An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Voices call to Yuri in his sleep, and against his better judgment, he listens.
(Here’s chapter 11 of the Souyo-stasia AU collaboration between @treya-barton and moi!)
SNEAK PEEK:
Yuri had gone to bed rosy-cheeked and breathless from his dance with Yosuke.
Now, as he stared at his friend’s face, his skin was pale as death. Two silver eyes, like coins on the eyes of the dead, stared ahead blankly. He was staring at nothing and everything all at once.
Teddie rose from his seat and rounded the bed. He laughed nervously at his friend’s lack of expression. “Yuri?”
His friend’s face followed him slowly, saying nothing.
“You’re scaring me,” Teddie said, voice becoming more serious. His whisper broke in favor of a louder tone. “Hey. Are you okay? Should I wake Yosuke up?”
As soon as Teddie’s hands landed on Yuri’s shoulders, he shoved him away. The force sent Teddie backpedaling toward the wall, causing him to knock his head loudly. The resounding thump was enough that someone in an adjacent bedroom pounded on the wall and angrily shouted in a language Teddie didn’t understand. The sentiments didn’t sound pleasant.
By the time Teddie glimpsed up from his crumpled position, it was too late. Yuri had long since padded down the hall.
“You keep staring at me instead of watching the film. What’s up?”
oh… uh… this one turned out… angstier? than i anticipated? but it has a happy ending! hope you enjoy this @treya-barton! ^__^
(from this list of soft sentence starters)
(Until Friday)
He’d tried to treat it like any ordinary day. He really had. Just an ordinary hot, late summers day in Inaba enjoyed with the people he loved - or, in this case, the person he loved - and not another care in the world. He’d been doing well at it, so far.
Yosuke sniffed quietly in the seat next to him and leaned down to take a sip from their shared slushed cola. Yu’s attention was forced off the lively dark comedy they were viewing and onto Yosuke’s movements, his eyes lingering on the blue, flat light that caught in Yosuke’s chestnut hair before he righted himself in his seat. He tore his gaze away from him after a second, pretending he was still invested in the movie. But his mind continued to wander.
The movie was fun, inventive. He’d been the one to choose it, and Yosuke (being Yosuke) happily agreed. It had been a nice, relaxing afternoon spent with him and only him. Just the two of them lounging in Yu’s room, fooling around, reading together, and now an early evening movie. Ideal, really. It was made even more special by the fact that it was the first day in over a week the two of them had managed any time to themselves.
Because Yu was only down for the summer break and his time, as always, was precious. He’d be leaving in a few days, actually, now nearing the end of the month –
He sighed and shifted in his seat. He hadn’t realize how loud it must have been, because a second later Yosuke’s breath was in his ear.
“You okay?”
“Hm?” He was fine. He nodded and looked back at the movie.
His stomach felt funny. Maybe it was the icy drink; maybe he was coming down with something. His eyes flitted to Yosuke’s face, wary of disturbing his concentration but compelled to observe him regardless. It might have been a little strange, but looking at Yosuke’s face usually always soothed him. Except this time it didn’t - not even close.
Yosuke, perhaps feeling eyes on him, glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. For some reason, it didn’t occur to Yu to look away, which caused Yosuke to give him a concerned look and propose a silent question. Yu blinked and answered it immediately, quirking a forced smile and a slight nod. He looked back at the movie, a series of images and sounds he wasn’t absorbing and wouldn’t, as hard as he tried to.
Just a few more days, and then he’d have only dreams of this, of Yosuke’s softly styled hair and velvet brushed skin and lovingly attentive lips. He suddenly wanted to feel them against his skin again, maybe here, on his neck, where they’d been not hours ago. Soft and eager, making him feel like he’d won.
Yosuke’s eyebrows quirked up and he turned his head towards Yu again (who had failed to notice that his attention had yet again strayed from the film). Yosuke had a mischievous smirk on one side of his mouth until he met Yu’s eyes, and then it all disappeared and melted into an imploring gaze. A hint of resolve flashed across them.
With a meaningful frown, he stood up, and again without words, told Yu to follow him as he made his way toward the theatre stairs. Yu followed him guiltily, hoping the surrounding darkness was enough to cover the shame on his own cheeks. Yosuke put a hand on his shoulder as soon as they entered the small entrance hallway, slowing them both to a stop.
“You keep staring at me instead of watching the film. What’s up?” His voice was carefully low.
“I’m fine,” Yu tried to scoff with a smile, but he could tell right away that Yosuke wasn’t buying it.
But he had nothing to say, so he kept quiet, eyes downturned and roving over the worn pattern of Yosuke’s t-shirt. He knew it smelled nice and the thought made his insides burn with want.
