Work Text:
The buzz of the box fan propped against the wall endlessly droned on and on as Yusuke laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. He reached his long, slender arm over to his nightstand to pick up his phone and turn it on. 2:37 am.
It had nearly been four hours since he laid down for bed, and not a second of that time had he spent asleep. He sat up and swiveled his body to where his legs were off the bed and buried his face into his hands. His blue hair hung over his hands and tickled the back of them. Why wasn't he able to sleep? It was only when a faint rumbling noise from his stomach crept in that he realized: he hadn't eaten today.
Yusuke was no stranger to not eating on a daily basis. The years he spent since his sensei's arrest with little to no money allowed him to get familiar with the feeling of an empty stomach. Even now that he is in a more comfortable financial state, Yusuke still struggled to keep his diet consistent.
However, his desire for sleep heavily outweighed his laziness as he pushed himself off of the edge of the bed and waddled through the bedroom door, through the living room, and to the kitchen. He quietly flicked the light on and opened the fridge. He was greeted with a quiet hum and a multitude of options.
Ultimately, he decided to just heat up some leftover takoyaki from the takeout he had gotten the day before. It was simple, quick, and delicious. He carefully closed the fridge and opened the cabinet above his head to the left to grab a bowl.
After dumping the takoyaki from the tupperware to the bowl, he shuffled over to the other side of the counter and gently set the bowl in the microwave before closing it. He set the time for one minute and hit start.
Yusuke leaned back onto the counter and crossed his arms. He let out a long sigh. 53 seconds left.
He suddenly found himself deep in thought. The reason he found himself so hungry this late at night was because of his preoccupation with his current work. It was finals time at his university, and this painting would determine whether his piece would be displayed at the school's end-of-the-year art show. 39 seconds left.
He spent all day just staring at a blank canvas, completely unable to come up with a single idea as what to create. He wasn't assigned any topic, so he was left all to his own imagination. The feeling was similar to the art block he faced back in high school when his friend Ren helped him overcome it. 27 seconds left.
Having his art displayed at the show or not would have no affect on his grades in any capacity, but the exposure meant everything to him right now. He hated having to rely on his partner for funds. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he really wanted to be able to start making at least some kind of money to help out. The guilt was eating at him, though he didn't show it. 13 seconds left.
Yusuke stood, staring at the cabinets in front of him, and sighed at the thought of losing his touch at such a crucial moment. Of all times, it had to be now. In those last handful of seconds he tried to quickly come up with something - anything that he could quickly jot down and get back to in the morning. Nothing was coming to mind. He darted his eyes down, only for them to widen the moment he realized: 2 seconds left.
He rushed to the counter to try to make it in time, but the microwave timer beat him to it. Three loud beeps echoed across the small-ish apartment; they didn't really echo, but the quietness of the late night made an otherwise normal-volume beep sound like an explosive alarm.
Yusuke opened the microwave door with a defeated breath and pulled the bowl out. He placed it on the counter right beside the microwave and just stared at it. It was visibly steaming and much too hot to eat.
He turned to open a drawer and grab a pair of chopsticks, only to be greeted by a shorter, blonde man standing in the kitchen doorway. Yusuke jumped back in utter shock.
"Shit! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," the other whispered (which wasn't really a whisper, it was pretty loud with a whisper accent filtering it).
Yusuke exhaled deeply with a hand on his chest, recovering from the scare. "It's alright, Ryuji. I apologize, I had no intentions of waking you up. I know you had a long day at work. I wasn't paying attention and just missed the microwave timer. I tried to-"
"You tried to stop it at one," Ryuji interrupted with a chuckle. A moment of silence crept between them. Ryuji looked over Yusuke's shoulder to the bowl. "You didn't eat today, did you?"
Yusuke looked down at the ground and said nothing. He knew he was supposed to be watching out to make sure he was eating right, but every now and then he slipped up and forgot.
Ryuji placed a hand on the blue haired boy's shoulder. "H-Hey, it's all good. I'm not mad. I know you've been struggling with this painting for school. It's just..." Ryuji's words trailed off as he pushed himself off the ground to sit on the counter. Only then did he match Yusuke's height. "It's just... Dude, you gotta take care of yourself. I worry about you. A lot."
Before Yusuke could even respond, Ryuji continued. "I know it's hard. It's something you're not used to, and sometimes it feels like your art should take priority over it, but still. I just really want you to be okay, even when I'm not home."
"I'm sorry," was all the Yusuke could muster up to say. Even though he wasn't quite to tears, he couldn't help but feel horrible for making Ryuji worry. He is the only one who completely accepted all of him, flaws and problems, after all.
Ryuji hopped off the counter and took a couple steps toward the other. "No sorries, alright?" He leaned a little past Yusuke and reached his hand to the bowl of takoyaki. He used his finger to scoop a bit of the sauce off of the ball and quickly dabbed it on Yusuke's nose, making the taller fluster up a bit. "I'll start sending you texts every day, if that will help you remember. Is that okay?"
Yusuke gave Ryuji a faint, sleepy smile and nodded.
"Great." Ryuji picked up the bowl and gave it to Yusuke before opening the drawer behind him to get some chopsticks. "Now come on, go ahead and eat so we can go back to bed."
The next day, at around noon, Yusuke sat at his easel studying what he had painted. His phone buzzed on the little foldable table next to him, so he sat his brush down to look at it. He smiled as he opened a text from Ryuji.
--
From: Sakamoto Ryuji <3
12:27 pm
heya! don't forget to eat something for me today, okay? i'll be coming home from work this evening and we'll make some dinner together :) love ya
--
Yusuke sent him a quick reply back and sat his phone back down. He huffed out a content sigh of relief as he looked at his canvas, which was an in-progress painting of a face from below the eyes down. On that unknown person's nose was a single swipe of takoyaki sauce, as well as a smile on their lips and a blush on their cheeks.