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It had become their habit.
Yosuke would go to Yu’s room and try to study, while Yu would practice his lines for the play. Yosuke would sit at his desk, half the chair legs lifted off the floor, spinning his pencil or tearing little strips of paper out of his notebook; he’d do anything other than commit to the homework. Meanwhile, Yu would lay in his bed reciting from the script of Romeo and Juliet .
Every time Yu would ask him to help recite lines, and sometimes Yosuke did. He did want to help his partner. Depending on the role, or how much homework he had, he’d put it away and join Yu on the bed, sitting crisscrossed and hunched over the spare script Yu provided. He wasn’t an actor, that was clear. So, he’d make it entertaining, reading the lines in cartoonish voices and relishing in the small smile Yu gave him before telling him to knock it off and focus.
Other times, Yosuke would say no. Sometimes the homework required him to put in genuine effort. Oftentimes it was because Yu would ask him to read for Juliet, and that was where Yosuke drew the line. Him, pretending to be a girl? And not just any girl, but Juliet . He couldn’t do that; it was wrong in so many ways.
On those days he’d stick out his tongue, say something along the lines of “Ew, gross!” and leave it at that. Yu would shrug, and do his best to memorize the scene without any help.
Today was one of those days where Yosuke couldn’t focus. He had zero interest in the philosophy chapters Morooka assigned. Frankly, he had zero interest in any of his classwork, but Morooka found joy in ruining the lives of his students, and always assigned ungodly amounts of homework. Really, that should’ve motivated him; however, Yosuke often found himself taking the lower grade, never caring enough to complete the full assignment.
He was hunched over his textbook mumbling to himself when Yu spoke up.
“Wanna help me practice?”
Yosuke heaved a massive sigh of relief.
“I thought you’d never ask.” He said, getting out of the chair and stepping over his backpack and papers strewn about the floor on his way to the bed. It let out a squeak as he sat down; the dorm beds were not meant to hold the weight of two people. “Who am I today?”
Yu thumbed through the script, lips pursed. “Juliet. Only if you want.”
Yosuke let out a loud groan, and Yu rolled his eyes.
Juliet? God, did Yosuke have the worst luck. I mean, seriously?
But man, he did not want to do his homework. And not doing his homework meant fidgeting and pestering Yu until he was done rehearsing, which Yu wouldn’t appreciate very much...
Fine. He could play Juliet. Just this once.
“Whatever, man.” He held his hands out and Yu chucked the script at him, a small smirk on his face. It slipped through his fingers and hit him in the chest with a small thump. “What page?”
“Act 1, scene 5.”
Yu got up from where he was reclined against his pillow and scooted closer, helping Yosuke flip through the pages until he was in the right place. “Romeo and Juliet are meeting for the first time. They’re at a party hosted by Juliet’s father.”
“A party? Now that’s more my speed.” Yosuke laughs. He gets a small chuckle out of Yu.
“Yeah yeah...” Yu smiles, before settling into a sitting position across from Yosuke. “We’ll start at line 104, ok?”
He then takes Yu’s hand.
“If I profane with my unworthiest hand, this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand, to smooth that rough tough with a tender kiss.”
Yosuke feels like a deer in the headlights, the gentle pressure on his hand sending him into a state of shock. He can’t even begin to imagine how stupid he looks right now, wide eyed and awestruck. Before he can even begin to process how utterly wrong this is, he recovers, launching into Juliet’s reply.
“Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much!” He says in a high pitched, fluttery mockery of a girl’s voice. “Which mannerly devotion shows in this; for saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.”
He pretends to swoon, one hand over his forehead, sighing dramatically. Yu laughs, stumbling into his next line.
“Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?”
“Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.” Yosuke swoons again, fluttering his eyelashes. It’s the most cartoonishly exaggerated performance of Juliet the world has ever seen, and it’s probably not even helpful to Yu. But it’s the only way Yosuke can make it through the script without feeling like the whole thing’s taboo.
In contrast, Yu is serious. Not serious serious, but despite Yosuke’s performance, he gives it the same amount of effort he does with everything else: a lot. He sits across from Yosuke, looking into his eyes like a lovesick fool, thumb tracing tender circles onto Yosuke’s hand. All things considered; Yu is an amazing actor. Yet Yosuke struggles to appreciate his performance, never looking at him directly for longer than a few seconds.
“O then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do! They pray: grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.”
