Yosuke's POV:
His bedroom floor is hard, but the mats he got out soothe my back a little more.
The sleeping bags are thin and worn out, but I didn't wanna be a picky guest and complain.
He sleeps in his futon just above me, and Shin's mat is beside mine. God... Being so close to Shin... It pisses me off.
Yu is flat out, and he's curled himself up into a ball beneath his blanket, facing the wall.
I so badly want to be there with him. Holding him; making him feel safe.
But I can't right now.
Not with Shin here, and definitely not when he feels like this.
I noticed earlier that when I tried to hold his hand beneath the table, he flinched and tensed up.
I don't ever want to make him feel uncomfortable around me.
I want to lie with him. I want to tell him that nobody will hurt him when I'm there. But how can I promise that? I don't even know of that's true myself.
I want to protect him with everything I have, but I know that it's not enough. It'll never be enough.
"God, can you sleep already?" Shin cranes his neck toward me.
"I'm sorry," I sigh. I'm sitting up on my mat, tying my knees together with my hands.
"We have to be awake soon," he reminds me. "Let him rest."
He's right. Of course he's right.
He only wants what's best for Yu.
But so do I.
So why are our ways of expressing that so different?
~~~
"Yosuke," Yu whispers, nudging me awake.
"What?" I groan.
He taps the empty space beside him in his futon with a tired smile.
"I can't," I say, quietly, motioning over to Shin.
"I don't care about that," he says, plainly. "Do you?"
I hesitate for a moment.
I see the smirk on his face gradually widen as I make my way to his side.
"I knew you'd want to," he says.
"Well, I wouldn't want you to be cold," I pout.
He chuckles a little, and carasses my cheek.
"Would you do something for me?" He asks in a low tone.
"Anything," I reply.
"Keep me safe, yeah?"
"...What do you mean?"
"Please, just... take care of me."
"I always will, partner."
"No," he shakes his head. "I... don't want to be with Shin."
My eyes widen. "Huh?"
"I'm scared," he whispers.
"Yu, hey," I squeeze his hand. "He won't do anything to you. Not when I'm here."
"My hero," he sighs with a small smile.
He lets out a breath, and gently presses his lips against mine, feeling as his pain washes away.
~~~
But it was only a dream. Of course.
YOU ARE READING
With You (Souyo)
Fanfiction(Prolly still has a shitton of typos, feel free to point them out) Yosuke has never really been great at expressing how he feels. Certainly not to his partner, at least. He'd been... thinking about Yu differently since he left. And now that he's com...
