Archive of Our Own

A year.

A whole year had gone by - it had thrown Yosuke for quite a loop, but he would do it all over again if he were given the chance. He would never trade away his friends or his experiences for anything.

Throughout the previous year of crazy murder cases and the unfortunate discovery of a close friend trying to murder his best friend’s near-sister (more or less), Yosuke had been wrestling with his feelings a lot more than usual, which was not helped by the fact that Yu was moving between Tokyo and Inaba seemingly at random (Yosuke knew that it was all planned out and meticulous - everything was with Yu.) He just wished that he had some more time with his partner to sort out how he was feeling - and get these strange emotions knocked out of him. When he was with Yu, he felt that he didn’t have to think too much into things - he was at peace. Yosuke supposed that was natural with everything that they had been through together, but couldn’t place why he didn’t feel that way with any of the other Investigation Team members - his extremely close friends that he would entrust his life to without a second thought - but Yu was different. He always had been to Yosuke, and he could never figure out why, or how… his conversation with Naoto a few months back about the entire situation regarding the murder cases (evidently bringing up Yu in its wake) had not helped in the slightest.

Teddie was also not helping.

“Yooosuke!! What day did we decide was my birthday again? I want it to be close to yours!! And Chie-chan's! And Yuki-chan's! I could have one every month!”

Yosuke squeezed his eyes further shut and tried his best to repress a frustrated sigh. Teddie always kept him up with conversation - it was almost as if he didn’t need to sleep to sustain himself, and he used that down time to make sure Yosuke didn’t get any, either.

Though, to be fair, he wasn’t asleep anyways, and this was a welcome distraction to the thoughts turning circles in his head.

“You don’t even know when my birthday is, Ted! We can decide a birthday for you all together, we can meet up and call Yu after school.”

Yosuke and Yu had talked many times on late night calls, nearly every night, with Yosuke always finding the time to talk to Yu, and vice versa. He was still beyond shocked that someone like Yu would want to be as close to someone like him, but he certainly wasn’t complaining, and it wasn’t like Yosuke was going to let him get away after everything they had been through together. That was his partner, after all - no one else’s.

“Come oooon! We celebrated everyone else’s birthdays, when’s mine gonna be?! This bear’s gotta shine! I can throw a party and invite all the willing maidens in Inaba-”

“Okay, cut it out. We can decide a birthday if it really makes a difference, but we are not throwing a town-wide party. You can have a celebration at Junes, and that’s it. And I’m not paying for it, either. The cake is coming out of your paycheck,” Yosuke said, attempting to be stern. He couldn’t help but have a small smile sneak its way onto his face as he thought of the absurdity of it all - Teddie, mainly.

It was too dark in their room for Teddie to discern Yosuke’s facial expression anyways, so he decided that a decently annoyed tone would do well to mask how he looked outwardly.

He was usually much better at masking his emotions, but he was dead tired after a double-shift at Junes, and Teddie was being downright ridiculous.

Yosuke totally knew that Teddie had no idea what a birthday was. He just wanted presents and attention, but arguing with the bear over this point would only cause him further deprivation of sleep.

Teddie pouted but eventually grunted in acceptance before beginning to babble on again a few minutes later.

“What do you think, Yosuke?! I think it should be tomorrow!!”

“You can’t just decide any random day you want!! Especially as soon as possible!”

“Why noooot?!”

“Because that’s not how birthdays work! A birthday is the day you’re born - not just some random day of the week!”

As soon as the words left Yosuke’s mouth, he regretted it slightly. He could feel the tone of the conversation change as Teddie grew quiet and contemplative - a rare happenstance, for sure.

Yosuke sighed and ran a hand through his bed-hedded hair. “I didn’t mean anything by it. Just wanted to tell you what it was… I know you didn’t know.”

Teddie dodged Yosuke’s response with another question. “When do you think I was born, Yosuke?”

Yosuke was silent for a few moments. He obviously had no idea, and he couldn’t help feeling bad for the nuisance that was practically his little brother.

How in the world did Yosuke of all people end up with Teddie? Just his luck - but it also marked the time when his luck took a turn for the better. Plus, he couldn’t just leave him in the TV.

“Well… let’s start with the season, I guess. What season do you want your birthday to be in? Some people are really into this stuff and how it connects with personality and all that, I’m not sure I’m-”

“Oooh, summer! That’s when all of the fun happens! I’m beary fun; just like summer! I can have a watermelon party!”

Yosuke snorted. “Yeah, okay, Ted. What month are you thinkin’, June or July?”

Teddie hummed in thought, and Yosuke could hear him rocking back and forth on his bed as he contemplated such a daunting decision.

“I want as many people to be able to celebrate it as possible! What month has more time for partying??”

“I told you, it’s just gonna be us! You can have it whenever you want; all of us are gonna be there!”

Teddie feigned a sniffle, indicating that he was intending to at least fake-cry, which Yosuke was not in the mood for. He sighed as he contemplated Teddie’s stupid question. Did it really matter that much?

As Yosuke opened his mouth to respond with July - it was when all of the summer celebrations usually occur, and what a lot of people tended to focus on - he came up with an idea. Sure, it was kind of risky if he were to be found out, but he just needed to think up a good enough reason.

“What about June? Like Junes.”

Teddie gasped, shooting up and out of his bed and clapping his hands together.

“It’s perfect!! We can celebrate all of June as my birthday, and still have fun summer parties in July!”

“No!! Birthdays are one day only; you know that because I just told you! We’ve celebrated everyone’s birthday already! Birthday!”

“Have we…? I don’t remember.”

“Just pick a day in June, Teddie.”

“...How many days are there?”

Groaning, Yosuke flipped on the lightswitch, quickly squinting and shielding his eyes as he made his way out of bed and across the room to the opposite wall.

A calendar was hanging there, and he flipped to June (which only happened to be a couple weeks away from starting), and displayed the page to Teddie, who was completely unbothered by the change in lighting.

“There’s so many days!! How can I pick just one?!” Teddie exclaimed as he practically flew across the room to carefully scan the June page of the calendar, Yosuke jumping back with a yelp.

“Keep it down…!”

Not seeming to hear him, Teddie groaned.

“Yoooosuke!! All these days look the saaaame!”

“That’s because there’s nothing going on in June! You have to pick a day to make something go on!”

Teddie looked back at the calendar, deep in thought. Yosuke could have sworn it was the hardest he had ever thought in his life.

“It’s not that crazy, Teddie, just pick a day that you like. Or pick a random one, I don’t care.”

“Hmph! Then you pick, since you think you know everything!”

“Wha- I didn’t even say anything like that!”

Teddie then began to excessively shush him, claiming that Yosuke was going to wake up the entire street because of his outburst.