“Saints do not move, though grant for prayer’s sake.”
“Then move not, while my prayer’s effect I take.”
And take Yu does —or at least seems to—other hand coming to cup Yosuke’s cheek, thumb on his lips. He leans in closer, closer, closer ...
Yosuke pushes him away with a strangled yelp, feet coming up to kick at him.
“Ow, Yosuke! ” Yu reels back, protecting himself from the kicking.
“Dude, what the hell? ”
“It was a stage kiss , Yosuke! I wasn’t going to actually kiss you!”
Yosuke pauses his immature kicking and looks at Yu, mouth agape. Oh. Huh. That makes a lot more sense.
“I’m sorry, I probably should’ve warned you beforehand." Yu trailed off, worried. "I was so focused on the lines..."
“Yeah, warn a guy next time before shoving your mouth in his face. You really scared me there!”
“Whatever.”
Yosuke shook his head, feigning being hurt. He hoped he came off as simultaneously disturbed and unbothered, the kind of reaction a normal guy might have when it looked like his best friend was trying to kiss him.
Internally, his body felt like it was on fire.
“Y-yeah, whatever.”
He really shouldn’t be feeling this way in response to Yu’s attempted ‘kiss’. As for what emotion he was feeling, he had no clue.
“But like... You’re gonna have to kiss Juliet, right? You’re kissing Yukiko?”
Yu nodded, fingers still loosely laced in Yosuke’s.
Yosuke chewed on the inside of his lip.
“We can finish the scene. Sorry for freaking out and whatnot.” Yosuke shrugged and scooted closer, setting their clasped hands on his own knee and hoping Yu wouldn’t think too hard about his sudden shift in demeanor.
Unfortunately, he did. But after surviving the scrutiny of Yu’s intense gaze, the other boy sighed, looking back at the script. Before he could begin the next line, Yosuke tightened his grasp on his hand.
“I- Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged.” Yu seemed to stammer.
“Then have my lips the sin that they have took.”
Yosuke looked at Yu intently, even as Yu studied him.
His delivery of the lines was now utterly sincere, or as sincere Yosuke could get with his poor acting skills. Each word felt heavy on his tongue.
Yu needed practice, and Yosuke would give it to him. Besides, it was just acting. It’s not like any of it was real . Nothing wrong with pretending.
After a long and nerve-wracking pause, Yu once again placed his hand on Yosuke’s face. Yosuke did his best to not flinch away, instead leaning to meet the touch.
“Sin from my lips? O, trespass sweetly urged...”
Yu murmured, delivery of the line sounding unusually soft.
“Give me my sin again.”
Eyes darting from Yu’s lips to his tender, careful gaze and back again, Yosuke gave in.
He darted forward, their lips pressing together. Yu let out a startled gasp, before the hand on Yosuke’s cheek moved further back to caress his hair.
Startled by his own actions, Yosuke’s eyes were wide open. Wide open to see Yu’s eyes close as he relaxed into the kiss. Maybe... Maybe Yosuke could close his eyes too. That’s what people did when they kissed, right?
Yosuke let his shoulders fall, eyes drifting closed. His free hand came up to rest on Yu’s chest. Inside, his heart was hammering like a kick drum. Yu pulled away, sighing softly, before leaning in again, kissing him chastely while pressing forward. The sensation of Yu’s lips on his, Yu’s hand cradling his face, it was perfect . His lips were perfect, his skin was perfect, god , everything about Yu was perfect. Perfect hair, perfect grades, perfectly athletic, and now a perfect performance. Man, his best friend was really something else.
His best friend.
The kiss was perfect, yet it was simultaneously the most revolting thing Yosuke had ever experienced. Cold dread flooded his senses. Everywhere Yu touched him felt dirty.
Not because of Yu, nothing could ever be wrong with Yu.
No, the problem lie with himself.
He pushed Yu away for the second time, sending him crashing into the pillow behind him.
“I- I need to go, I’m sorry-”
He scrambled off of the bed and began pacing around the room, collecting his belongings.
“ Yosuke!”
Yu wasn’t far behind him.
His hands trembled while haphazardly shoving papers into his bag. He dared to glance at Yu and immediately regretted it.
He looked so upset . His eyebrows were drawn tight, one hand resting on his own lips.
God, he’d really fucked up now.
How vile. How disgusting .
Yu tried to grab at him, but Yosuke was out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
His fingers grasped only empty air.