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“Man, there’s no way in hell I’m going to some dumb school dance,” Yosuke said, absentmindedly squeezing an emptied water bottle. The sharp sounds of the plastic crumpling in on itself resonated through the Junes food court, attracting annoyed glances from nearby customers.From his seat beside Yosuke, Souji pulled the bottle from his hands and placed it out of his reach. Yosuke was apparently too caught up in his own thoughts to really notice.The theme of the annual school dance had been announced that morning, and the school had been buzzing about it all day. Now, as the two of them waited for the rest of their friends to show up at Junes, all Yosuke could do was complain.“I really don’t get what the big deal is,” he said, folding his arms on the table and propping his chin on top of them. “Shuffling awkwardly around the school gym wearing a monkey suit is not my idea of fun. Who even buys into that crap?” Yosuke suddenly sat up, seemingly remembering Souji was there and casting a worried glance at him. “I mean, if you do, that’s totally cool… uh…”“It’s fine, Yosuke. I don’t see the appeal of it either,” Souji admitted.“Oh, seriously? You’re pretty popular though, so I’m sure girls are going to be asking you to take them to the dance left and right.”“They… already have,” Souji sighed. “Five girls asked me today. I didn’t even recognize three of them.”“Five?! What the hell, man? Which one did you say yes to?”“None of them.”“Holy crap, you actually learned how to say no to people?” Yosuke laughed, clapping a hand on Souji’s shoulder. “You’ve really grown up since the summer. But that means… you turned down five girls today! You must be exhausted!”“I really am,” Souji said miserably, hunching forward with the guilt of rejecting those five hopeful faces.“Why not just say yes to one of them, so you have a legit excuse for turning down the rest? Or… oh, I get it,” Yosuke said, a grin spreading across his face.“Get what?” Souji asked suspiciously.“You wanna go stag, so then all the girls can have a dance with you without your date getting jealous! You would totally do something stupidly considerate like that.”Souji was a little sad that he couldn’t say the thought hadn’t crossed his mind. But he honestly didn’t want any of the attention, or to deal with any of the drama that could so easily come out of a social event so fraught with unrealistic expectations.“I don’t want to go, Yosuke,” Souji said almost pleadingly, wanting his best friend to give him any excuse to not attend this awful dance.Before they could unpack that, they were interrupted by the sound of their very lively, very loud group of friends approaching.“Senpai!” Rise called, waving around a dark blue and gold flyer as she sat down across from Souji. “What do you think of the theme of the dance?”“Uh, what is it again?” Souji asked, genuinely unable to remember what it was after all the trauma.“Best Night Ever!” Rise exclaimed, pushing the starry flyer across the table.“I think that’s a pretty dumb theme,” Chie said, sitting across from Yosuke and giving him a customary glare in greeting.“It does seem rather vague,” Yukiko said as she and everyone else took their seats around the rectangular table.“I think they purposely keep the theme vague, since it is a similarly formal event each year,” Naoto surmised. “I believe the only real difference between each year is in the decorations.”“I like decorations,” Kanji said thoughtfully, imagining a much more beautiful nightscape than could probably ever be captured by paper decorations in a school gym.“I want to have the best night ever!” Teddie exclaimed from beside Yosuke. He threw his arms around Yosuke’s middle and said under his breath, “Don’t you want to have the best night ever together, Yosuke?”“No!” Yosuke shouted, bumping into Souji as he tried to escape Teddie’s embrace. “Get the hell off of me, bear! Don’t say shit like that in public!”Eyebrows raised suggestively, Chie asked, “So it’s okay if he says stuff like that in private?”Yukiko tacked on mercilessly, “I guess now we know what goes on at Yosuke’s house at night.”“What the hell?!” Yosuke yelled, using both hands to shove Teddie away.As the table erupted into laughter and various arguments, Yosuke huffed and readjusted himself, tugging at his clothes to straighten them out and scooting sideways out of Souji’s space.Amused by his friends’ antics, Souji sat back and smiled for the first time since…He suddenly realized the last time he had smiled that day was right before the bell rang in the morning, when Yosuke ran into their classroom red-faced and breathless, laughing at how he’d just barely made it.
Mornin’, Partner!
“So! Senpai…” Rise said loudly, with enough purpose that everyone else quieted. Staring directly at Souji, as if to challenge him, she asked, “Would you like to be my date to the dance?”The atmosphere tensed between them as the others waited for Souji to respond to Rise’s extremely forward invitation.Souji shot Rise a subtle but definitely exasperated look, which earned the tiniest smirk from her.“No thank you,” he replied with perhaps even less emotion than usual.Rise couldn’t help but laugh cheerfully. “Oh fine, I guess I’ll just have to go with someone else!”Naoto’s gaze flitted back and forth between Souji and Rise, trying to figure out what she was missing.She zeroed in on Rise and said suspiciously, “You’re taking this surprisingly well.”“Yep! Kanji!” Rise suddenly exclaimed, turning and pointing to him. “You will escort me and Naoto to the dance!”“Wait, what? Both of us?” Naoto asked, reflexively pulling her hat down and hiding her reddening face behind her hand.“The hell?!” Kanji shouted. “You ain’t even givin’ me a choice?” Then he very obviously looked toward Naoto. “Uh, not that… not that I mind…”“And I will escort Yuki-chan and Chie-chan!” Teddie declared, ever-opportunistic when it came to snatching up time with the girls.Yukiko said with a giggle, “I’m fine with that.”“What? No!” Chie snapped at Teddie. “You don’t get to just claim us! At least ask nicely!”Teddie cleared his throat and sat up straighter, making sure to sparkle appropriately for the situation.