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Yosuke was trying to sleep. There was going to be an English test in the morning and so he was trying to get enough rest to do well on it. He had been studying the vocabulary before going to bed in the hopes that sleep would solidify it in his brain, but he wasn’t so sure that was going to help.
Not for the first time, he wished that Yu were here.
If Yu had been there, he probably would have gone over to his house and they would have studied together. Yu would have made the words stick in his brain. He was really good at that. Then again, the small kiss he would give him every time he got an answer right was a really good motivator.
Yosuke let out a sigh, running his hand over his face. He didn’t think he’d be able to fall asleep anytime soon, but he wasn’t going to give up. He rolled over in bed and faced toward the wall.
A few minutes had gone by and Yosuke was finally starting to feel sleepy. He could feel himself start to drift off, unconsciousness just a hair’s breadth away, when suddenly, his phone went off.
He groaned and rolled over, groping blindly amongst his sheets to find it. His hand finally brushed against it and he turned the screen on. The first thing that he noticed was the time - it was just a little after 11. The second thing that he noticed was that he had gotten a text from Yu.
That made him smile a bit. He unlocked the phone to see the message. It was a picture.
A small gray tabby cat was sitting outside next to a crosswalk, facing away from the camera. In the foreground of the shot was Yu’s hand, out of focus, outstretched toward the cat. The whole picture had a shaky quality to it.
There was one word sent along with the picture: Friend.
Yosuke stared at the picture for a second, shaking his head. He replied back.
Yosuke: Friend?
Yu replied back almost immediately.
Yu: Yes, Friend.
> She was very friendly and let me pet her, but then some other people walked by and she walked away :(
Yosuke couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips.
Yosuke: Damn thos other people
Yu: Yes, exactly.
> I felt bad though because she walked into the middle of the street and a car started coming, but she wasn’t moving out of the way, so I had to scare her out of the road.
Yosuke: Dang Partner youre gonna get your cat license revoked
> Wait a sec
> Did you run out in the middle of the road for a cat???
Yu: Yes? What’s the problem?
Yosuke groaned.
Yosuke: Partner dont do that
> Youre gonna get hit by a car
Yu: I’m not going to get hit by a car.
> Would you rather I let a cat get hit by a car?
Yosuke: If I have to choose between you or a cat im choosing you
Yosuke’s eyes flickered to the top of his phone screen where the time was displayed. It was now almost 11:15.
Yu: I’d rather you choose the cat. I would gladly sacrifice myself.
Yosuke: Youre not sacrificing yourself for a cat and thats final
> Also are you walking around right now??
Yu: Yes, I’m on a walk.
Yosuke let out another groan.
Yosuke: Yu partner you know I love you but youre gonna give me an ulcer
Yu: Why?
Yosuke ran a hand through his hair.
Yosuke: Its past 11 at night and youre walking around by yourself
Yu: So?
Yosuke: Its dangerous!
> What if you get attacked or mugged or something??
Yu: I have a knife.
Yosuke: A knife?
Yu: A knife.
With that, Yu sent another picture, this time of him holding what looked to be a swiss army knife. It was a small blade, although anything much bigger than that would be illegal to carry.
Yosuke moved his head back against his headboard, closing his eyes and laughing slightly to himself. Yu was simultaneously the smartest and the dumbest person he knew. Sometimes he did things that made him question his own intelligence, and sometimes, like now, he did things that baffled him to his core.
He shook his head and then replied.
Yosuke: Ok I guess you have a knife
Yu: I’ll be fine.
Yosuke: Why did you go out anyway?
Yu: Just to walk around a bit.
> Oh, and to see the cats.
Yosuke: Partner you can see cats during the day too
Yu: Yes, but these are different cats.
> It’s also a lot quieter at night.
Yosuke could almost hear the wistfulness in that sentence. He frowned.
Yosuke: Still having trouble adjusting back to the city?
Yu: Yeah. Sometimes it just feels too loud and busy compared to Inaba.
Yosuke almost laughed. At one point, he would have made the opposite comparison - Inaba being too calm and quiet compared to the big city, but now, he could understand how Yu felt.
Yosuke thought for a second, then got out of bed, walking out of his room, being as quiet as he could as to not wake up Teddie. He walked to the front door, grabbing his jacket and putting on some shoes as he tapped the call button next to Yu’s name. He was just pressing the door shut when Yu answered.
“Hello?” Yu said.
“Hey Partner,” Yosuke said, going over and sitting down on the steps leading up to the door, “Sorry I called, but I don’t want you looking down at your phone while you’re walking.”
“I’m not going to get-”
Yosuke cut him off, “Yeah, I know, you’re not going to get stabbed,” Yosuke sighed, running a hand through his hair, “Just let me worry about you though.”
He heard Yu softly laugh, a sound that made Yosuke smile.
“Okay,” Yu said, “You can worry about me.”
“So where exactly did you walk to?” Yosuke asked.
“Just around neighborhoods a bit,” Yu answered, “I went to the park for a little while too.”
Yosuke crossed his arm over his chest, “All to see some cats, huh?”
“All to see some cats,” Yu said. Yosuke could practically hear the smile behind his voice.
“I guess that’s all fine and good,” Yosuke said, “Just don’t get yourself hurt over one of them.”
“I won’t-”
Yosuke cut him off again, “Don’t do stupid shit like running out into the road.”
Yu was quiet for a few seconds, “All right,” he finally said.
“Good,” Yosuke said, “When we live together, we’ll get a cat so you don’t have to go out alone at night to see them.”
“When we live together?” Yu asked, a hint of confusion in his voice.
Yosuke felt his heart start to beat faster, “Yeah… that is… if you want to like get an apartment with me or something next year to go to college… I… I would really like that.”
Yu was quiet for a few seconds, the only thing he could hear was his quiet breathing and the sound of walking. Finally, he answered, “I… I would really like that too.”
Yosuke exhaled deeply, feeling his anxiety go down significantly, “Great, then it’s a plan!” he said, feeling excitement start to worm its way into his stomach.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Yu said, then a pause, “I’m almost back home by the way.”
“Oh, okay, that’s good,” Yosuke said, “And you didn’t even have to stab anyone with your knife,” he laughed.
He heard Yu laugh too. “I miss you,” he said after a few seconds.
Yosuke felt his heart drop, “Yeah, I miss you too.”
It had only been about three weeks since Yu had left back for the city, but it sometimes felt to him like it had been years.
“I know I’ll see you during Golden Week, but…” Yu trailed off.
Yosuke felt himself nodding even though Yu couldn’t see him, “Yeah, it can’t come soon enough.”
“I love you,” Yu said.
Yosuke felt his whole face turn warm, a smile tugging at his lips. He would never get over how Yu said that. No matter how many times he said it, it made his whole stomach feel fluttery and his heart start pounding in his chest, “Yeah, I love you too,” he was quiet for a few seconds, “Now get inside before you actually do have to use your knife.”