#i like souyo but I realized that I don’t draw them that much..

[hana-mural]

souyo yuri

[personuhh]

Ok trying again: So a (self-indulgent) headcanon about Yu and Yosuke in the future is that they're both detectives (since they're already "partners") and I feel like Yosuke-through customer service-is good with handling people and might be good at getting them to talk as either like undercover or an informant. Both he and Yu could be motivated by the case they solved and Yu might draw inspiration from Dojima, and they wouldn't be a part of Mitsuru's group /directly/ but could be in contact

I could definitely see that as an AU, and out of all of the Persona casts P4 is most well-suited to detective AUs & even future AUs like this, I just don’t like the idea of Yosuke being a detective (it’s not that I don’t think he’d be good at it, I just personally don’t like it for him). I’ve actually written a sizeable (now abandoned) fic where Yu becomes Dojima’s partner and really struggles with the realization that he’s become too much like his uncle, and has to work against those negative traits he picked up, but I feel like it makes for a nice arc and delves into his issues with attachment and trying to change himself for others, wheras I feel like Yosuke would mostly just be along for the ride. I’m not a fan of souyo stuff where Yosuke’s still only really defined as Yu’s partner and continues to take a backseat role, because I don’t think their relationship is entirely healthy even if both of them believe it’s fine. There’s an underlying issue present especially (but not exclusively) in the P4 spinoffs where Yosuke’s really insecure and needy with his relationship with Yu. I just think that he needs to go do his own thing and do some self discovery instead of tagging along for once... Go get u some hobbies, boy.

[skye-maxwell]

Mostly You

Persona 4 | Souyo | Third year, pre-relationship | Rated F for Fluff

Happy birthday, @livefreeordie13! You are my friend, and I like you a lot! \o/

For prompt #6: “I think about you all the time.”

---

It was Yosuke’s turn to call him today, so Souji sat on the floor of his bedroom, patiently folding paper cranes while he waited. 

They had spoken to each other on the phone nearly every day since Souji had left Inaba, and Souji was grateful that Yosuke always seemed eager to hear from him. Even if it was just a quick call after school on his way to Junes, or while he was drifting off to sleep after a long day—Yosuke made time for Souji, and that meant the world to him.

The ringtone Souji had specifically assigned to Yosuke started playing, and Souji smiled, like he always did. It was a song Yosuke had shared with him to cheer him up when things had been at their worst, and now Souji knew every word and every note of the track. 

“Hey, Yosuke,” Souji greeted warmly, putting his phone on speaker and setting it on his desk so he could keep folding. 

“Hey, Partner!” Yosuke said happily, and Souji smiled again. He would never get tired of that enthusiasm. “What are you up to?” 

“Cranes.”

“Haha, again? Are you trying to set a world record for ‘most paper cranes folded’ or something?” 

“No, but now that you say that, it sounds pretty good. I think that’ll be my goal now.” 

Instead of dismissing the joke like Souji expected him to, Yosuke said, “Well, if anyone can do it, it’s you. I believe in you, Partner!” 

“Thank you,” Souji said dumbly, becoming flustered for a moment before he could think of a better reply. “If I do break the record, you’ll be the first one I invite to the party.”

“The party?” 

“Yeah, to celebrate my success.” 

“Oh man, a party thrown by you? I can see it now. It’s gonna be a total rager,” Yosuke laughed.   

“Of course. It’ll be the most enraged of ragers.”

“That doesn’t even make sense!” 

“Honestly, it would probably just end up being you and me sitting in a room drinking something like, not even alcoholic, and we would try to clink our glasses together and probably spill lemonade everywhere—”

“When did it turn into lemonade?”

“—and then you’d be all ‘Congrats, Partner,’ and yeah, that would probably be it.” 

Souji expected Yosuke to laugh at the image he had created, or to call it lame and throw out ideas for an actual rager… 

“I mean, as long as I’m there with you, I’m down for whatever.” 

Souji dropped his paper crane. 

Why? Souji mentally asked Yosuke, picking his crane back up off the floor. Why must you say such cute things?

Not about to say anything remotely like that out loud, Souji asked, “So what are you doing right now?”

