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Josuke Higashikata had faced a lot of terrifying things in his life.
Serial killers. Stand users with powers that made absolutely no sense. Exams he hadn't studied for. His mom when she found out he'd been skipping school.
None of those compared to this.
Because right now, Josuke was standing outside the small convenience store near the Morioh train station, hands shoved deep into his pockets, heart pounding like Crazy Diamond itself had decided to take up drumming inside his chest. The automatic doors slid open and closed behind passing customers, each little whoosh making him flinch like he was being called to the front of a classroom.
He checked his reflection in the glass for the tenth time.
Hair perfect. Of course it was perfect. If it was not perfect, that would be a whole separate crisis. Uniform straight. Expression. Expression was… not perfect.
He looked like he was about to confess a crime.
Well.
He sort of was.
"Oi, Josuke!"
He jumped.
Too late.
Okuyasu Nijimura came jogging up the sidewalk, waving one arm like he was signaling down a helicopter. His tie was crooked, his shirt half untucked, and he had a grin on his face that could only be described as dangerously cheerful.
"There you are!" Okuyasu said, skidding to a stop right in front of him. "I thought you bailed on me or something."
"I didn't bail!" Josuke said immediately, voice cracking just enough to make him wince internally. "I just got here a little early, that's all."
"Oh. Huh." Okuyasu nodded, as if this was a completely normal and unremarkable situation. "Cool. So what did you want? You said it was important."
Important.
Right.
Josuke swallowed.
This was it. This was the moment. He had spent days thinking about it. Rehearsing in his head. Trying out different approaches in the mirror when no one was home. He had even asked Koichi for advice, which had been a mistake because Koichi had turned bright red and started stammering before running away.
He could do this.
He could definitely do this.
"Okuyasu," Josuke said, trying to keep his voice steady. "I wanted to talk to you about something kind of serious."
Okuyasu’s expression shifted instantly. His grin faded, replaced by a look of intense concern that made Josuke’s stomach twist.
"Serious?" Okuyasu repeated. "What's wrong? Are you sick? Did someone mess with your hair? Who do I have to beat up?"
"No, no, it is nothing like that!" Josuke said quickly, waving his hands. "Nobody messed with my hair."
"Good," Okuyasu said, visibly relieved. "Because I was gonna erase someone."
"Please don't erase anyone," Josuke muttered.
"Okay, okay. So whats it then?"
Josuke took a deep breath.
This was it.
"I like you," he said.
There.
He had said it.
The words hung in the air between them, heavier than any Stand attack, louder than any explosion. For a split second, the entire world seemed to go quiet. Even the automatic doors behind them stopped making noise, as if the universe itself was holding its breath.
Okuyasu blinked.
Then he broke into a huge smile.
"Yeah, I know!" he said cheerfully.
Josuke’s brain stopped working.
"You… what?"
"I know you like me," Okuyasu said, nodding like this was the most obvious thing in the world. "I mean, we hang out all the time, you always have my back in fights, and you helped me out with my brother stuff. You're like my best friend, man."
Josuke stared at him.
Best friend.
Best.
Friend.
Somewhere deep inside his head, something cracked.
"Right," Josuke said faintly. "Best friend."
"Yeah!" Okuyasu said, completely oblivious. "And I like you too, obviously. You're awesome. Probably the coolest guy I know, honestly. Well, besides me. But you are a close second."
Josuke felt like he was watching his own life from a distance.
This was not how it was supposed to go.
There had been different scenarios in his head. Some of them had gone well. Some of them had gone terribly. None of them had included this.
"Okuyasu," Josuke said slowly, carefully, like he was trying to defuse a bomb with a blindfold on. "I don't think you understand what I meant."
"Huh?" Okuyasu tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
Josuke could feel his face heating up. This was already bad. This was already so bad. And now he had to explain it.
To Okuyasu.
"Like," Josuke said, gesturing vaguely. "When I said I like you. I didn't mean just as a friend."
Okuyasu blinked again.
There was a pause.
A long, long pause.
"Ohhhh," Okuyasu said finally.
Josuke’s heart jumped.
Maybe.
Maybe he got it.
"Like a best friend," Okuyasu added.
Josuke made a strangled noise.
"No!" he said, louder than he intended. A couple of people walking past glanced at them, and he immediately lowered his voice. "Not like a best friend. Like… like…"
He trailed off, words failing him.
Okuyasu leaned closer, squinting at him like he was trying to solve a particularly difficult math problem.
"Like a… slightly better friend?" he suggested.
Josuke covered his face with both hands.
"This is a disaster," he mumbled.
"What is?" Okuyasu asked, genuinely confused. "I'm tryna follow here, but you're not making a whole lot'a sense."
Of course he was not.
Of course he was not making sense.
Because he was trying to explain romantic feelings to someone who once forgot how to count to ten halfway through.
Josuke took a deep breath and dropped his hands.
"Okay," he said. "Okay. Let me try this again."
"Right," Okuyasu said, nodding seriously. "I'm listening."
"I like you," Josuke said again, slower this time. "Not as a friend. Not as a best friend. I mean I like you in a… romantic way."
Okuyasu stared at him.
Josuke could practically hear the gears in his head turning.