“Chie-san and Yukiko-san, would both of you extraordinarily lovely ladies please do me the honor of escorting me to your school dance?”Clapping her hands in amusement, Yukiko said, “Yes!”“Fine,” Chie said, blushing and looking away.“Wow, good job, bud,” Yosuke said, punching Teddie in the arm. “I don’t know how you did it, but you just pulled that of your ass!”“Ooh, I pulled what out of where?” Teddie asked curiously, looking toward his own backside.Before long, everyone but Souji and Yosuke busied themselves talking through plans for the dance, separating into two groups at either end of the table.Left to his thoughts, Yosuke tried to wrap his mind around why Souji would turn Rise down. Rise was Rise, and even if Souji (for some crazy reason) didn’t want to date her, they were good friends. Yosuke couldn’t see why Souji wouldn’t just go along with her for one night to make her happy.Yosuke finally realized his water bottle was gone, and once he spotted it on the table, he reached across Souji for it.Souji promptly swatted at his hand and then moved the bottle farther away, firmly saying, “No.”“But…”“It’s loud and annoying.”“But the plastic crackling in my hands is so satisfying…”Souji shook his head and looked away, signifying that the conversation was over.Yosuke still wanted the bottle back, though. If he was honest with himself, the motion and the noise would help soothe some of his anxieties, drowning out the conversation around him that he didn’t want to be part of.Yosuke waited until Souji seemed to be paying attention to Naoto, who was sitting on his other side. Then he slowly, stealthily slid his arm across…Without even turning his head, Souji took hold of Yosuke’s hand and subtly pulled it under the table.“Hey, Kanji, could you throw this away for me?” Souji asked, pushing the bottle across the table to him.“Huh? Oh, sure thing, Senpai!” Kanji said, grabbing it and promptly lobbing it into the nearest trash can.“Thanks.”Yosuke said sadly, “My bottle…”Upon hearing the seemingly disproportionate amount of distress in Yosuke’s voice, Souji reflexively squeezed Yosuke’s hand.“What’s wrong?” he asked, self-consciously pulling his hand away and setting it on his own thigh.Not looking at Souji, Yosuke said quietly, “Partner… can we talk about something besides the dance?”Souji nodded, looking closely at Yosuke’s face. “Do you like mangoes?”Yosuke burst out laughing, not having expected that particular question or such a seamless transition.“Yeah, I love mangoes.”“Do you like mochi?”“Yeah, why?”“I bought some mango mochi, but Nanako and Uncle didn’t really like it, and I don’t want to eat it all myself.”“Are you saying you require my assistance, Partner?”“As always, Partner,” Souji smiled. “Let’s go.”“Right now?” Yosuke asked, looking around at their friends who they’d come here to hang out with.“Yeah, it’s an emergency; it’s melting as we speak,” Souji said faux-urgently, standing up and signaling for Yosuke to follow him.“What?”“Senpai? Where are you going?” Rise asked as Souji tugged Yosuke out of his seat and away from their friends.“Just remembered… mochi melting… gotta go!”“Uh, see you later!” Yosuke called over his shoulder to their confused friends.When they were far enough away, Souji asked with a proud little smile, “That was a good escape plan, right?”“Partner… no,” Yosuke laughed. “Wait, so there’s really no mochi?”“The mochi is real. Don’t worry though; it’s safely in the freezer.”“That whole thing didn’t even make sense!” Yosuke said, still laughing. “Let’s leave the escape plans for the TV World from now on, okay?”“No promises.”Yosuke certainly didn’t understand how Souji’s mind worked, from how he came up with the lame mochi excuse to how he knew Yosuke would appreciate a quick escape. Could he somehow sense Yosuke’s anxiety… like a pet cat could? It was then that Yosuke remembered what Souji had said before their friends arrived.
“I don’t want to go, Yosuke.”
Yosuke realized suddenly: Partner needs an escape plan! Throwing his arm around Souji’s shoulders, Yosuke asked, “So, what would the best night ever be for you, Partner?”Souji looked straight ahead, sliding his arm around Yosuke’s back and contemplating the question as they walked.“My best night ever, huh?”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Throughout the evening of the dance, Rise sent Souji photos of herself and all their friends. Everyone appeared to be enjoying themselves, and they looked so grown up in their formal attire, which Souji enjoyed seeing in a proud-dad kind of way. Still, he appreciated that he could witness all of this at a safe distance, from the comfort of the Dojima house (and in the comfort of his sweatpants).Sitting on the living room floor and picking at the leftovers from his takeout dinner, Souji opened the chat app on his phone to look at Rise’s latest picture.She’d finally sent a picture of everyone in their group of friends all together, so he quickly typed out a message to her.
souji.
You all look really nice. Glad you’re having fun.
Rise replied immediately, in her usual slew of multiple messages.
♥~Rise!~♥
thx senpai!!!! <3 tho you cud b havin fun w us 2 if u werent so LAME lol jk not rly tho ur super lame 4 not coming wen every1 grouped up that was the perf opp 4 u 2 ask yosuke to b ur d8 but noooooo
souji.
Yeah, I’m sure that would have gone over swimmingly.
♥~Rise!~♥
swimmingly? ur such a grandpa
souji.
I like grandpas.
♥~Rise!~♥
u wud but rly senpai u shud b here u cud hav danced all nite w us wat r u even doin rn?
souji.
We danced too.
♥~Rise!~♥
we??
souji.
Yosuke is a really good dancer.
♥~Rise!~♥
DONT PLAY W ME SENPAI U 2 R 2GTHR RN!?!?! DID U 2 SLOWDANCE UNDER THE STARS ??! DID U 2 HAV THE BEST NITE EVER !!!!!!!!!!!!
souji.
[IMG_0622]
♥~Rise!~♥
omg is that a pic of nanako n yosuke playin Just Dance SO CUTE nanako i mean not yosuke no offense W8 THIS IS NOT WAT I HAD IN MIND … but tell them to download the risette dlc
souji.
I will when they wake up. I think they tired themselves out [IMG_0643]
♥~Rise!~♥
omfg a rare senpai selfie i feel blessed and sleepin nana-chan n yosk in the bg SO FCUTE >_< u and nanako i mean not yosuke no offense
souji.
I’m offended.