Not seeming to notice the abrupt change of subject, Yosuke answered, “I’m doing homework! Kind of.” 

“Are you just doodling in the margins?” 

“Not just the margins, Partner—the whole paper! Because, you know, there’s no notes on the page…” 

Souji sighed. “Do I need to hang up so you can get your homework done?”

“No! No no no! Please don’t hang up! I’ll actually do it later, I promise!”

“Calm down, I’m not actually gonna hang up on you.” 

“Okay, good.”

“That does remind me, though… Lately I’ve been daydreaming in class a lot. Sometimes I’ll just completely space out, and by the time I space back in, I realize I haven’t been paying attention for an entire lecture.” 

“For real? Did my bad habits rub off on you?”

“Why do you sound like that? What are you doing now?”

“Finished drawing. Balancing a pencil on my nose. Crap! I dropped it. Anyways, you’re supposed to be the good student between the two of us, man! We can’t both be slacking off!” 

“Sorry, Yosuke.”

Before Souji could say anything else, Yosuke suddenly asked, “What do you think about?” 

“Hm?”

“When you’re daydreaming all that time—what are you thinking about?”

“Well… I think about last year a lot, and how I wish I was still there with everyone, and I think about recipes I want to make, and movies I want to see, and what I want to do after high school, and… you. Mostly you, actually,” Souji accidentally admitted. 

“Me? What about me?” 

Now that Souji had let the cat peek its head out of the bag, he wasn’t entirely sure he would be able to keep the rest of it in the bag for much longer. 

“I think about all the crazy and terrible and amazing times we had together last year, and how I wish was still there with you. I think about recipes I want to make for you to try, and the faces you’ll make when you’re eating them. I think about movies I want to see, whether or not you would like them, the discussions we would have after we watched them together… I think about how badly I want to do whatever it takes to have more of you in my life after I finish this stupid third year… Yeah, all the time. I think about you all the time.”

“Partner, that’s… um, unexpected. I’m sure someone like you has better things to think about than me.”

Souji shook his head. “No. I don’t. Not more important than you, no.” 

“You’re exaggerating, right? To make me feel good?” 

“I’m not. Does it make you feel good?”

“Well, yeah, sure it does. Being on someone’s mind makes me feel special, y’know? Especially your mind.”

“You seem surprised, Yosuke. You really don’t have any idea how important you are to me, do you?” 

“I guess not? I don't know, it’s just… hard to believe. Do you know why I always make sure we talk to each other like this? I mean, obviously I don’t want you to be lonely, and I want to make sure you’re doing okay, but also like, I just don’t want you to forget me.”

Souji scoffed, immediately covering his mouth afterwards because he definitely hadn’t meant to do that, even if what Yosuke had said was completely ludicrous. 

Forget you? With the amount of running around you do in my mind, how on earth could I possibly forget you? 

Souji quickly tried to find a way to convey that sentiment to Yosuke in a less creepy way. 

“The only way I could ever forget you is if I had a major head injury, like blunt force trauma, and I forgot everything… or, if I, you know, died.” 

“Partner! Don’t say shit like that!” 

“My problem isn’t forgetting you; my problem is remembering you too much. Seriously, it’s constant. But actually, yeah, no, I don’t want to think of you any less, not really…”

“Heh, is this what it feels like to be flattered? You’re really something else, Partner. Oh hey, I’ve gotta go; my mom’s calling me for dinner.”

“Okay,” Souji sighed, feeling like he had sort of just poured his heart out (in a subtle yet super vulnerable and embarrassing way?), and yet the conversation had not come anywhere close to a satisfying resolution. “Tell her I said hi.” 

“Will do! She’ll be thrilled, haha. She’s actually trying out one of the recipes you left her, so I’ll let you know how it goes. Don’t worry though; it’s definitely not gonna be as good as when you make it.” 

Souji rediscovered his smile, happy that Yosuke would be thinking about him after he hung up—comparing his mother’s cooking against Souji’s own while he ate, remembering the times Souji had made the dish for him, coming up with an evaluation to share with Souji after the meal was done… 

“Your loyalty is appreciated.” 

“All right, Partner, thanks for talking to me.”

“Yosuke? I’m sorry if anything I said was too weird.” 

