Chapter Text
The sky looked like rain. The young man spent some more time looking out his window before realizing that he should finish getting ready if he did not want to be too late. He closed the small window, if it were to rain he did not want to risk flooding his dorm room, for which the paintings would probably thank him, as well as his sanity.
With a sigh, he put away the few things he would need, some money, the phone, his keys, and a fan. If it did not rain it would get warm at some point but he also knew that it always rained once he made plans. Granted, he had never really noticed before because planning things with friends was something entirely new to him.
As he walked towards the non-descriptive door of his dorm room, his stomach rumbled. Maybe he still had a snack lying around? He found some crackers, hastily putting them into his mouth, they would have to do. He had forgotten to eat while being absorbed in his work, something he was more than used to and something he only paid attention to because the people around him pointed it out from time to time. Okay, maybe all the time.
On his way to the station, his thoughts wandered back to the people he had met over the past few weeks. While those days had been arguably the weirdest he had ever experienced (paired with the loss of what he called home and a somewhat safe place), he was thankful for having them around. It was hard enough for him to form friendships and he kept making comments that no one understood or that were taken the wrong way, so even if he managed to find people he liked it was hard to make them want to stay around him without getting fed up.
He was trying to learn though. Determined to find out more about how people work and what makes them strive for what they wanted to achieve kept him going and would serve as new inspiration. The inspiration he currently lacked but he did not want to think about that. Not right now, when he was determined to enjoy the evening.
While waiting for the train, his phone beeped and he pulled it closer to his nose, the light of the screen too dim to make out the words before him.
Akira: Yusuke, are you on your way?
He sighed as the train rolled in and boarded it, the ride would only take a few minutes but he nevertheless began typing a response. Akira was undoubtedly the reason for how his life had transformed and they had spent some afternoons together after what had happened in that sorry and frankly unaesthetic excuse of a palace.
He sent a quick ‘On my way’ and put the phone away again, leaning his head against the cold window of the train. He had never been able to handle heat well and the approaching summer made it harder for him to stay cool. To distract himself, he let his thoughts wander and they eventually led him back to what had happened.
Thinking about what happened still hurt and he continued to bury most of his emotions deep down in his being. He was not used to showing too much of them and prided himself to be mostly pragmatic anyways. That he would make friends with such a diverse group had surprised him but he felt strangely at ease around them. So much so that he had agreed to go along with their plan of seeing the fireworks together.
Twisting a strand of his blue hair around his finger he began watching those around him, a pastime and exercise that helped him make sense of the world. He immediately noticed a few others dressed in more traditional attire like himself. Most of them were heading towards where he was going, ready to have an eventful evening. As the train rolled into the station he politely waited for a few people to step onto the platform before he followed.
It did not take him long to find the first three of his new friend group. While it was hard to make out the cat ears sticking out of Akira’s bag, Ryuji’s blonde hair was a dead giveaway for where they were waiting for him. As if on cue, Akira turned around, a lopsided grin on his face.
“There you are!”
Yusuke returned the gesture with a small nod. As always, he did not need to say much around their leader, he had been one of the first amongst the group that realized that even though it did not always seem like it, Yusuke liked to be quiet too. Unsurprisingly, the silence was rudely interrupted by their other friend.
“Woah, what are you wearing?!”
While Ryuji had been hard to get used to in the beginning, Yusuke had taken a liking to him. As blunt as he was, he appreciated that the blonde tended to speak his mind in equal measure, may it be a lot ruder than he liked to admit.
“I believe this is the traditional outfit. Why aren’t you wearing one?”
Ryuji snorted, "I don't have a yukata. You really are weird. I was thinking that the girls might wear something like that, but you? Guess I should not be surprised.”
Before Yusuke was able to say anything in return, Akira intervened, “I did not bring mine. It’s… at home. Otherwise, I would have looked like you.”
Yusuke met his eyes and they grinned while Ryuji made fun of both of them. He quickly changed the topic though as a group of girls walked past them.
