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Yosuke had never been one to trust proverbs. To a lot of people, they might be words of wisdom; but to him? No, thanks. He’s always been one to believe something is going to
happen when it actually is happening. He was already unfortunate enough living life as is, if he had to face life by trusting predictions that might never be true, who knew what could happen. Of course ordinary people were superstitious and believed in things like bad omens or bad luck, but did ordinary people go inside freaking TVs to fight lurking monsters? No, they didn’t.
Well, yeah, there was someone who fit that category. Chie was both superstitious and far from ordinary. She also loved nagging him about how “reckless he was most of the time” (as though she was one to talk, huh) and how “what goes around comes around”. But Yosuke never believed her. He did think that his actions would eventually have consequences and he was already dealing with some of them. He made up his mind about coming clean to Kanji. Yosuke certainly owed him an apology, and Yu had convinced him when he said “apologizing won’t make you ‘manly’, it will make you a better person’ with a smile that may or may have not made Yosuke’s heart skip a beat. But facing yourself is always harder than facing other fears, and Yosuke knew he couldn’t postpone this conversation forever.
As time continued on relentlessly, just like the case and their group that kept on growing, Yosuke thought he could seize the cultural festival as an opportunity to have a one-to-one conversation with Kanji. It wouldn’t be easy, apologizing for being a prick is embarrassing enough, but… he was more worried about how Yu Narukami had been the catalyst.
So it wasn’t “I'm sorry for being an asshole” anymore. Now that had changed to “I’m sorry for being an asshole and I think I might like boys too? So maybe I am a little bit gay?”
Yosuke knew he was a coward. He knew he couldn’t keep running away forever. He’d eventually need to face the consequences of his own actions. But if you ask him how that would happen, he would never even consider the beauty pageant as a scenario for… all that.
Chie had other opinions, though. She did say what goes around comes around.
And goddamn, it did.
Signing his teammates up for the beauty pageant seemed like this perfect gorgeous plan he could use to get back at the girls for the Mystery Food X experience. Yosuke’s stomach churns at the thought of…that. Yeah. he’ll blame it on the Mystery Food, it’s a way easier train of thought that “man, i really was a jerk to Kanji that time”. Honestly, ever since both the realizations that A) he had, indeed, been a jerk to Kanji and B) he may have wanted to be alone with Yu for reasons that may not be 100% platonic (who hasn’t thought about kissing their best bro at least once?) hit him like a truck, he hadn’t been able to look Kanji in the eye. He knew Kanji probably didn’t think about it anymore, he was a pretty chill and forgiving guy, but that’s what maybe heightened the guilt. Thing was, they hadn't gotten to be alone not even once, hence the conversation was still locked inside the depths of Yosuke’s regret.
How is the whole “signing up the girls for the beauty pageant” thing related to Kanji? Well, if you ask him, the girls will need to have time to prepare themselves and achieve the best makeup and breathtaking outfits, which includes going shopping to get all they needed and…
Oh god. Oh god.
Junes had a cosmetic section. They would be there. They would pester Yosuke on conversations about types of fabric and colors and accessories he definitely didn’t want to be part of.
That thought alone made him sigh. He hated shopping for clothes with all his passion. Shopping in general. He didn’t even have fancy shampoo and body wash like they did. He was actually really proud of his 3 in 1 shampoo conditioner and body wash, mind you. But it didn’t have that citrus-y sweetly intoxicating smell that emanated from Yu’s hair.
Okay this is not about Yu’s shampoo. Or about Yu at all.
Yosuke can already hear Chie yelling at him for what had been, in all honesty, a pretty nasty move. Yosuke could try as hard as he desires to convince himself he was doing this for a greater good. For a good cause. The good cause being “if I keep going along Teddie’s ideas and show that I am, indeed, attracted to girls and girls only, maybe they won’t realise I like a guy and would pretty much like to see him in makeup and cute clothes rather than anyone else”. Who could blame him for not having 100% pure intentions anyway! Cute girls need to show they are cute!