“All you ever say is weird stuff, man. I’m used to it.” 

“Pfft, okay, bye.” 

“Talk to you later!” 

Yosuke hung up, and Souji finished off the crane he was working on, setting the red paper bird on his desk in a row with several other red cranes. He took a photo and sent it off to Yosuke with the caption: “It’s like your shirt.” 

Satisfied with that, Souji stood up so he could go make his own dinner, but a text from Yosuke stopped him in his tracks. 

Instead of a reply about his picture, he opened up an unexpected picture from Yosuke. 

It was of his notebook, the one he had been doodling in at the beginning of their conversation. 

The first thing that caught his eye was a big-headed (chibi?) doodle of himself (the distinct bowl cut was a dead giveaway) in the middle of the page, holding his sword and wearing his TV World glasses. He also appeared to be on fire? Or maybe that was a representation of Persona power? 

Whatever it was, it was adorable.

Souji’s gaze flitted across the full page, his breaths growing more shallow as he took it all in: Izanagi and Jiraiya doing cool(?) action poses next to each other, a bento box that looked very much like the ones Souji used to prepare for Yosuke every day, a half-melted snowman wearing Souji’s grey scarf and Nanako’s Loveline hat, a Mega Beef Bowl from Aiya’s and stick figure versions of all their friends drowning in it… 

It took Souji a minute to realize it, but every single doodle across the page was somehow related to himself, and the memories he and Yosuke shared together. 

In the bottom corner of the page, one doodle was squeezed in that must have been the last one Yosuke drew. It was the two of them standing side-by-side in front of a house (but it didn’t look like any house that Souji recognized?) with their arms around each other’s shoulders. They were wearing big happy faces, and one of Yosuke’s arms was in the air, as if he was waving. 

The circular sun with squiggly rays coming out of it was in the sky above them, smiling and wearing sunglasses, ironically. There was a thing in front of the house that Souji didn’t recognize at first until he saw the bike next to it; it was a half-pipe. 

Then Souji squinted at another part of the doodle and zoomed in on the image, not quite believing his eyes.

In the front window of the house, there was a cat peeking through, big and fluffy just like Souji liked. 

Was that supposed to be… their house? 

“No way,” Souji whispered to himself.

Then he scrolled down to the caption and completely lost his breath. 

“I think of you too.” 

And with that, Souji’s fate was sealed—he was going to be thinking about Yosuke—his Partner who he was in love with (who thought about him too!)—nonstop for the rest of his life. 

[angevon]

Souyo Nov 2017 Writing Challenge (prompt list)

Day 24: Party/Festival

Links

Souji - AO3, ffnet

Yu - DW, Pillowfort, Tumblr (read it below)

Heh, yes, that’s right, 2017... this is over a year late now... But this is a cute one and hopefully worth the wait. It’s an AU of the Culture Festival Event. Instead of a group date, there’s a kissing booth!

[ko-fi]

It was the first day of Yasogami High's Culture Festival. Yosuke trudged up the stairs to the second floor. He didn't want to take part in some stupid group date cafe, and he was pretty sure no one else did either. Why'd everyone in class vote for that?

At the top of the stairs, though, he stopped and stared, because an unbelievably long queue of fellow students and other festival-goers was lined up outside his classroom. There was Saki-senpai's little brother, and Hanako Ohtani, and that girl who liked being on the roof, and that one old lady in her mourning garb, and...

Yosuke was speechless for a long moment. "W-wait," he finally said. "Are you all here for the group date cafe?"

"What group date cafe?" asked Kou, who was standing in the line. "That doesn't sound like fun at all."

"We're not doing a group date thing," Chie said. She wasn't in line. By the big 'Ask me anything!' sticker on her blouse, she was part of the festival staff, helping visitors find their way around the school. "Come on, Yosuke, you were there when we made the decision in class." She rolled her eyes. "Of course you weren't listening."

"I don't remember," Yosuke admitted. "But I can't say I'm all that disappointed we aren't doing that, even if it was my idea and all."

Kou laughed. "That sounds like one of your ideas."

Yosuke made a face, then asked, "So what are we doing? This hall is more happening than Junes on a sales day."

