Work Text:
It started on a Monday.
Josuke was at Okuyasu’s house again, something that was becoming a regular occurrence .
Despite the protests from Okuyasu, Josuke insisted on helping him fix up the house, and, as embarrassed as he would have been to admit it, Okuyasu was really glad. It turned out that having a stand that can magically repair things makes home improvement a lot easier. Who’d have thought?
In just about a week of his help, the two of them had managed to fix up the entire outside and downstairs. Sure, the rooms were lacking furniture and decor, but at least it was liveable now.
They had come up with a pretty good system too. Josuke went around fixing anything that he could with Crazy Diamond, while Okuyasu painted the walls and occasionally used the Hand to get rid of anything they couldn’t use.
“Hey, thanks again for doing this,” Okuyasu said for what must have been the hundredth time, “you really didn’t have to…”
Josuke looked up at him from the floorboard he was currently working on. A strand of hair had come loose from his usually perfect pompadour and for some reason Okuyasu felt a flutter in his stomach.
“Are you kidding me?” Josuke said, “Of course, man. What kind of a friend would I be if I let you stay in a house that’s falling apart around you? Besides, fixing things is, like, my whole thing.”
“I know, but, still… it’s really cool of you, man.”
Josuke flashed a smile at him. “Anything for you.”
Okuyasu felt his cheeks go hot. No wonder Josuke had a fanclub full of girls at school obsessed with him, that smile was dangerous.
They were making good progress on the room. They’d probably be done with it before it was time for dinner. Sure, Okuyasu might still be lacking a bed frame, and sheets, and a paint job on the walls, but the floors weren’t creaking anymore, there were no more cracks in the window, and the door was once again attached to its hinges, so it was a win in his book.
Okuyasu stared at the wall in front of him. He had painted a few paint swatches in various shades of blue into small squares. A lot had been left over from the previous owners when the Nijimuras moved in, which on some levels was cool, like the statues out front and some leftover furniture (which looked brand new thanks to Crazy Diamond). But it also meant that they left their incredibly boring paint colors as well. And while Okuyasu did not consider himself to be someone with refined taste, he at least chose a color pallet that contained more than just beige.
“Hey Josuke.”
“Yeah?”
Okuyasu took half a step back, to get a better view of the swatches. “Which blue do you like the best?”
Josuke stood up from the floor, dusting himself off as he did, and stood next to Okuyasu, an arm resting on Okuyasu’s shoulder. He stared at the wall for a moment, a little crease appearing between his eyebrows, before pointing at a lighter blue towards the center. “That one,” Josuke said, “It’ll brighten up the room more than a darker blue would and besides that, these” he gestured to the other swatches, “are too close to our uniform color, it would clash.”
Okuyasu cocked one head to the side, “Yeah I think you’re right. I’ll buy that paint tomorrow after school and then I can start painting tomorrow night.”
Josuke flashed a grin at Okuyasu and lightly bumped their shoulders together. “You mean we can start painting tomorrow.”
And for the life of him, Okuyasu could not figure out why that made his face feel so warm.
⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
On Wednesday, Josuke insisted on going out for ramen.
“C’mon man, when was the last time you took a day off?”
Okuyasu shrugged.
Josuke grabbed on his arm, lightly pulling him in the direction of the ramen shop. “Come on, Okuyasu, you deserve a break and I deserve ramen,” Josuke said with puppy dog eyes that were working over time.
Okuyasu groaned. “Fine, but I can’t stay too long, I still wanna finish painting my room tonight.”
“Yessss!” Josuke cheered as he continued to pull Okuyasu down the street.
“You’re paying though!”
Josuke looked back at him, “Of course I am, I am a gentleman after all.”
At some point, as the two of them walked down the street, Josuke’s hand had left Okuyasu’s arm intertwined with his hand.
It occured to Okuyasu that they had never held hands before. It also occurred to him that he wasn’t quite sure if this was normal. Did best friends normally hold each other’s hands? It didn’t feel weird to be holding Josuke’s hand. It felt nice. And Josuke didn’t seem to be thinking that it was weird at all. In fact, Josuke looked really happy.