♥~Rise!~♥
sry didn’t mean to insult ur taste ur weird af taste srsly thot u guys were runnin off 2 make out that tiem @junes melting mochi my a** but that was 4ever ago and literally NOTHING has happened btwn u 2 since so liek wats the holdup wen r u gonna tell him u loooooooove him~
souji.
Later.
♥~Rise!~♥
now!!!!
souji.
He’s sleeping.
♥~Rise!~♥
IDC w8 wen u said l8r did u mean l8r tonite?? or @ a l8r date or actually never which one NEED 2 NO
souji.
tbd
♥~Rise!~♥
omg no not never love is a many Splenda thing *splendored love lift us up where we belong all u need is love don’t suppress the truth of ur looooove~ srsly tho u gotta tell him
souji.
I tell him I love him all the time…
♥~Rise!~♥
???
souji.
…with my actions.
♥~Rise!~♥
COWARD
souji.
Yep. :-) g2g have a good best night ever keep sending pics kthxbye
♥~Rise!~♥
DON’T U KTHXBYE ME SENPAI SENPAAAAAIIII omg ur the worst B4 U GO my advice is go put nana to bed n then smooch ur bf which btw stands for boyfriend not best friend or bro friend since ur a grandpa i wasnt sure u knew but srsly smooch him KISS HIS FACE and make him ur bf kthxbye <3
There was no way in hell Souji was going to follow that advice, but it was nice to imagine… kissing Yosuke… Yosuke not freaking out… Yosuke kissing him back…Souji shook his head hard, trying to get rid of the mental image. It was one thing to imagine it when he was alone, but it was a whole new level of not-okay to imagine it while Yosuke was literally sitting right there.He looked over at the two of them on the sofa and couldn’t help but smile. Yosuke’s mouth was slightly open, and his chest rose and fell rhythmically as he slept. Nanako was pressed against his side, clinging to him like he was some kind of giant teddy bear.Souji would have taken a picture if he hadn’t already taken several of them in that exact position, including the selfie he’d just sent to Rise.Following that train of thought, Souji opened his phone and went to his picture folder, looking fondly at the last few photos he’d taken as if they were already some distant, treasured memory.Right before the two of them had fallen asleep, an incredibly drowsy Yosuke had thanked an equally drowsy Nanako for dancing with him.
“You don’t have to thank me. I had a lot of fun!”
“Usually girls don’t wanna dance with me. When I went to the dance last year… no one wanted to dance with me…”
“I’ll dance with you… whenever you want…”
“Thanks, Nana-chan. You’re better than those girls anyways. You’re the best girl in the world…”
“Big bro will dance with you too…”
“I know.”
Hearing Yosuke’s admission about being rejected the year before had made Souji’s lungs constrict, but as soon as Nanako encouraged Yosuke, Souji felt like he could breathe again.And then when Yosuke had said “I know” so easily, like it was the most obvious and unquestionable fact in the world that his Partner was there for him, Souji’s heart had swelled with relief and joy and the most sudden, painful pang of love he’d ever felt.Nanako stirred in her sleep and then said, “Yosuke?”Souji looked over, and Nanako was blinking heavily, clutching at Yosuke’s shirtfront.“Hm?” Yosuke hummed, slowly opening his eyes and looking briefly confused.“I’m sleepy,” Nanako said, already starting to fall back asleep.Yosuke seemed to wake up a bit more at that, sitting up straighter and looking to Souji.With a light chuckle, Souji explained, “That’s Nanako-Speak for ‘please carry me upstairs to bed.’”“Oh. Um, is it okay for me to…?”Souji nodded, and Yosuke nodded back before extraordinarily carefully pulling Nanako into his arms.“You’re not going to break her, Yosuke,” Souji said, standing up to accompany them.“I don’t do this type of stuff a lot, man,” Yosuke said in a hushed whisper. “I’m not gonna be responsible for breaking the best girl in the world. Dojima would kick my ass!”“I would kick your ass. But really, she’s a bit sturdier than a porcelain doll.”Nanako momentarily woke again, sitting up in Yosuke’s lap and putting her arms around his neck before drifting off once more.Yosuke looked surprised and mildly terrified, but he stood up anyways, clutching Nanako tightly to his chest.After Yosuke walked past him, Souji whipped out his phone in ninja-like fashion and snapped a picture, firing it off to Rise before Yosuke could even notice.If that didn’t convince her that Yosuke was cute, nothing would.It was relatively dark on the staircase, and Yosuke hesitated on every step like it was his first time encountering such a floor-climbing mechanism.Two steps behind him, Souji teased, “Don’t worry, I’ll catch you if you fall.”Souji expected more of a comeback, but Yosuke just whispered gratefully, “Thanks!”Once they successfully ascended the stairs, Yosuke lightly kicked open Nanako’s bedroom door. Thankfully Nanako had a dinosaur night light on her dresser that was always on, so Yosuke was able to navigate well enough in the dark to carry her toward the bed.“Big bro?” Nanako suddenly said, causing Yosuke to halt. “Where is—”Her round, sleepy eyes lit up over Yosuke’s shoulder as she realized Souji was right there.“Good night, big bro,” she said happily, closing her eyes.“Good night, Nanako,” he said softly, leaning forward to place a customary good night kiss against her forehead.Yosuke’s shoulders stiffened visibly, and Souji realized with a start that he probably shouldn’t have done that so close to Yosuke’s ear.“Um, good night, Nanako-chan,” Yosuke said as he placed her in bed, and then Souji moved in to tuck her blanket around her and put a brown teddy bear in her arms.By the time he finished, Yosuke had already stepped out into the hallway, so Souji followed as quietly as possible, pulling Nanako’s door shut behind him.Yosuke was leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed, looking to be deep in thought.Nervous as to what Yosuke might be thinking, Souji said, “Hey, I need to tell you something.”“What’s up, Partner?”“Rise told me that Just Dance has a Risette DLC and that you should download it.”“Are you serious? A Risette DLC? How the hell did I not know about that?!”Souji lifted a finger to his lips, effectively quieting Yosuke.“Aw man, Nanako-chan would have loved it,” Yosuke said, looking forlornly at Nanako’s closed door.“You’re sleeping over, right?” Souji said, putting a hand on Yosuke’s shoulder and nudging him toward the staircase. “She’ll still be here in the morning.”