Yosuke dropped the calendar and shoved Teddie away, effectively stopping the bear from emitting noise. Sometimes he wished he could just send Teddie over to Yu’s house for the night, but then he remembered that not only was he gone, but also that Nanako-chan would probably get less sleep than he would if Teddie were around.

“Fine, if you shut up, I’ll pick you a birthday!”

This answer seemed to satisfy Teddie as he crossed his arms and glared at Yosuke expectantly, eagerly awaiting the selection of his birthday.

Yosuke glanced at the calendar - pretending to contemplate - before turning back to Teddie after a few moments.

“What about the 22nd?”

–

Over the course of the next few days, Teddie began pestering Yosuke to make digital invitations that he would email out to the Investigation Team. A couple days later, Yosuke finally caved and let Teddie use his computer.

After a long explanation of why pouring glitter on the computer does not equate to putting it on an invitation, Yosuke decided that making physical invitations was much more Teddie’s speed. And that they were definitely not doing it in their house. He had also wanted to preserve the life of his computer. There was no way that he could afford another one, and Teddie was an expert at “beautifying” everything he touched.

Yosuke promised to take Teddie to the floodplain to make invitations after school.

—

Teddie ended up insisting that Yosuke assist him on making the invitations, but got upset every time Yosuke did something “wrong”. Each invitation was different - there was no base or template for Yosuke to go off of, and it was extremely frustrating.

Alternatively, Teddie was having the time of his life. He was also decorating the grass around the riverbank just as much, if not more, than he was decorating the invitations.

Yosuke couldn’t help but remember when Yu would fold paper cranes up in his room seemingly subconsciously as Yosuke sat on his couch, talking into the night. Yu was so crafty and dexterous - of course, this led to his out-of-pocket comment at Junes early into their investigation, and Yosuke still didn’t know why he noticed such small things about his partner.

It didn’t make the statement any less true. Yu had a way with his hands, amongst other things.

Maybe they were just closer than most friends. Yosuke often thought about how close they were as time went on, each of them providing the other a shoulder to lean on, their worst sides and fears exposed for the others to see.

Yosuke would never forget the vulnerability that Yu displayed only to him during the time of Nanako-chan’s speculated death. It gave Yosuke something else to fight for. As long as he lived, he wouldn’t let anything like that happen to his friends again.

Especially Yu Narukami.

As Teddie continued making invitations and humming his rendition of the Junes jingle, Yosuke’s mind wandered back to his conversation with Naoto that had occurred a few months after Yu’s return to Tokyo.

Unsure of what to do about his illusive emotions and feelings, he went to the person he thought would be able to map everything out for him - the Detective Prince. Naoto had laughed initially - how could Yosuke think Naoto would be an expert on feelings? - but then quickly realized Yosuke was being serious, and Naoto had never turned anyone away who needed to talk to him. He also found it quite unusual that Yosuke would come to Naoto for something like this - even Yosuke himself was surprised.

Yosuke remembered Naoto relaying the possibility that Yosuke could have feelings for his partner. Of course, he immediately denied this, and Naoto had waited patiently for his blubbering and protesting to cease before telling him that it was just a possibility - something to think about, nothing concrete. After all, this is how Naoto’s own thoughts about being “different” had started, and that it was better when there was someone who was there for you, or so Naoto had said. Yosuke had thought for sure that he had only been interested in girls - hell, he gave Kanji a really hard time back during the Investigation, and he regretted it a lot. He valued Kanji as a friend, and so what? He loved his friends, and that was that. They helped him to learn and grow as a person, and you can’t be a person without flaw.

That’s how Yosuke was justifying it to himself, anyways. After he had confided in Naoto (who wasn’t present for most of the investigation) about his mistakes and feelings, he felt that he understood what was going on a little too well and immediately wished he could go back. He didn’t need to mess more things up than he already did.

He couldn’t lose Yu.

Yosuke found himself thinking about this conversation often, as well as reading too far into conversations with Yu. They talked every single day - that was normal for best friends. And people had joked about them being together all of the time because of their closeness, right? That had to have been normal.

”Yoosuke!! You let the glue dry up before I could dip my glitter beads in it!”

Yosuke snapped back to reality as he looked over to an upset Teddie, covered completely in glitter glue and somehow managing to get beads stuck to the tips of his hair.

“I think you have more “glitter beads” on you than on the actual invites!” Yosuke exclaimed, shoving the invitations back to Teddie for him to “perfect”.

Teddie didn’t say anything, muttering happily to himself about his newfound expertise in the art world.

Yosuke sighed and decided that he would call up Yu and figure out exactly when he was coming back - just so that he could coordinate when Teddie was to give him an invitation of course; nothing more. Nevermind the fact that it had been almost twenty-four hours without hearing his partner’s voice, or hearing about his day.

Plus, it was Saturday! It wasn’t like he had anything better to do anyway - Yosuke would always make time for Yu, so naturally it went the other way around. Or had that started because Yu actively sought out Yosuke…?

Before Yosuke could think further on the situation, the receiver had picked up a connection and Yu’s voice silenced Yosuke’s thoughts.

“Hey, Yosuke.”

“What’s up, partner!? Just wanted to call and say hi and all that. When are you getting back down to Inaba? Teddie’s got something he wants to share with everybody, and he wants you to stay a while. I wouldn’t mind that either, y’know, the town gets twenty times more interesting when you show up.”

Yu laughed, and it was as if they had never been apart in their lives - as if he were standing right next to Yosuke, and they were living out their lives together as if they were normal teenagers. This would not have been possible, though, had they been normal teenagers. Yosuke would never have someone this close to him, and the fact that it seemed as if Yu were right there with him whilst he was really over the phone was a testament to their bond.

”I can always work something out. I hope you’re just as dedicated as I am to your studies - if you want to go to college together, partner, we can’t really afford to take that much time off of school.”

Yosuke laughed nervously at the mention of school and studying. “You know I’m doing my best! Yukiko even helps me out sometimes! But, c’mon, a day or two off of school wouldn’t hurt you…!”

Yu laughed again, something that Yosuke had just then realized was a rare sight for everyone… except for him. And he had done it twice in thirty seconds.

He was always able to make Yu laugh when it was just the two of them.

Yu’s voice kicked Yosuke out of his own thoughts again, and Yosuke mentally chastised himself from reading too far into things. He was being ridiculous, as usual, which absolutely was a laughing matter. He was used to it - no need to second guess what had become the norm for his “character.”

”Well, something important is coming up from the sound of things, so I’m sure I could find time to pause things here and come down.”

”I haven’t even told you about what’s going on yet! Man, you’re too good - am I that obvious, or do you just miss me?” Yosuke teased, earning a snicker from Yu.

”Why not both, partner? Either you’re getting bored, or something’s come up. My guess is that it’s a mix of both.”

Yosuke whistled. “You’ve gotta teach me how to have an intuition like yours. It’ll save me a lot of time in customer service.”

