Chapter Text
Tomoko shut the front door behind her and collapsed onto the couch. It had been a long, stressful day and all she wanted was a few hours in a dark, quiet room. She sighed deeply and closed her eyes.
Josuke's grunge station was so loud she could feel the angst through the ceiling. She shook her head, trying her best not to be too annoyed about it. She'd been a teen too, not long ago. But damn, it was loud.
She climbed the stairs and knocked on her son's bedroom door. "Hey kiddo, could you turn that down a little?"
Nothing. She was so not in the mood to deal with rebellious bullshit. She knocked more firmly, speaking up a little. "Josuke, c'mon I had a hard day, throw me a bone."
"Go away."
Aaaand that's the last straw. She opened his door. "Josuke Joseph Higashikata, you turn that music down right now or- Josuke?"
He was crying. He was curled up on his bed, still in his school clothes, crying. Josuke had always been a sweet boy, but she could count the number of times she'd seen him cry since he was in kindergarten on her hands. This was bad.
He leaned over to his stereo and turned it off, sniffling a little. Tomoko was on the bed beside him in an instant, all frustration completely forgotten. "Honey, what happened?"
He bit his lip, trying to calm down enough to speak without sobbing. "O-okuyasu broke up with me."
"Oh, Josuke," She reached out to stroke his hair, like she'd done when he was little, and then thought better of it. "But, I thought that whole thing with Okuyasu was just a grift?"
"It was!" He buried his face in his hands. "Or, it was at first, anyway. But-"
She gave him a pitying smile. "You fell for one of the first traps a rookie con artist falls for, eh?" He gave her a questioning look. "You let yourself believe your own story, didn't you?"
He sobbed and her heart ached for him. "I can't believe I could be so fuckin' stupid."
She decided to let his language slide, just this once. "No, it's okay. It happens to every grifter when they first start out!"
He sighed, staring at his ceiling, like he was looking for answers in the ugly popcorn paintjob. "It just, happened before I could do anything to stop it and then we got into this fight and-"
She fought the urge to say 'I told you so'. "Mind if I give you some advice? Expert to rookie?"
He looked at her, silent.
"I think you should tell Okuyasu how you really feel."
"I....I can't."
"Come on, Josuke. The mistake you made won't cost your career, but the con is off. You got caught, only thing to do now is turn yourself in."
He nodded to himself, thinking hard. She smiled sadly. He looks so much like his dad sometimes.
He turned to her, looking guilty. "But, you really want me to tell him? Even if that makes me, you know-"
"You kidding? I knew I'd end up in-laws with that kid the first time he picked you up for school!" Josuke let out a weepy chuckle. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Seriously. I always tried to raise you to chase whatever makes you happy. If you find one of those things, then I want you to go after it and hold on tight, no matter what."
He smiled and she folded him into a tight hug. He was growing up so fast. She could still remember him seeing people kiss on TV and sticking his tongue out.
"So you think I should go like, now?"
She looked at him, his face red and puffy and tear-stained. "Maybe go put on some makeup first, yeah? You look like you're a shoe in for Best Supporting Actress right now."
He lightly punched her shoulder. "Shut up!"
.......
Okuyasu sat on his roof, feeling the air around him get steadily colder. A knock and a voice from the front of the house interrupted his contemplation.
"Okuyasu? Can we talk for a minute...please?"
Okuyasu groaned. Why was Josuke here again? Hadn't he already done enough?
Josuke knocked harder. "Come on, man! I got some things I need to say!" A few seconds of silence passed before he kicked the rickety door, and Okuyasu was surprised that it wasn't torn off its fragile hinges. "If you don't come answer this door I'll break it down!"
What a pointless threat. It broke down when someone looked at it wrong. Another beat. "....Okay! That was a lie! I guess we ain't gotta talk if you dont wanna...."
Okuyasu smiled to himself. He wanted to be mad at Josuke, but it was difficult when he was acting so dumb all the time.
"I'm on the roof, dumbass," He called down.
Josuke ran over to Okuyasu's vantage point and reached upwards, Crazy Diamond extending his hand in search of Okuyasu's.
"Help me up so I can tell you how sorry I am!"
"You just told me you were sorry from down there, stupid!" He yelled down, but The Hand pulled Josuke up to the roof all the same.
"You were right," Josuke said once he was safely sitting on the roof.
"I was?" Okuyasu tried to sound less disappointed than he was. He'd sort of been hoping that.....well, he'd been wrong, as usual.
Josuke nodded. "I don't wanna pretend to go out with you anymore, either."
"Oh. Well, good."
"So go out with me for real."
Okuyasu almost fell off the roof. Had he heard that correctly? "What?"
Josuke's face went pink, he smiled shyly. "I mean, when everyone was sayin' that we'd be good as a couple, didn't you kinda see where they were coming from?"
He leaned closer, his eyes huge and full of hope and fear at once. "A-and the other night? At the party? Didn't that feel like....right? To you?"
"Josuke......"
"I dunno, maybe I'm reading into it too much, but it really feels like theres something here and-"
Okuyasu had been worried his next kiss would compare to the overwhelming exhilaration of his first, but as usual he'd been wrong. Kissing Josuke now, knowing that they both felt the same, the feeling was indescribable. He felt Josuke melt against him, his lips responding to his own effortlessly. And unlike last time, there was no shame in showing his enthusiasm.
When they parted, Josuke slowly opened his eyes to meet him. Okuyasu's heart caught in his throat. Those perfect violet eyes, so disarming in their beauty. They both smiled nervously.
Josuke hesitated before he spoke. "I.... are you sure this is okay? With you? Because I dont wanna do this if you aren't totally sure-"
Okuyasu rolled his eyes and pulled him in again. It was cute when Josuke got flustered and all, but sometimes he could talk so damn much.
Okuyasu tried to savor this feeling, for fear that it wouldn't happen again. He cupped Josuke's jaw, pulling him closer.
"So, you'll just kiss me again if I keep talking, then? Cuz if that's all it takes-"
"I will push you off this roof, Higashikata."