“Oh, you’re right! Let’s download it now so we can play it first thing!” Yosuke said excitedly, taking off down the stairs.Souji looked at his hand, now hovering in the air where Yosuke’s shoulder had just been.So maybe Souji didn’t have the courage yet to tell Yosuke how he felt about him, but he wasn’t upset about it. Despite what Rise thought, it wasn’t the right time for something like that to happen. His friendship with Yosuke had reached a really pleasant, comfortable place that Souji had never experienced with anyone else before, and Souji just wanted to enjoy it for now.Souji honestly had a lot to be thankful for: he was happy to not be at the dance but still got to be part of his friends’ happiness, he was full of delicious food he hadn’t had to cook or even pay for (he’d have to treat Yosuke next time), and he’d spent the whole evening with his two favorite people.Plus, he was coming away with a bunch of cute videos and pictures of dancing Nanako and Yosuke (lots of videos and pictures of Yosuke’s butt really, but it wasn’t Souji’s fault that the game was played with the players facing the screen and there was nowhere else to be as an observer except behind them), which was a gift in and of itself.Souji smiled as he went toward his room to grab some bedding for the two of them. He was grateful for the school dance now, because it had compelled him to create his own best night ever.And in the morning, Yosuke would still be there.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Souji opened his eyes to the concerned face of Yosuke, whose fingers were carding through his hair.Is this real? Souji thought, squeezing his eyes shut and opening them again.Yosuke’s upside-down face was still there though, as well as a dull, throbbing pain at the back of Souji’s skull.“Shit, man,” Yosuke said, his fingers pausing in their search. “You’ve got a big-ass bump on the back of your head.”Souji looked sideways, only to see a blurry version of the living room. Apparently his head was on a pillow that was sitting in Yosuke’s lap, but he had no idea how he got there. As the TV screen came into focus, he saw that Yosuke had the Risette DLC downloading already, so that was good at least.“What happened?”“I didn’t see it happen, but you were carrying your futon and blankets and stuff down the stairs, and you must have tripped or something, because next thing I knew, you were sprawled out here. Does anything else hurt?”Souji shook his head and then winced.“Just my head, I think.”“How am I supposed to know if you have a concussion?” Yosuke asked, moving Souji’s bangs out of his eyes. “Are you concussed?! Shit…”“I’m not concussed.”“Are you sure? How do you know? That could be the concussion talking!” More softly, Yosuke said, “You blacked out for a few seconds, man. You totally freaked me out.”His quiet voice is so nice, Souji thought, staring up at Yosuke’s face. His face is so nice… oh shit.Souji suddenly remembered what had happened.While he was coming down the stairs with his arms full of bedding, he had looked up to see Yosuke standing by the sofa with his back to Souji, changing into his pajamas. More specifically, Yosuke had been shirtless, his back muscles (which were noticeably more toned since the last time Souji had seen them) flexing as he pulled his shirt on over his head, and…Souji had missed a step and fallen down the last few stairs. Oh no, Souji thought dismally, I’m pathetic.“Souji! Isn’t that one of the signs of concussion? Taking too long to respond to questions?” Yosuke asked worriedly, holding the sides of Souji’s face. “Do I need to go get your uncle?”“No, sorry, I’m fine.”“I don’t believe you! I’m gonna ask you a bunch of questions, so respond faster this time, okay?”“Okay.”“What’s your name?”Souji paused to think about it. “Um, Nanako?”“What?!”“No, that’s not right…” Souji let out an exaggerated hum. “Teddie?”Yosuke finally smiled, albeit exasperatedly. “Guess again, dork.”“Is it… Yosuke?”Yosuke laughed. “You must be okay if you can make dumb jokes. All right, what day of the week is it?”With a nod of certainty, Souji said, “Christmas.”“Do you like mangoes?”This time Souji burst out laughing, not having expected that question.“Yeah, I love mangoes,” Souji said through his laughter.Yosuke chuckled, letting go of Souji’s face and sitting back. “Well, you got one out of three right, so you must not be concussed after all.”Souji sat up, glad his back was to Yosuke so he couldn’t see the pained grimace on his face; he must have hit his head pretty hard.The only way to get through the pain and the secret embarrassment of being pathetic, Souji decided, was to keep making dumb jokes.“Actually, no, I think I am concussed. I’m gonna need you to call a nurse for me.”Yosuke whacked Souji in the head with the pillow, causing Souji to fold forward and hiss in pain, “Fuck.”“Oh shit, your head! I’m sorry!” Yosuke cried guiltily, pulling Souji back into an upright position. “I already forgot! Why the hell do you have such a hard pillow?! Damn it. Are you okay? Partner? Shit…”“Kiss it and make it better.”Souji thought it was a funny joke until Yosuke leaned forward and did it.Yosuke’s lips clumsily landed against the back of Souji’s head, urgent but soft enough to not cause any further harm.Souji froze and stopped breathing, while Yosuke behind him sucked in a deep breath and quickly scooted away, as evidenced by the loss of warmth against Souji’s back. Souji turned around slowly, his eyes unblinking and demanding explanation from his blushing best friend who was clutching the offending pillow like his life depended on it.“T-Teddie! He always injures himself at home and asks me to kiss it and make it better!”“And you do it?”“Only because he complains until I do! And his whiny voice is so annoying, and he seriously believes it works, no matter how many times I tell him it doesn’t, and—” Yosuke paused, his eyes getting even wider. “Crap, please don’t tell anyone I do that. They already make fun of me about Teddie enough, and then the stupid bear goes along with it and makes it worse!”“How often do you do that for him?”“Uh, not as much I used to! We’ve been working on Teddie-proofing the house, and I try to get him to go to Mom first if he hurts himself, and… Dude, I’m really sorry I did that. It was just a reflex!”“It’s okay,” Souji said tentatively, wanting to calm Yosuke down. “If it makes you feel any better, I think Teddie’s right.”“What do you mean?”“I think my head does feel better,” Souji said, rubbing the back of his head where Yosuke had kissed it.Yosuke’s face got redder, and for a brief second it almost looked like he wanted to cry.Yosuke shook his head to try and get over that wave of emotion, and he squeezed the pillow harder before looking around the living room, trying to form an escape plan.“I’ve gotta go…” he said, scrambling to his feet and dropping the pillow. “…outside!” he decided, racing toward the back door. He threw the sliding door open way too hard and stumbled over the threshold before cautiously sliding the door closed again, avoiding Souji’s gaze at all costs.It was cold out, and Yosuke could tell the grass was wet from the way it glistened in the moonlight. He swiftly realized there was nowhere to run, unless he wanted to just book it through the yard and hightail it all the way home.Since that was obviously not an actual option, Yosuke sank down defeatedly onto the porch, letting his legs dangle off the edge as he sucked in too much but somehow also not enough cold air.His thoughts were racing so fast he could barely keep up with them.