So when the doomed day rolled by…
“You better have a good explanation for this!” Chie exclaimed, confirming Yosuke’s suspicions that she definitely wasn’t pleased about it. He could also spot the same rage in her eyes whenever something unfair happened around her. Chie had always been one for justice.
“F-For what?” Yosuke replied, feigning surprise. Though he knew Chie definitely wouldn’t like the idea, he wasn’t anticipating for her to be this fired up.
“The beauty pageant! You wrote down our names without telling us, didn't you!?” Chie asked. She obviously was the one most shaken up by the whole thing. Yosuke couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit sorry for her. Though it was intended as a harmless prank and a desperate excuse for him to confirm that he was 100% straight, involving other people into his deal was probably unfair.
“ N-No! It wasn't me! Why do you automatically blame me!?” Yosuke desperately tried to defend himself. Had this happened a few months ago he would have totally been on the defensive but feeling no remorse whatsoever.
“I-I mean, if you don't wanna do it, you just say no, right? Like it was just a joke.” Yosuke added. It wasn’t like he was forcing them to take part in the pageant. He was just hoping that he’d get them to dress up, look cute and busy themselves for enough time for him to be able to settle scores.
“We wouldn't be so pissed if we could do that! With Kashiwagi planning this year's event, even those who got entered by other people can't back out!” Chie screamed, loud enough for everyone on the rooftop and other areas of the school to hear her. But that’s how Chie did things. And perhaps Yosuke was the tiniest bit jealous over her embracing her true self. But it wasn’t on the same level. Chie was loud, perhaps too energetic sometimes, but she was earnest and kind.
Yosuke hadn’t accepted anything. He had just been pretending to all along.
“Seriously? Must've been something in the fine print I overlooked…” Yosuke continued, showing genuine surprise this time. One thing was trying to test the waters with this half baked strategy that he knew wouldn’t take him anywhere, but… if this is how things were, had he gone too far this time?
No, no. Cute girls need to show they are cute. That’s why I did this. I just want them to be confident in their beauty. It’s for them. Yosuke desperately thought.
Until just a glance at Yu’s usually stoic face told Yosuke all he needed to know. Was that disappointment in his eyes? Yosuke didn’t know, but he couldn’t let thoughts about Yu disturb the plan. They spent God knows how much time bickering over the whole thing until it looked like Chie and the rest just resigned themselves to what was coming.
Yosuke knew this would have consequences. And, despite it all, he did feel bad for Chie and everyone else.
…Or maybe he didn’t feel that bad when the next day, he saw they had been signed up in the crossdressing pageant. The whole you better have an explanation for this repeated itself, and Yosuke had an unshakeable feeling of deja vú over again. Not just because the similarity of being forced to participate in the pageant against his will, but because this was just yet another exhibit of what goes around comes around. First, he hurts an innocent person while trying to maintain a facade he probably never needed to have in the first place, and now, he gets dragged into a crossdressing pageant alongside his crush, who looked far from upset at the idea. In fact, the slightest hint of a smile ghosted his lips when Kanji claimed that if they were going to do this, they would do this alright. It was a matter of pride. Kanji Tatsumi didn’t back out from a challenge, and Yu Narukami didn’t even think of it as a challenge. Yosuke was about to faint. To everybody, he was upset because his masculinity was being put to the test, because there was nothing manly about being a woman. To Yosuke himself, he was terrified. Yes, he had been looking for the chance to apologize to Kanji and spend more time with Yu to accept that he liked his best friend, but he wasn’t ready. Is someone really ready to face all this, though? Perhaps Kanji wasn’t ready either, and Yosuke just forced him to take a step that probably could scar him for life, more than he already was.
