These are getting kind of long now, putting it behind a cut  :)  Souji and Yosuke feelings, ahoy! 

When Souji Seta leaves Inaba to go back home he isn’t able to make new friends.  It’s not because he’s a bad person or anything like that – his year in Inaba proved otherwise.  Souji isn’t able to make friends because it just doesn’t feel the same way it did back in Inaba.  The bonds he made there are truly precious, something that can’t be replicated.  Leaving the quiet town was the hardest thing he ever had to do and, deep down, he knows that his life will never be as good as it had been there – despite the murders and other chaos.  

So instead of making new friends, he focuses on keeping in touch with his old ones.    Incidentally – and not intentionally – this especially includes Yosuke Hanamura.  

The phone calls start slowly – once, over the weekend, a sweet aibou to get Souji through the rest of the day.  Then they increase – twice a week, three times – and soon they can’t spend a day without communicating somehow.  Phone calls, e-mails, text messages, there’s even a time when Yosuke falls asleep on the phone talking with Souji.  

Yosuke doesn’t use the word “couple,” despite the rest of the team whispering about it.  Even Rise Kujikawa, with all of her hearts and glitter towards her senpai, doesn’t seem too broken up about the possibility of a Souji and a Yosuke team up going beyond the, well, “team up.”  Though these days she seems to focus her efforts on a certain detective and delinquent pairing, but this isn’t about what girl Rise gropes and what pierced thug doesn’t seem too upset over it.  

As the days go by, however, Yosuke can’t, for the life of him, figure out why he doesn’t just come out and say it.  Once upon a time, Yosuke thinks, he use to worry about things like people thinking he “swung” in a certain direction, but when he talks with Souji he forgets such thoughts.  Swing?  Way?  Why is it a big deal?  Was it ever a big deal?  Maybe it is and he should leave the word couple resting at the tip of his tongue.

But then, Souji says that he is coming back for Golden Week, and everything gets flipped upside down.

Yosuke knows he’s too excited.  He knows he’s “acting like a girl,” as he himself would say.  But damnit, this is his partner, and he absolutely has to see his face.  When Souji calls him to say he’s arrived it takes enough willpower to hold back a thousand shadows for him to not scream in excitement, or rush over to Dojima’s house and-… the word kiss floats through his mind and before he can worry about swings and which direction they go in he smirks and thinks hell yeah!  

Then the Midnight Channel happens again, cutting into his their time together.  Fortunately, it doesn’t take too long, but now there’s a new case brewing and there may be a need for them to become that team of ragtag heroes again.  Nothing is certain except for one thing: if need be, they’re all ready to go.  

The group finally gets to spend time together, complete with a couple of new faces.  It’s like old times.  Souji can’t keep the smile on his face, those bonds making his heart pitter patter in a way it hadn’t done in months.  Talking with them – Yosuke – is one thing, but actually seeing them – him – makes a world of difference.  He tries to pay attention to everyone at the table, but it’s hard not to focus on the way Yosuke is smiling back at him.  

On his last night in town Souji has a moment with Yosuke.  Just the two of them, sitting by the river.  Neither have any idea where the others have wandered off to, but Yosuke has a sneaking suspicion that them being “too busy” is completely on purpose – he makes a mental note to buy Chie an extra juicy piece of steak.  It’s odd, yet comfortable, because neither of them are speaking but there’s a content feeling between the two.  

Finally, as the sun begins to set, Yosuke says the only thing that matters, “Don’t go, aibou.”

And Souji smiles, his fingers laced between Yosuke’s.  His heart pitter patters at a whole new speed, Yosuke mentally giving himself a high five when he gets to deliver on that hell yeah kiss he had been thinking about before.