Chapter Text
It’s officially summertime in Inaba, and the first thing Narukami does after Yosuke gets off of his shift at Junes is invite him to hangout at the riverbank. Neither of the boys have spoken since they got down, but it’s not a horrible silence. Yosuke’s been keeping himself occupied by throwing pebbles into the river, fascinated by how satisfying it is once they hit the water. The sunlight shines bright on them both as it starts to lower.
Yu’s been sitting in the grass staring at his partner throwing the pebbles, almost as if he’s in a trance just by looking at his presence. He doesn’t notice that Yosuke’s already came and sat next to him, waving a hand in front of his face to snap Yu out of it. “Paartnneeeer? Anyone home in there?” Yosuke eventually pinches Narukami, causing him to yelp. Yosuke laughs at him, shaking his head.
“What the hell was that for?” Narukami hits Hanamura’s shoulder in an annoyed way, but he could never be bothered by his partner for long. He’s the only one who understands him after all. “It’s like- you were being haunted by something. I had to rescue you at once! We’re not.. losing our leader, are we?” Yosuke says with pleading eyes. He’s trying to tease Narukami again, all they do is tease and joke with each other. That’s just how their bond is. Yu looks at Yosuke, as if he’s just set a new record for the most stupidest line to say yet. “I..” Yu seems at a loss for words. “Sometimes I wonder what even goes on in your head, partner.”
Yosuke’s jaw drops, a fake shock appearing on his face as he drops down to the ground dramatically. He acts as if Yu just shot him dead with a single sentence. “How could you say such vile words partner? Seriously! I mean it, you were zoned out hard, and I had to obviously rescue the sweet princess Narukami immediately!” Yu shakes his head at him being so theatrical, hiding his slight smile in the process. He lays down next to his partner, watching the evening clouds fly by. It’s nice to just let everything go when he’s around Yosuke, like nothing else matters but them two. After a few moments of silence (and matching each other's breathing), Yosuke starts talking again.
“I know it’s been a few months since she died, and I just talked to you about her multiple times not that long ago, but…” Yosuke shifts, bringing his knees up higher & resting his hands on his chest instead of just laying flat on the grass. “A part of my brain keeps replaying every shift that we had together, thinking about anything that I could’ve done differently.” He lets out a fake laugh. He’s tired, mentally, and it’s obvious in this moment. “Classic Yosuke, right? Still dragging on this whole thing about Saki-senpai. Like I always do..” At his last four words, his voice starts to grow quieter, as he focuses more on the clouds than the fact that he’s talking about the same situation for the millionth time.
Yu notices how Yosuke’s whole demeanor changed so quickly, and he inches closer to him, but not enough for Yosuke to notice. He wants Yosuke to know how much he cares and that he’s there for him, but god, he’s never felt so out of words as much as he does in this moment. He could comfort Yosuke about Saki-Senpai the previous times, and even stopped those girls at Junes from teasing him about liking her. So then, why can’t he think of what to say as quickly as he could before? After Yosuke’s words about Saki have been in the air for what felt like forever, Yu finally speaks. “Yosuke, nothing’s your fault. You’re the funniest person I know, and you’re an amazing friend.” His head turns to look at his partner, watching how exhausted his face is. He wishes he could’ve said something quicker, but alas, he’s finally lost his touch. He continues, “It sucks Saki-Senpai didn’t see you for who you are, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. You’re strong enough that you were able to get by without her too, Yosuke.” Yosuke turns his head to look at him once he says that last sentence. No one’s ever called him strong, at least, not in the way Yu did. For a second, he searches his partner’s face, almost staring. As if he’s trying to figure out if Yu actually means everything he said, or if he’s just saying it to make Yosuke feel good about himself. Which, knowing Yu, it’s most likely both of them.