Why the hell would you do that, idiot? Souji’s not Teddie; he’s Souji! He’s Partner, and he’s your best friend, and you don’t do that shit to your best partner friend. He’s a lot different than an immature former-Shadow-bear (who needs to grow the hell up ASAP, by the way). As soon as I get my hands on that bear, I’m gonna beat the shit out of him! And I’m sure as hell not gonna kiss it and make it better afterwards! Ugh, why did I do that?! Souji probably thinks I’m a weirdo now—a creepy, friend-kissing weirdo. I probably could have played it off though, if I hadn’t stuttered and gotten all weird like a freak! He probably hates me now. He’s probably in there filing for a restraining order. I’m off the Investigation Team, I’m gonna have to find new friends, I’m gonna have to leave the country…
Yosuke’s thoughts ran wild for a few minutes until he was shaking from the cold, wondering if he would freeze to death before he got the nerve to go back in and face Souji.He heard the back door slide open just the tiniest bit, but he was too nervous to look back. Then he heard something roll across the patio and felt it bump gently against his hip before the door slid back closed.Yosuke looked down at the object in question, and he laughed despite himself.It was an empty water bottle.Yosuke immediately picked it up and set to crunching it in his hands, only feeling a little bad about how loud it was against the relative silence of the neighborhood around him.He kept at it until he heard the door just barely slide open again, and then he was getting hit in the head with a wadded-up blanket.Yosuke quickly looked back as the blanket fell to the patio, seeing that Souji was kneeling behind the door he’d just snapped shut. After a moment of blankly staring at each other, Souji lifted a hand to wave at Yosuke, as if they were just meeting up and hadn’t already been interacting with each other for hours and hours.Yosuke sighed in amusement and made a little motion with his head for Souji to come outside.Souji finally pushed the door all the way open so he could crawl through it, noting how Yosuke busied himself with wrapping the blanket around his shoulders. Once Souji settled himself beside Yosuke, the crackling of the water bottle started up again, even more fiercely than before.Souji waited it out, looking up at the stars in their abundance and wondering if any of them could hear this outrageously loud plastic.When Yosuke finally stopped, Souji looked over curiously.“I’m sorry I hit you in the head, Partner. I wasn’t thinking. And I’m sorry… for the other thing I did. It was weird and embarrassing, and I wasn’t thinking then either.”“Do me a favor, and look over there for a second?” Souji requested, pointing past Yosuke and off to the side.“Huh?” Yosuke said, turning to look but not seeing anything of interest. “Uh, what exactly am I looking for?”“Stay there.”Out of habit, Yosuke didn’t question Souji when he used his authoritative voice, even if it was hushed and gentle like it was now. Before Yosuke could even begin to comprehend what was happening, Souji pressed a very quick kiss to the back of Yosuke’s head.“Now we’re even.”Yosuke turned back to Souji but didn’t get a chance to read his face before Souji was snatching the water bottle from him, and, to Yosuke’s amazement, violently crushing it with both hands. “This is satisfying,” Souji said distantly, trying to somewhat reshape the bottle so he could crush it again.“Partner? I think we might need to stop with the whole ‘getting even’ thing.”“You started it.”Yosuke recoiled internally, but Souji was right. This was his own stupid fault, like most things.“Well, I’m ending it.”The water bottle fell from Souji’s hands and into the grass, and Yosuke noticed his fingers were shaking.Very rigidly and very quietly, Souji asked, “Ending what?” For once, Yosuke picked up on exactly what Souji was thinking, and it felt like his soul was about to leap out of him.“N-no! Nothing like that! Hey, why would you even think… no! Never. I would never… I just meant we should stop trying to ‘get even’ because it makes us do weird shit, like beating each other up until we can’t move. Let’s just… be permanently even forever, okay? Hey, st-stop shaking like that,” Yosuke said, scooting closer and throwing a corner of the large blanket over Souji’s shoulders.“I… don’t know why I thought…” Souji tried to say, pulling the blanket more tightly around himself. “I’m sorry. I’m an idiot.”“Yeah you are! But uh, I am too, so… we’re even.”“Permanently even forever?”“Yeah, permanently even forever,” Yosuke repeated, like it was a new mantra.
Permanently even forever. Permanently even forever. Permanently… forever…
“Do you wanna dance?” Souji suddenly asked.Yosuke looked down curiously at the open palm Souji was offering him.Yosuke asked slowly, “You… want to dance with me?”
