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The ruckus in one top floor hospital room had managed to tune out the deep rumbling of thunder outside. It was no wonder really, with five people huddled around a single bed, fighting over the single pen to sign the cast of one bed-ridden Kanji. Surely this wasn’t the only pen in the entire hospital.
He wasn’t opposed to it, but he wasn’t exactly delighted either, Yu could tell that much. Surviving a blow in the other world that ended in a broken arm even a Media couldn’t mend will have you moody. The chatter faded out by the next lightning strike, save for the two guys still towering over the bed.
”Man, you sure are down.” Kanji grumbled at Yosuke’s insensitive comment that he tried to pad with a chuckle. At least it was well intentioned?
”What, should we have brought you a cute bouquet of flowers or something?” Well. The heavy rain kept assaulting the window.
On a day where his arm wasn’t bound in layers of bandages, Kanji would have perhaps used it to yank Yosuke‘s collar right now. All that manages to come out is a scoff and averted gaze that Yosuke reciprocated. Whenever the sky flashed, Yu did the classic trick of counting until the rumble that came way too soon after. Fourteen.
”C’mon, I think it’s about time we get going.” Yosuke beat him to the suggestion. Just barely past the doorframe, Kanji mumbled one last thing.
”You can be a real dick sometimes, man.” It was scarily calm—raw, but spoken lowly enough for Yosuke to be able to pretend that he didn’t hear it, even if his frozen face responded for him.
They took their time walking through the halls with lights mimicking the flickering sky outside. Yu kept counting down whenever a bolt tore through it. Nine. In the corner of his eye Yosuke‘s head was hanging low, and just as Yu was about to say something, the former took a sharp turn for the elevator.
”If we’re gonna get soaked on the way home anyway, we might as well minimise the amount of steps taken at least.” The dullness in his voice nulled the effect Yosuke’s humorous complaints usually had on Yu. He nodded and followed along, catching one more flash. Five.
The low hum of the elevator had Yu vaguely recall how Yosuke once made fun of Chie being terrified of elevators and the prospect of getting stuck, how stupid and unrealistic that was. Outside the clouds were practically growling. Must be getting pretty close now.
Two. One—Then, the light in the elevator went out. Before being allowed to realise that, the two were already swept off their feet by the rattle of the elevator suddenly coming to a halt. Did it collapse onto his chest? No, that was just Yosuke’s entire bodyweight pressing against Yu’s chest. Surely if the power went out that includes the air conditioning, but Yosuke’s face alone was radiating heat stronger than the radiator that would’ve gone out too had this been winter, then also his own.
Yosuke rolled over after a few seconds of gazing straight into the contours of Yu’s eyes in the darkness and groaned.
”Great. Not surprising at all that the awesome Inaba power grid couldn’t withstand a single summer storm." Yu let out a small laugh. Yosuke then started thrashing around.
“You have got to be kidding me, this day cannot keep getting any worse! I swear this is Chie’s fault somehow!” He was yelling. No way anyone could be hearing them somewhere between the fourth and second anyway.
He wore himself out when his restless legs managed to actually make the elevator move. Yosuke pouted and turned away to face the wall instead of Yu.
“Hope you’ve eaten enough, because I’m pretty sure it’ll be at the very least two days before anyone finds us.”
“You don’t need to worry. You ate through half the snacks meant for Kanji anyway.” Yu attempted to lighten the mood.
“Hey, woah- don’t act like everyone wasn’t helping themselves to it!” He was being all faux defensive. Maybe it did help.
“Guess that’s why he was mad at you.” Yu knew that wasn’t it. Yosuke winced slightly.
”Yeah no.” He propped himself up and leaned against the wall next to Yu’s head, barely managing to stretch his legs against the other side of the small elevator. It finally dawned on the both of them how tiny it really was.
“That shadow sure did a number on him.”
Yu knew the extent of Yosuke’s genuine empathy. It was definitely alongside his favourite traits. There was no need for Yosuke to ever try and go the extra way to pretend when Yu knew. Still, he couldn’t help but notice how tense things get between Yosuke and Kanji specifically, so he wasn’t surprised.
Yosuke continued. “He can be so—” He tapped his foot against the elevator door.
“Reckless?” Yu was getting somewhere now.
“No—well, yes.” Yosuke tilted his head all the way onto his shoulder away from Yu. “What’s like, the good version of reckless?”
Yu got up into a sitting position too. “I think you’re trying to say that he’s confident.”
“Yeah. Well, not just in battle—we all mostly listen to your commands, anyway." There was something Yosuke was trying to communicate here.
“You’re still trying to say that he’s confident.”
Yosuke exaggerated a sigh. “Yeah, pretty much.” They were between layers of steel and concrete and still the sound of thunder kept rising and falling noticeably.
“Really hope it doesn’t actually take them two days.”
It was especially noticeable because in whatever dimension between floors they were trapped in, there were obviously no distressed people on the floor panicking and dramatically banging at the elevator door. Just the awkward silence—why was it awkward?—and the occasional thunder comfortingly murmuring in the distance.
“I also thought I was confident when I first got here. It was just a small, crappy town. Couldn’t be intimidating at all, right?”
It was difficult to see what expression Yosuke was putting up until now. Either Yu’s eyes got used to the darkness, or the two somehow moved closer in the meantime, because he could make out a faint self-deprecating smile on Yosuke’s face. Despite the proximity, his body was weirdly angled in an uncomfortable way so he wouldn’t even graze Yu’s.
“Then I was totally humbled by people here who were actually themselves. Really have been.” He scoffed at himself.