“You mean it, partner?… Thanks.” Yosuke catches himself staring at Yu for longer than he should, and immediately turns his head away. His cheeks start to turn rosy, mainly out of embarrassment. “I’m glad to have someone like you in my life. You’ve really changed me in only just a few months, y’know that?” Yosuke looks up at the now darkened sky, the moon starting to light up the area slightly thanks to how bright it is. He tries to distract himself once more by staring at the stars, but the words of his partner linger too much in his head. After a few moments of searching for constellations, Yosuke starts to stand up, brushing the grass off of his clothing. “Well, it’s getting dark, let’s start walking, partner.” Yosuke extends a hand out to the flushed face of Yu. Yu obviously gets praised often for his leadership skills and how good he is with advice, but when it comes to Yosuke, he seems to take it differently. Yu can’t even understand why he does so, as he tends to confuse his own self a lot as well. Yu takes his partner’s hand, getting lifted up by him & jumping up once he’s off the ground.
The partners walk into the pretty much empty shopping district, stopping by a vending machine midway. They’ve fallen into silence yet again, this time with the feeling of something being unsaid between each other, but they both choose to not say anything to the other boy. Yosuke pays for sodas for the two of them, passing one to Yu immediately. “Why thank you, my prince.” Yu teases, recalling when Yosuke called him ‘princess Narukami’. “Oh, shut up Narukami…” Hanamura says, groaning at the fact that he brought up his horrible joke. Well, it was horrible to him at least, he only jokes around all the time to see Yu smile. But Yosuke wouldn’t ever admit that out loud, or to himself. Yu’s gaze lingers on Yosuke, causing Yosuke’s speech to falter. “W-Would you stop looking at me like that, partner? You’ve been looking at me with that same look ever since I got off work…” Yosuke looks away from Yu, looking at the road below. He chugs his soda to try and distract himself from the fact that his beautiful best friend hasn’t stopped taking long looks at him this whole time, and the fact that it makes his stomach flip every time. He finishes his soda and tosses it into his pocket, hopefully remembering to throw it away later. Narukami, on the other hand, has only been taking small sips, trying to savor his soda. Hanamura mentions how late it’s getting to his partner, and starts to walk him back home.
“Hey, Yosuke,” Yu perks up. “Do you think it’d be okay for you to stay the night? You wouldn’t get your ass beat for it, would you?” Yu curses like it’s nothing, even though his speech is always so clean. Yosuke gets caught off guard, almost stopping in his own tracks. He lets out a surprised burst of laughter, “I seriously don’t think I’ve ever heard you curse not once since you came here to Inaba. Didn’t even think you had it in you, partner.” He sighs once he stops laughing, trying to recover. “I’d just have to text my mom. She’s cool with you, so she wouldn’t really care at all. But… Would Dojima approve of it..?” Yu shuts down Yosuke’s concern instantly, reassuring him the best he can. “He’s been coming home late because of the murders anyway, so I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
Narukami and Hanamura reach the Dojima residence, walking in without an issue since the gate in front of the door’s always left unlocked by Nanako for him. They take their shoes off, placing them carefully on the floor in the genkan, leaving them in only their socks as they finally start to step up to the living room. “You’re home late.” A voice comes from the dining table. Dojima’s home on time for a change, much to Yu’s surprise. Shit… Why is he home NOW of all times? Yu thinks to himself, beating himself up internally. “Where were- Oh?” Dojima looks up from his newspaper, spotting Yosuke behind Yu, looking like he just got caught doing something that he shouldn’t have. “You brought Hanamura over? Do his parents know where he is? It’s dangerous to be out late at night lately, y’know.” Yu fidgets with his own fingers, trying to act like he isn’t even a little bit scared of his own uncle. “He, uh, already texted his mom. (That’s a lie, Yosuke forgets to even do so.) We were hoping to have a sleepover tonight, if that’s okay?” Yu doesn’t usually pray for things, but this time is an exception. He wanted to spend time with his best friend this summer, and was worried Dojima’d ruin it.