"Our class is doing a kissing booth, you dork," said Chie.

"What, really?" Yosuke blinked in surprise. Then he narrowed his eyes at Kou. "Wait, you wanna kiss someone other than—oof!"

Kou nudged him hard in the ribs. "Ahaha, no," he said, eyeing Chie with a vaguely panicked expression. "But no one can resist the guy they got at the booth."

"'Guy'?" Yosuke's expression flattened. "It's not Teddie, is it? I mean, he's always charming people at the store."

"Guess again," said Chie.

"It can't be our class rep. I mean, he's got the glasses going for him, but that's not a wide enough appeal."

"One more try."

Yosuke's crossed his arms and thought. Anyone watching him could pinpoint the exact moment the truth dawned on him. "N-no way," he stuttered. "Yu?!"

Chie's toothy grin told him he was right on the money.

"Why don't you get in line, too?" Kou said. "There's room for one more. Or five," he added, as a few more students lined up behind him.

"I don't want to kiss Yu!"

Chie tilted her head. "Well... you're in the minority here."

Bewildered, Yosuke glanced down the long line once more. Some of the students weren't even from Yasogami. Wait, was that a cat!?

"Huh," he said.

He thought of how he'd always wanted his first kiss to be something special under the moonlight. His tentative plan to fake a yawn and stretch his arm out and lazily put it around his girlfriend's shoulders, and then he'd move in and they'd gaze into each others' eyes and...

A kissing booth wasn't romantic at all. Yosuke wondered how many people were going to ruin their first kiss with Yu like this. A lot, by the looks of it. Heck, even Nanako-chan was in line—she waved at him when she noticed him looking—but she was just a little kid so it didn't mean anything.

"You wanna be the only guy who hasn't kissed Yu?" Kou asked.

Yosuke scowled. "Come on, don't make it weird."

"I, for one, am getting a kiss," Kou said.

The line moved then, and Kou moved with it, putting him inside the classroom. Yosuke stared after him, still frowning.

He remembered all the times Yu had listened to him without judgement. How he'd told off those annoying girls at Junes on his behalf, and how he'd always looked after him in the TV World. And when he thought about it, well, Yu did have a really cute smile.

They were best friends, and the truth was that Yu was important to him.

Avoiding everyone's eyes, Yosuke got in line. He could feel Chie sneering at him, but fortunately, she was soon distracted by a student asking for directions to a different event.

Despite its length, the line moved quickly, and soon enough he was inside the classroom, where the line looped around a few desks. He could see the kissing booth situated at the far end, next to the chalkboard. A thick red curtain hung around the front of the booth to allow some privacy. Yosuke appreciated that. He knew he wouldn't want an audience.

One by one, like a production line, people went behind the curtain to get their kiss and left with wistful smiles on their faces. It couldn't be much of a kiss, Yosuke figured, since it happened so quickly. It'd just be in and out. No need to get all nervous about this. Heck, Yu'd probably just kiss his cheek and that'd be it.

Yeah, there's nothing to worry about, Yosuke thought as the line continued to move. It was just a kiss from Yu. His best friend in the whole world. Besides, he was just one person in this big crowd. No one could judge him for being here. He could just point out that they were in line too. And he knew Yu. Yu wouldn't think anything—

"Next?" Yu's voice came from behind the curtain.

Startled, Yosuke glanced around before realizing 1) that he was next and 2) that Yu had called "Next" for him more than once.

With the combined strength of all the glares of everyone in line behind him hitting him full force, Yosuke couldn't hesitate any longer. He hustled around the curtain. Standing there resting his arms on the booth's counter and looking totally relaxed, was Yu.

Totally relaxed only for a second, anyway, because he was startled most ungracefully when he saw Yosuke approach. Yosuke wondered if he was okay, but within seconds Yu had composed himself. "Yosuke," he said, with a somewhat glassy smile as if he hadn't nearly just fallen over. "I didn't expect to see you."

Yosuke waved a hand. "Uh, w-well, it was Chie's idea to come here," he claimed. "And I gotta support our class, you know?"

"Oh," Yu said. "Of course. Umm, okay, then... come closer."