He asked me…
“Yeah, the DLC finished downloading. We could play now if you wanted.”Souji didn’t know how to interpret the chagrined little laugh that came from Yosuke, but he was starting to feel like he did something wrong and needed to put his hand down.“Later,” Yosuke said, placing his palm in Souji’s and pushing their hands down to rest on their legs.Souji stared at their hands, feeling on edge and not exactly sure what was happening but wondering hopelessly if a platonic hand-hold was something that could exist in Yosuke’s mind.Even though Yosuke was insistently looking away, he huddled even closer to Souji, lacing their fingers together.
Oh. That… doesn’t feel platonic…
“Thanks for including me in your best night ever, Partner.”Without thinking, Souji replied, “You’re the reason it was my best night ever.”Yosuke gave Souji a particularly confused look, and Souji felt like he might pass out, it was so hard to keep holding everything in…“I love you.”The admission was so short and simple, and yet so unquestionably genuine, it made Souji absolutely want to hurl.Nauseous and dumbfounded, Souji asked, “You… what?”“I know you heard me,” Yosuke said softly, the chagrined laugh returning as he sniffled and pulled his hand away from Souji’s. “It’s so freaking quiet out here. Shit, this is embarrassing. I guess this means we’re uneven again, huh?”“No! No, we’re completely even,” Souji quickly assured this idiot of a boy who he was so desperately in love with… who apparently loved him too? “Did you forget already? We’re permanently even forever.”Yosuke looked at Souji like he didn’t quite believe what he was saying, but then he silently, hesitantly placed his hand back in Souji’s. Souji squeezed it like it was a lifeline, or an empty water bottle.This was it. This was everything he had wanted.It was happening, and it was beautiful and terrifying.When Souji slowly brought his face closer to Yosuke’s, Yosuke just closed his eyes like he was ready and willing and okay with this, which was unexpected and crazy and amazing, but at the same time… something about the easy nature of Yosuke’s actions just didn’t feel right to Souji. Pausing just before their lips made contact, Souji whispered against Yosuke’s mouth, “Hey.”Yosuke’s eyes blinked open, hazy and questioning.“I love you too.”Warmth flooded into Yosuke’s eyes, and he pulled back a bit, laughing happily.That’s better, Souji thought affectionately.Both smiling now, they leaned into each other, their lips naturally coming together.So maybe in the overarching big-picture of things, the two of them were permanently even forever, but for the little things like this moment, it didn’t hurt to put some effort into making things even.The kiss happened very quickly, their lips just barely making contact before they both turned away nervously, unable to look at each other while their faces burned. They could each feel the other’s pulse pounding away between the fingers of their tightly joined hands, and they could hear the other’s poorly masked, erratic breathing filling the silence around them.Souji finally asked, “Was that… okay?”“You’re asking me? Of course you are. Well, I guess, um, it was really light, and it… could have been longer…”Souji had meant the question in more of a ‘is it okay that I just did that to your face’ kind of way, but as long as they were evaluating the quality of the kiss…“I thought it was perfect.”Yosuke rolled his eyes and wiped at the corners of them with his wrist, laughing. “Perfect? Really, Partner?”“Yes. It was a kiss with you. And you haven’t run away yet, so that’s a good sign.”Clutching Souji’s hand that he had yet to let go of, Yosuke said, “You don’t have to worry about me running away from you. Please… don’t worry about that.”“Okay,” Souji said warmly, feeling the new most painful pang of love he’d ever felt. “Can we try again?”Yosuke nodded immediately. “Yeah,” he said roughly, already leaning toward Souji.Feeling like he could keep somewhat calm now that he had been assured Yosuke wasn’t going anywhere, Souji reminded himself: Not too light and not too short.Their lips came together again, and Souji applied more pressure and let the kiss linger for a few seconds, his coherent thoughts melting when Yosuke pressed back against him.Their mouths separated with a pleasing little smacking noise which instantly became Souji’s new favorite sound in the world, and gosh he was pathetic and he loved it…For a moment after they pulled apart, they just hovered close together, staring speechlessly at each other’s faces.Yosuke made a frustrated noise at the back of his throat, feeling like a little kid who didn’t have a large enough vocabulary to express exactly what he wanted or what he was feeling even though it was so, so important.Then again, with Souji, how could Yosuke’s vocabulary ever be big enough to properly express how much he loved him?It couldn’t, so Yosuke just buried his face in Souji’s shoulder, muttering, “I love you so much.”Goosebumps broke out across Souji’s skin, running up and down his arms and legs. He almost wanted to question if all of this was real, or if he had just hit his head really hard and he was still laid out on the living room floor.“Was that one better?” Souji asked instead, alluding to their second kiss.Yosuke nodded and faintly replied, “Yeah.”“Yeah?” Souji asked with a dazed smile. “We’ll keep working on it.”“We will?” Yosuke asked, his gaze flitting up to meet Souji’s.“Yes. Definitely. If that’s okay,” Souji said, slightly overwhelmed by the honest eagerness in Yosuke’s eyes. “Um, later though? It’s kind of freezing out here.”“I can’t move my arm, Partner.”Souji looked down at Yosuke’s lifeless hand in his, which had probably started going numb at some point when they were focused on other things.He experimentally started to lift Yosuke’s hand, but Yosuke just exclaimed, “Shit, don’t move it! Pins and needles!”“Sorry,” Souji apologized, carefully lowering their hands back down. “We can stay out here a little longer, then.”“Thanks, Partner,” Yosuke said, adjusting himself against Souji’s side until he was comfortable. “When we do get inside though, you can take the couch. It’s more comfortable to sleep on than the one in my room.”“I want… the futon.”“I’m not gonna take the couch and make you sleep on the floor, Yosuke.”“You can have the futon too.”“But you just said you wanted the… oh.”“Can we dance first? I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep for a while.”“Me either, actually,” Souji said, resting the side of his head against the top of Yosuke’s. “Yeah, let’s do it. As long as we keep the volume down so we don’t disturb Nanako and Uncle.”“You know, earlier I danced with Nanako and by myself, but I didn’t do any of the dances with just you.”“You’re right. You’re a really good dancer, though. I think you’ll make a good…” Souji paused and then laughed suddenly.“What’s so funny?”“I think you’ll make a good partner.”Yosuke chuckled and bumped his knee against Souji’s. “I think you’ll make a good partner too, Partner.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
♥~Rise!~♥
good mornin senpai! <3
hope im not wakin u up
but i just wanted to check on u
souji.
