Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a regular school day in April, about fifteen minutes before lunch break. As Josuke glanced at the cherry blossoms outside the window, he decided he’d had enough.

Just like the previous year, Okuyasu was in a different class, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t pass notes. Tearing out a sheet of paper from his notebook, heart beating fast as he acted on impulse, he scrawled a quick note down. 

HEY OKUYASU. DO YOU LIKE ANYONE?

Josuke chewed his lip nervously, needlessly reading it over and wondering if he should add anything else. Deciding against it, he folded the paper neatly, waiting until the teacher turned his back to the class. When he did, Josuke summoned Crazy Diamond, using his Stand to tap Koichi on the shoulder, who sat directly in-front. 

Koichi glanced back over his shoulder, giving Josuke a quizzical look, one that also said ‘this had better be good’.

Josuke had Crazy Diamond pass the note (he didn’t want to be seen passing notes in class even by other students because that was a middle school girl activity), speaking in a whisper.

“Could you get Echoes to pass this to Okuyasu?”

“Seriously?” Koichi whispered back. “I can’t even see next door…!”

Josuke clasped his hands together, giving his best puppy eyes, mouthing the word ‘please’. Koichi sighed in response, summoning Act 2 and earning a grin from Josuke.

Both boys went back to work as the teacher turned back to face the class, meanwhile Act 2 slipped out of the classroom and into the hallway carrying the note.

When he returned a minute later, he slid along the floor under desks as if to hide from a teacher who clearly couldn’t see him. Josuke lowered his hand beside his desk, letting Act 2 slip the note between his fingers before he lifted it up, unfolding it quietly so the teacher (hopefully) wouldn’t notice.

UHHHH YEAH. DO YOU?

Josuke stared at the note, wondering. Okuyasu had never mentioned any crush, and Josuke didn’t want to get his hopes up, but there could be an obvious reason for that.

YEAH. IF YOU TELL ME YOURS I'LL TELL YOU MINE

Josuke looked down to see Act 2 was already gone. “Pst, Koichi.”

Koichi turned, raising a brow. Josuke showed the note, making Koichi sigh and reluctantly summon his Stand again, shaking his head. For the rest of the exchange, he kept Act 2 out, resigning to being the boys’ messenger. 

YOU TELL ME YOURS FIRST, YOU’RE THE ONE ASKING! (Okuyasu.)

YEAH, I ASKED FIRST SO YOU GOTTA TELL ME FIRST. CAN I AT LEAST GUESS? (Josuke.)

UMM… SURE (Okuyasu.)

IS IT A BOY OR A GIRL? (I PROMISE, I’M NOT JUDGING) (Josuke.)

Josuke’s heart skipped a beat as he sent that last message, wondering how Okuyasu would react. The possibility of liking another guy wasn’t a subject the two of them had ever broached before, not even close, and he couldn’t help his nerves as he wondered if Okuyasu would be onto him for it. As the note returned a few minutes later, Josuke’s heart pounded even faster, his cheeks warming as he unfolded the note - before it was snatched from his hands.

“Ah, what’s this, Higashikata?” The teacher, Haneda-sensei, chided. “Passing notes at your age, really? Something to share with the class? Let’s see…” He unfolded the note, and Josuke panicked.

Crazy Diamond was out in an instant, drawing the ink out of the page and sending it back to Josuke and Okuyasu’s respective pens. By the time the paper was unfolded all the way, the teacher looked thoroughly puzzled.

“Oh… it’s blank,” Haneda-sensei said, flipping it over to check the back and earning a few giggles from other students. Josuke laughed, too, flushing pink and fighting the urge to bite his lip nervously. “I don’t know what you’re up to, Higashikata,” the teacher continued, “but stop messing around, alright?” He tossed the crinkled, blank sheet of paper onto Josuke’s desk, approaching the front of the classroom.

Not long after, though, the bell was ringing. Josuke thanked Koichi quickly as he gathered his things, being the first to rush out of the door, waiting for Okuyasu’s classmates to file out of the room before he headed in towards his friend.

Okuyasu looked up from where he was sitting atop his desk, and the two locked eyes. “H-Hey, Josuke.”