Yu scoffed. “I try my best. I just know you well, is all. I’m sure you’d do the same for me.”

”Well, duh. We’re partners,” Yosuke said, the words leaving his mouth automatically.

As Yu said something in response, it was cut off as Yosuke felt his hand being pulled away from his head as well as something flakey falling into his hair.

“Lemme talk to Sensei!! I have to tell him about my birthday! Also, you say ‘partner’ waaay too much!”

“Teddie, you’re getting glitter all over my hair…! I just dyed it the other day! Don’t get glitter in my phone, either!! It took me forever to get the glitter stickers off it from last time!”

After successfully wrestling the phone away from Yosuke, Teddie resumed making his invitations while talking eagerly to Yu about his party.

Yosuke sighed and just let it happen. It was hard to change Teddie’s mind once he had it set on something.

Yosuke still wanted to talk to Yu, though. He wasn’t sure why, but he could almost swear he was a little jealous of Teddie.

Yosuke barked out a laugh at such a wild thought - there’s no way he could be jealous of Teddie. He decided to pull his headphones over his ears and laid back on the ground, carefully shutting his eyes as music began to fill his ears.

Teddie would give him the phone back eventually.

—

After talking on the phone with Yu for way longer than Yosuke would have liked (they spoke for so long that Yosuke fell asleep at the floodplain), Teddie had shaken Yosuke awake.

“You can’t hibearnate! We have to go deliver these NOW! And you have to come with me!”

Yosuke groaned as he sat up and attempted to shove Teddie away, who had not ceased shaking Yosuke even after he had awoken.

“What’d you do with my phone?”

Teddie giggled before presenting Yosuke with his new glittery pink phone. “You slept for so long that I finished all the invitations and talked with Sensei for a while! He was a good help with making the invites! I even had time to make your phone better; I was so boooored!”

Yosuke sputtered as he snatched his phone away from Teddie, cradling it carefully.

“You could have just woken me up sooner!!! You can kiss any and all potential presents from me ‘goodbye’!”

”But I’m saving all my kisses for the hot studs at my party…!”

After lots of arguing, fighting, and being on the receiving end of some strange looks from passersby, Yosuke ended up sending Teddie on his own to deliver the invitations (with a lot of complaining on the bear’s part) so that Yosuke could have time to clean up Teddie’s catastrophic mess at the floodplain, and hopefully have time to de-glitter his phone.

He hoped that someone would escort Teddie around when they realized he was out by himself.

—

After taking a longer time than he should have at Samegawa, Yosuke finally headed home. He was slow in order not to run into Teddie - he had hoped that Chie or somebody had gotten ahold of him and were waiting at his house.

Yosuke used this rare time of peace and quiet to reflect on everything - something he hadn’t really had the chance to do that much of without interruption. He wanted to invite Yu down for “Teddie”’s birthday, but… he just felt guilty about the whole thing now.

Yosuke shook his head. Yu hadn’t known about Yosuke’s birthday last year, so what made this year any different? Things were gonna be fine. The worst Yu could say was no, after all.

…Right?

”Yosuke?”

Yosuke jumped slightly - apparently he had been too lost in thought and had his gaze somewhere else. He hadn’t noticed Naoto standing across the street from him, holding a way-too-bright letter.

”Oh, hey, Naoto-kun! What’s up?” Yosuke asked, quickly bouncing back. He had hoped that he didn’t seem too lost in thought - that would spark a lot of questions from Naoto that he didn’t want to answer. Specifically -

“Why weren’t you out with Teddie? Though, I can’t complain too much - it was very kind of him to hand out invitations. It’s coming up rather soon. Rise-san ended up escorting him around town. He forgot where Chie-senpai and I lived again.”

Yosuke sighed. Chie literally lived on the same street as them.

“You should have seen the mess he made out of Samegawa. I refused to let him make the invitations in the house, and it turns out doing it outside wasn’t much of an improvement.”

Naoto poorly attempted to hide the smile creeping onto his face.

“I’m sure Teddie appreciated the help.”

“Like hell he did! He glued glitter all over my phone because I fell asleep!”

Naoto couldn’t help himself from laughing this time, gesturing for Yosuke to show him the phone.

Exasperated, Yosuke rolled his eyes and presented his new pink glittery phone to the detective, whose smile grew as he laid eyes on it.

“That’s quite the gift. I’m sure he’ll make it up to you.”

”You all put waaay too much faith in him. I’ll be lucky if he apologizes by the end of the week.”

Naoto hummed in response before changing gears. Conversations with him always moved so fast, Yosuke felt like.

“Have you thought more about what I said? I can’t help but notice you’ve never reached back out to me, and dodge whenever I call.”

Yosuke flinched a little, expecting this.

“Ye-Yeah. I have. I just- don’t know if it’s the right way to feel. I don’t know what this feeling is.”

Naoto’s expression softened considerably; he had wondered if this had been the case. His instincts were usually (and always) correct.

“I think you need to consider every possibility. You are going with him to college next year, after all. It would be really unfortunate if you were to wait too long and be unable to transfer if something went poorly.”

”You don’t have to word it like that! I thought you said that he would be chill about it!”

“He’s ‘chill’ about everything, Yosuke. How many times has Rise-san confessed her love to him? They’re still close friends. You don’t know until you try, Yosuke-senpai.”

Yosuke grimaced. Naoto wouldn’t understand - they were much closer than anyone else on the team. Yu was his partner - and he was Yosuke’s. No one else shared their relationship, and no one else would ever come as close to Yosuke as Yu had. He couldn’t risk the chance of Yu leaving his life.

”How’s that going with Kanji-kun?” Yosuke couldn’t help himself but retaliate. When he felt attacked, he pushed people away from him.

Naoto’s face darkened as he looked away.

“I’m not ready to pursue a relationship at the moment. Especially not while he and I are sorting out our own identities respectively. It would cause too much trouble for the both of us.”

Yosuke knew this, of course. He then realized that, yes, everyone had their own situations, and that he was being extremely hypocritical - but that didn’t stop him from thinking and acting the way he did.

“…I’m sorry, Naoto-kun. I guess I just don’t want us to be… done. I can’t risk things.”

Naoto stayed silent, but looked back up at Yosuke with a sad look in his eyes.

“That’s no way to live, Yosuke-senpai.”

Yosuke shrugged, looking away. “It’s… whatever. There’s still time, and things are gonna be fine just the way they are. The way things have always been.”

“You know as well as I do that nothing around here ever stays ‘normal’.”

Yosuke snickered. “Yeah, ha, you’re right. Don’t worry about it, Naoto-kun, I’ll be fine. It’s just a stupid phase.”

Naoto looked as if he had more to say, but just simply nodded.

“Then I’ll see you at the party. Take care, and tell Teddie I said hello.”

Yosuke gave a quick one-handed wave to Naoto before jogging off in the direction of his house.