For a split second, Yosuke thought about it. He thought about this probably being Kanji’s revenge. He thought about the whole crossdressing pageant being this cruelly well-planned scheme to make him feel as ridiculed as he had made other people feel. He’d become a laughing stock forever. The whole school would see him being pathetic, his friends would, Yu would. And maybe, his partner would decide that such a faint-hearted morally corrupt individual wasn’t worthy of being his partner, just because he had run, run and run, until he had nowhere to hide anymore. Everyone would know that he had never had any right to boast about the truth, about righteousness, about justice-
“We’re going to take part in the pageant on one condition.” Yu’s calm voice drove him out of his spiraling. Wait, what the hell was that ?
“You leave the whole preppin’ to us.” Kanji continued. It felt as though the pair were completely in sync. Yosuke tried to ignore the pang of jealousy in his chest at that sense of complicity he felt between them.
That was wrong, he was Yu’s partner, he shou-
“And how exactly are you going to do that, you know nothing about all this!” Chie exclaimed, apparently frustrated by the turn things were taking. “You should let us do it!” She finished.
And when Yu turned his face towards Yosuke and stared intently at him, the intensity of their eye contact, the unspoken trust between them, the slightly mischivieous yet sweet smile on Yu’s face and Kanji’s big grin all merged into the push Yosuke had been waiting for all this time.
Kanji was right. If they were in for a fight, they would fight alright. If he was going to cling to manliness as an excuse, he would use it to his benefit. After all, backing out from a challenge because you’re too scared to go out of your comfort zone was freaking pathetic and the whole opposite of manly, right?
“No. I have already thought of a stylist. Right, partner?” Yosuke turned to face Yu and extended a hand towards him. The
spark
of adrenalin, the rush of novelty and the opportunity created to him by Kanji opened a whole new path. The path to the truth; because if he really wanted to uncover the truth of the case, he’d have to start by being honest with himself. He’d thank Kanji later, he’d worry later. Yu took his hand in a firm handshake that let Yosuke feel how
soft
his hands were and how nicely they smelled. He’d probably be expecting calluses and rough skin from handling the sword all the time, but that’s how Yu was. Passionate, strong, delicate, unbreakable.
“Yeah, I got your back, partner.” And with his reply, Yosuke sealed the deal.
Bring it on.
The paper bags from the Junes beauty section feel like a heavy weight in more ways than one. Yosuke’s been clutching the pink rope handle for who knows how much, but with such bruising force he’d probably be furious at himself later. He just can’t enter a beauty pageant with ugly bruises on his hands, can he? And after he got over the torturous exposure to a part of Junes he’d always sworn he wouldn’t set foot on, Yosuke told himself he’d definitely see this through the end. It wasn’t what he’d call a pleasant experience, but it was always far from disgusting and he probably enjoyed it more than he should have. Since he got to know his partner, Yosuke realized that the amount of different and new experiences he could get to live would always be surprising. Hell, he didn’t imagine there were so many different products meant to use basically the same way, but Yu seemed to know. He always knew. Yu Narukami always had an answer to everything, and something in how he spoke and just how confident he looked made Yosuke believe that yes, baby pink was definitely his color.
They probably bought more than they should have, but Yosuke’s Son-of-the-boss privileges and Yu’s enthusiasm and passion was a dangerous combination that resulted in them… getting a tad carried away. As they made their way through the corridors towards the empty classroom Kashiwagi had called “their dressing room”, Yosuke considered his previous choices. Did he regret signing everyone up? Perhaps he did it, but it was a beauty pageant after all; if he thought they didn’t stand a chance Yosuke wouldn’t have signed anyone up, because despite Yosuke clearly having an ulterior motive, he couldn’t deny they were cute. Did he regret it after Chie pulled the same trick on him, Kanji and Yu?
He did. At the beginning. But somewhere along the way, after Yu declared that they were in this together, that partners always had each other’s backs, regret had started to fade and turn into an unknowingly pleasant feeling and the perfect opportunity he needed to be honest about his feelings. He’d never say no to spending more time with Yu, though the unexpected closeness and intimacy that all of this meant in their… relationship, made Yosuke's cheeks pinker than what any blush could cover up.
