the moment was gone. Unfortunately it was way too embarrassing to just talk about afterwards, so they hadn’t addressed it directly.
But yeah, Yu definitely loved Yosuke.
Why else would that goof be running out in the freezing cold on Christmas Eve to (presumably) rescue him?
Of course Yosuke would always be upset to have to cancel plans with Yu, but today it was particularly devastating. They were supposed to go to dinner and a couple other places around town, and at some point in all of that, Yosuke had (loosely, unless he lost his nerve) planned on asking Yu to be his boyfriend. That way, they could spend Christmas as a couple, and it would (probably) be the best Christmas ever.
And then they could kiss, for real this time. Officially.
But now Yosuke was sick, and his plans were dashed.
At least he’d get to see Yu, and if he had to guess, Yu would probably bring him something warm to put on, and most likely Yu would help him get his work done earlier so he could go home and recover…
Yeah, Yosuke definitely loved Yu, a lot.
“Hanamura? Where are you? I need you to sign for this shipment!”
“That’s my cue, I guess,” Yosuke said under his breath, wishing he could stay in this corner and fantasize about Yu (and avoid work) a little longer.
Instead, he tucked his phone back into his apron pocket, rubbed his hands together and blew on them real quick (as if that would help keep them warm for more than two seconds), and turned on his heel to get back to work.
Yu got there in record time—apparently he caught a ride with Dojima right as he was heading back to work for the evening.
When he showed up in the employees-only loading area, no one questioned it; even if they’d never worked with him during his brief stints at Junes, everyone knew Yu Narukami: the stoic, big city kid who was best friends with Hanamura Junior.
Yu pulled Yosuke aside as soon as he finished his current task, coaxing him back into the warehouse by the elbow.
Yosuke croaked, “Partner, I still have to—”
“This won’t take long,” Yu said firmly, pulling off a glove and holding it out to Yosuke.
Yosuke just looked at it, not moving to take it. “What? No, don’t give me your gloves.”
Yu shook his head and said, “I warmed these ones up for you.”
When Yosuke still didn’t take the glove, Yu grabbed Yosuke’s hand to put it on for him and clarified, “I brought another pair for myself. Your hand is freezing, by the way.”
“Yeah,” Yosuke said, not liking the little frown on Yu’s face and withdrawing his hand to pull the glove on more snugly. “Here, give me the other one.”
Yu’s expression lightened as he took off his other glove and handed it over to Yosuke. He then stripped off his thick outer coat, revealing that he was wearing a blue hoodie underneath, which he also started to pull off.
“Hey, that’s my hoodie,” Yosuke said as he took off his apron and jacket and then exchanged them with Yu for the hoodie. “I’ve been looking for this.”
Yu shrugged. “You shouldn’t have left it in my room if you wanted it back in a timely manner.”
“The hell is that supposed to mean?” Yosuke asked, but as he pulled the hoodie over his head, he was immediately overwhelmed by the thick, pleasant scent of Yu…
It was nice… almost too nice…
As he popped his head out of the top of the hoodie, Yosuke asked, “What were you doing, living in this thing?”
Yu shrugged again, in a way that definitely meant yes.
“Coat,” Yu demanded gently, holding up his coat for Yosuke to put on.
“Okay, okay,” Yosuke said, spinning around so Yu could help him heft the coat onto his shoulders.
“Holy crap, this is warm,” Yosuke remarked as he zipped up, truly struggling to not indulge in the sensory overload of being encased in Yu’s body heat.
When he turned back around, he saw Yu had put on the jacket Yosuke had been wearing, and then he produced a backpack from which he pulled out another big coat and matching gloves for himself.
“You’re not gonna hold my jacket hostage now, are you?” Yosuke half-joked, but once again Yu just shrugged, in a way that most likely meant probably.
As Yu finished getting situated, he asked, “What do you have left to do?”