“Hey, man,” Josuke said quickly. “Uh, Haneda-sensei took the note, so I had to use Crazy Diamond to erase whatever we wrote…”

“Oh, so that’s what was goin’ on with my pen.”

“Yeah, uh, I didn’t get to read what you wrote.” Josuke scratched the back of his head, laughing nervously.

Okuyasu glanced away. “Oh.”

Josuke swallowed. “Yeah.”

A beat passed where neither of them said anything.

“Uh, anyway,” Josuke continued, “you busy…?”

“Oh, nah,” Okuyasu said, meeting Josuke’s eyes again.

“...I didn’t bring anything from home. Wanna go grab some lunch from town…?”

“Sure,” Okuyasu said quickly, standing and walking past Josuke towards the door. Josuke followed, desperately fighting the urge to wipe his sweaty hands on his expensive customised uniform.

It wasn’t until they’d gone all the way to town and come all the way back to school with their food that Josuke brought it up again. The two strode across the campus toward the main building, paper bags in-hand.

“So,” Josuke said with feigned casualness, “uh, what did you write, anyway?” He scanned the campus, not looking for anything but an excuse not to look at his best friend.

“Uh,” Okuyasu responded, similarly glancing around, “on the note?”

“Yeah.”

“Uh…” Okuyasu cleared his throat. “L-Let’s just eat, man, I’m pretty hungry. Ask me again later.”

So the two ended up back in Okuyasu’s classroom, leaning back against the windowsill as they ate and talked about nothing in particular. The elephant in the room was extremely present the entire time, making Josuke notice and question everything Okuyasu said, every expression he made. Every brief brush of their hands together made his heart speed up, and every fleeting moment of eye contact made him worry he was sweating stains into his jacket.

When the bell rang once again and Josuke was getting up to return to his classroom, Okuyasu’s voice made him stop and turn back.

“Uh, Josuke?”

“Yeah, man?”

“It is,” Okuyasu mumbled, avoiding his friend’s eyes, his face reddening. “A dude…”

Josuke blinked, taking just a moment to register what Okuyasu meant. When he did, a big grin spread across his face, his heart soaring. “Yeah!?”

“Y-Yeah, but…” Okuyasu wiped his hands on his thighs. “Don’t…”

“I won’t tell anyone, man!” Josuke grinned. “Anyway, gotta run, see you!”

“W-Wait!” Okuyasu called out. “I was gonna ask you the same thing!”

“Ask later!”

For the remaining two periods, Josuke was buzzing with excitement and nerves. Every time he felt himself smiling uncontrollably, he’d have to purse his lips, take a deep breath, and steel himself. All the same, he could hardly focus on taking notes or solving equations, his leg bouncing and mind racing. 

Josuke wasn’t sure how well he’d fare telling Okuyasu about his own crush on a boy in-person, but he already knew Koichi wouldn’t pass notes for them again after what happened with Haneda-sensei, so he didn’t bother asking. Instead, he tore a small piece of paper from his notebook, writing it down to pass onto Okuyasu before they had to part ways again for club activities.

MY CRUSH IS A GUY TOO…!

When classes were finally done with that afternoon and the classrooms were tidy, Josuke hurried to Okuyasu’s locker to catch him before the boy went outside for his sports club activities. In his haste, Josuke had gotten there before Okuyasu, and as he waited, his nerves got worse. He was considering just slipping the note into Okuyasu’s locker, but it was right at that moment the boy decided to show up.

Josuke smiled at his friend nervously, holding the note in his pocket. “Hey, man.”

“Oh,” Okuyasu said, surprised. “H-Hey.”

“How was class?”

“Uh, boring.”

“Yeah, for sure. For sure. Uh…” Josuke pulled the note from his pocket, looking away in an attempt to appear nonchalant as he handed it to Okuyasu. “Take this. Um, see you later.” Without looking back, Josuke turned, shoving both hands back into his pockets and making his way to his own locker, his face burning red-hot.

“Oh, uh… sure?”

As the two met under their usual tree outside the main building to walk home together, Okuyasu greeted Josuke with a big grin, which helped to ease Josuke’s jittering heart.

“Hey, Josuke!” Okuyasu called out.

“Hey, sorry,” Josuke replied, jogging to catch up. “Had a hair emergency, so I was in the bathroom fixing it.”