When did he start getting interested in makeup? Yosuke didn’t know. He probably never would have if Yu Narukami hadn’t been in the mix. Yosuke spent all his life, and more specifically this last year constantly trying to let everyone know how much of a cool guy he was; and in all honesty, he’d never before associated cool guys with makeup or cute clothes or anything of the sort, but then things happened.
Yu Narukami happened. Kanji openly liking sewing and admitting to liking guys happened. Chie and Yukiko getting together happened. And honesty be damned, he wished he had been able to be in the same fitting room as Yu to check him out in all different outfits. I mean, who could blame him for feeling… things when imagining his crush on revealing clothes. Everyone fantasized with their crush in all different kind of clothes, right? So it wasn’t weird for him to imagine Yu in short skirts, thigh highs and maybe that blue lace underwear they had seen on the lingerie sectio-
Yeah. Right. Focus. He was going to see Yu get dressed up. He was going to get dressed up with Yu. No lingerie or whatever -when did he start thinking about that?!- but oh my god. It hadn’t occurred to Yosuke that they’d change in the same room?!
At the same time Yosuke was facing his inner turmoil trying to calm his beating heart and not-time-appropriate thoughts, Yu opened the door without hesitation and led Yosuke to place the bags on the floor. He placed his own share of bags next to the ones Yosuke had been carrying before and then instructed his partner to take a seat and set a few different tones of nail polish, supposedly different colors, but to Yosuke they looked the same, he wasn’t the observant type. ̶N̶o̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶i̶n̶g̶e̶r̶i̶e̶ ̶a̶c̶c̶i̶d̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶n̶’̶t̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶n̶t̶.̶ ̶
“Dude, they all look the same to me.” Yosuke declared, closely inspecting the cute little bottles that Yu had carefully chosen.
“They are not, you just have to look closer.” Yu said, and then he grabbed Yosuke’s hand as delicately as he could. Yosuke averted his eyes and stared at the floor; they had gone through hell and back together and now he was getting flustered over freaking nail polish?!
Not like he could help it though… no matter how thrilling fighting shoulder by shoulder with his partner, this kind of intimacy felt gentle and welcoming. He’d had to thank Kanji for setting the stage later, but if Kanji himself heard him right now he’d probably just say just tell him, senpai! now’s not the time to be worryin’ bout me!
“Yeah, baby pink is definitely your color” And though Yosuke wasn’t directly staring, he swore he could see Yu smiling, and then he felt the need to stare back.
“Care to entrust your hands to me, partner? You did say I’m good at hand stuff” Yu said, and his mouth curved into something akin to a mix between a smirk and a tender smile.
“I’ll always trust you, partner.” He said back. He then hesitantly extended his hand to Yu. What he wasn’t expecting, though, was for Yu to grab his hand and bring it to the collar of his uniform.
Oh god.
“There’s something we should do first.” Yu said, his hold on Yosuke’s hand firm, yet delicate. Again with his damn soft slender fingers. How does this bastard make them look and feel so good?!
“Uhhhhh I don’t think I follow? Are you keeping a secret stash under your shirt?” Yosuke asked, trying to lighten up the mood.
“Oh, I am keeping a secret under my shirt. That’s why I have to take it off.” What?
“D-dude?” Yosuke asked, he didn’t know where
this
was heading.
“Kidding, kidding. But I do need to take my clothes off, and so do you. We don’t want Kashiwagi to yell at us for wasting our time instead of getting changed, right?”
Huh.
“Y-yeah, right… okay i’ll be over there then, just don’t you dare take a peek until I’m done, okay?” Yosuke let go bashfully. He then rushed to the furthest away corner of the classroom with the bag containing his clothes Yu had chosen for him. Honestly, he didn’t even know why a school girl uniform of all things, nor did he get the appeal of the hair accessory. But Yu spent a lot of time with Nanako and had gone shopping for hair accessories with her before, so it must be something he himself likes. Yosuke smiled warmly at that thought. The ever cool, charming and perfect Yu Narukami had a soft spot for cute hair accessories. And he wanted to see Yosuke in one of those.