Hey, Rise.
You are waking me up, but it’s fine.
I got all the pictures you sent,
but I haven’t had a chance to look at them yet.
We were busy.
♥~Rise!~♥
busy?
BUSY???
souji.
Not like that.
♥~Rise!~♥
were u busy
havin
THE BEST NITE EVER
!!!!!!!!!
souji.
Yes.
♥~Rise!~♥
w8
rly?
souji.
Yes.
Everything went swimmingly.
♥~Rise!~♥
???
?!?!?!?!?!!
souji.
Well
except when I tripped
and hit my head
and then Yosuke almost knocked me out with a pillow
*a firm pillow
and that one sec
when I thought he was friend-breaking-up with me
and that other sec
when I was contemplating the possibility/impossibility
of a platonic hand-hold
♥~Rise!~♥
wtf r u even talkin about
souji.
But other than that!
Everything went swimmingly.
♥~Rise!~♥
plz explain
souji.
I told him I loooove him~
With my actions
AND MY WORDS
♥~Rise!~♥
stahp
no u didn’t
DONT PLAY W ME SENPAI
NO U DIDNT
souji.
And under the stars
I smooched him
I KISSED HIS FACE
and
made
him
my
bf
<3
♥~Rise!~♥
omg wtf -_-
u no wat senpai?
ur not funny
liek
u think ur funny
but ur not even
not even slightly
cant believe i ever thot u were cool
ur not
ur the worst
souji.
We danced all night.
(Nice DLC, btw.)
And now he is asleep in my arms.
Well, in my arm,
because I’m using my other arm to text you.
♥~Rise!~♥
UR NOT FUNNY
i repeat
NOT FUNNY
honestly
i was just tryin to help u
lock down the love of ur life
but then u didnt go 2 the dance
and now ur sassin me??
last tiem i play cupid 4 u, mister
souji.
I would hope so.
♥~Rise!~♥
rude!!!!
souji.
[IMG_0645]
♥~Rise!~♥
HOLY SHIT
HOLY FUCKING SHIT
excuse my language but
HOLY FUCKING SHIIIIIIT
no way
NO WAY
another rare senpai selfie
and he really is asleep in ur arms??!!
*arm
how the hell
im sry i said ur the worst
i mean
u still r the worst
but saying it wasnt warranted in this context
i cant believe
is this real life
my heart is beating so hard rn
that’s a rly cute pic btw
u look rly happy ^_^
and i guess
yosk
is a little cute 2
souji.
Back off, idol.
He’s mine.
♥~Rise!~♥
omfg
i rly h8 u
ur the literal worst
this is no way to treat
the best cupid ever
souji.
Thank you.
You are an excellent Cupid.
♥~Rise!~♥
i guess thats acceptable
for now
but irl
u owe me
souji.
I’ll send you vids of Nanako
fangirling over your DLC.
♥~Rise!~♥
>_< fcuuute
thats a good start
but i also want u 2 buy me
a huge ice cream sundae!!
to replace all the calories i burnt
worryin about u
souji.
Only if Yosuke can come too.
♥~Rise!~♥
yea yea whatevs
u can bring ur bf i guess
omggg
UR BF
!!!
was all that srsly true??
liek
im bein super srs rn senpai
lemme use grandpa grammar to sho u how srs
I am incredibly serious right now, Senpai.
did u guys rly
confess ur love
and kiss
and ur bfs now
?
souji.
Yes.
♥~Rise!~♥
OMG
congrats!!!!!!
ilu both
srsly
im rly glad ur happy
souji.
Thank you, Rise.
That means a lot. :-)
♥~Rise!~♥
ok enough of this sappy bs
BUY ME ICE CREAM
and wen u do
u 2 hav 2 spill all the deets
ALL THE DEETS
of ur
BEST NITE EVER!!!!!!!!!
im so excited
we hav a deal?
souji.
It’s a deal.
♥~Rise!~♥
yay! \o/ <3
alright lover boi
ill let u get back 2 ur bf
make good choices
txt me l8r wen were getting ice cream
im free all day
kthxbye <3 <3 <3
souji.