Past the point of trying to fight Yu on this, Yosuke calmly walked Yu through his remaining tasks for the day, pausing every few seconds to turn his head and clear his throat or sniffle.
By the time he was finished, Yu had that on-a-mission glint in his eye. “Okay. Let’s finish everything that has to be done outside first. It’s getting darker, and it’s only going to get colder. You just point at things and tell me what needs to be done with them, and I’ll do it.”
Yosuke nodded. “Thanks, Partner.”
“No problem,” Yu said with a flash of a smile that set Yosuke’s heart racing, until Yu cut off his view by pulling Yosuke’s oversized, faux fur-lined hood up over his head.
Not even an hour later, everything was done, Yosuke was clocked out with his father’s blessing (and a very brief, yet pointed lecture about taking care of himself when he saw how sick Yosuke looked), and Yosuke was riding on the back of his bike as Yu pedaled them home.
Yosuke very much wanted to complain about being on the back of his own bike, but Yu had basically mummified the bottom half of Yosuke’s face in a scarf to protect it against the winter wind, so any complaints would have been lost in the fabric. So instead, Yosuke just held onto Yu silently, letting him escort Yosuke home.
Yosuke wasn’t surprised when Yu pulled up to the Dojima residence instead of taking Yosuke to his own house. That’s probably what Yu had been quietly talking to Yosuke’s dad about while Yosuke was clocking out—either that, or his dad insisting on paying Yu for his time (probably both). It made sense since Yu’s place was closer, and Yosuke was always there anyway, so it was basically like his second home.
After briefly greeting Nanako, who was parked in front of the TV, the two of them made their way up to Yu’s room. Yu pulled out a towel and a stack of clothing for Yosuke, telling him to go ahead and take a warm shower while he and Nanako prepared dinner.
Yosuke had almost protested, not feeling like expending the energy to shower and kind of just wanting to go to sleep, but he also didn’t have the energy to argue with Yu, especially when he was going out of his way to take care of Yosuke.
The shower was unexpectedly rejuvenating, and when he returned to Yu’s room to get dressed, he found a cup of hot tea waiting for him—it was Nanako’s favorite type of tea in a little pink teacup, so he could guess who had prepared it for him.
He wanted to go down and thank her, but the journey downstairs seemed almost insurmountable, plus he didn’t want to get her sick.
Instead he got dressed and hunkered down in a pile of blankets that Yu had placed on the couch, sipping at his tea and checking his phone.
Just then a text came in from his mom that said: “Have a good night at Yu’s, Sweet Potato! Feel better soon! Let Mommy know if you need anything! But I know you’re in good hands! ;-) Merry almost-Christmas!! Mommy loves you!!!”
“Always so many exclamation points,” Yosuke said out loud, but then he realized he probably shouldn’t be talking to himself right now; it would be wiser to save his voice.
Yu must have called Yosuke’s mom to fill her in. The two of them certainly talked on the phone more often than Yosuke would have ever expected, but beyond the slight paranoia of wondering what they might be saying about him specifically, he thought it was kind of nice.
As Yosuke was sending off a reply, Yu returned, holding a tray with a bowl of miso soup, medicine, the matching pink teapot, and some finger foods.
“Thank you,” was all Yosuke said as Yu set the tray down in front of him, and Yu nodded in response.
He picked the remote up off the table and put on a random holiday movie, and then he went and plugged in a single string of Christmas lights he had strung across his desk.
Yosuke looked at him questioningly, and Yu answered simply, “Holiday cheer.”
Yosuke chuckled lightly and then downed the three pills Yu had provided, not bothering to ask what they were. Then he got to work on his soup, occasionally paying attention to the movie whenever he caught himself spending too many consecutive moments thinking about how much he loved Yu.
Yu sat on the ground and folded like twenty different origami animals, occasionally glancing up at the TV screen. Yosuke knew Yu used to do origami as a part-time job, but nowadays it seemed more compulsive, like folding helped Yu keep his mind and hands busy when he was nervous.