He was done with the time to himself - he needed to be distracted for a while.

—

Before he knew it, the week of the party had arrived. Everyone was busier than usual, which Yosuke found odd, but he was always busy himself, so he guessed he couldn’t really complain.

He had hoped Chie finally had scored a job somewhere, but Yukiko had just burst into a laughing fit when he had asked, and got no further information out of her.

Despite Teddie’s big party being today (Teddie had woken up at the crack of dawn to “avoid being surprised,” and his parents had cleared out early that morning, as expected), Yosuke still had to go to school.

He had about the worst time ever trying to sit through class. Yu would be on the train after taking half of a day at school, and Yosuke had planned to meet him at the train station.

It was becoming routine for them each time Yu came back to Inaba. They always went the long way home - avoiding the gas station. Yu would always tell Yosuke to meet him at the station with the others, but Yosuke would always conveniently forget to bring everyone.

It was their little moment in the world all to themselves - Yu never corrected Yosuke, and eventually he started asking just Yosuke to come. Their little secret. Yu never told anyone when exactly he was arriving into town.

Except for Yosuke.

Yosuke was fully prepared to ditch class to go hang out with Yu before Teddie’s party - a little self-indulgent birthday gift to himself that no one would know about.

It was all he wanted, anyways. The day was being rebranded into something even Yosuke could enjoy, and he was more than fine with that.

So, when Yosuke got the text that Yu’s train was pulling into the station, he made a shitty excuse to leave class. Kashiwagi was ranting about Rise again, so anything flew by her as long as you agreed or pretended to. Yasogami wasn’t that big, and no one was really out to catch him when he left the classroom, so he just decided that he would deal with Chie and Yukiko’s complaints of excluding them later.

Speaking of which, he needed to buy a cake with Yu before those two could get to it. Teddie wins again - Yosuke said that it was coming out of his paycheck, but he didn’t exactly have a gift for Teddie, so this would have to do.

As he walked outside of the Yasogami gates, sun beaming down and a light breeze off of the floodplain, Yosuke smiled. He walked over to his bike, which was surprisingly mostly repaired.

Yosuke hardly ever took his bike to school anymore because of his tendency to crash (and the fact that he still needed a new bike that didn’t fall apart every time he got on), but he wanted to get to the station as soon as Yu’s train would arrive.

Maybe Yosuke was a little clingy. Yu wouldn’t have told him he was here if he didn’t want to see Yosuke, right? Right.

Yosuke raced to the station, making sure to take the longer way, of course, and also managing not to crash into anything. Plus, the longer way was out of the center of town, so less people were likely to see him ditching class. Not that his parents would really care anyways.

Yosuke managed to make it to the station just in time - Yu was walking outside of the station, holding a bag that seemed to be pretty full. Yosuke wondered what he could have brought, and fear struck through him at the thought that Yu might have remembered his birthday.

He relaxed when he (logically, of course) realized that it was probably just a gift for Teddie. From what he was told, Teddie had asked everyone to bring gifts on the invitation. Teddie also specified that Yosuke didn’t need an invitation since they lived in the same place. Yosuke didn’t complain - he didn’t need any more glitter in his room than what was already there.

“That looks pretty heavy, partner!”

Yosuke coasted his bike towards the station, and, for the first time he could recall, he actually didn’t crash it in front of Yu.

Yu took notice of this as well, because of course he did.

“Hey, partner. Glad to see you and the bike in one piece,” he replied with a smile.

Yosuke rolled his eyes and swung himself off of the bike, walking the rest of the way over towards Yu while he wheeled the bike along with him.

“You haven’t told me what’s in the bag!”

“A gift for Teddie. And some ingredients to make him a cake, since he whined on the phone about how you won’t get him one,” Yu replied smugly.

“Wha- No!! Well, yeah, but… I was actually gonna get him one! Don’t tell him I said that either or he’ll never let me hear the end of it,” Yosuke groaned. “I bet he didn’t tell you how he woke me up in the middle of the night screaming about how he didn’t have a birthday, and how he made a mess of Samegawa.”

“He did conveniently leave those parts out,” Yu said with a laugh and a fond look towards Yosuke. Yosuke knew that Yu had figured Teddie out - like everyone else, for the most part. Overly dramatic, and forced to live with Yosuke, for some reason. His parents loved Ted, which was strange, but it was better than him living on the streets or something.

That might have been worse for Inaba than the fog.

“Of course he did,” Yosuke said with a small sigh as he rolled his eyes. He couldn’t help the smile creeping onto his face after the lull in their conversation. Yu was back!

“What kinda cake are we makin’, partner?”

“‘We?’ I didn’t know you wanted to help,” Yu replied in a tone that suggested exactly the opposite.

“It’s not like I’m gonna skip class and come down here early to see you before anyone else and not want to do something,” Yosuke huffed.

“Want me all to yourself, huh?” Yu said with a smile.

Yosuke’s face became slightly dusted with red.

“Oh, come on! You know what I meant! And I know you enjoy it too, so don’t give me that!”

“We’re making an angel food cake. I did some of the preparations already since it’s a bit time consuming and complicated.”

Yosuke hummed. “Not sure I’ve ever had that before. What, like, is it…?”

Yu laughed. “You’ll see. Everyone’ll love it. It’s usually eaten with fresh fruit, which I know a lot of our group takes a liking to.”

“Sounds amazing as always, partner. Let’s do this!”

–

Cake baking turned out to be yet another weakness of Yosuke’s. He can’t remember the last time he made one, or if he had made one at all, but he could tell Yu was a bit out of his element as well with the whole ‘baking’ thing. He was much more suited to cooking. Still, he was leagues better than Yosuke, so he tried his best to stay out of Yu’s way while he worked on the final preparations.

Yosuke laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as Yu put the cake in the oven. They had travelled back to Yosuke’s house to prepare for Teddie’s party, and the bear was nowhere to be seen.

He wondered what was up with that, but Yosuke received a text from his dad that Teddie was hanging out at Junes, so he figured that he shouldn’t worry too much. Teddie insisted that he didn’t want to ruin the surprise (even though he already knew they were throwing a party…). Besides, Yosuke had time with Yu all to himself - and Teddie would have been a disaster in the kitchen anyways.

“Sorry, partner, I’m not really as good with my hands as you are.”

This prompted a laugh from Yu, as well as a slight blush. Yosuke was sure he reacted sort of the same way when he slipped up and said that exact line during one of their Investigation Team meetings at Junes. This time, though, Yosuke was considerably less embarrassed about saying it.

Surely, he was just seeing things. Two times is a coincidence, not a pattern.

“Oh, yeah? We still need to cut the fruit up; I brought strawberries and raspberries for the cake, but I know Teddie is fond of watermelon, too, so I brought one of those as well that we can cut up.”