Okuyasu shook his head, he must have been overthinking again.
“This place is my favorite,” Josuke said, pulling Okuyasu into a small shop about a block away from where the ghost alley used to be, “I can’t believe I’ve never brought you here before.”
It was a small shop, but felt more cozy than cramped, and the smell alone had Okuyasu’s mouth watering. “I don’t know the last time I had ramen.”
Josuke pulled out a stool, indicating that Okuyasu should sit, before pulling out his own. “Just wait until you taste this, I think it’s the best in all of Japan.”
Even after a single bite, Okuyasu was sure that Josuke was absolutely right. The only other time food had made him feel this good was Tonio’s (and he was fairly certain that there weren’t any stands involved in this meal).
But, for some reason, Okuyasu kept getting distracted from it. He wasn’t sure why, but he couldn’t stop himself from looking at Josuke. There was something about the soft lighting of the restaurant, or maybe it was the content look on his face, but Okuyasu couldn’t tear his eyes away.
He had clearly had a rough day, his carefully styled hair was falling loose with a strand or two framing his face. He must have been messing with it during that math test he was stressing over. He was hunched over his bowl, his normally perfect posture nowhere to be seen. There was even the littlest bit of egg that had gotten on the corner of Josuke’s mouth that he hadn’t yet wiped off. But still, he just looked so… pretty.
Wait.
That definitely wasn’t normal. Right? That wasn’t a normal thing to think about your best friend. Especially if your best friend was as tall and buff as Josuke.
Okuyasu blinked.
But he was pretty. That should be obvious to anyone. Like, objectively, Josuke was very pretty. His bright eyes and long eyelashes. The little beauty mark, right under his eye. The way his hair looked so soft, even when it was up in a pompadour. His strong jawline and his lips that-
“Dude.”
Okuyasu shook his head, bringing himself back to reality. “What?”
Josuke was staring at him, an amused expression on his face. “Your face was just, like, so intense. You looked like you were trying to explode me with your mind or something,” Josuke said.
Okuyasu felt his face go hot. “No! I wasn’t! I would never want to explode you! I was just… thinking…”
Josuke laughed, reaching out to lightly pat Okuyasu on the cheek. “Well don’t think too hard, you might hurt yourself.”
Okuyasu shook his head again and turned back to his ramen, trying to ignore the warmth he was still feeling on his face that he was certain had nothing to do with the heat of the broth.
⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
Thursday was not Okuyasu’s day.
The first issue was his hair. No matter what he did, it seemed determined not to cooperate with him. He used gel, he used pins, he used hair spray, but nothing did the trick.
Okuyasu groaned. He couldn’t go to school looking like this. Yukako’s reaction alone would be enough to make him want to crawl into a hole forever, let alone what others might say behind his back. He had to turn to his last hope.
Said last hope winding up on the floor laughing, tears in his eyes, when Okuyasu rang his doorbell, did not improve his mood.
“C’mon, man, I turn to you in my time of need and this is what I get.”
“I’m sorry,” Josuke managed to wheeze out, “you just… your hair…. It looks like a poodle.”
“Dude!”
“Okay, okay,” Josuke said, finally composing himself enough to stand. “Get in here, I’ll try to fix it.”
It wasn’t that Okuyasu hadn’t expected Josuke to be so close to him while he helped fix his hair. He couldn’t very well style a pompadour from across the room.
But what he hadn’t accounted for was the way that his stomach fluttered because of it.
“Dude, stop moving,” Josuke said as he brushed all the failed product out of Okuyasu’s hair, “It’s gonna take me forever if you keep squirming like that.”
Okuyasu stopped, suddenly feeling very self aware. “Sorry…”
Josuke sighed. “It’s okay, man, you don’t have to be sorry, I’m just not used to doin’ it on other people. It’s harder than doin’ it on yourself.”
Despite that, Josuke was definitely doing much better than Okuyasu had been. He looked kinda cute when he concentrated, his face scrunched up while he teased Okuyasu’s hair.