Yosuke did a poor job putting on his clothes and applied some red lipstick messily on his lips. He knew he looked ridiculous. No matter how Yu may like these clothes or may think he’d look cute, there’s no way he could. He didn’t even have a mirror to stare properly at himself, goddammit. And Kashiwagi dared call this a dressing room?!
Well, if he hadn’t been able to do much, Yu’s attempt at getting dressed would have wound up being an equally disheveled mess… right?
Yosuke stood silent for a few seconds, waiting for Yu to make the first move. No peeking, no peeking.
“I’m done, care to tell me how I look?” He then heard Yu ask, which Yosuke assumed was his cue to turn around.
And what greeted his eyes was… definitely something. While probably no one would call what Yu’s current appearance and getup pretty, Yosuke would. Because…
“ Pretty ” Oh crap he said that out loud!
“Really? You flatter me, partner.” Yu chuckled. And goddam how the hell had this dude manage to apply blush, eyeshadow and freaking eyeliner this flawlessly? Why is he good at everything? Why could he manage to look amazingly stunning even in a situation like this?
Compared to him, Yosuke’s smeared lipstick and mismatched clothes looked awful. This had indeed been a terrible idea. He didn’t even know what to say, he had only gotten to place the hair accessory on a tiny ponytail and that was the only thing that looked half decent.
“You don’t look half bad yourself” Came Yu’s reply. His voice was stable, but it was more akin to a whisper, comforting words to lift his spirits. Yu always did, but he always knew how to hide something new and unknown in his actions. Yosuke was so busy pitying himself he missed the seductiveness in Yu’s voice and movements until they were too close. With his eyes downcast, Yosuke didn’t dare speak. And even if he did, his words were just stuck in his throat, where they would probably die forever. His pathetic attempt at being honest was just like the ugly mess he made in his smeared lipstick.
There was no way something messed up beyond repair would look beautiful.
“You could have done a better job with the makeup, though” Yu breathed. Literally. They were so close now Yosuke could feel Yu’s words. So he then looked up and understood the hidden question in Yu’s eyes:
Can I help you fix your ruined makeup?
And nodded the fastest he’d ever done so in his life. Out of all the scenarios he’d made up in his mind about his first kiss, none of them involved choppily applied lipstick, school girl costumes and a crossdressing pageant. But they did include Yu, and that was everything he needed.
The next few seconds happened in a blur. Yu placed his fingers on Yosuke’s lips, coating his finger in the deep red shade he had chosen for his partner, and then his lips to finish smearing the lipstick. They would need to redo it anyway, and Yu hadn’t had his lipstick on yet, the bastard. But god, Yosuke didn’t know ruin could be this beautiful. Their lips first tentatively touched and started moving painfully slowly. Yu wrapped his hands around Yosuke’s waist, pulling his wrinkled shirt together in place, while Yosuke carefully placed his hands on Yu’s shoulders, careful not to mess the braided hair of Yu’s wig.
The kiss probably lasted a few seconds, but it was passionate and intoxicating enough for both of the boys lips to turn red (not only from the lipstick) and swollen. What started with just a short peck was then followed by another, and another, and Yosuke was the happiest he’d ever been. Kissing Yu felt surprisingly natural, and both of them were terribly inexperienced. Yosuke smiled into the kiss knowing that, for once, Yu Narukami was as clumsy and inexperienced as he was. This was a new experience that would be followed by way more of those, because they were partners through thick and thin. Before Yu could deepen the kiss (ever the casanova, this bastard) Yosuke pulled away briefly, deciding the learning curve ought to be respected.
This was the first time he had ever been interested in studying, hell, Yu should be proud!
“Dude, you totally messed up my makeup. You owe me a reward. Let’s go to Junes and you’ll buy me whatever I want, okay?” Yosuke said with a mix between a sickeningly sweet smile and a knowing smirk on his face.
“Why, though? I already bought what you were looking at so intently at Junes before.” Yu replied, mimicking Yosuke’s smirk tenfold.
Hold on…
“You bought what?!”