Yosuke gaped at Yu. How the hell was he carrying all of that in a bag with ease? He had told Yosuke that he had continued working out ever since they had cracked the serial murder case, but damn, he wasn’t kidding! Yosuke definitely wasn’t complaining; watermelon was one of his favorites, and if Teddie requested it, then it must count for something. Plus, if Yu had gotten even stronger, they’d definitely have to spar again. No particular reason why that popped into Yosuke’s head, of course.

Yu had a small, smug smile on his face, as if he knew exactly how Yosuke would react.

Yosuke smiled back after recovering from his initial shock. “I can manage cutting up some fruit. Where do you want me?”

“Definitely not the watermelon. Can’t have you eating half of it before the party.”

Yosuke sputtered, taking fake offense. He couldn’t resist smiling, though, thoroughly disrupting his act.

“Oh, c’mon! I’m not that much of a jerk… even if this is Teddie we’re talking about.”

Yu gave him a playful smirk that suggested that he wasn’t too sure, and that he wasn’t taking any chances.

Yosuke’s smile grew as he rolled his eyes. It was moments like these when he was perfectly able to read Yu’s expression, and Yu read his, that Yosuke really realized how close they had become. It made him feel all giddy inside - like it was their world, and everyone else was just in it.

“Alright, alright… I can cut up some strawberries. Wait, do the raspberries even need to be cut?”

Yu laughed, shaking his head, as he slid a cutting board across the counter towards Yosuke, who barely managed to catch it in time as he laughed alongside his best friend.

–

“Yosuke, do you mind taking the cake out of the oven? I’m almost done with the watermelon.”

Yosuke nodded as he ran his hands under the sink; they had looked like he had just got done butchering something. Strawberries, turned out, were very red.

“Sure thing, partner! …Is the cake supposed to be upside down?”

Yosuke had approached the oven door, and just noticed for the first time that the cake pan was upside down in the oven. The little knowledge he thought he had about baking had just been thrown out the window. Also, the pan was shaped differently. It wasn’t a circle or a square…

Yu chuckled, noticing Yosuke’s confusion. “That’s how you make angel food cake. The pan is for bundt cake, something more common overseas. The hardest part is coming up, so take it out so it can cool off a bit.”

Yosuke did as Yu said, carefully setting the pan (still upside down) on the counter. Yu had laid out a baking sheet so that it didn’t burn through to the counter, despite Yosuke’s protests that it would be fine.

Yosuke sighed contentedly. Yu was always so kind and considerate, like it was naturally second nature for him. Nothing seemed to phase him, and the very few times it had, he was able to pull himself together enough to be coherent enough to function. Yosuke wished he had an ounce of whatever Yu had.

He truly was amazing.

“...Are you planning on standing there, or are you gonna help me flip the cake?” Yu said with a smile. Yosuke had been staring at him with a goofy smile on his face. Even if this was “Teddie’s” birthday, Yosuke was having the best birthday he’d ever had.

Yosuke quickly snapped himself out of it, blinking a couple times.

“Yeah, of course…! S-Sorry, just thinking about, y’know… how cool you are, man. You didn’t have to come all this way just for Teddie, and you’re making him a cake and everything…”

Yosuke trailed off. He was almost regretting forgoing his birthday for Teddie’s. Yu seemed to be doing much… more than usual. Yosuke couldn’t really seem to put his finger on it.

Yu walked over to Yosuke with an easy smile on his face, and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Well… I wanted to do something to spend time together, just us, y’know?”

“You didn’t know I’d skip class!” Yosuke exclaimed, deflecting the conversation as his cheeks began to fire up, lightly shoving Yu away.

Yu laughed out loud at that, losing his grip on Yosuke’s shoulder as he allowed himself to be pushed away. For some reason, Yosuke was disappointed to have Yu lose his grip so easily. He recovered from his disappointment quite quickly when he noticed the look of pure, unmasked joy on Yu’s face.

He, Yosuke Hanamura, was the reason for that. He couldn’t help the smile from appearing on his face, a more common occurrence as time went on, it seemed.

“That was a good one, Yosuke.”

Yosuke smiled and rolled his eyes, his cheeks flushed. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let’s get this cake flipped.”

Yosuke and Yu came together in front of the cake pan, and Yu put on oven mitts in order to pick up the pan. Yosuke stifled a laugh at how absurd they looked, but after a brief moment of thought, he found that they fit Yu quite well.

Yu looked over to Yosuke with a puzzled expression, to which Yosuke shrugged.

“I literally have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing. And you’re so focused!”

Yu picked up the pan before turning his gaze back to Yosuke.

“Okay, I need you to grab a flat baking pan to put on top of this. Then, we need to flip it together. Otherwise the cake’s going onto the floor and the party is going to be ruined.”

Yosuke laughed. “No pressure, right?”

Yosuke did as Yu asked, and soon they were both in position to flip the angel food cake.

“You weren’t kidding when you said this was complicated. I’d ask what’s the special occasion, but I guess it’s Teddie’s first birthday. Gotta make it count, right?”

Yu gave Yosuke a gentle look that seemed to pierce right through him, and his cheerful mood quickly turned into more of a serious one, and his cheeks grew red once again.

Yu totally knew.

“Ready to flip, Hanamura?”

“Count it down, partner.”

–

The cake had turned out perfectly. Yu had asked Yosuke if he wanted to make frosting, and Yosuke declined, claiming that Teddie would make a huge mess out of it. Yosuke’s real answer was that he thought it would all be too sweet between all of the elements. Teddie would have loved that, but hey, he needed to enjoy himself too.

“Okay, just need to put the fruit on, right?”

Yu chuckled. “Well, it’s kind of hard to do that until we cut the cake. They don’t stay on very well, so I was just going to put the slices of fruit in bowls and let everyone decorate their own slice.”

“We can cut it early, if you want?”

Yosuke was just trying to stall for more time before it was time for the rest of the Investigation Team to arrive.

Yu pretended to look offended. “And rob the birthday bear of his candles? He’d never forgive us.”

Yosuke questioned again whether Yu had figured him out, he thought for sure that he had while they were flipping the cake out of the pan, but…

Yu then winked at Yosuke with a knowing look on his face, and Yosuke knew he had blown it. He sighed. Yosuke wasn’t one to back down so easily - he would act this out until the very end. Plus, if only Yu knew, then it wouldn’t really change anything except for another little secret between them - just for them.

Yosuke could live with that.

Yu cursed under his breath after he had finished setting everything up on the counter.

“I forgot strawberry syrup.”

“Strawberry syrup…?”

Yu nodded. “Usually goes on top of everything. Do you think we have time to go pick some up at Junes…? I know everyone gets out of class super soon.”

Yosuke grinned. “Hell yeah! Right this way, head chef. We'll have to hurry, but we can manage.”

Yosuke dramatically bowed out of the way so that Yu could cross the kitchen in order to leave.