As he was working on the final touches, Josuke stopped, his face set in a frown.
“What’s wrong?”
Josuke bit his bottom lip. “It’s nothing, it’s just, I’m having trouble finishing up. It’s kinda hard doing it from so far away.”
Okuyasu’s stomach did a somersault. “Well… you can get closer if you need to.”
Josuke nodded, moving in by a half a step, his legs now pressing against Okuyasu’s, and tried again. He let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m just gonna-” Josuke leaned against one of Okuyasu’s shoulders and lifted a leg over Okuyasu’s before setting himself on Okuyasu’s lap.
Josuke looked up, Okuyasu suddenly very aware of how close they were, their noses almost touching. “Is this okay?” Josuke asked, “I think this is probably the easiest way-”
“It’s fine!” Okuyasu squeaked, cringing at the incredibly uncool crack in his voice.
Josuke reached around Okuyasu’s neck, securing the last few bobby pins into his hair and smoothing out the pompadour. His touch was gentle and his face twisted in concentration. He leaned back to admire his handiwork, using Okuyasu’s shoulders to steady himself.
A lopsided grin appeared on Josuke’s face. “Perfect!” he declared, pulling himself off of Okuyasu’s lap, “If I do say so myself.”
Okuyasu felt a twinge of disappointment at the sudden loss but shook it off as Josuke turned him towards the mirror.
“Shit, man! How’d you do that?”
Josuke’s face had turned the slightest shade of pink. “Ya, like it?”
Okuyasu jumped out of his seat, moving closer to the mirror to inspect his new ‘do. “It’s like something out of a magazine!” He struck a few poses, checking it out from various angles. “Does it look good on me?”
“Are you kidding? Dude, you look totally hot!”
Okuyasu could feel his face turn bright red. “Hot?” he managed to choke out.
The pink in Josuke’s cheeks deepened, but he maintained eye contact. “Yeah,” he said, only hesitating the smallest bit, “you look really good.”
Okuyasu was certain he looked like a tomato at this point. He let out an awkward laugh, not sure what else to say, “We -uh- should probably get to school. I think I’ve already made us late.”
Josuke looked up at the clock on the wall. “Shit, you’re right, we better go.”
Okuyasu grabbed his bag to follow Josuke out, before checking himself out in the mirror one last time. He really did look good. “Hey,” he called out, “thanks again, man.”
Josuke flashed a grin back at him. “Anything for you, babe.”
The two ran off to school, just barely making it to class before the final bell rang. It wasn’t until about halfway through first period that it hit Okuyasu;
Did Josuke call him babe?
⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
Things got complicated that Friday.
Josuke and Okuyasu were once again at Okuyasu’s house, working on the finishing touches of Okuyasu’s room.
Josuke was fixing up the cracks in the windows and touching up the paint on the windowsills while Okuyasu attempted to put together a bed frame he had just purchased from Nitori. The two had fallen into a comfortable silence, happy enough with the company of the other and the occasional swear from Okuyasu when the directions didn’t match with the pieces he had.
“Hey, Okuyasu?”
“Hm?” Okuyasu grunted in response.
“What do you think about kissing?”
He dropped the screwdriver in his hand. “Huh?!”
Josuke was looking uncharacteristically nervous. “Like- I dunno- are you at all… curious about it?”
Okuyasu felt like his brain had short circuited.
“I mean, obviously I don’t wanna make you do anything you don’t wanna do, and I totally don’t wanna make it weird I was just… wondering if you were also curious about it?” Josuke was starting to ramble, “And -I dunno- if you were also curious maybe we could try it out and see how it felt-”
Okuyasu still couldn’t find the brain capacity to do anything more than stare.
“-but if you don’t want to, that’s totally fine, I don’t wanna do anything to make you feel uncomfortable but…” Josuke trailed off, his eyes almost pleading Okuyasu to say something.
“Like…for practice?” was all Okuyasu could manage to say.
Josuke blinked at him. “Umm… I mean, I guess it would be-”
“Okay!” Okuyasu surprising himself almost as much as he surprised Josuke.