“Ok… right. How about we ask some of those ladies to spend their evening with us?”
“No, Ryuji,” Akira’s voice sounded more serious and as he began bickering with his blonde friend, two girls approached Yusuke.
They asked him if he wanted to go see the fireworks with them, something that made him feel uncomfortable. He did not know them and was not interested in changing that, so he bluntly spoke his mind, as always, which resulted in them scurrying away. Ryuji watched him, mouth hanging open and began protesting as Ann and Makoto arrived.
Ann, as always, started scolding Ryuji while Makoto simply shook her head. Their newest addition certainly added some maturity to their team. Yusuke had spaced out, something he caught himself doing from time to time when he realized that Ann had just called him a pretty boy.
“But you are missing out on a lot of things,” she added with a smile and he pulled up his eyebrows. Was he? He hadn’t noticed. Instead of answering, he simply shrugged and looked to Akira who obviously tried to not laugh at the situation. He did not manage completely and when he spoke up a smile was still visible on his face.
“Let’s go, shall we?”
As if on cue, as they all tended to do once Akira said something that they all agreed with, their group began moving and looking for a place from which they were able to see the night sky. While Ryuji continued talking to Makoto and Ann, the topics switching between exams and some new restaurant they wanted to try, Akira hung back, matching his steps to those of Yusuke which must have looked weird. While Yusuke was walking comfortably, his stride forced Akira to make comically big steps, so he forced himself to slow down a bit.
“Thank you," Akira breathed, right, he did not miss things like that.
“No problem,” Yusuke murmured, taking a look at the young man beside him. Akira was dressed in his typical attire, jeans, a black t-shirt, and an unbuttoned shirt. He pushed up the glasses he was wearing, glasses that Yusuke suspected did nothing to correct his eyesight. He did not talk about it but found it a bit weird that he was still wearing them.
Before he could rack his brain for a suitable conversation starter, as mentioned he struggled with things like that, Akira beat him to it.
“How are you? Everything good since the last time we met?”
He was talking about the exhibition in which Yusuke had faced a minor breakdown as he was told that his painting was empty.
The taller boy chuckled, “I am alright. It takes more than that critic to make me grow desperate. I have to thank you though, your company made me feel more serene in the matter of a few minutes. It really is a special talent of yours.”
Akira smiled and Yusuke spotted Morgana rolling his eyes from where he was tucked away in their leader’s bag.
“You always know what to say, huh?” Akira said and Yusuke raised an eyebrow.
“Is that so? I have to admit I tend to struggle with expressing what I want to say or convey. Words are not my strongest suit, you might have noticed.”
Could cats snort? If not, Morgana had a special talent.
Akira turned to look at Yusuke, “I think it’s refreshing to have you around. One never has to question what is going on, you say it like it is. In that artistic way of yours.”
Yusuke could feel himself smile and resort to a slight nod. He was not used to being praised for something like that, in the past, everyone was always focused on his art and that was that. The memory of how his life had been was accompanied by a pang to his heart and he swallowed forcefully.
Before they were able to continue their conversation, Makoto decided to stop where they were, “This looks like a good place. What do you think?”
They all nodded, thankful for not having to continue walking and Ann checked her phone. She looked great in her yukata, Yusuke made a mental note of the color scheme, maybe it would lead to a new painting.
He felt his ears grow hot as he remembered how he had approached her the first time they met. While she insisted that it was ok and had forgiven him, he was determined to make it up to her somehow. He still wanted to paint her, naturally, a form like hers deserved to be depicted but refrained from asking for the time being. He would paint all of them sooner or later but that was something he would approach in the future.
“Ahhh, something wet fell on me!!!” Morgana’s shriek made them all flinch and they soon realized that the cat (he was not a cat, Yusuke reminded himself) was right. It only took a few seconds for the rain to really start pouring and the crowd dispersed as quickly as it has formed, an admirable trait for Tokyo masses.
“Let’s find an awning!” Ryuji screamed and charged for the next shopping street. They followed him but even though they found a suitable place in a matter of minutes, their clothes were soaked by the time they caught their breaths.