Yosuke heaved a sigh and stepped closer. His hand fell from his shoulder and skated down Yu’s arm to grip his hand, his fingers curling into his palm and pressing. They didn’t touch much in public, not while out by themselves, so the motion snapped Yu out of his self-woven misery. Yosuke was looking at Yu patiently, but expectantly, as if he knew it was only a matter of time before his gaze wore down another of Yu’s old makeshift walls.
He wasn’t even looking at Yosuke in the eyes and he felt a fire on his face at the intensity of his stare. He shifted uncomfortably and reached out to grip Yosuke’s t-shirt around the area of his hip bone.
“I have to go back in three days.”
Yosuke heaved another sigh - this one fainter, sorrowful. “I know.”
“Today’s been a good day,” Yu continued. His eyes stung.
“Yeah it has,” Yosuke chuckled, but even that didn’t hold its usual sunshine. “Let’s not waste the rest of it dreading Friday.” He squeezed Yu’s hand.
Yu nodded, breathing deeply in an attempt to pack himself back up. Yosuke’s other hand found his chin and tilted it up to connect their eyes, thumb tracing his bottom lip until he leaned in and connected their mouths, as well. The gesture warmed him more than the summer heat they’d been surviving all season. Yu smiled against his lips, feeling his insides finally unwind themselves from the death grip around his heart, and squeezed Yosuke’s hand in return.
When they pulled apart, he mumbled, “Sorry,” as another guilty blush spread over his cheeks.
Yosuke winked and pinched his side (Yu gasped). “Don’t be, partner. I’ve been thinking about it, too … but you don’t ever have to hide that stuff from me, okay? If you’re feeling sad about it, I want you to say something.”
“I know,” he nodded, then caught himself. “Well, I’m learning,” he corrected.
Yosuke laughed. “It’s okay; we’re both works in progress.” He tugged Yu by his hand until Yu was falling into him, their chests bumping. “Wanna go back to the movie?”
Yu hummed, dipping his head into the curve of Yosuke’s neck. “Or, we can make out behind the theatre.”
“Or, we can make out behind the theatre,” Yosuke agreed, letting out a pleased laugh when Yu sucked the skin of his neck between nibbly teeth.
Yu was the one to pull away and yank Yosuke (who gave a tiny yelp) toward the double doors and, approximately twenty steps later, the theatre exit. He walked Yosuke over a strip of grass, backed him up against the outside wall of the building, and pressed impassioned kisses to his jaw and neck, causing Yosuke to gasp and cling to him. Let’s not waste the rest of it dreading Friday.
He traced his fingers up Yosuke’s bare back beneath his shirt and Yosuke responded by hooking his fingers in the belt loops of Yu’s shorts and pulling their hips to. Yu bit him, reveling in the small hiss he got in return. “Shit, partner …” he moaned.
And Yu - determined not to waste a single second - pulled back to devour Yosuke’s mouth.
perfume: if you could make your own signature fragrance, what would it smell like?
I’ve actually done some study into perfumes and scents so I’ve thought about this.
My ideal perfume would not be floral at all. No offense to floral, but those light spritzy scents really give me a headache, it’s the olfactory equivalent of a shriek. No thanks.
If I were making a scent the emphasis would be on “solid, dense.” No flowers or fruits. Spices would be good; nutmeg and jasmine maybe, balanced out with herbs like sage or lemongrass. Sandlewood could smooth the entire thing out as a binding base note. I like men’s fragrances more, so I would want to create a lighter version of that. I’m just so tired of endless floral garbage.
Your writing always makes me feel warm and fuzzy. Your Promptis drabble post that you always add to is just so sweet and I always get excited to see you added to it because I have something happy to read ^^ It's definitely a pleasant surprise when I get the notification in my inbox :D Also I love your AO3 name. Every time I see it I'm like I want tea now lol
tbh i started that pr0mptis fluffdrabb collection because i wanted to have a space for low-pressure, low-commitment writing that would offer the fandom (and me) the comfort we need after the game, lol. i’m really glad that it makes you happy, that makes me very happy!!
aha i keep thinking if maybe i should change my users to match, but i’ve grown attached. it is a good drink, i recommend~~
thank you so much for your kind words (人 •͈ᴗ•͈) <3
Funny enough, I don’t recall a lot from my childhood. Something I do remember, though, is having Barbie beauty pageants with my mom. We made sashes out of construction paper, and gave each of the “contestants” a name, personality, likes and dislikes, etc. There were three rounds: casual, bathing suit, and evening wear, and at the end of each round, we would pull names from a hat to choose who was disqualified. The winner never really got anything special, obviously, but it was a good excuse for my mom and I to go clothes shopping for Barbie at Toys R Us, lol!