Yu laughed again, shaking his head. “We have to clear all of this up just in case Teddie gets here. He was very adamant on not being surprised.”

“Oh, come on! He already knows we’re throwing him a party! He’s so weird; we’ll only be gone a couple minutes anyways. Also he told me he was at Junes, so we can get him when we get there and then meet everyone else back here.”

“Let me at least put covers on everything to keep it fresh.”

“Alright, I’ll meet you outside, partner. Don’t keep me waiting!” Yosuke had a playful tone to his voice. He had completely lost track of time - he was grateful for their solo outing to Junes. Maybe they could take their time just a little.

Yu purposefully took his time as Yosuke headed for the door, which prompted Yosuke to run back and get everything out himself.

Yu laughed at how Yosuke couldn’t keep himself together, and Yosuke laughed because of Yu’s antics.

After they had put lids on the bowls and a cover over the cake, the two started off towards Junes.

–

Yosuke walked with his hands behind his head, Yu by his side.

“It sucks that you can only stay for a couple days.”

“After this year, we can go to college together and see each other every day. I’m sure you’ll get tired of me by then.”

Yosuke barked out a laugh, dropping his hands and shoving Yu lightly. “Yeah, right! No one’s worse than Ted, especially not you. Plus, I’d do just about anything to have you here in Inaba instead of Tokyo.”

“Trust me, if I could, I would. Nothing beats living it up in the sticks with you guys,” Yu joked.

Yosuke laughed. “I know I gave Inaba a bad rap when you first moved here, but it’s grown on me!”

“Saving the world will do that to you, I’m sure.”

Yosuke sighed. “Time really flies, man. Teddie’s gonna start going to school with everyone who’s left at Yasogami next year, and we’re off to college. I can’t wait.”

“Finally free from the prison of Junes, huh?” Yu asked, looking at Yosuke with a smile, who shrugged.

“Can’t happen soon enough. Another job would be a hell of a lot nicer.”

“I can’t wait either, Yosuke.”

They smiled at each other before continuing their walk to Junes in a comfortable silence.

–

“I think I need a trusted sales associate to guide me around so I don’t get lost,” Yu teased as they stepped into the cool, air conditioned lobby of Junes.

Yosuke scoffed and rolled his eyes before adopting the silly persona he had when he escorted his friends around the store. It made things more enjoyable, and it had sort of become an inside joke within the Investigation Team.

Yosuke knew that he was more than just the manager’s son. He had his whole life ahead of him, and no one from this town would use that to bring him down anymore. He had a certain someone to thank for that.

“Right this way, kind sir,” Yosuke said with his stupid “Junes” accent.

Yu pretended to be enamored with the store as Yosuke escorted him through the various sections of products they had at Junes before finally reaching the strawberry syrup.

Before Yu could pick it up, Yosuke snatched it up with a wink.

“This one’s on me. Employee discount.”

“It’s your-”

Yosuke shushed Yu and waved his hand.

“You being back in town is just as much of a celebration as Teddie’s birthday.”

Yu opened his mouth again to protest before Yosuke just shook his head.

“We can argue all you like, partner, but we gotta get back if we want to make it to the party on time. Let’s go find Teddie.”

Yu gave a defeated but content smile as he and Yosuke walked to the check out. Yosuke checked himself out instead of going to a lane where a different employee could check them out, (perks of working at Junes, he supposed) before turning to Yu.

“If I had to take a wild guess, he’s probably upstairs with the Topsicles at the food court. I’ll buy him one for his birthday, too, so he can’t say I didn’t get him anything.”

Yu laughed. “Your investigating skills are just as sharp as ever.”

“Oh come on, I was never that good.”

“Says the one who practically led the investigation before Naoto, the Detective Prince, showed up.”

Yosuke flushed in embarrassment at being flattered, but he smiled. He couldn’t help it.

“You’re makin’ me blush partner. Come on, I really don’t want to be on the receiving end of Teddie’s tantrum if we miss things. I already don’t get enough sleep as it is.”

Don’t get him wrong, Yosuke loved being praised (everyone always made fun of him for having such a big ego: it definitely didn’t diminish after literally saving the world), but he wasn’t sure how much he could take from Yu before he became a blubbering mess. He was much more used to just… being there. Yet another thing he loved about his partner, and apparently something his partner loved about him. The thought made Yosuke flush more and turn away.

Yu laughed again before taking the lead towards the elevator to the rooftop food court. “Come on, let’s go have a party.”

–

As Yosuke and Yu were riding the elevator, Yosuke leaned up against the wall, fidgeting with the wiring on his headphones. Yu leaned back casually against the wall with his hands in his pockets, and a huge smile on his face.

Yosuke rolled his eyes at his partner; the simplest things made him happy. Hell, he was happy to just sit and watch everyone else talk. He did that a lot when they all first met, and Yosuke swore the guy couldn’t be happier.

To be fair, Yosuke himself was in a pretty good mood, too. In fact, he had been ever since he met Yu.

As the elevator hit the top floor, Yu grabbed Yosuke into a hug, effectively silencing Yosuke’s mind.

“Happy birthday, partner.”

Yu let go as the doors slid open. Yosuke, already decently shocked, looked out the doors to see everyone waiting there.

Their cake and fruit were all waiting there, too.

Teddie was in the middle of it all, wearing his bear costume for the occasion. Yosuke and Yu stepped out of the elevator, and everyone immediately swarmed the both of them, excited to have a reunion.

“You should have seen the look on your face, Yosuke!! You really thought you fooled everybody!” Chie exclaimed, laughing at him. Yukiko, standing next to her, didn’t seem to understand why Chie was so laughable.

“Happy birthday, senpai!” Kanji shoved a stuffed dog plushie into Yosuke’s hands. It was the same color as his hair, with white patches under the chin.

“Rise-san’s idea. She said you’d appreciate it,” Kanji said, slightly embarrassed, before turning back to Yu and clapping him on the back in welcome.

Rise, of course, immediately went to Yu first, leaving Yosuke with Yukiko, Chie, and Naoto.

Naoto gave him a knowing smile and a nod.

“I can’t believe you left us at school when you knew that Yu was coming!!” Chie pouted.

“Chie, Yu told you that was the plan. He and Teddie set this whole thing up,” Yukiko pointed out.

“But still!!”

“Chill, Satonaka, you all definitely surprised me. Wait, what do you mean Yu and Teddie set this all up?”

Naoto took this opportunity to speak up.

“Well, when Teddie was on the phone with Yu-senpai at the Floodplain, senpai explained to Teddie that you were trying to cover up the fact that it was your birthday by replacing it with Teddie’s. He did all this for you, Yosuke-senpai.”

Yosuke sputtered, completely flustered. There was no way. Yu had done all of this for him? Sure, he knew that something was up, but he had no idea that his partner would do all of this just for him to be happy on his birthday.