Very slowly.
"Romantic," Okuyasu repeated.
"Yes."
"Like… like on TV?"
"Yes."
"Like when people go on dates and stuff?"
"Yes."
"Like when they hold hands and say embarrassing things and everyone else has to pretend it is not weird?"
"Yes, exactly like that!"
Okuyasu’s eyes widened.
"Oh."
Another pause.
This one somehow felt even longer than the last.
"Oh," Okuyasu said again.
Josuke’s heart was pounding so hard he was pretty sure it was audible.
"Okay," Okuyasu said slowly. "Wait. So you are saying… you like me like that?"
"Yes," Josuke said, his voice barely above a whisper now.
"And not like… just as friends?"
"Yes."
"And you're not joking?"
"I'm not joking."
"And this is not like a prank or something?"
"It is not a prank!"
Okuyasu frowned, crossing his arms.
"Huh," he said.
Josuke braced himself.
This was it. This was the part where Okuyasu would either reject him, or panic, or laugh, or something equally terrible.
He was not prepared for what actually happened.
"Okay," Okuyasu said. "I think I get it."
Josuke blinked.
"You do?"
"Yeah," Okuyasu said confidently. "You like me like… more than a friend. Like those couples you see around town."
"Yes," Josuke said, hope flickering in his chest. "That's exactly it."
"Alright," Okuyasu nodded. "Cool."
Cool.
Josuke stared at him.
"Cool?" he repeated.
"Yeah," Okuyasu said. "I mean, it is kind of surprising, but also not really. You're always doing nice stuff for me and looking at me weird sometimes."
"I am not looking at you weird," Josuke muttered.
"You totally are," Okuyasu said. "But it's fine. I don't mind."
That was not the point.
"Okuyasu," Josuke said, trying to stay focused. "Do you… feel the same way?"
Okuyasu opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Scratched the back of his head.
"Huh," he said again.
Josuke felt his stomach drop.
"That's a no, is it not," he said.
"What? No, no, it is not a no!" Okuyasu said quickly. "I just… I gotta think about it."
"Think about it," Josuke repeated.
"Yeah!" Okuyasu said. "Cuz like, I've never really thought about it that way before, you know?"
Josuke did know.
He had suspected as much.
"But," Okuyasu continued, holding up a finger like he had just had a brilliant idea. "I do like hanging out with you. A lot. And you are important to me. So that's gotta count for something, right?"
Josuke hesitated.
It did count for something.
It just was not the same thing.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "It does."
"Okay, good," Okuyasu said, smiling again. "So we are good then?"
"We are… good," Josuke said.
There was a strange, awkward silence.
"So," Okuyasu said after a moment. "Do we do anything different now?"
Josuke blinked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, if you like me like that," Okuyasu said. "Are we supposed to do couple stuff now? Or do we just keep doing what we have been doing? Because I'm kind of used to what we have been doing."
Josuke felt his face heat up again.
"We don't have to do anything," he said quickly. "I just wanted you to know."
"Oh," Okuyasu said. "Okay."
Another pause.
Then, unexpectedly, Okuyasu reached out and grabbed Josuke’s hand.
Josuke froze.
"What are you doing?" he asked, voice squeaking slightly.
"I am trying the holding hands thing," Okuyasu said, as if this was perfectly logical. "You said that was part of it, right?"
Josuke’s brain short-circuited.
"I mean, yes, but not like this, you can't just-"
"Feels kinda weird," Okuyasu said, examining their joined hands. "But not bad. Your hands are warm."
Josuke was pretty sure he was about to pass out.
"Okuyasu," he said weakly. "People are staring."
"Oh," Okuyasu glanced around. "Yeah, they are."
He did not let go.
"Should I let go?" he asked.
"Yes!"
"Okay."
He did not let go.
"Okuyasu."
"Right, right."
He finally released Josuke’s hand, who immediately shoved both of his hands back into his pockets like they had betrayed him.
"Sorry," Okuyasu said. "I'm still figuring this out."
Josuke let out a shaky laugh.
"Yeah," he said. "I can tell."
"But hey," Okuyasu added, nudging him lightly with his elbow. "Thanks for telling me."
Josuke looked at him.
Okuyasu’s expression was softer now. Still a little confused, still a little uncertain, but genuine.
"I mean it," Okuyasu said. "That probably took guts."
Josuke huffed.
"You have no idea."
"Yeah, I probably don't," Okuyasu admitted. "But I am glad you did."
Josuke felt something in his chest loosen, just a little.
It was not perfect.
It was not the clear, happy ending he might have imagined.
But it was not a disaster either.
"So," Okuyasu said suddenly. "Do you wanna get snacks or something?"
Josuke blinked.
"Snacks?"
"Yeah," Okuyasu said, jerking his thumb toward the convenience store. "We came all the way here. It would be a waste not to get something."
Josuke stared at him for a moment.
Then he laughed.
Of course.
Of course Okuyasu would say that.
"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, let us get snacks."
They walked into the store together, the automatic doors whooshing open like nothing significant had just happened at all.
Maybe things had changed.
Maybe they had not.
Either way, as Josuke followed Okuyasu down the snack aisle, listening to him ramble about which chips were the best, he found himself smiling.