“Ohh, of course!” Okuyasu stroked his chin, nodding sagely. Then, he grinned again, bright and wonderful. “Let’s get walkin’.”

Josuke grinned back, buzzing with excitement. “Totally.”

They talked for a few minutes about their clubs and about their classes, until there was a brief lull in the conversation - very brief, about two seconds - and both boys seemed to take it as an opportunity to change the subject to what had been on their minds that day, speaking at the same time.

“So–”

“Do you–”

Josuke laughed, hoping he didn’t sound as nervous as he was. “Sorry, you go.”

“N-Nah, man, you go first,” Okuyasu stammered.

“Okay, um… so, you’re still not gonna tell me who it is, are you? That you have a crush on?” Josuke glanced sideways at Okuyasu, and could see a sort of flustered pout on his face.

“Uh… I-I dunno. I wanna, but…”

“Can I guess?”

“Uh…” Okuyasu took a deep, unsteady breath. “Sure.”

Josuke really didn’t want to get his hopes up, but he wasn’t blind. If Okuyasu was this nervous and this reluctant to share who it was that he liked with his best friend, there was a good chance it was Josuke, right? Josuke had started this whole thing because some part of him deep down felt like it was possible; he’d never have brought it up if he was positive Okuyasu couldn’t like him back. Still, he tried not to get ahead of himself.

“Is he in our grade?”

Okuyasu screwed his eyes shut for a moment, mumbling. “Weird… when you say ‘he’… but, uh, yeah, h-he’s a second-year like us.”

Josuke’s heart skipped. “Is he in your class?”

Okuyasu shook his head silently, his jaw clenched.

“What about mine?”

Okuyasu nodded. Josuke couldn’t breathe.

“Is– do I know him very well?”

Okuyasu’s face was redder than Josuke had ever seen it. “Uhh… umm… I don’t really know what the answer to that should be? Like–”

“Is it me?” Josuke blurted, staring wide-eyed at his friend. He hadn’t even realised they’d stopped walking at some point.

Okuyasu’s eyes darted around frantically, landing everywhere but on Josuke as he stammered. The hand that wasn’t holding his school bag was clenching and unclenching, fiddling with his pants and his sleeve, fidgeting in any way it could. “I– I, uh– um…!”

Josuke was still holding his breath, trying to be patient, hoping he wasn’t overwhelming his friend by putting him on the spot. “Okuyasu?”

“M… N… No,” Okuyasu finally said, his eyes wide as he stared at the pavement. “Nope.”

Oh.

Josuke slowly, gradually let out his breath, and with it went all his energy, his soul. The shift in mood was sudden and jarring, leaving him with a dark, ravenous pit in his chest where his heart should have been.

“Oh,” he said, the pain of acting normal almost too much to bear. “Haha, of course not.”

“N– uh, yeah.” Okuyasu coughed awkwardly, glancing at Josuke briefly. By his waist, as if to hide the fidgeting away, he was flapping his free hand up and down.

“Is it, uh… I dunno… not Koichi, right?”

“Oh, hell no,” Okuyasu laughed nervously. “Nah, man… not him…” His face twisted in a strange sort of manner, looking like the conversation was paining him more than it was before.

Josuke thought of his class, and the face of a foreign exchange student came to mind. “Is it Simon…?”

Okuyasu blinked, stunned for a moment. He stilled his hand, clenching a fist instead. “Uh… yeah! Yeah, uh, it– it is, yep. He’s, uh, interesting.”

Josuke felt a sudden, alarmingly strong urge to cry, so he looked away and briskly began walking again. “I see.”

Okuyasu took a few moments to follow, jogging to catch up. “What– What about yours, man?”

“I don’t like anyone,” Josuke found himself lying impulsively. “I just… said it so you’d tell me yours.”

Okuyasu’s jaw dropped, a look of genuine hurt and betrayal in his eyes. “Wha…?”

“Yeah, sorry, dude.”

“But– But you said you liked a guy!” Okuyasu’s voice cracked, sounding hurt.

Josuke had to steel himself, feeling out-of-character as he lied through his teeth just to save face in front of his best friend. “Yeah, I… thought you’d wanna tell me your crush if I said that.”

“So you’re not even gay?” 

