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Yosuke Hanamura was a boy with a plan, and that was a very dangerous situation. Why exactly? Because around 98% of the time, Yosuke’s plans had a way of ending in defeat and humiliation for all those involved and witnessing whatever unfortunate turn of events transpired. However, this event was going to be different because – well, there was no reason for it to turn out better but he could hope and pray and goddamnit. Maybe things would be okay.
Now what is this genius plan?
Deep within the psyche of one Yosuke Hanamura, a tiny glimmer of some mysterious feeling had taken root. When exactly its presence had manifested was a mystery, but with every passing moment that involved one Souji Seta, the glimmer grew, twisting and turning into something that was less a glimmer and more a distraction until Yosuke was trying to repress the fact that “partner” might mean more to him than he had initially intended. Was their friendship really entirely platonic or was there something more here? Every brush of the hand, comforting pat on the back with a job well done in the TV world, and longer-than-entirely-necessary moment of eye contact made Yosuke question the truth behind his feelings until it began to keep him up at night, trying to dissect what all of this meant. He never thought he was like that. But it was Souji, his partner, his best friend, one of the only people to make Inaba even feel worth his time. And Souji would be leaving relatively soon. So it was time to do something.
One night of tossing and turning, Yosuke had a brilliant idea. He would go on a date with Souji. That was what normal people did when they suspected they might be feeling something, but no one, including himself, would have to acknowledge it as a date. They would just go out together to dinner in Okina (Yosuke would pay because that’s the polite thing to do when asking someone out and like Hell he’d be the girl in this relationship, oh God no they weren’t – this wasn’t a relationship, not yet, oh God what was he getting himself into) and come back and if it didn’t work out, that would clear things up. And if it did work out? The thought of a successful “date” with Souji sent his heart into a tizzy like he’d come off one of those spinning tea cup rides at the fair, and that probably wasn’t safe for his health or sanity, so he sent the thought to the back of his head to think about on future sleepless nights.
After initially thinking up this plan, it took nights of mental anguish and pep-talks in the mirror for Yosuke to actually work up the courage to act upon the idea and ask Souji to dinner. One fateful afternoon after school, Yosuke watched as Chie and Yukiko were caught up in conversation while Souji was packing up his books and carefully placing them in his book bag. Yosuke stood up, reflexively crossing his arms across his chest like a barrier against the potential for embarrassment, and turned to face his friend.
“So do you want to go out to dinner with me?” Yosuke asked, trying to go against his natural inclination to stammer and say something awkward and just be cool. It must have been at least sort of working because Souji hadn’t completely lost interest with him or attempted to make a quick get-away. Instead, he’d retained his typical expression of indifference, but Yosuke swore he had raised his eyebrow at least a fraction of an inch.
Chie and Yukiko had stopped their conversation to look back at their two friends. Chie looked skeptical while Yukiko’s expression, like most times, was unreadable to Yosuke and he quickly realized how forward that last statement was.
“I mean -er, um – I-I never really got to buy you steak! After you saved me from the trashcan back when you first moved here.” He stammered, allowing himself to chuckle with relief when a grin spread across Souji’s normally impassive face.
“That was actually the whole reason I decided to be your friend. I’ve been waiting months for this steak,” Souji said, retaining his grin while Yosuke turned an impressive red.
“Dude! For that, no steak for you. We’ll just get some food from the Junes food court.”
“Friendship over.” Yosuke gave him a light punch to the arm, while Souji broke down into a small fit of giggles. Chie rolled her eyes and Yosuke was pretty sure he heard Yukiko whisper “What is with those two…” However, he couldn’t care too much about his friends’ confusion when he saw that small smile on Souji’s face and he matched it.
“Seriously though, I’ll meet you Saturday or something and we can head up to Okina and grab something to eat, going up to the city by myself is lame,” Yosuke said and Souji just nodded, grabbing his book bag and heading towards the door with Chie and Yukiko following close behind: Chie lagged just enough to turn around and whisper “Good luck with your boyfriend” and Yosuke almost chucked a book at her.
Saturday came by way too quickly for Yosuke’s liking, and he found it hard to concentrate in class (something he wasn’t entirely good at in the first place) when all his thoughts were dominated by the impending not-date and what he would wear and how Souji would look and – God, this is the type of shit girl’s worry over, not Yosuke Hanamura. He couldn’t help but second guess himself though, as he stood fixing his hair for the umpteenth time. What if everything went horribly and Souji decided he didn’t want to be friends anymore? If Yosuke were to be honest with himself, Souji was one of the most important people in his life and his first true friend. Sure, there had been the acquaintances he had made back in the city, but those memories were tinged with the bitter taste of backhanded remarks and petty gossip those “friends” had engaged in when they thought Yosuke wasn’t listening. “Why do we even hang out with him? He’s so annoying.” “His parents own Junes, at least we get discounts from him sometimes.” Yosuke’s headphones were only so effective in drowning out that gossip.
Souji was different, though. They were equals, partners. If this stupid “date” ruined that, he’d never forgive himself. But the thought of things working out was enough for him to try and push those negative thoughts aside.