“Kinda like you. Didn’t even need to go up against your shadow self to get your Persona and all. An actual city boy.” Yosuke raised his head to look right at Yu with a longing gaze, and then away.
“Man, this is embarrassing, I already told you how insanely I look up to you”
It kept getting warmer here. Somehow the space kept shrinking too. Maybe they really landed in some other pocket-dimension.
“It’s hard to not be—bitter. Y’know?” Yu could feel the weight of these words that finally relieved Yosuke’s chest actually lower the elevator.
“You managed to face yourself, though.” Yu wasn’t sure where he was headed with this. There was still something he wanted to hear. Something Yosuke had to say.
All he did was let out a weak laugh. “I guess you’re right.” He added teasingly; “Like always.”
The light of the elevator showed itself for just a split moment. Long enough for Yu to get a full picture of the way Yosuke’s cheeks were sucked in by gritted teeth, how he swallowed as if it was a stone he was trying to get through, and the way his eyes shined. They always did, it was a glow one could get lost in for hours. But they were covered in a thin glassy layer now.
The clouds have been quiet for a while, so a faint echo of an emergency announcement on loop all around them could be made out. Something about remaining calm and them actively working on reinstating emergency power. Yu felt a sense of urgency.
Yosuke might’ve noticed if the way he fidgeted with his headphones didn’t mean he was lost in thought.
”When I look back at it, I never got a full-on maze like the others did.” He folded his hands and pressed his fingers into the opposing knuckles tightly.
“So I never—” Tightly enough to let out a hiss. ”I never actually faced myself, did I?“
Some sort of reflex surely instilled by the countless battles they’d fought together caused Yu to immediately do something when he noticed his partner was in pain. Be it a cast of Media or a hand over his knuckles so he stops digging his nails into them. Did Yosuke flinch at the gesture or the thunder that managed to strike at the exact same moment after such a long pause?
“Maybe it doesn’t have to be in a dungeon.”
Yosuke had no choice but to look directly at Yu. He was grateful that it was dark, at least. That was until the lights once more flashed, this time a moment longer, and Yosuke was bestowed with a view of the full gentleness—and the honestly handsome features—of the former’s face. Maybe he did have a choice, actually. That still wouldn’t get rid of the heat his cheeks radiated right into Yu’s face.
“You can still face yourself in the real world.”
“Dude, it’s so weird when you get all philosophical like that.” His response came out a little higher pitched.
Incredibly enough what was practically a handhold wasn’t the thing weirding him out apparently. He had always been the best in the party at dodging attacks.
“Quit it. You keep embarrassing me!” Was that his heartbeat or someone finally trying to ram through the door to free them?
“With my eloquent expression?”
Yosuke wrestled his hands free. Yu assumed he was about to pull out a classic protest in gestures. But instead Yosuke’s free arm came to ruffle through his own hair. By now they’d gotten close enough—the elevator dimension seems to have shrunk like crazy—that they could now clearly see the outlines of each other’s expressions. The satisfied smile on Yosuke’s face was surely because of Yu’s agape jaw. It quivered as Yosuke immediately shoved that hand into his pocket.
“We’re even on the embarrassment now, right?”
“You don’t need to be embarrassed around me, Yosuke.” A very careful whisper.
Thunder was still going at it. So it was his heartbeat, not desperate people smashing into the elevator door with a fire extinguisher. Fine by Yu. He first put his hand on Yosuke’s shoulder to be safe. Feeling how he stiffened up, Yu waited a moment before sneaking it up to the face. Whatever false smile Yosuke had tried his best to put up dropped pathetically at the touch. Yosuke sucked in a breath, when he tried to look away, Yu kept him firmly locked in place, where he could behold those wonderful eyes actively avoiding him. They were watering, Yu could feel on his thumb.
“It’s not that easy.” He rarely hears Yosuke’s voice this broken, and is pretty sure he’d never felt his body to be so tense, ever.
“Just try.” Yosuke swallowed and squeezed his eyes in response. The remaining tears were gently brushed away.
“You- you won’t tell the others, right?” It was desperate. Yu could feel Yosuke’s breath against his face now.
“You can’t. Please?” His eyes remained shut as he begged.
An assuring nod, and then finally the collision of clouds. A small spark, a kiss that managed to be completely messy and helpless the entirety of its short duration. In spite of the known dangers, still a striking sight.
In response to Chie’s argument about being stuck in an elevator back then, Yosuke brought up how there’s apparently a higher chance of being killed by a cow than getting stuck in an elevator, or so he’d heard. It was a misplaced statistic about getting struck by lightning. Maybe he should try for a lottery ticket tomorrow.
When they pulled back and dared to open their eyes, the lights were so bright that the force that pressed into their eyes threatened to split their foreheads. Yosuke finally relaxed his shoulders and took a deep breath. When Yu raised his arm to press on the now bright emergency signal button, Yosuke lightly punched his shoulder.
“At least wait for the air conditioning to come back!” Yu must’ve been too endeared by how red his face had gotten to register the heat on the own.
“I—I wouldn’t mind trying again. By the way.”
Yosuke’s head was buried in his knees as if he was attempting to whisper to only himself. Evidently failing, as Yu leaned forward. Yosuke abstained and sprawled out on the floor again.
“Woah! Not now!” The elevator must’ve started moving on its own again because there was a slight shake when it came to a regular stop on the ground floor.
“I need some time.” Yu finally picked up on the sound of metal squeaking as the doors tried their hardest to come open and pushed himself up.
“Wait for me.” Yosuke followed suit.
„I will.”