Josuke’s cheeks flushed. “Look, that doesn’t matter, okay?”

Okuyasu looked as lost as Josuke felt inside. “Huh!?”

“Just forget it, man, we’re basically home, anyway.”

“Right,” Okuyasu mumbled. This was normally the point where he’d ask Josuke if he could come over to play on his Nintendo 64. He didn’t.

Chapter Text

“Josuke.”

Josuke poked around at his cold soba noodles, already having lost his appetite barely halfway through his dinner. He stared down into the bowl, unable to take his mind off of Okuyasu. 

“Josuke.”

What kind of luck did Josuke have, getting lucky enough that his crush also liked boys, just for it not to be him? Did Okuyasu see him more like a brother? He'd seemed uncomfortable when Josuke was asking if Okuyasu liked him. Had Josuke made it obvious how he felt? Had Okuyasu seen through him, and his lie? Had he ruined any potential chance of–

“Josuke!”

Josuke’s brow furrowed, the response coming out on its own before he realised it, in the most antagonising tone he could imagine. “What!?”

As his mother’s eyes widened, Josuke looked up, wincing. 

“I meant, uh–”

“What is your issue!?” Tomoko scolded. “I don’t need that attitude right now, young man!"

Josuke put his hands together, elbows on the table, and bowed his head. “I’m sorry, Mom, I-I was really zoned out! I didn’t mean to speak to you that way… please forgive me?”

“Jeez…!” Tomoko huffed. “Whatever, just tell me what’s wrong, and I will.”

“Huh?” Josuke raised his head to regard his mother. “Pardon?”

“What’s. Wrong. You’re just staring into your soba.”

“Oh, I’m…” Josuke made a show of gathering the noodles up in his chopsticks, lifting them a few inches from the bowl. “Sorry, just– not that hungry, but it’s delicious as always, Mom!” He flashed a fake grin before lowering his head towards his bowl and slurping the noodles up.

Tomoko was staring blankly. She pointed her chopsticks at Josuke accusingly, saying, “I don’t buy it. A mother can tell when something’s wrong with her kid, you know.”

Josuke swallowed. “Ahaha, really? Uhh, maybe I’m sick or something?”

“You’re not getting out of school tomorrow.”

“I’m not saying…!” Josuke sighed. “I’m fine, I really don’t know what you’re talking about. Okay? I’ll finish this quickly and then go to my room for the night.”

“No video games? Something is wrong.”

Josuke opted out of speaking by hurriedly shoveling more noodles into his mouth.

“Girl troubles?”

Josuke continued eating, but he gave Tomoko an exasperated look that said all it needed to.

“Boy troubles?”

Josuke inhaled the noodles into his throat, eyes watering as he coughed them back up and into the bowl. He made a face down at them, now definitely put off of finishing his dinner if he wasn’t already. He was slow to look back at his mother.

Tomoko was watching him like a hawk. “Did I hit the bullseye?”

“I don’t– what do you even mean by that?” Josuke’s heart was in his ass, and he was already blushing, and he knew she’d notice. She’d definitely notice. 

“Well, you seem to really like Prince, you know…? And you've never had a girlfriend. At some point, any mother is going to ask questions.”

Josuke swallowed, hoping that playing as dumb as possible would save him. “What are you talking about? What– What’s Prince got to do with anything? I’m lost.”

“Josuke,” Tomoko said flatly, crossing her arms and wearing a stern expression. “I don’t want to have to say it.”

“Uh, say what?” Josuke’s question was genuine.

Tomoko sighed, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. “I really just wanted you to tell me when you were ready, but… I found a magazine…”

Josuke got to his feet so fast he felt dizzy. “Woah, woah, woah! What!?”

“It’s not a big deal,” Tomoko said, looking like she hated the conversation nearly as much as Josuke. “You’re not in trouble. I’m just saying you don’t have to pretend.”

Josuke didn’t know whether he wanted to cry, puke, run away, or all three. “You– you– you–” He clenched his fist, shutting his eyes. “I, I don’t… even know why I had that thing, seriously, I…”

“Josuke! I’m telling you it’s fine! Just stop lying to me!”

Josuke was not ready for this conversation whatsoever. He was already in a bad mood, he was caught off-guard, he was humiliated, and his hair was down. He’d never felt more vulnerable in his life, maybe save for when he was literally sick and dying for over a full month as a child.