Souji was sitting listlessly at the bus stop with the bottom half of his face buried in a thick scarf and his arms crossed tightly in front of his chest. The metal bench was freezing cold beneath him, but he didn’t really have the energy to stand while he waited; energy was growing more and more scarce for him as the winter stretched on.
It was a bleak Sunday afternoon, and he needed to pick up groceries for the week. The closest Junes was a good distance away by bus, but he couldn’t find it in himself to shop anywhere else nowadays. The layout was similar to the one in Inaba, and Souji grasped at any feeling of familiarity he could get—anything that could bring him back to those distant days in Inaba, trials and all, with the people he loved the most.
I hate winter, Souji thought miserably. I hate the cold.
Those things weren’t really true; Souji typically didn’t mind winter any more than the other seasons, and if he was in Inaba right now (even though winter was much colder there than here in the city), he would be enjoying winter very much. He’d be building snowmen with Nanako, making hot meals to share with all his appreciative friends, cuddling under the kotatsu with Yosuke…
I hate the city, Souji thought, but that wasn’t true either; his heart was just somewhere else.
He could feel himself growing increasingly grumpy (though if he was being honest with himself, ‘grumpy’ didn’t quite cover it—it was more like downcast, despondent, depressed…) the longer he was away from his home away from home, and more importantly, his Yosuke.
I hate everything.
They hadn’t seen each other for months now, and while all of their plans for after high school revolved around each other, the time in between was killing him.
How am I supposed to exist without my Partner? Souji thought once again, feeling his eyes growing watery.
He squeezed his eyes shut and stubbornly pushed those emotions down, not wanting to end up with frozen eyeballs and salty icicles hanging from his face.
The bus was running late now, and the pressing cold was sapping every last bit of energy from him.
When he fell asleep, like usual, he dreamed of Yosuke.
“I missed you, Partner,” Yosuke said (as he often did), before climbing onto Souji’s lap.
“I missed you too.”
Yosuke nodded gravely, as if in that moment he could fully understand the profundity of Souji’s sadness at being apart. However, as soon as Yosuke touched his lips to Souji’s, all of that sadness seemed to dissipate, as if Yosuke was absorbing it somehow.
All of Yosuke’s movements and touches were so gentle and romantic, and despite a certain urgency within him, Souji allowed Yosuke to set a slow, tender pace, reveling in the fact that they could take their time now.
As they continued to kiss, Souji felt a distinct warmth against his cheeks.
I thought I was over my blushing phase? Souji thought to himself, remembering the beginning of their romantic relationship when he couldn’t keep himself from blushing at any physical contact with Yosuke, especially kissing.
Nowadays, the heat didn’t go so much to his cheeks as it did… other places, but the heat that was currently on his cheeks felt so real compared to the feeling of Yosuke caressing him, kissing him…
Souji bolted awake, quickly snapping back to the reality of the cold bus stop (and the highly disappointing lack of Yosuke).
That heat across his cheeks didn’t go away though, and when he looked up to the sky, he saw there had been a break in the clouds. Unexpectedly warm rays of sunshine shot through, creating a stark contrast to the surrounding cold as they soaked into Souji’s skin. The sensation was almost like the ghost of Yosuke’s touch from his dream, winding its way into reality.
Souji smiled for the first time in too long, and then he quickly took out his phone to call Yosuke.
Before, he might have hesitated to call out of nowhere, but recently Yosuke had specifically told him: “Call me whenever, okay? Even if it’s just because you’re bored, or I’m on your mind, or you just want to hear me say I love you.”
Souji, of course, didn’t call every time Yosuke was on his mind (because then he would never stop calling), but he did feel like less and less of a bother every time Yosuke answered enthusiastically and thanked him for calling.
“Hey, Sweetie!” Yosuke greeted excitedly, and Souji didn’t think he would ever get tired of hearing that pet name (that he may have goaded Yosuke into using regularly). “I’m so glad you called!”
Souji chuckled. “Why’s that?”
“I’m outside and it’s so freakin’ cold, but just hearing your voice makes me feel warmer, you know?”
As the unexpected warmth from the sun and the warmth from Yosuke intermingled and spread through him, Souji replied, “I know.”
Souji then requested, “Tell me you love me?”
Yosuke immediately replied, “I love you!”
And with those words, Souji became completely immune to the cold, and the last bits of bitterness in his heart burned away.
Souji breathed, “Thank you, Yosuke.”
“Any time, Partner! Now hurry up and tell me you love me too!”
Souji shook his head and laughed. “If I have you, I don’t hate winter. I don’t hate the cold, and I don’t hate the city. I don’t hate anything. I just… love you.”
“Aw, cute,” Yosuke said happily. “I mean, I don’t really know what you’re talking about… but hey, it sounds like I’m a keeper!”
Warmed through even more by the thought of keeping Yosuke forever, Souji said with certainty, “Yes, yes you are.”
