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Futaba: inari.
Futaba: come over
Yusuke: Now? Is everything alright?
Futaba: yes. come before i change my mind
Yusuke: Ok.
Several minutes later that allowed Futaba far too much time to think, Yusuke appeared at her door. Before he had a chance to even open his mouth to say anything, Futaba pulled him into her room, shutting the door behind him.
Yusuke glanced between the closed door and Futaba who was sweaty and shaking. “What’s going on?”
She blinked up at him for a few moments before suddenly covering her face. “I- I-“ she shook her head, her hair flying around. “Agh!” She melted to the ground, never uncovering her face.
“Hey, hey.” Yusuke crouched down to Futaba’s level. He placed his hands on her shoulders cautiously. “What’s the problem?” He asked. “Did I do something wrong? Or are you bothered about the other’s assumptions about us? Or are you perhaps jealous? Or-“
Futaba snapped her head up and gripped his shoulders. “Yusuke.” He startled briefly at her usage of his real name. “I don’t know what I feel.”
“In what regard?”
“You.”
He blinked dumbly. “Huh? Me? What- what about me?”
She let go of his shoulders and leaned back against her closet. “Don’t know. Maybe they’re right.”
“What? About us acting like a couple? I thought you said it didn’t bother you.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you- wait. Is it that you want to be in a relationship with me?”
“Don’t know. Maybe.”
Yusuke took a moment to process this information, shifting himself into a more comfortable position. He sat on the floor with his legs crossed right across from Futaba, his legs just barely not touching hers.
He apparently took too long to respond because Futaba spoke again. “I really don’t know, because- well- I love you, but I can’t tell in what way.”
“Hm. I think I understand. There’s probably an easy way to figure this out.”
“I know.” She looked even further away from Yusuke. “It’s what I’ve been thinking about. I don’t know what I want.”
“If it helps, I wouldn’t mind experimenting with you if you please. I will admit, I’ve never thought of anyone in the way I believe you’re talking about, I’ve been very focused on only the aesthetic appeals of people. I am quite curious about other types of attraction though, maybe we would both be able to find out something about ourselves.”
“You would do that?!” Futaba gawked. He nodded, she stared at him for a moment, considering.
“Hopefully any emotions I feel could also be translated into art,” Yusuke said, and then quickly added, “but of course, the comfortability and feelings of you and I comes first.”
“Right.” She nodded. “I’ve been thinking. Physical intimacy seems nice- not sex, but y’know. That doesn’t seem nice.”
“Okay.”
“But-“ she carried on, “I don’t know. I’ve tried to imagine myself kissing you, and it still doesn’t feel correct, but it feels the most correct out of any of my friends. And- well- I don’t know. It’s like I want that connection with someone but I don’t feel capable of it.”
“Is there no other way you can feel this connection?”
“Well, I don’t know what this sort of connection is supposed to feel like.”
“I see. Would you like to start with a kiss?”
“What?!” She exclaimed. “God! You’re so forward!”
“Ah. I apologize.” Yusuke looked to the side. “I thought that was where this was going. I assumed incorrectly.”
“Do you want to kiss me?”
“You should probably be quieter, Boss might hear,” Yusuke mumbled. “But, it is something I've thought of trying before. It’s practically a rite of passage for kids our age.” He sighed. “I don’t know. I’ve captured much love in my paintings without truly knowing how it feels. I have thought it would likely be good to experience that love. Though I’ve found I find more satisfaction in simply observing romantic love from afar than even thinking about experiencing it myself.”
Futaba relaxed slightly. “So you’d like to try with me?”
“I thought I’d already said that.”
She looked to the side. “I guess.”
”So would you like to try? Or is this too quick? Again, I think some experimentation would benefit the both of us.”
Futaba took in the boy in front of her. Her eyes grazed all the way from the hair swooping over his eye to his thin lips currently pressed together as he watched her as well. She could only imagine what he was thinking.
“Okay,” she finally said.
“Okay?”
“Just do it.” Futaba took in a breath. “Kiss me.”
Yusuke nodded and Futaba watched the corners of his mouth turn downward as he leaned in. It felt like an eternity, but eventually, their lips met. That was the only point of contact between them, and neither of them moved for the duration of the kiss.
It didn’t take long before Yusuke pulled away. He leaned back and looked down. “No offense, I still think you’re beautiful, but-“
“That was disgusting.”
“Agreed.”
“Wait- you think I’m beautiful?”
“Haven’t we already discussed this? Yes, I think that you’re a very attractive individual, but mostly in the artistic sense. I’m not entirely sure what other people mean when they say someone is ‘hot’ or anything of the sort, but I do believe I think those things in a different way than most.”