Yosuke nodded, determined to get this over with and move on. He stepped closer and closed his eyes and waited.

Nothing happened.

He opened his eyes. Yu was simply looking at him. Spacing out, maybe? No, it wasn't exactly looking, more like gazing at him in a way that reminded him of a puppy.

"Yu?" Yosuke asked.

Yu blinked back to himself. "Oh. Sorry. Umm, here."

He leaned over the booth's counter and gently set one hand behind Yosuke's head, pulling him a little closer. With the other hand he cupped Yosuke's face. Despite himself, Yosuke's heart began to beat faster. This was closer than he'd ever been to his best friend. His cologne was strong, maybe he'd put it on extra thick today. As for himself, Yosuke hoped he didn't smell as nervous as he suddenly felt.

He closed his eyes, because this would be too embarrassing to watch. Yu's presence drew closer. Warm breath played over his face, building anticipation, and then...

Yu was kissing him. It really was just lips on lips, a simple kiss. Yosuke sighed softly and prepared to draw back as the kiss ended.

Except it didn't end. Yu's soft lips lingered. Then his tongue darted over Yosuke's lips. Confused, Yosuke opened his mouth, and Yu apparently took this as a sign.

The kiss deepened.

Yosuke's alarmed sound was cut short by the realization that this felt good. Yu's hand, steadying the back of his head, was gentle as it threaded fingers into his hair. Yu murmured softly into his mouth, and Yosuke found himself murmuring back. He tasted faintly of mint.

When they finally parted, all Yosuke could do was stare and lick his lips. Yu was staring back at him, too, an odd look on his face that Yosuke didn't recognize.

Yu broke the gaze first. "You should probably go," he said.

"H-huh..." Yosuke managed. Slowly, he remembered where he was. At the Culture Festival, right. He was holding up the line. Other people wanted to kiss Yu, too.

And with a kiss like that, he couldn't blame them.

"R-right," he said. "Uh..."

Yu's eyes were already looking past him, as if he could see around the curtain to the next person in line.

Yosuke stepped away, unsure of what he was feeling. On his way out of the classroom, he didn't notice how the next person in line kept checking his watch.

In a daze, he wandered around the Culture Festival, but didn't find anything he wanted to do. After passing a takoyaki stand, he thought of eating, but he wasn't hungry. The taste of mint was still there in his mouth, making him think of how it'd got there, how it had been passed to him by Yu's tongue. He didn't want to wash it away just yet.

Eventually he ended up on the roof, where some of the Investigation Team were gathered: Rise, Yukiko, Kanji, and Naoto. Chie was absent, probably still helping out somewhere.

Rise sent him a playful look as he sat down to join them. "Soooooooo," she trilled. "How was it, Yosuke-senpai? Don't deny it, Chie-senpai told me you went for it."

Yosuke crossed his arms and tried to shrug nonchalantly.

"Yeah," Rise agreed with a nod. "I wish it'd been more than just a peck. Senpai's lips felt like they could do so much more."

"I must admit I'm a little disappointed too," Yukiko said.

"Wait," Yosuke said. "It wasn't just a..."

"Still," Rise said, "I thought you wouldn't go for it, Yosuke-senpai. Way to go! You've matured so much since I've known you. Don't worry, a tiny peck like that isn't weird."

A... peck?

"It wasn't..." Yosuke shook his head and caught Kanji's eyes. "Wait, did you do it too? The kissing booth?"

"Uh, yeah?" Kanji replied. "Senpai's the man. He taught me a lot, y'know. 'Course I gotta support him."

"Support him with your lips?" Yosuke's voice grew louder as he began to panic. "Wh-what kind of kiss was it?!"

Kanji's brow knit together. "Dunno what you mean. Was just a peck."

"Just a... Naoto, did you do it?"

"But of course," Naoto replied. "I can't deny I was curious."

"But what was it like!"

"I could describe it as no more than a peck. It was on my cheek, for the record."

"A peck? A peck?" Yosuke stood up suddenly, and the world reeled around him, partly from his panic and confusion, and partly from the blood rushing from his head.

"Yosuke-senpai?" Rise asked. "It's all right. We all kissed Senpai, or were kissed by him anyway. So we're all in the same place. Oh, but I wonder... does that mean we indirectly kissed everyone else too?"