Josuke’s face brightened. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Okuyasu’s voice said before his brain could think it through.
Josuke walked over to him slowly, like he was afraid that he would scare him off. He knelt down next to Okuyasu, “Are you sure you want to do this? I don’t want to make you-”
“I do,” Okuyasu said. After all, it was just for practice, right? Just to see how it felt? It seemed like Josuke had never kissed anyone before, and Okuyasu certainly hadn’t, so this was, like, a practice run. And who better to practice with than your best friend?
Josuke hesitantly reached out a hand, placing it on Okuyasu’s cheek, just like people did on TV. “Is this okay?” he asked.
Okuyasu nodded. For some reason, he couldn’t find words right now.
Josuke slowly leaned towards him, and just when Okuyasu was sure his heart was about to leap out of his chest, he pressed his lips against Okuyasu’s. It was a soft kiss, their lips just barely brushing. Josuke pulled away, still cupping Okuyasu’s cheek in his hand, their noses still close enough to touch.
Josuke’s cheeks had a tinge of pink in them that Okuyasu was sure was matched by his own. “Was that okay?” Josuke asked, not quite making eye contact.
Okuyasu nodded mutely and Josuke pressed their lips together again. This time a little less hesitant. Josuke’s other arm wrapped around the small of Okuyasu’s back.
It felt nice. Josuke was good at this. Of course he was, Okuyasu thought, Josuke was good at everything. Why wouldn’t he be good at this?
They broke apart again, slightly out of breath and their faces much redder than before. Josuke moved back.
A long silence hung in the air between them.
Okuyasu was suddenly very interested in the ground in front of him. He felt Josuke’s eyes on him, but everytime he looked over, Josuke seemed to be fascinated with the ceiling.
It was finally Okuyasu who broke the silence. “So…”
Josuke’s attention snapped to Okuyasu, his eyes wide and expectant.
Okuyasu faltered at the sudden attention. “Umm…what did you -uh- what did you think?”
Josuke sat up a little straighter. “Oh, I, uh…” he was chewing on his bottom lip, “I thought it was cool.”
Okuyasu’s stomach did another somersault. For some reason he felt really happy. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Josuke said, a smile creeping onto his face. “What did you think?”
“It was cool,” Okuyasu said, not quite making eye contact with him.
“Cool.”
There was another long pause. A few times it seemed like Josuke was about to say something, but changed his mind.
Before he could think better of it, Okuyasu turned back to Josuke, “Wanna practice some more?”
⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
It took about a week of ‘practice kissing’ after school every day for it to occur to Okuyasu that this might not be typical best friend behavior. Maybe best friends didn’t normally hold hands or kiss, even if it was just to practice.
It also occurred to him that there was a chance that most people didn’t catch themselves staring at their best friends multiple times a day, admiring their hair, their eyes, their lips. Or dream about them in ways that were definitely not platonic.
So Okuyasu came to the only logical conclusion; he had a big fat crush on Josuke. And he had no idea what to do about it.
Josuke also wasn’t helping the situation. Every time he threw an arm around Okuyasu’s shoulder, or shot a smile his way, Okuyasu felt like he was going to melt into a pile of goo. And the kissing? Okuyasu thought Josuke was good at it the first time, but it was nothing compared to now. If things kept up like this, Okuyasu was sure that at some point he was gonna combust.
He wished he could ask Josuke what he should do. He was usually the brains of their operation. Josuke would definitely know what to do in this situation.
Wait. What was he thinking? Okuyasu couldn’t ask Josuke what he should do about his crush on Josuke.
Okuyasu threw himself onto the couch with a groan, receiving a hiss from a startled Stray Cat.
It wasn’t like Okuyasu was a stranger to scary things. He had practically grown up in constant fear, first of his father’s temper then of Keicho’s disappointment. He had dealt with aliens, serial killers, ghosts, and an angry Yukako Yamagishi.
But right now, the scariest thing he could think of was telling Josuke how he felt.