Was he just worried about Yosuke’s health?
“Here, Partner,” Yosuke said when he was done with the soup. “I finished as much as I could. You can have all the other stuff.”
Just the thought of chewing something more substantial than the soft veggies in his soup made Yosuke feel exhausted.
Yu got up and sat next to Yosuke, taking the tray from him.
“Oh wait,” Yosuke said suddenly, starting to reach back out for the tray. “I’m so stupid! You’re gonna get sick, sitting here and eating after me!”
Yu slowly moved the tray out of Yosuke’s reach and then popped a whole rice ball into his mouth.
“Yu!”
Yu lifted his index finger to his full mouth, shushing Yosuke as he chewed.
When he was done chewing, he said, “Sick day.”
“What, you want to get sick? Why, just to get out of school tomorrow? Or do you have one of your part-time jobs tomorrow too? I try to keep up with your schedule, man, but it’s all over the place—”
“To stay with you,” Yu interrupted. “You’re not going anywhere tomorrow, and neither am I.”
“Okay, first off, you don’t need to stay home and take care of me all day! And I really should go to work tomorrow, we’ve gotta unload all that stuff—”
“You’re off work tomorrow,” Yu interrupted again. “Your dad already approved it.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Okay, but you don’t need to get sick!” Yosuke exclaimed a little too forcefully, hurting his throat in the process. More quietly, he said, “You know you can just cut class without having a good reason, right?”
Yu stared at Yosuke blankly, and then he shoved another whole rice ball in his mouth.
“You’re impossible,” Yosuke groaned with the last of his energy, sinking further into the couch.
Yu laughed a little around all the rice in his mouth, and what little annoyance Yosuke actually felt faded away, replaced by pure fondness for this beautiful doofus.
Yu could get as sick as he wanted, and he could take care of Yosuke all winter break if he wanted. Yu could tell his dad that Yosuke wasn’t coming to work tomorrow, and Yu could tell his mom he wasn’t coming home tonight. Yu could do absolutely whatever he wanted, and Yosuke would be fine with it.
For reasons a fully-awake version of his brain would not comprehend, Yosuke sleepily confessed, “I wish you were #1 in my speed dial, but… it’s Voicemail…”
He wasn’t really aware that he was falling asleep, but when he started to dream, he was vaguely aware that he was indeed dreaming.
Still, it was unsettling when Yu turned to him, his grey eyes melting into a glowing yellow.
“You’re late,” Yu spat at him.
The accusation came out of nowhere, but it still created a pit in Yosuke’s stomach.
“Late for what, Partner?” Yosuke asked despite himself, and then he reached a hand out toward Yu.
Yu flinched and stepped back, as if the thought of being touched by Yosuke was disgusting to him.
Yu stated coldly, “I don’t want to be near you.”
Yosuke slowly lowered his hand, clenching it at his side. “But… but I thought… We’ve been so close lately… You almost kissed me…”
“I would never kiss you.”
No. Yosuke didn’t want this. Yu would never say those things. This was just a dream, right? If this was a dream, he could leave whenever he wanted. He could just wake up. There was no way this was his reality, not after all the signs Yu had given him, not after all they’d been through…
Yosuke woke up with a jolt, momentarily confused when he found himself in Yu’s bedroom, sitting on Yu’s couch, his head on Yu’s shoulder…
He quickly sat up to examine Yu’s eyes.
It took a minute for his vision to adjust to the dark bedroom that was only illuminated by the colorful string of lights on the desk and the TV (playing a very different movie than Yosuke remembered), and meanwhile Dream Yu’s harsh words echoed in his skull: You’re late. I don’t want to be near you. I would never kiss you.
But as soon as Yosuke could see that Yu’s eyes were their usual placid grey (and not a sinister, glowing yellow), he calmed down and the harsh voice in his head started to fade away.
Yosuke was about to explain himself when Yu said, “You’re right on time.”