It was only once Yosuke had made sure his shirt was clean and fancy (but not too fancy because that might make Souji uncomfortable because this was definitely just two friends going out as far as Souji was concerned), pants were free of grass stains from unfortunate biking accidents, that Yosuke was ready to meet up with Souji at the train station to go to Okina.
Souji was dressed to kill, as always. He looked casual, standing at the corner of the Inaba train station, checking his flip phone. He was wearing a pair of skinny black jeans with a navy blue track jacket and turtleneck tweed gray sweater. On anyone else, this would be a passable at best outfit seen only on a 60-plus year old university professor. On Souji Seta, however, this was a piece of art that sent Yosuke’s fickle heart into a beating mess. Yosuke nervously approached Souji, walking his barely-held-together bike by the handles, but Souji noticed before Yosuke could say anything and gave a small smile and wave.
“Glad to see you made it here safely on that thing,” Souji said, gesturing towards the bike.
“You know, I was thinking we could try just biking this thing to Okina. You can ride on the handlebars, partner,” Yosuke said, winking, before immediately regretting how flirtatious that sounded.
“I’d be honored to be the damsel on your steed.” Souji gave a weird half-bow after saying that and Yosuke could barely contain his snort.
“You’re so weird. It seriously blows my mind how all the girls have a crush on you.”
Souji shrugged. “I wouldn’t say everyone has a crush on me.” He held eye contact with Yosuke long enough to make Yosuke feel that this statement was… Directed at him, in some way. Or maybe Yosuke wanted it to be directed at him? Or was he reading into this moment too much? He could feel the flush spreading across his cheeks and quickly broke the contact.
Luckily, the train decided to play wingman and save Yosuke from this soon-to-be-embarrassing-only-to-him moment and they boarded. The ride was quick and uneventful with Souji only piping up to point out the nice dog he saw out the window and Yosuke babbled a bit about how lame it was that they had been assigned reading by Ms. Sofue for the weekend, with Souji replying that they are in school and this is to be expected, to which Yosuke huffed and crossed his arms a little tighter around his waist.
Evening was settling over Okina upon arrival, so they agreed to find some place to grab dinner and perhaps check out Dumminator 2 (“if time permitted” was Souji’s polite stipulation, meaning he didn’t want to see it but would suffer for Yosuke’s sake, bless his heart). The bright lights of the city painted the streets in pinks and yellows and the bustling energy of people milling about filled Yosuke with an odd sense of courage. He was in his home turf. Him and Souji were the same - city boys back where they belonged out of Inaba and its gossip and rumor mills.
“Doesn’t it feel good to be back in the city?” Yosuke asked, grinning at Souji who was a pace or two behind him.
“Yeah, but don’t you miss all the fun Inaba sights such as the cats that hang around my house or Junes?”
“… Not really.”
Souji gave him a small smile, and put his hands in his pockets. “Yeah, I guess the city is nice.” Yosuke could tell exactly where this conversation was going – back to Souji returning to the city and leaving Inaba. Great point of conversation for our date, Hanamura. But he could barely contain the word vomit that now threatened to escape – when was he leaving again? Would they stay in contact? What did this mean for them as partners or more? They couldn’t do long distance, right? Feeling himself start to spin out of control, Yosuke focused on getting to the restaurant he selected – a beef bowl place that was apparently well-received – and ignored the intense anxiety that was threatening to swallow him whole.
The restaurant was grimy in exactly the way that Yosuke wanted. Grease and steam swamped them as they opened the door to the restaurant and a worker, clearly overwhelmed by the amount of people and rather undesirable décor, ushered them into a huddled booth where the vinyl stuck to your legs and the table had leftover marks from the previous diners. Yosuke was about to dive into a conversation about why seeing Dumminator 2 was a good idea and move past the awkward silence that had settled following their conversation about the city…
But apparently Souji didn’t receive the “let’s forget about the fact you’re leaving” message.
“Sorry for getting all sentimental there about Inaba, it’s the first real home with family and friends I’ve had and I think it’s just beginning to hit me that I will be leaving. And while I am looking forward to seeing my parents again and living in the city, leaving the Dojima’s and all our friends has been getting me down recently,” Souji said, lacing his fingers on the counter and uncharacteristically avoiding Yosuke’s eyes.
“In fact, you’re the first real…. Best friend I’ve had, so I’m really happy to spend time with you like this, but I know it’ll be hard to have time like this once I’m in the city, so now I feel bad getting all sentimental, but I thought now was a good time to be honest with you – “ and in that crucial moment, the waitress decided it would be a good time to stop being so dreadfully busy and overworked to step in and ask what the two would be ordering. Yosuke nearly screamed. Souji looked as though he had just been splashed in the face with water, while Yosuke didn’t even want to know what he himself looked like. After scrambling out an order of two beef bowls, Souji returned to what he was saying.
“So, I guess what I was saying is that I really appreciate our friendship and – I don’t want you to freak out, and I’m saying this because I don’t want anything weird between us – I believe I might have feelings for you.”