Futaba sighed. “I think we both have issues.”
“I think we’re part of the Phantom Thieves because we have issues,” Yusuke said. “However, I don’t think this in particular is an issue for either of us.”
“I thought I would be fixed with a kiss. I thought I would suddenly be in love with you and you’d be in love with me and we’d be able to be normal.”
“But I would think that you wouldn’t want to be normal.”
“No, but it’s difficult when all of our other friends are talking about relationships and crushes and who they find attractive. And Sojiro’s asking about if I’ve found a partner yet. And people look at us, a boy and a girl, and assume that we’re dating.” She pulled her legs to her chest. “I like not being normal, but I feel like I have company in most ways that I’m weird, but not this.”
“Have you even been listening to anything I’ve been saying?”
Her eyes widened, the realization hitting her instantly. “You’re my company,” she stated simply.
Yusuke smiled and tilted his head downward. It was a comforting expression. “I’m glad it’s you.”
Futaba nodded. “Me too.”
“I have been told before that it’s inevitable before I find ‘the one’, however, maybe ‘the one’ doesn’t necessarily need to be a romantic thing.”
She stared at him for a moment. “Doesn’t have to be a romantic thing?” Futaba echoed.
“Well.” Yusuke paused. “Society tells us it does, but having ‘the one’ is really more of a fictional concept. I’ve thought about this before, when thinking about what desire and love mean to me. I think even though you’re told you’ll eventually find a romantic partner, really the one that’s closest to you can be anyone, even yourself, though I do still think it’s important to at least have someone.”
Futaba threaded her fingers together. “I’ve been alone for so long.” She sniffed. “I really need something a little more, I thought the only way was romance. That’s why… that’s why I wanted you.”
“Futaba…” Yusuke breathed and then took her hand in his own. “It would please me greatly for us to have each other. Perhaps this can be our own version of romance.”
She wiped at her eyes with her free hand, tears starting to well up. “But without the romance.”
“Correct.”
“Eugh- Inari- I’m glad we became friends.”
“Me too. We have Akira to thank for that.”
“Thank God for Akira.”
Yusuke laughed softly. “That’s what I think every day,” he said. “Wait.” He lightly pulled Futaba toward him. “Here.”
Futaba felt the soft warmth grow inside her once her and Yusuke had managed to rearrange themselves so that Yusuke’s back was now against the closet door and she was curled up against his side.
“How’s that?” He asked.
Futaba hummed in contempt as she melted a bit more. Yusuke laid his arm around her shoulder.
They sat there for a little while before Futaba spoke up again. “Wait. I have a question.”
“Hm?”
“You’re not sexually attracted to anyone either, are you?”
“No! Of course not! The idea repulses me.”
“The others won’t stop calling you a pervert and it bothers me, you’ve never struck me to be that way.”
“I don’t know how to convince them I’m not,” he admitted. “They think just because I find the naked human body to be artistically appealing, I’m sexually attracted to it as well. I simply find the body beautiful, and it truly is the barest a person can get.”
Futaba hummed. “Yeah I get you.”
“At least someone gets it.” Yusuke chuckled. “And you already said that you have no interest in sexual matters either, correct?”
“That’s right.”
Yusuke ran his fingers through her hair and laid his cheek on her head. Futaba became aware of the way he was curled around her. She chose not to think about how from an outsider’s perspective, it would be absolutely certain they were dating. It was comfortable, and she felt loved, very loved.
And then Yusuke voiced exactly what she wanted to hear. “I love you, Futaba,” he said.
“I love you too, Inari.” She managed to find his other hand. Her thumb ran along the top of his hand. “It’s nice having you here for me.”
“I’m happy to have you as well,” he replied. “Even though our relationship isn’t of the romantic sort, I ensure that I’ll care for you just as much regardless.”
“Thanks…” She didn’t know what else to say.
Yusuke pulled away to look at her face. “Are you crying again?”
Futaba buried her face in his shirt. She shook her head although she was already sniffling.
He ran his hand over her hair. “It’s alright,” he said and then adjusted their positions again. He let Futaba lay on his chest and he rubbed her back. He buried his face in her hair and Futaba just barely stifled a sob. She had been scared of where her and Yusuke’s relationship would go when she texted him not even an hour ago, but this really was the best possible outcome. She reached a whole new level of friendship with her best friend, and learned something about herself and him.
She realized just how far she had come in the past few months. Futaba knew that her mother would love Yusuke just as much as she did. She knew that her mother would be happy with her, and support her choice of relationship. She knew a lot about the mind, after all. Maybe she already knew that romance wasn’t the only way. Maybe she already knew that her own daughter wouldn’t want a romance. Her mother would be proud.