The wet fabric of his yukata began sticking uncomfortably to his skin and Yusuke already felt goosebumps forming on his arms. While Ryuji was busy staring at Ann wringing out her garment, Yusuke sighed and put the fan he had brought to his forehead. That would at least spare his face from getting too wet.
Akira was standing next to him, pushing Morgana’s head into his back. Their smallest team member kept complaining but as soon as he realized how sheltered the bag was, his cries died down.
“That cat though,” Akira muttered and was immediately rewarded with a muffled, “I am NOT a cat!”
Yusuke shared a small smile with the boy next to him and watched as Akira took off his glasses to dry them on the hem of his shirt. A shirt that had grown see-through thanks to the rain. Yusuke watched how it stuck to more prominent parts of Akira’s physique. Fascinating as it was, he felt that it was weird to ogle at their leader.
He had caught himself staring at Akira more often in the past few days. He was an interesting object to look at, uniting a seemingly endless number of little quirks that made it hard to read him from time to time. Still, Yusuke had never been that interested in watching a guy. Well, apart from that one time in middle school.
He flinched at the memory. Madarame had of course noticed his thoughts wandering during art sessions and it had resulted in one of the many times during which Yusuke had been locked out of his room. The memory reminded him of how he would have a better life from now on but he still could not hold back the sigh that escaped his lips. This had to be another one of those weird phases, right? It would eventually go away, whatever it was.
A hand on his arm made him look up. Akira was staring at him.
“Are you alright?”
“Of course, just a memory,” Yusuke responded and tried to look more relaxed, waving his fan through the air. He could see that Akira was not convinced but they dropped the topic as Ann began ushering them into a nearby convenience store.
It was not that Yusuke did not want to talk about his past. He simply did not know how to approach the topic and suspected that no one really wanted to listen to his upbringing, even if it would probably explain some of his weirder quirks. Growing up so sheltered had formed him into a somewhat awkward and socially inept teenager. Maybe he should talk about it sometime. Akira would listen, right?
Trying to pull himself out of this thoughts, Yusuke tried focusing on the way his teammates were talking about Kaneshiro and what to do next. He was glad that they had not noticed him spacing out for a second and took part in the conversation until Makoto pointed out that she would have to get home. It would be best for all of them to be on their way and, surprisingly, he found himself alone with Akira on his way to the subway station. Right, they sometimes had to take the same trains, depending on the time of day.
A comfortable silence settled between them and they both had to smile as Mona's quiet snores broke through the fabric of Akira’s bag. That outing might have been too much for their team member and when they entered the station, Yusuke became aware of how much the water weighed down his garments and how exhausted it made him. Akira seemed to notice the disgruntled look on his face.
“Is it uncomfortable?” He asked, tilting his head slightly to the side and pointed at the wet fabric.
“It is definitely not pleasant,” Yusuke said and wished to be back in his dorm. The train ride would not take long and Akira would spend even more time on the train, so he turned to him. Should he inquire about his level of comfort? Was that the norm?
He cleared his throat as they stepped onto the train, they had to stand but it did not matter to him that much.
"How about you? Is your shirt bothering you?”
Yusuke cringed inwardly at how weird his question sounded but instead of giving him a questioning look, Akira looked down at his white shirt.
“Not pleasant as well. But I’ll live,” he grinned up at the taller boy and began leaning casually against one of the train’s closed doors. Yusuke nodded slowly, that somehow went well. He could not stop himself before saying, “I am sorry that it rained. Bad weather seems to be following me.”
“Is that so?" Akira seemed to be curious as to why he would say something like that and Yusuke thought about it for a moment.
“It almost always rains when I plan things outside. I am of course usually not out with friends, so when it happens I am the one that gets wet, trying to make sure that my supplies stay safe. I have lost a few wonderful sketchbooks to the rain.”
He sighed, remembering one of his best quality sketchbooks that had to be put to rest after a particularly vicious rainstorm.