Oh God, it’s happening. It’s real. What do I say to that? The silence hung in the dim lighting and Yosuke was practically wishing the waitress would come back with their drinks or food to alleviate this moment that was persisting between them.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anythi –“
“No, no, Souji, partner, I. I – “ Now that the words were up to bat, Yosuke found it so much harder to vocalize what he had been feeling for the past couple months. Where was that optimism and suave demeanor he had crafted in front of his bathroom mirror at 2:18 AM? All he had to do was say he felt the same, and it would fix this. That was it. But those voices that had been pounding him with logistical questions he hadn’t anticipated like how they would continue the relationship despite the distance, and how they would visit and talk and if it would affect their relationship as friends, as partners?
Souji expectantly held his gaze, as Yosuke was in the middle of trying to deliver some thoughtful speech, but that was all Yosuke needed to be reminded of who he was dealing with. Souji Seta. Who had been there since day 1 and had always been his partner through and through. Someone who had seen Yosuke at his very lowest and had helped build him into the person who he was today. Who could make Yosuke laugh or be there when he cried. Someone he cared about more than… Fuck, more than anything.
“Partner, I really like you too. That’s why I invited you today, I, I wanted to see – God, what a classic Hanamura move – I wanted to see what it would be like to go on a date with you. And see how it went. And I didn’t really think much past that point, but I mean, I guess if you feel… That way about me too, maybe we could date?” Yosuke finished, rather lamely.
Here’s where Yosuke’s heart nearly stopped: Souji opened his mouth (was this the rejection? Was it time?), his eyes crinkled (Oh God, did I make him cry?), and that bastard had the audacity to laugh!
“You asked me out, but didn’t actually ask me out?”
“It made sense, okay! If I just straight-up asked you out, that… Could’ve been weird, I don’t know, man! So, I just wanted it to seem like two dudes going to Okina for some dinner and maybe a really good movie. It made sense.”
Souji nodded as he stifled back some snorts. That smug, shit-eating grin was a disarmingly good look for him, Yosuke decided. It also made him want to punch him in the face (again). The waitress chose that moment to deliver their beef bowls, and Yosuke would have to say it was in the top 10 most romantic beef bowls he had (a list he would expect Chie to have, probably). Souji couldn’t keep that grin off his face, and Yosuke found it hard to stop smiling as well.
“So, for the end of our first date, we aren’t going to Dumminator 2,” Souji said, still grinning. “Instead, I say we get back to Inaba and go to the Samegawa.” Yosuke’s heart probably skipped about 12 beats there. Samegawa? Like, isn’t that where people go to make out in the evening? Would Souji know that? He hasn’t been here that long, but he’s also Souji Seta: number 1 ladykiller of Yasogami High. Some girl must have stuffed a letter in his shoebox asking him to take her poor, sweet, demure heart there under the full moon. Shit, that sounded hot.
“Sounds good, partner!” Yosuke replied, feigning confidence despite having never been kissed, let alone on the Samegawa where, the last time he was there with Souji, they had been decking each other in the face. Who ever would’ve guessed he’d be here.
The ride back on the train was relatively uneventful. Yosuke and Souji played the game of “find the most interesting train denizen” (Yosuke won after spotting a lady with 3 birds perched on her shoulders), but there was this new lightning electricity between them, as though they could spill over and into each other at a moment’s notice. Like they should be swinging from the poles or dancing through the halls of the train. Every time he looked at Souji, he felt his heart move further up his throat. Almost like acid reflux, mostly like love.
When they arrived back in Inaba, as opposed to stepping out of the train, it was more of a synchronized tumbling routine of tripping on each other’s feet in the mad dash to reach the banks of the river. Souji was laughing and Yosuke didn’t even care that his bike was being left, abandoned, at the station. All he could focus on was Souji and he was quickly catching up to him, and how good this all felt. Landing in the soft grass on the river, Yosuke was nearly breathless and Souji was panting right beside him. Yosuke rolled onto his side to see Souji as he truly was, bathed in the night and silent aside from catching his breath and the slow roll of the water lapping the rocks. Souji turned to meet his gaze, side still rising and falling with each breath, and slowly moved towards Yosuke and everything could’ve just stopped there and everything would’ve been right.
“Nanako, where’s Souji?”
“He’s in bed!”
“Huh…?” While Dojima wasn’t always the most attentative paternal figure, he usually knew if Souji was at least in the building. Not quite believing Nanako, he lumbered up the stairs and knocked on Souji’s door.
“You up?”
“Mmm, now I am.” Souji said, still unable to keep the smile off his face.
Dojima gave a gruff sound of acknowledgement and headed back downstairs.
He had snuck in through the roof with Yosuke giggling below before giving a bashful wave and disappearing into the night. Souji’s lips still tingled with the sensation of Yosuke, like the way his body seemed to vibrate with this insatiable energy that hadn’t left since he heard Yosuke felt the same.
1 missed text: Yosuke Hanamura
“Goodnight prtnr < 3”