Rise, now done greeting Yu, grabbed Yosuke’s arm and pulled him over towards the cake.

“Come on senpai, I want to sing you ‘happy birthday!’”

“Wha - hold on guys! How did you even manage all of this?!”

Yosuke let himself get dragged over to the cake, where Yukiko had begun lighting the candles. Teddie had carefully (for once) set out the fruit bowls, and Yu had added the strawberry syrup to the table as well.

“Organized it all on the phone. Teddie used his bear suit to carry everything to Junes while we walked here.” Yu smiled, watching Yosuke’s reaction become progressively more shocked as more information presented itself.

“Yeah, yeah! I hid in the closest beary quietly! I didn’t touch any of your stuff! Except for some of your clothes. They needed more glitter! That’s my birthday gift! Surrrpriiiise!”

Yosuke was too busy trying not to cry to be mad at Teddie. His friends had pulled him over to the cake that Yu had picked specifically for him, and that he had Yosuke help make.

‘Angel’ food cake, huh…?

“Okaaay, everybody ready? I’ll start us off!” Rise exclaimed, causing everyone’s voices to die down.

As Rise began to sing, the others joining in periodically, Yu put an arm around Yosuke’s shoulders and leaned into him, as Yosuke usually did to him. He began to tear up as everyone sang to him - he never ever liked getting this much attention on his birthday - he was never used to celebrating it.

He had never liked celebrating it.

Like so many other things in his life, Yu had taught Yosuke that there were first times for everything.

After the singing ceased, everyone cheered, urging Yosuke to make a wish and blow out his candles.

Yukiko and Chie held Teddie back as he tried to blow out Yosuke’s candles, while the three younger members watched and whispered in excitement.

“Make a wish, partner.”

Yu released his arm from Yosuke’s shoulders, smiling at him with the biggest smile Yosuke had ever seen on him. They were fairly close.

Yosuke laughed weakly and wiped his eyes with his sleeve before looking down at the cake.

He made a rather selfish wish.

–

Yukiko and Chie had baked him a batch of cookies. He made a reminder to give them to Teddie when they got home, after he had forgotten who had made them. Kanji and Rise worked together on the plushie (Rise had come up with the idea, and Kanji had executed it), and Naoto had given him a card that he had not opened yet.

As they were all sitting around and eating the cake (which was phenomenal, by the way), the others talked about what their plans were for the summer break.

Of course, Yu was to come back down and spend the summer with them as well as hammer out some plans for moving to college with Yosuke. He could hardly wait, but at the same time Yosuke wanted this moment, and all of their moments, in Inaba to last forever.

While everyone was talking, Yosuke decided to open his card from Naoto, and inside was a card, of course, with some yen tucked inside.

'Senpai-

I hope you don’t mind that I didn’t get you an ‘actual’ gift. I wasn’t sure what to get you. I hope that the events of the day have shown you that you have nothing to worry about in regard to your feelings. He worked really hard to make today special for you, as did everyone else. I understand not wanting to celebrate a day that’s hard for you. I also apologize for pressuring you regarding all of this. I did not intend to push you away. I hope that something this silly hasn’t put a wedge between us, and I assure you that I haven’t said a word to Yu-senpai.

I also never had the opportunity to thank you for being the one to bring us all together. Yu-senpai told me that you had quite the knack for investigating, and I’m sure he meant it. He also told me a lot of other things that I believe would be to your liking.

You’ve helped me gain confidence in myself, just like everyone here, and I don’t know what I’d do without you all. Consider this even for me figuring out about your true feelings. My apologies.

I hope you have a great birthday, and that it’s one to erase all of those prior.

Happy birthday, senpai!

-Shirogane Naoto'

Naoto had been fidgeting nervously the entire time Yosuke read through his card. Clearly, he had never done something like this before. He had recently just started hanging out with a friend group regularly, so Yosuke couldn’t help but be proud of him. He smiled over to Naoto warmly.

“Thanks, man. For everything.”

The others looked at them, confused, before Yu was able to change the subject.

–

After night had fallen and Junes was closing for the night, everyone helped to clean up what little there was left. The cake was completely gone (save for a piece for Nanako that Yu had saved).

As everyone parted ways outside of Junes, Teddie, Yosuke, and Yu were the last ones left.

Yu looked between Teddie and Yosuke.

“Is it alright if Yosuke stays at my place tonight?”

Teddie looked like he wanted to protest, but then he sighed dramatically.

“Fiiiine, but only because it’s Yosuke’s birthday. And if you promise to come see me tomorrow, Sensei! Yosuke’s hogging you!”

Yu laughed, and Yosuke scoffed.

“I promise, Teddie. See you tomorrow.”

Teddie waved before taking off towards his and Yosuke’s house. Yosuke and Yu watched him go until they could no longer hear the squeaking of his feet in the bear costume. He was using it to take all the supplies back home.

“I hope that’s alright with you. I wanted to give you your gift,” Yu said as he turned to Yosuke. He even looked a little sheepish.

“Of course, partner! How could I say no after you threw me the best birthday ever?”

“I hope it was good. I know you don’t like celebrating it, but I couldn’t help it, you know? You mean a lot to me, Yosuke.”

Yosuke lightly crossed his arms as he nodded and his face turned red once again. It would probably be permanent at this point, after the events of the day.

And things were looking to get even better.

“Yeah, it was really awesome. I don’t know if you’re gonna be able to top that every year.”

Yu smiled. “I plan on trying. Want to get going?”

“Yeah, but won’t we have company?”

“Nanako and Dojima are out. He finally took her on a little vacation. It all worked out pretty nicely, actually, so I was hoping you could show me some of those new movies you were talking about. I have the living room all set up, and Dojima picked up some snacks at Junes for us earlier.”

“I bet Nanako’s thrilled. You didn’t have to do all that for me, partner, I’m just happy to see you at all.”

“Well, don’t count me out yet, I have to be the one to give you the best gift. Kanji and Rise gave a good effort, and Chie and Yukiko… meant well. Speaking of which, what did Naoto give you?”

Yosuke began to lead the way to Yu’s house, like it was second nature. He shrugged as he walked.

“Just some money and a card. It was nice of him. We’ve gotten a bit closer since you left. I really miss you a lot, y’know.”

Yu chuckled. “We spent most of the party talking about how we’re gonna be together forever after this school year is over. Time flies, we gotta make it count, Hanamura.”

“I guess, but I’m so tired of studying for high school exams. I know college is gonna be more in depth and all that, but at least it’ll be something I’m interested in.” Yosuke sighed. “I dunno what I even want to do anyways. Let’s talk about this amazing gift you got me, instead, Yu.”

Yu stifled a laugh. “We can cross that bridge together when we get there. I also have leftover fruit in the bag, too.”

“Oh yeah, did you remember Nanako’s cake?”

“Of course.”