Okuyasu felt a headache coming on. He didn’t usually think things through this much. It was so much easier to just dive headfirst in and worry about the consequences later.
He was gonna have to tell Josuke how he felt. And he had to do it soon.
⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
It wasn’t until the next Friday that he finally got his chance.
Yukako had dragged Koichi off somewhere the minute the bell rang, so it was just Okuyasu and Josuke walking home from school. At some point, their hands had wound up interlaced. It felt kind of bittersweet. Would Josuke not want to do stuff like this anymore, once he knew how Okuyasu really felt?
The sunlight was making Josuke’s eyes bluer than normal and they were almost sparkling. His lips were curled into a small smile. Man, is he pretty , Okuyasu thought.
Okuyasu took a deep breath.
“Hey, Josuke?”
Josuke turned to him, and Okuyasu felt his chest tighten with fondness; it was now or never.
“I have to tell you something.”
A look of confusion, and maybe worry, crossed over Josuke’s face. “Okay?”
Okuyasu’s heart was beating so loud that he was sure Josuke could hear it. “I-” he took a shaky breath, summoning all the courage he had, “I think I have feelings for you!”
Josuke gave him a weird look. “Yeah, I know.”
“No, dude, I mean, like, romantic feelings.”
Josuke was still staring. “Yeah no, I know that .”
Okuyasu blinked at him. “What do you mean ‘you know’?”
“I mean, we’re dating, aren’t we? That’s, like, kinda the minimum requirement.”
Now it was Okuyasu’s turn to stare. “We’re dating?!”
“Aren’t we?!” A look of panic crossed Josuke’s face. “Did you not think we were dating?”
“No?!”
“But-but-” Josuke started to pace, back and forth, back and forth, “we hold hands all the time, and I call you babe, and-and you’ve been letting me kiss you, and-”
“I thought we were just practicing-”
Josuke spun to face him. “You thought that us making out every day for the past two weeks was just for practice?!”
Well when he said it like that, it seemed obvious.
Okuyasu frowned. “When did you think we started dating?”
“The first time we went to Tonio’s,” Josuke’s face was turning red.
Okuyasu’s jaw dropped. “The first time?! Dude, that was months ago!”
Josuke sank to the ground, burying his face in his hands. “Shut up man, I knooow.”
Okuyasu’s brain was desperately trying to process the information it had just received. “You thought we were dating this whole time?”
Josuke looked up at him with a pout. “I feel stupid enough, dude, you don’t have to keep saying it.”
Okuyasu sat down on the ground, next to Josuke, “How do you think I feel? I was up half the night trying to figure out how I was gonna tell you that I liked ‘ya, just to find out we’re already dating!”
Josuke let out a half hearted laugh. “I guess we’re both pretty stupid.”
Okuyasu looked over at Josuke out of the corner of his eye. He was pretty cute when he was embarrassed. Shit, he was cute all the time. Had Okuyasu really been dating him all along?
“Oi Josuke,” Okuyasu said softly.
Josuke looked up from his hands, his cheeks still bright red and a pout still firmly planted on his lips.
“How many dates do you think we’ve been on?”
Josuke’s pout deepened and Okuyasu desperately wanted to kiss him until it disappeared. “Dude, you don’t have to keep making fun of me, I feel embarrassed enough.”
“No, I’m not making fun! I just… wanna know,” Okuyasu felt his cheeks turning pink all over again.
“Like… 52…”
Okuyasu’s shock must have shown on his face because Josuke once again buried his face in his hands. “I don’t know! I was, like, counting every time we hung out as a date but apparently none of them were actually dates-” Josuke trailed off into a mumble.
Okuyasu sat for a minute.
“Hey Josuke…”
Josuke, face still mostly hidden in his hands, looked over at him.
Okuyasu took a shaky breath, “If… uh… you’re not busy tonight, I was wondering if you would like to go with me to Tonio’s for our first slash fifty third date?”
A small smile made its way onto Josuke’s face. “I’d like that a lot.”
Okuyasu stood up, offering a hand to Josuke, a lopsided grin on his face, “And I mean that in a romantic way.”