“Look,” Tomoko sighed, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought that up. I already regret it. I don’t want to embarrass you out of talking to me, I just… want you to know it’s okay with me, and you can be honest.”

“Why… were you snooping around in my room…!?”

“I wasn’t! I was cleaning my house!”

“I clean my own room,” Josuke whined.

“I don’t know, it was a Sunday and you were out and about and I was doing the laundry or something, so I checked your room. I’m sorry. It is still my house.”

Josuke sighed, avoiding looking at Tomoko as he gathered the dishes from the dining table. “...Thanks for the meal.”

After doing the dishes, Josuke brushed his teeth and retired to his bedroom as planned. Not in the mood for music, and definitely not in the mood for magazines (even the family-friendly kind), he just turned off the lights and crawled into bed. He cried for a few minutes - not bawling, just a few tears and sniffles and feeling sorry for himself - and after that, he tried to sleep, but he was finding it difficult to sleep several hours before he’d normally be in bed.

At some point in the night, Tomoko knocked gently at Josuke’s door. “Josuke…? Can I come in?”

“Okay,” Josuke replied soullessly. 

Tomoko opened the door, soft light entering the room with her and brightening the dark shadows to more visible blues and purples. She sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at her son with love even when he just stared blankly at the wall instead of looking back at her.

“You okay?” She asked.

“Yeah,” Josuke replied quietly, “I’m just trying to sleep.”

“Pretty early for you…”

Josuke shrugged.

Tomoko snorted softly. “Sorry, honey.”

Josuke pouted. “Stop with the pet names, Mom, I’m a delinquent.”

“Sure you are,” Tomoko replied. “But I’m still your mom.”

“Mm…”

“Wanna tell me what’s going on?”

Josuke shook his head.

“Got it. Well, that’s fine. But is there anything I can do to help?”

“Nah…” Josuke curled in on himself a little more. “But, thanks.”

“It’s okay. Want a bedtime kiss?”

“What the hell, Mom…? Get out of here.”

Tomoko laughed, and Josuke quirked a small grin, too. “You know, Josuke,” she said, “I really don’t care if you’re gay.”

Josuke groaned, turning to face away from her as heat rose to his cheeks. “Mom. I know, I just don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Okay, as long as you know you can if you change your mind.”

“Okay.” Through his self-pity and humiliation, Josuke suddenly realised how lucky he was to have an accepting mother, and how grateful he felt he should be despite her snooping around in his belongings. “Uh… thanks,” he said, heartfelt.

“Don’t mention it, sweetie,” Tomoko said, giving Josuke a firm pat on the shoulder before standing and heading to the doorway. “I’m going to bed.”

“Hello? The pet names?”

“Right, right, delinquent, manly, tough, all that. Goodnight!”

“Ugh. G’night…”

The next morning, Josuke found himself entirely unwilling to get out of bed. 

He wasn’t the type of kid to skip classes, let alone entire school days unwarranted, and yet thinking of facing Okuyasu again filled him with dread. And why should a seventeen-year-old boy have to deal with as much as Josuke had in his life? He and his friends saved Morioh, so why should he have to go to school when he really, really didn’t feel like it?

Tomoko pounded on the door. “Josuke! Jeez, are you still in bed!? You should be ready to go!”

The pit in Josuke’s stomach only got larger, and he groaned in response. He got like this over things, sometimes, things that were often small in hindsight. It had only started last year, so he wondered if he’d suffered some kind of brain damage at some point (he wouldn’t say he suffered any kind of mental trauma from the whole ordeal, definitely not).

“Josuke, what is up with you? I’m coming in!” Tomoko opened the door, already dressed for the day. Scoffing when she saw Josuke still in bed, she stomped to his window and threw open the curtains. “Wake up! You’re going to be so late!”

“Ahh!” Josuke shut his eyes, pulling his blanket over his head. “Mom, I don’t feel well!”

“You’re not sick, Josuke. Let me feel for a fever.” She tugged the blanket off of him mercilessly, slipping her hand underneath his bangs and laying her palm on his forehead. “Mhm, you’re fine.”