Dojima takes a little while to give a decision to the boys, but considering how Yu’s never brought a friend over yet (to his knowledge at least), he lets it slide, sighing deeply before responding. “Alright, there’s an extra futon somewhere in your room, I believe. You could probably find it. Just, don’t cause too much ruckus, okay? I already put Nanako to bed.” He eyes them, seeming a bit suspicious of the two boys. “I won’t question again where you two were, but don’t come home late like this again, Yu.” He motions them off, pulling his newspaper back up to his face. Yu and Yosuke thank dojima with everything they have, before racing up to Yu’s room. Once Yu opens the door, he immediately heads to his closet to see if the futon’s buried deep in it, which to his surprise, it is. How convenient, he thinks. He places it on the ground next to his own, setting it up. While Yu sets up Yosuke’s futon, Yosuke takes the opportunity to look around Yu’s room.
“Woah partner,” Yosuke says aloud, closing the door behind him. “Your room’s like, way cleaner than I expected.” Yosuke starts to inspect Yu’s large book collection on his shelf, never having considered him to be a reader. He reads one of the titles to himself, “Expert Study Methods.” Well, that makes sense to Yosuke. Yu’s always in the top ten of highest scores when it comes to exams. Yosuke silently wishes to be just like Yu when it comes to being dedicated to studying, but he knows he’d never put in the effort. Yu finishes setting up Yosuke’s futon, calling him over to see if he’s comfortable with it. Yosuke’s face starts to flush at how close the futons are together. It’s not like Yu had much choice of having them close together anyway, there’s barely any room to fit them both comfortably.
“Do we.. uh, have to be so close, partner?” Yosuke asks, with the answer plain as day. “I don’t see a problem with it. If I moved you farther from me, your legs’d be hitting the table.” Yu seems oblivious to how red his partner is when he speaks, as he suddenly gets up to grab a change of clothes from his dresser. He gives it to Yosuke, who’s still as red as ever. Finally, Yu notices. “Partner, are you feeling okay? Are you catching a fever?” Yu brings his hand up to his forehead, the other hand rests on his shoulder. He tries to feel his temperature, regardless of how Yosuke’s trying to back away out of embarrassment. Yu still acts oblivious, not bothering to think of exactly why his partner’s so nervous around him at the moment. “N-No, partner, I’m fine really…” Yu lets his hands fall off of Yosuke, taking his word for it, though still concerned for his partner. “Okay then, you can change in the bathroom. I hope they fit you since they’re my clothes, partner.” Right. His partner’s clothing. Yosuke gets into a slight worry, but heads to his partner’s bathroom to change anyway. They’re just his partner’s clothes, so why has he been non-stop blushing this entire time?
After he gets done changing, Yosuke returns to Yu’s room, immediately seeing how he’s changed as well and is already cozied up in his futon. “Oh! They fit better than I thought actually. Still a little loose on you, though.” His partner says as he eyes him, watching Yosuke’s movements as he gets into the futon beside him. “Y-Yeah. Pretty loose, haha.” Hanamura says nervously. God, why is he suddenly even more nervous around his partner than usual? Sure, Narukami has the habit of making him lose his train of thought, but it’s only because they’re so close, isn’t it? Yosuke finally settles comfortably in his futon, laying with his arms folded behind his head. He’s staring at the ceiling, his quickened breath from being so nervous now finally slowing. The faint light coming from the dimmed lightbulbs above cast shadows across Yu’s room, making everything around them seem softer.
“S-So…” Yosuke’s voice has turned quieter, almost into a near whisper. “This is really nice. I mean it.” He pauses. “Thanks for making me hangout with you, partner. Even if we basically almost got killed by Dojima.” Yosuke jokes, trying to go back to his usual routine that he has around Yu. His eyes continue to linger on the ceiling, tracing every detail that it has. He wants to be in this moment forever, being by his partner’s side forever like this. “And, thanks for making today feel… normal in a way.” Yu shifts in his own futon next to him, laying on his side to gaze at Yosuke. “Yeah? Well, normal is pretty underrated nowadays. I like hanging with just you, partner.” Yu watches Yosuke’s breathing as his partner looks at the ceiling. Yosuke’s breath hitches, almost barely noticeable (but Yu notices anyway). His eyes stay on the ceiling, but something changes in his expression. It’s now as if he no longer has any mask at all, and something raw surfaces for just even a moment. Yosuke blinks, slowly, processing what his partner just said to him. No one’s ever as honest with him as Yu is, and it consistently makes Yosuke malfunction. “Yeah..? I like hanging with you too, man.” He finally says.