"No friends, huh?”
Was Akira trying to get him to say something?
“I…,” Yusuke stopped, unsure as to how to proceed. Telling the truth was probably the thing he should go for, even if it meant showing a more vulnerable side of him, something he did not have any practice in.
“I never really went out with groups of people or even one person before meeting all of you. Sen- ,” he stopped himself, "Madarame always had plans for us after school and even if I wanted to form friendships, no one wanted or wants to do something. Even now, without his influence, fellow students avoid me and do not talk to me. I thought it was because of my scholarship but I think they just do not like me.”
He tried to sound nonchalant, even added a shrug while telling Akira about this part of his life in a pretty even voice. When the black-haired boy stayed quiet for at least a minute, Yusuke was afraid that he had given away too much. Maybe he was not interested in knowing more about his life after all and he had just unloaded a bunch of information on him that he wanted nothing to do with.
Even though he was still clad in the wet fabric, Yusuke felt his face grow hot and almost did not want to hear what Akira was about to say once he opened his mouth.
“It is their loss because they are missing out on spending time with you. I always enjoy it,” the calm way in which he expressed his thoughts made Yusuke pull in more air than he needed and he tried not to cough.
Akira must have sensed his bewilderment because he continued, “I know that most people call you weird. Even I did the same thing but I think we, as in the whole group, really value you as a team member and friend. So, if you ever need someone to talk to or just to hang out, watch a movie, eat (he pointedly looked at him at that word), or anything else, just shoot us all a quick message. Or text me. I’ll try and respond every time. If I don’t then Morgana is probably chastising me for not sleeping.”
The way he grinned made it hard for Yusuke to find the right words to respond, so he settled on, “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
“Always so formal. Well, that’s just you I suppose,” Akira continued smiling as they neared Yusuke’s stop.
“Sorry, I-“
“Don’t apologize. It’s alright.”
Unsure what to do Yusuke tried to smile and it apparently was enough for Akira, who gave him an encouraging nod.
“That’s your stop, right?”
“Oh, yes. Right. Um… I’ll see you?”
“Only a phone call away. And, let me know when you are home,” Akira raised his hand to wave as Yusuke left him to step onto the platform. He hesitantly waved back and caught the last glimpse of a tired smile on his friend’s face, as the train left the station.
Now all he had to do was walk home. Kosei’s dorms weren’t that far away from the station and it only took him a few minutes until he arrived at what he now called home. While peeling himself out of his yukata, he thought back to this evening. It had not been a long meeting but he felt strangely content. The way in which his friends bickered and how they had included him into their group continued to amaze him.
Then there was the matter of his friendship with Akira. He had met up with Ryuji and Ann once or twice too but admittedly liked spending time with their leader the most. When he had put on a pair of sweatpants, something he would deny to everyone around him should they ask if he owned loungewear, he realized that Akira had asked him to text once he got home.
He pulled up the messaging app and tapped on Akira’s name.
Yusuke: I have arrived safely. Thank you for the meeting today.
Yusuke pressed send before he could think twice and thought about what to do now. It was still kind of early so he could try and get some sketches done for his class on anatomy. As he pulled out his pencils, his phone pinged and it was indeed Akira who had answered him.
Akira: Sounds good. I have just stepped into Leblanc. Morgana has run off immediately, probably to continue sleeping. Well, I guess this is good night. Make sure to not stay up too late.
Yusuke was confused, why would he include that last sentence?
Yusuke: I don’t know why you are concerned with my sleeping pattern but I’ll make sure to go to sleep at an appropriate time. Good night to you, as well.
He put the phone away and put it on silent trying to focus on the sketches he had to get done. What did it matter that he still stayed up until three in the morning or that the way in which he shaded the arms and shoulder portions of the studies he sketched out tended to look a little bit like what he had spotted through the sheer material of Akira’s shirt a few hours prior? Surely nothing that he should concern himself with as he finally gave in to sleep and managed to catch at least a few hours before he had to get up.