“N-No, like…” Josuke turned onto his back, looking up at his mother and playing up his misery. “Nauseous, not like a cold or anything. Like I might throw up.” To be fair, he wasn’t really lying. He just left out some crucial details.

Tomoko withdrew her hand, exasperated. “Josuke, it’s a Saturday. It’s not even a full school day. You can’t even make it ‘till one o’clock? You look fine!”

“If I could make it, would I be waiting this long to do my hair?”

Tomoko looked at her son for a long moment, a slight worry creasing her brow before she gave up and sighed. “Alright, fine,” she said softly. “I can’t make you go, but at least it is only a Saturday. I’ll let them know you weren’t feeling well.”

Josuke sighed, relaxing. “Thanks, Mom.”

“But you’re resting, not playing video games all day. Got it?”

Josuke smiled, because she had neglected to mention movies. “Okay,” he remarked in English.

Tomoko moved to the doorway before stopping. “Oh, I know you didn’t want to talk about what was wrong, but… I kind of have a feeling.”

Josuke cringed. “Oh?”

“Okuyasu-kun was here waiting to walk to school with you, you know. I had to tell him to go without you, so you wouldn’t make him late.”

Josuke swung upright, his eyes wide. “He did!? Why– Why didn’t you tell me when he was here?”

“You go to school together every day, I shouldn’t have to.” She put a hand on her hip, smiling knowingly. “But it looks like I was right.”

“A-About what?”

“Bye, Josuke, I’ll see you this afternoon.”

“W-Wait!” Josuke hopped out of bed, getting onto his feet and darting around his room to ready his uniform. “I’ll go!”

“Well, you’d better hurry!”

Josuke hurried to school, eating as he jogged the whole way. Even then, with his hair taking top priority, he was thirty minutes late. He winced as he walked into the empty halls, always hating the feeling of being late to school. Upon opening his locker, he took pause, snapping out of his frantic state - a note had fallen out and fluttered to the floor.

Josuke took a knee, picking up the note. It was folded, but even before opening it, he knew it was from Okuyasu, and his heart pounded. Sucking his bottom lip into his teeth nervously, he unfolded the torn piece of paper to read what Okuyasu had written.

SORRY, I REALLY FREAKED OUT YESTERDAY. I’M BAD AT BEING PUT ON THE SPOT. I KINDA LIED TO YOU AND I FEEL PRETTY BAD ABOUT IT. I’M STUPID THOUGH SO I CAN’T TELL WHAT YOUR REACTION WAS MEANT TO BE (RUNNING OUT OF SPACE CHECK LOCKER 2ND NOTE)

Mouth dry, Josuke could only blink at the note with wide eyes, looking up to his open locker. Immediately, he spotted another torn piece of lined notebook paper, sitting awkwardly atop his gym shoes. He snatched it with unsteady hands, opening it up.

SORRY GOT A BIGGER PIECE OF PAPER. I WANTED TO SAY THIS ALL IN PERSON BUT I GUESS I’M KINDA RELIEVED YOU’RE RUNNING LATE SO I DON’T HAVE TO (IF YOU EVEN SHOW UP). AM I REALLY RAMBLING IN A NOTE? YEAH I’M NOT SURE WHAT ANYTHING IS MEANT TO MEAN ANYMORE OR HOW YOU FEEL SO I’M JUST GONNA DO THE SIMPLE THING AND TELL THE TRUTH. 

IT’S YOU

SORRY

Josuke read both notes over and over and over again, his heart soaring and his whole body on fire. He replayed the events of yesterday again and again in his mind in a new context, seeing how Okuyasu might've just panicked and lied. Josuke could’ve conceivably done the same thing, if the roles were reversed. But Okuyasu liked him. Okuyasu liked him.

And he had the rest of the school day to get through before he could even face him.

Josuke hurried to class, giving his profuse apologies for his tardiness before taking his seat. Koichi gave him a surprised look, and then a smile. The rest of the day went relatively normally, except for the fact that Josuke’s class had PE right after Okuyasu’s. On their way outside, the two classes passed each other, and Josuke watched Okuyasu’s solemn expression completely dissolve when he saw Josuke was there, his frown being replaced with a grin brighter than the sun. Josuke grinned back, waving, and the two stopped following their classes for a brief exchange.