A beat of silence fills the room after their exchangement of words, the tension from earlier that night seeming to find its way back to the boys. Yosuke finally turns his head, meeting Yu’s gaze. The dim light from the faded bulbs above catches the side of his face, making his face seem more softer than it’s ever been. For a few minutes, neither of them look away from each other. “You know,” Yosuke murmurs, shifting to lay on his side as he looks at Yu. “Back in the city, before I moved here to Inaba too, I always thought that I had friends. Well- I did obviously, but looking back…” He trails off, searching for words as he loses his train of thought once more just by looking at Yu. “I don’t think any of them truly looked at me like how you do. Like I truly matter.” Yosuke says with a sigh, at this point regretting he said anything. He just seems to somehow always open up around his partner so easily, that it confuses himself even. He lets out a laugh, a tired one, short and self-deprecating. “Man, that was cheesy as hell, I don’t even know why I said that. Ignore me, Yu.” But Yu doesn’t look away from the brunette boy in front of him. He resists the urge to reach out towards the boy in front of him, his hands feeling stiffer than ever. “Cheesy or not, I appreciate what you said, Yosuke. And I meant what I said as well.” Yu then laughs, a soft, almost scoffing sound, but it wasn’t cruel at all. “No other friend I’ve ever had treats or looks at me the way you do.” His eyes don’t ever part from Yosuke’s. “I wish more people knew you for you.”
The words that just spilled out from Yu’s lips linger in the air, and Yosuke falters once more. His breath catches audibly, his eyes starting to seem like they’re glistening as they widen, though he blinks rapidly to disguise that fact. His mouth opens, a slight gap forming between his lips, then closes. Opens, then closes once again. “Yu, I…” His voice cracks. He tries to clear his throat, attempting to speak again. “I don’t… I don’t know what to say to that.” He laughs unevenly, his eyes starting to form tears. Yosuke’s hand rises up to rub at his eyes. “Shit, don’t make me get all emotional right now, man…” Yosuke says, even though he’s the one who started it. "You're making me cry, and I gotta sleep on a goddamn futon in your room,” He pathetically laughs at his own behavior right now, as he falls apart in his partner’s presence once more. He lets his hand drop, and when he looks at Yu again, his expression is raw. Raw, true, and really him. "Thank you." The words are barely above a whisper. "For real, I.. I don't think anyone's ever said anything like that to me before. Anyone but you." He holds Yu’s gaze for another long moment that feels like an eternity, then lets out a shaky breath. After the brief pause between them, his hand drifts across the small space between their futons, not quite touching (because Yosuke’s deathly scared to), but nearly there.
“Goodnight, partner.” Yosuke’s eyes start to get heavy as they grow with fatigue, but his gaze never leaves his partner. Yu’s hand moves on its own, Yu himself not even registering what he’s doing. His fingers brush against Yosuke’s, causing Yosuke’s heart to flutter. He secretly hopes that Yu also has butterflies swarming in him, but he tries to swarm that wish away and out of his brain. Neither of them move, both of them trying to embrace the moment at the same time. Yosuke’s fingers curl, just barely, enough to brush back against Yu’s knuckles. Yosuke lets out a small breath that he didn't even know he’s been holding, and Yu then responds to him softly. “…Yeah. Goodnight partner.” That’s all. Just three words. Three words, yet Yosuke feels complete. He feels as if his partner fills the Saki-senpai shaped hole in his heart, and Yu’s oblivious to it as always.
Yosuke starts drifting off, consciousness fading away as he surrenders to sleep. Yu lies awake, his eyes heavy as well, but he doesn’t dare take his eyes off of his partner. Not yet. He watches Yosuke’s sleeping face, and he thinks to himself that he’s never seen anything more beautiful than it. He admires the way the dim light adds more to his already softened face, the slow rhythm of his chest rising and falling, and the stillness of his hand as it rests between the two of them. Yu’s throat tightens, and the words come before he can even stop them. He prays with everything in his body that his partner is fast asleep by now.
“I love you, partner.”