Kthxbye. <3
“Who’s sending you all those hearts, Partner?” Yosuke asked blearily, squinting at Souji’s phone.“Rise,” Souji replied, adjusting his arm around Yosuke and pulling him closer.“Figures,” Yosuke grumbled, rolling onto his side and throwing an arm over Souji’s chest. “Are you jealous?”“Yeah. Stop sending her hearts,” Yosuke said, burying his face in Souji’s shirt and closing his eyes like he was about to fall back asleep.Souji was both surprised and amused by the straightforward answer.“Only if you stop kissing Teddie.”“Fine, but you’re gonna have to explain why to him yourself, because he’s gonna be devastated.”“So is Rise.”“She’ll get over it,” Yosuke said, yawning. “Why are you awake, though? It feels like we just went to sleep.”“We kinda did. But the sun’s starting to come up, and I should probably make breakfast before Nanako and Uncle get up.”“They get up this early on Sunday?” Yosuke groaned, latching onto Souji more tightly.“You can go sleep in my room if you want. I’ll wake you up later.”“Noooo,” Yosuke whined. “Don’t wanna move.”“Then you can stay here and sleep. Just give me my arm back.”“Noooo.”“Are you always this clingy in the morning? Teddie must enjoy that.”“You’re the worst,” Yosuke said grumpily, rolling away from Souji so his back was to him and crossing his arms.Souji chuckled and started to get up, until Yosuke quietly said, “Hey, Partner?”“Yeah?” Souji asked, sitting back down.“Last night… all of that was real, right?”Souji smiled and tugged at Yosuke’s shoulder. When Yosuke looked up at him, his worried expression softened, and then his gaze quickly dropped to Souji’s mouth.Souji was nothing if not obliging, so he leaned down before he could talk himself out of it and kissed Yosuke, receiving a rush of energy that was better than any morning cup of coffee.Wide-eyed and flushed, Yosuke said, “Okay, yep. It was real. Good to know. Help me up?”“Are you going upstairs?” Souji asked, standing and then giving Yosuke a hand up.“Nah, I can’t sleep now. I guess I’ll just help you make breakfast?”“I thought you couldn’t cook?”“Nope. Not at all.”“You can pour the orange juice.”“Sounds good, Partner!”Souji stared at Yosuke for a second and then pulled him into his arms, looking over his shoulder and out the back door toward the rising sun.“I’m glad you’re still here, Yosuke.”“Me too,” Yosuke said, running his fingers through the back of Souji’s hair. “How’s your head doing?”Only wincing a little when Yosuke’s fingertips brushed over the sore spot, Souji said, “It’s a lot better now.”“Good morning,” Nanako said, blinking sleepily up at the two of them.Yosuke jumped away from Souji before starting to laugh nervously. “Uh, hey, Nanako-chan! You’re up early! Didn’t see you there! Or hear you coming down the stairs… heh…”“Good morning, Nanako. We were just about to start breakfast.”“Why were you guys hugging?” Nanako asked with an innocent tilt of her head.Yosuke replied, “Uhhh, well, sometimes the best way to greet a friend in the morning… is to hug them!”“Morning hugs with friends…” Nanako said thoughtfully, blushing. “Can I… have one?”Yosuke nearly tripped over himself in his haste to bend down and throw his arms around her. He swiftly lifted her off the ground, which made her laugh gleefully, and then Souji was able to join in on the hug.“I like morning hugs!” Nanako laughed, throwing an arm around each of their necks. “Thank you!”“Any time, Nanako,” Souji said, reaching up to ruffle her hair.“Yeah, you can have hugs whenever you want! That’s one of the privileges of being the best girl in the world,” Yosuke assured her, moving her onto his hip. “Hey, Nanako-chan, did you know that Risette has her own special set of songs in Just Dance?”“Really?!”“Yeah, we found them last night and downloaded them for you. Do you wanna play?”Nanako looked to Souji, who smiled and nodded.“You two go ahead. I’ll take care of breakfast.”“Um, if it’s really okay… then I would really like that!” Nanako declared excitedly.“Haha, okay, I’ll get it set up,” Yosuke said, setting Nanako down and turning to Souji. “You gonna be okay without me, Partner?”“I think I’ll probably be able to manage.”“Let me know when you need me to pour that orange juice, okay?” Yosuke said, winking at Souji playfully.Trying not to be flustered by the gesture and wanting to show his gratitude to Yosuke for taking care of Nanako, Souji silently mouthed, “Thank you. I love you.”A little too late, Souji worried if it was too soon to say that again. But if the wide smile that appeared on Yosuke’s face was any indicator, it was okay with him. And it was true anyway, so why hold back? Souji wouldn’t take back anything from his best night ever, and he wasn’t going to let those feelings get away from him.“It’s just orange juice, man. It’s not that big of a deal,” Yosuke joked, but then he mouthed, “I love you too. Make me bacon.”“What are you guys whispering about?” Nanako asked.“Uhhh… bacon?”“Oh, is that what big bro is making for breakfast?”Nanako and Yosuke simultaneously looked to Souji, and his heart almost couldn’t take it. He didn’t mind making them bacon, of course, but he obviously had no choice now with the two of them blinking at him, waiting for an answer.“Yes, that’s what I’m making.”The two of them cheered and high-fived, and Souji had the odd feeling that he was being conspired against.The whole time he was trying to cook, Souji kept getting distracted, almost burning the bacon multiple times when he pulled out his phone to take videos of Nanako and Yosuke dancing.When he finished cooking and was starting to move all the food onto plates, the two of them started playing one of the fastest, most difficult tracks from the DLC.When he and Yosuke had tried the same track the night before, they couldn’t keep up, and when they attempted a move that required them to quickly switch places, they crashed violently into each other. After recovering from the initial shock, they laughed it off and agreed to give up for the time being.Somehow they ended up in each other’s arms, swaying slowly back and forth despite the bass pumping insistently in the background.They got a terrible score.Now Souji swayed back and forth by himself in the kitchen, juggling various plates and utensils as he reminisced about dancing with Yosuke and wondering when they’d have the opportunity to dance like that again. He realized he’d probably have to stage something like that, but he figured it would be worth the effort. He never would have imagined Yosuke would be so happy to share a little dance like that with him, but it probably had something to do with that whole thing about Yosuke loving him.That was still something Souji couldn’t wrap his mind around, but he hoped he could eventually. “We did it!” Nanako and Yosuke cheered.They actually got through it? Souji thought in amazement, a little intimidated by the power of their combined forces.“Good job, you two,” Souji said, picking up a couple plates and taking them to the living room table. “And good timing. Breakfast is ready.”“Yay! I’ll go get Daddy!” Nanako exclaimed, taking off toward the stairs.“Nice dancing,” Souji commented as he looked more closely at the score on the screen.“You too, Partner!” Yosuke said enthusiastically, still a little breathless but obviously energized from the dance.“What do you mean?”“Don’t think I didn’t see you dancing in the kitchen! The TV screen is a reflective surface, you know,” Yosuke teased, grabbing Souji’s hands and spinning him around once before laughing and jogging over to the kitchen. “Gotta pour the orange juice!”Souji was dizzy, and he knew it couldn’t be from a single spin; this really was going to take some getting used to. At this rate, Souji was going to be incredibly hydrated with all of the empty water bottles he was going to need.“Partner, help!” Yosuke called through a mouthful of bacon. “The orange juice… is spilling…!”“I leave you alone in the kitchen for one second…”