“Josuke, you made it...! I didn’t think you were comin’.”

“Yeah, I’m here.”

“Did– Did you see…?”

“Yeah, I-I saw the note.” 

“Y-You’re smilin’.”

“Yeah. It– It made me pretty happy, dude.”

Okuyasu giggled. “Oh. Heh. Good. Wow, that’s–  that’s amazin’, shit.” He looked to his disappearing class, then towards Josuke. “Er, w-wanna meet on the roof after class!?”

“Sure,” Josuke said with an enthusiastic nod, so excited he felt like he’d burst. “I’ll see you then.”

Josuke felt immense relief that no other students were on the roof. He was only there for a minute or two before he heard the door open, and out of it came running Okuyasu, slightly breathless from the stairs.

Josuke beamed at him. “Hey, dude.”

Okuyasu grinned back, catching his breath as he jogged up to Josuke. “Hey!”

“Uh, can I just confirm exactly what you meant?” Josuke asked suddenly. “In the notes?”

“Whaddya mean?”

“Tell me what you meant when you said ‘it’s you’, just so I know I’m not misinterpreting anything.”

“Uh…” Okuyasu fidgeted with his hands. “You sure? I mean… y’know… it’s you. The– you know.”

“The crush?”

Okuyasu nodded, blushing.

“Okay, great,” Josuke said with a laugh. “I would’ve been really embarrassed if I misunderstood.”

“What else could it mean?”

“I dunno, man. C’mere.” Without thinking, because he’d been doing too much of it lately, he pulled Okuyasu into a tight hug. The two were definitely touchy-feely throughout their whole friendship, but a hug like this was something immensely special. Okuyasu made a small noise of surprise, taking a moment before he wrapped his arms around Josuke, burying his face into the crook of the taller boy’s shoulder. Josuke turned his head towards Okuyasu’s so that his cheek was pressed against him.

The two stood like that for a long while, holding each other tight and firm. Josuke was the first to break the silence. “I– I really, really like you, man. I was late because I was freaking out, ‘cause I thought I messed things up by asking if you liked me.”

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Okuyasu mumbled, squeezing tighter. “I really like you, dude…! I-I couldn’t tell what you were thinkin', and… you know I get really indecisive an’ shit, and I don’t know what I’m meant to do on the spot. So I just wondered what my bro would’ve told me to do, and I don’t think he’d really… want me to be like this… y’know… with another guy…”

“I get it, it’s okay,” Josuke whispered. “It’s fine, dude. I’m sorry for putting you on the spot.”

“‘S okay. I’m glad you asked, ‘cause I never would’ve told you on my own.”

“Well, it all worked out in the end!” Said Josuke as the two finally broke apart, smiling at each other. Emboldened now, Josuke quickly planted a kiss on Okuyasu’s cheek before briskly walking past him to the doorway. “C’mon,” he said as his own face burned red, “let’s go! Wanna come hang at mine?”

Okuyasu stood stunned, his jaw hanging loose. It wasn’t until Josuke shrugged and began walking down the stairs that Okuyasu snapped out of his stupor and jogged to catch up. “Can– Can I stay the night?”

“Uh, yeah, but… uh… my mom might be a bit weird…”

“Whaddya mean?”

“She, uh… she found one of my magazines, dude… with… guys in it.”

“...I ain’t really had parents for a while, so I dunno, but that’s pretty embarrassin’, ain’t it?”

“Yeah, I wanna fucking kill myself.”

“I see. She mad?”

“Not really, which is great, but she might not let me close my door when you’re over…”

“Damn. Uh, well, we could always, y’know, do it at mine…”

“...Do what?”

“Well… y’know…”

“W-Woah! Dude! I’m– I mean, not that I don’t want to, but– I-I’m more the type of guy to take things slow, y’know?”

“Oh– right, yeah, that’s cool! That’s totally cool, dude! Of course! I just mean– y’know, in the future…”

“Yeah, uh, totally. Totally at some point in the future. Haha. Talking about this is gonna make me have a heart attack, though.”

“S-Sorry.”

“It’s fine. Uh… W-We could try kissing, though.”

“Really!? Finally, I’m finally gonna have my first kiss…! I’m so happy I could cry!”

“Woah, relax, dude!”