–

Yu unlocked the door; the moonlight reflecting off of the glass on the windows. They had taken their time walking, and night had fallen quicker than the two had realized.

Yu ushered Yosuke inside, and Yosuke flipped on the lights as he entered. Yosuke knew Yu’s house just as well as his own at this point.

Yosuke gasped slightly at the state of the house. It was immaculate as always, but Yu had set up the living room with a stack of movies (all stacked up next to the TV) that Yosuke had recommended over the phone over the last few months, some cushions and blankets, and some string lights that draped over the door to the porch as well as along the walls behind the TV and couch.

“I made popcorn earlier too. We’re set for the weekend,” Yu said as he closed the door and toed his shoes off. He walked over and set the bag down on the table, looking back at Yosuke with a warm smile.

Yosuke, frozen to the spot and keeping silent so that he didn’t trip over his words, finally began to take his shoes off.

“You didn’t have to do all this for me. I would have been happy hanging out; this feels like such a big deal…”

“I’m not just gonna miss my partner’s birthday. I made that mistake last year, and I have made it a point to never miss it again. Even if it’s just the two of us.”

Yosuke was at a complete loss for words. He was now absolutely sure that his face was permanently red. He was so happy, and on his birthday.

His life had really turned around, huh? It only takes almost dying, exposing your biggest secrets, and saving the entire world anonymously to do that. Just his luck, Yosuke thought, but maybe, just maybe, his luck was turning around.

“Are you just gonna stand there all night, or do you wanna get changed and watch some movies?”

Yosuke shook himself out of it, again, before nodding eagerly.

“This looks amazing, Yu. Mind if I borrow some clothes…?”

“Not at all. You go ahead; I’ll change down here and get the popcorn ready.”

Yosuke didn’t hesitate, practically sprinting up the stairs to Yu’s room, taking them multiple at a time. Movie night with his best friend? No interruptions? And Yu made him food? He wasn’t sure he could be happier if he tried.

Well…

Yosuke stopped, holding the change of clothes - Yu’s clothes - in his hands. They had done this tons of times. Why did this feel so different? Yosuke couldn’t really put his finger on it. He assumed it was his feelings that had all collided with each other, from the note from Naoto, and that his partner had been awfully close to him today in more ways than one.

Yosuke sighed, changed his clothes, and carried his old clothes, headphones, and walkman downstairs. He always brought it with him, especially now more than ever since he couldn’t have Teddie getting ahold of it. He already had to hide his guitar in a locked employee locker at Junes.

He padded his way downstairs, tossing his extra clothes on a chair at the small table. He had noticed that Yu had put Yosuke’s new plush on top of the blanket pile, as if it were waiting for them.

“Partner? Where-”

Yosuke was cut off by the sound of Yu clearing his throat from behind him. Yosuke had no idea how he was able to sneak up on people all the time - he could be really quiet when he wanted to.

Yu had his hands held behind his back with a huge grin. “Got you something.”

“There’s more? How am I supposed to one-up this for your birthday?”

Yu didn’t give him an answer, instead stepping forward so that he and Yosuke were face to face.

“Happy birthday, Yosuke.”

Yu handed him a neatly wrapped gift with an orange bow on top. It was expertly wrapped, as was everything Yu did.

Yosuke took the present with the most care he had ever had in his life.

“You really didn’t have to do this. All I wanted was to see you.”

Yu smiled even more. “Is that what you wished for?”

This took Yosuke aback, and his face became even more flushed.

“...More or less. Want me to open this now?”

Yu gestured eagerly for him to open the gift, and Yosuke did just that.

It was a cassette tape for his walkman, but it wasn’t one that Yosuke recognized. There wasn’t a band label, or anything identifiable other than the neat writing on a label.

‘Yu’s Mix for Yosuke.’

“I had someone from the city at a music store help me make this. You keep giving me music recommendations, and movies, too. I haven’t really taken an interest in either before meeting you, but I put together some songs that make me think of you. And obviously picked out some movies for us to watch. I hope you like them.”

Yosuke’s hand’s shook as he carefully turned the cassette over and over in his hands, like he couldn’t believe it was real. Yu watched him softly.
“...Y-You made this? For… me?”

“...Yeah. I did.”

Yosuke teared up, and hated himself for it. He clutched the cassette in one hand, and lunged forward to hug Yu.

“It’s perfect. Thank you, Yu.”

Yu laughed lightly. “Anytime, partner.”

He brought his hands up to hug Yosuke tightly, and they stayed there for a while.

Yosuke pulled away first, holding Yu at arm’s length.

“...Yu?”

“Yeah, Yosuke?”

Yosuke loved hearing Yu say his name.

“D’you think I can tell you what I wished for…?”

“I’d love to hear it.”

Even though he was the one that initiated this entire interaction, Yosuke flushed and looked away.

“Don’t laugh.”

“Of course not.”

“I want us to be… together. Forever. You and me. I don’t think I can live my life without you. You make me feel so special, y’know? No one else has ever done all this for me. Been with me for this long, had my back and all that. …Sorry, that was weird. Forget I said anyth-”

“That’s what I’d wish for, too. We only have to wait a couple more months. Let’s make the most of it.”

Yu took Yosuke’s hands off of his shoulders and took them into his own, taking the cassette and putting it down on the table as he did so.

“Got one more gift for you. Close your eyes.”

“Seriously?! You’re killing me man, it’s like you’re trying to win me over…! You’ve already got me, partner.”

Yosuke laughed, red continuing to dust his face and now down his neck. Yu was able to pull himself together more than Yosuke, but he was still considerably in uncharted territory.

“Okay, close your eyes. If you don’t like it-”

“Wait, wait, wait, are you going to…?”

Yosuke trailed off, covering his face and flailing away from Yu briefly.

Yu tried to find the words to say, but Yosuke waved his hands at him, looking down.

“No, hold on!! This is what I wished for; just give me a second, man! I…”

Yosuke looked up at Yu again, who looked completely taken aback.

“...I love you.”

Yosuke winced, expecting to be let down gently, or whatever, even though that was completely irrational and Yosuke knew that. He had so much evidence to believe that for once he might get lucky, but…

Yu smiled and advanced towards Yosuke again, testing the waters.

“I love you too, Yosuke. I really want to spend our lives together.”

“...Really?”

Yu laughed. “Really.”

“...Can I kiss you?”

“I’ll even close my eyes,” Yu teased, doing exactly that.

“Oh, be quiet,” Yosuke retorted before grabbing Yu by the collar, effectively startling him into opening his eyes, and pressing their lips together.

It was awkward, but it was everything to Yosuke. From the looks of things, Yu felt the same way.

As they pulled apart, Yosuke was way too embarrassed to start up a conversation, so he just dropped his head onto Yu’s shoulder, who laughed.

“Know any good movies?”

“...Hell yeah, partner.”

“After you.”