Yosuke opened and closed his mouth, and then sat back down. He palmed his forehead and splayed his fingers through his hair, trying to calm down. The revelation that Yu had given him and only him much more than a peck was too much for him to process.

"Nah," said Kanji. "Senpai had a whole jug of mouthwash back there. He washed out real good every time."

"That much mouthwash can't be good for him," Naoto remarked. "But I suppose he'll be fine if it's just for the festival."

Yosuke nibbled his lower lip. So that's why the minty taste. It had faded from his tongue by now, and he couldn't help but feel disappointed about that. Maybe... he could visit the booth again later?

The door to the rooftop opened and, to everyone's surprise, Yu joined them.

"Hi," he said, breathlessly. It had to be breathlessly, Yosuke figured, after all that kissing. But then, if he'd only given everyone a peck of a kiss, he wouldn't need much breath for that. "They finally let me have a break."

"You..." Yosuke began.

Yu smiled at him, then addressed the rest of the group. "How's the festival?" He sat down between Yosuke and Rise.

"The haunted house wasn't scary," Yukiko said. "This boy kept following me around inside it. It was very uncomfortable."

"For him, you mean?" Rise said.

Yukiko's eyes glinted in the sunlight.

The group continued to talk about the festival, but Yosuke wasn't listening. The kissing booth wasn't supposed to mean anything. It was just a stupid school event, but now, now...

Now Yu was right next to him and Yosuke didn't know what to think. He found himself watching his mouth. His lips were kind of red, probably from kissing people all day. Had it really been just Yosuke, or were there others he'd kissed so deeply? Which of these scenarios was he more okay with?

Yu was his best friend, and best friends didn't kiss with tongue, right?

At some point during the conversation, Yu wet his lips with his tongue, and Yosuke found himself mimicking the action.

All of a sudden—or so it seemed to Yosuke—Rise was getting up, followed by the other underclassmen. "We gotta get back to our class's booth," Rise said with a dramatic sigh. "We're just doing a bake sale. It's so boring."

"I dunno, the cupcakes are hella cute," Kanji said. "You oughta come by and get one for Nanako-chan, Senpai."

"I will," Yu promised.

"I'll come with you and get one for Chie," Yukiko said.

"See you later, Senpai~~"

In the middle of his crisis, Yosuke now found himself alone with Yu. He wasn't anywhere near ready for that.

Though Yu didn't seem to be either. He was fidgeting with his fingers in his lap. The awkward silence lasted for some time. Finally, Yu spoke. "Yosuke? You've been awfully quiet."

"Why?" Yosuke blurted out. "Why was my kiss different?"

Yu's eyes widened. "It wasn't—" he began, but he saw the look on Yosuke's face and stopped attempting to deny it. His eyes darted away, and then back again. Finally, he mumbled, "...Why do you think?"

Yosuke opened and closed his mouth. "Me?"

Yu didn't answer.

"Me?" he repeated. "Of all those people... you really wanted to kiss me?"

Yu was blushing. Yosuke was pretty sure he'd never seen this before. It was flattering.

"That was my first kiss," Yosuke told him.

"It wasn't mine," Yu said.

"Well, yeah! You were kissing people all day!"

Yosuke laughed, and soon Yu was laughing too. The tension between them lessened into something more comfortable.

"I couldn't help it," Yu said. "I didn't want to kiss any of them, not really, but everyone had voted for me to man the booth, so... I didn't have a choice. And then you were there, and... I wanted something more."

"After the kiss you gave me, I kinda want something more too," Yosuke admitted.

Yu stared at him. "Really?"

Blushing, Yosuke set his hand conspicuously between them. Yu watched it, and like a wary feline, he slowly brought his own hand closer. Yosuke didn't pull his hand away. Finally Yu placed his hand on top, and Yosuke turned his hand so they were holding hands.

Yu's goofy smile after that was its own reward.

"You were my first kiss," Yosuke said. "And..."

"And?" Yu prompted.

"I think," Yosuke said, "I want you to be my second kiss, too."

As they closed the distance, Yosuke could only think: and third, and fourth, and fifth, and...