“On time for what?” Yosuke asked softly.
Yu lifted his free hand to show Yosuke his watch (the silver watch Yosuke had gifted him), which was when Yosuke’s brain registered that the reason Yu’s other hand wasn’t free… was because it was holding Yosuke’s.
An all-too-familiar warmth flooded into Yosuke’s cheeks.
“It’s almost Christmas,” Yu answered, and Yosuke read the time on Yu’s wrist, seeing that there were mere minutes to midnight.
Yosuke’s mind was racing, but there was one thing he had to address first.
“When did this happen?” he asked, looking down at their clasped hands.
“Um, not too long ago,” Yu said, looking sheepish but also staying incredibly still, as if he had no intention of being the one to stop this from happening. “You reached out in your sleep… and then I didn’t have the heart to let go…”
Of course Yu didn’t have the heart to let go. Yu was too sweet for that…
All the hesitation in Yosuke's mind started to fade away, along with every last trace of fear in his heart.
Yosuke looked at Yu's watch again and saw there was only one minute left until midnight.
“Partner… there was one thing I wanted for Christmas…”
Yu perked up, turning toward Yosuke with a sparkle in his eyes. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Anything,” Yu promised, as if it was within his power to grant whatever wish Yosuke had, and as if it would be his utmost honor and pleasure to do so.
This wasn’t how Yosuke had planned it—not by a long shot—but it was just as well; nothing about Yu Narukami’s presence in his life had been part of Yosuke’s plan. Everything about his relationship with his Partner had come as an unexpected gift, just like this warm, quiet, isolated moment with the boy he loved: the boy who thought Yosuke was right on time, the boy who very much wanted to be near Yosuke, the boy who would hopefully be kissing Yosuke very soon…
Squeezing Yu's hand, Yosuke requested, “Be my boyfriend?”
Yu squeezed Yosuke’s hand so hard, Yosuke reflexively jerked his hand away so Yu wouldn’t break his fingers.
“Sorry! Sorry,” Yu apologized breathlessly. “Yes! I mean, yes, please. Thank you, for asking, I mean, I wanted to, but the nerve, I was trying to work up the nerve… But yes, please—”
Yu interrupted his own stammering and used his newly freed hand to pull Yosuke’s face to himself, roughly pressing his lips against Yosuke’s like there was no time to lose.
Yosuke let out a noise of surprise against Yu’s mouth, and Yu withdrew, eyes wide.
“Sorry!” he said, eyes flitting back and forth across Yosuke’s face in panic as he released his hold on him. “I’m so sorry, I—”
“Shhh,” Yosuke interrupted gently, and then he laughed right in Yu’s face—his enthusiasm was just too cute not to laugh at.
Yu looked mortified, but in the most adorable and charming way possible, until Yosuke’s continued chuckling snapped him out of it.
“Sorry,” he apologized again, still looking embarrassed, but the longer he stared into Yosuke’s eyes, the bigger his smile grew, until he was laughing too.
“So you’re really cool with being my boyfriend?” Yosuke asked, finding himself slowly leaning back in toward Yu.
“I’m really cool,” Yu assured him, seeming fascinated with Yosuke’s increasing closeness, but then he frowned at himself, probably realizing how that just sounded out loud.
Yosuke chortled in Yu’s face again, which Yu didn’t exactly look thrilled about, but then Yosuke tilted his head and calmly, gently pressed his lips to Yu’s, reeling when Yu basically melted into the kiss.
After a moment, Yosuke just barely pulled back, glancing down at Yu’s watch to see that it was Christmas now.
He smiled as he looked back up at Yu; his wish for Yu to be his boyfriend for Christmas really had come true.
Yu lifted his hand to touch Yosuke’s face again (much less forcefully this time) and set to lovingly kissing his boyfriend back, in a way that made Yosuke feel like there was nothing else either of them would rather be doing in the world.
Was this what Yosuke had planned?
No.
It was way better.