Chapter Text
Okuyasu laughed near his ear, weakly telling him to stop. Josuke smiled against the sensitive flesh of Okuyasu's neck, showering every visible bit of skin with kisses.
"That tickles!" He yelped through his laughter, placing a hand on Josuke's chest to push him away. Josuke finally relented, throwing an arm around his shoulder instead and deflating into the couch.
Okuyasu rolled his eyes, rubbing at one of his pink cheeks. "You play too much, dude."
"It's just so cute!" Josuke said as he leaned over to peck at his boyfriend's cheek.
"Whatever."
The two of them jumped when they heard a car door shut outside. Josuke pulled his arm away and tried to look casual. "Shit, didn't realize how late it was gettin'."
"You've been doing that a lot lately."
Okuyasu was right, Josuke had been slipping. They'd had so many close calls that Josuke had lost count. It was just hard to be as cautious as he'd been before. Part of him almost felt like hiding wasn't worth the stress anymore. He was exhausted.
"I guess."
Tomoko opened the front door and started across the living room. "Hey boys, didn't know you were hanging out today. You having fun?"
"Yeah," Josuke mumbled.
"How was work, Miss Higashikata?"
She smiled at Okuyasu when she spoke. "It was long, but not so bad. Thank you for asking."
She walked into their kitchen, still half yelling to them. "I'm beat though, how does cereal for dinner sound?"
She appeared in the doorway a moment later, holding an empty jug. "Nevermind, looks like cereal's a no-go."
"I could cook dinner for you if you want, Miss Higashikata. I do it for Pa and me all the time."
Tomoko hesitated for a moment. "You sure you wouldn't mind?"
Okuyasu shook his head, smiling brightly. "It's the least I can do, you're always bein' so welcoming and all."
She turned, tossing the jug into the trash. "This is why you're my favorite kid, Okuyasu. Seriously, thank you so much."
Tomoko started to head for the stairs when Josuke spoke. He took Okuyasu's hand and threaded their fingers together, squeezing firmly. "Ma, can we talk for a minute?"
"Sure, what's up?"
"It's actually like, really really important."
She furrowed her brows, sitting down in a chair beside the couch with an air of caution.
"O-kayyyyy? What's going on?"
Josuke swallowed hard. His face was suddenly pale. "Well...uh, first of all, you know I love you, right?"
Tomoko could tell that Josuke was on the verge of panicking. She nodded slowly. "I love you too, honey."
"A-and I would never intentionally do anything to hurt you."
"I know you wouldn't."
Josuke's grip on Okuyasu's hand was like a vice. Okuyasu winced but stayed silent. "And I-" Josuke's voice broke, tears were welling up in his eyes. "I know I mess up a lot cuz I'm an idiot b-but I really do care about makin' you proud-"
Tomoko's face was pale now too. "Josuke...honey, what did you do?"
Josuke grit his teeth and looked down at the floor. A single tear slid down the bridge of his nose and fell silently to the carpet. "I'm s-sorry, I-"
"He didn't do anything!" Okuyasu blurted out. He knew he should've stayed quiet, that this was Josuke's moment. But he couldn't take this. All he could think about was how vulnerable Josuke had been that day a few months ago. How he'd been a wreck and Okuyasu had laughed at him. He turned to Josuke, his voice softening. "You didn't do anything, Josuke," he repeated.
Josuke took a deep breath. He loosened his grip on Okuyasu's hand, not untangling them but no longer threatening to break Okuyasu's bones, and looked up at his mother.
"I...I'm gay, Ma. Okuyasu and I have been dating for a few months now and I w-wanted to tell you but I didn't want you to be upset or- But I just didn't feel right, lyin' to ya and all, I-"
He sighed. A few tears slipped down his face. His whole body was tense as he tried to keep his composure.
"I just don't want to be afraid of being myself anymore, you know?"
There was a brief silence in the living room. Josuke was tightly biting his lower lip, not wanting it to tremble. He looked like he was bracing for impact. Okuyasu's heart ached for him.
Tomoko let out a heavy, weary sigh. She leaned forward and placed a hand on his cheek. "Josuke, sweetie, don't cry."
She wiped his tears away with her thumb, giving him a sad smile. "It's okay, you don't need to cry."
Her words had the exact opposite effect. The strength he'd been maintaining shattered and he collapsed, shaking with heavy sobs.
Tomoko wrapped her arms around him and held him close. "Everything is alright, you're okay."
She pulled back after a minute, looking at him seriously. "Listen to me, Josuke. The world isn't kind. There are always gonna be people who say and do horrible things to other people, just because they're different. But I am never, ever going to be one of those people, okay? And that goes for both of you," She added, looking to Okuyasu.
Josuke looked at Tomoko with a weepy smile. Okuyasu had never seen Tomoko ike this, so soft and gentle. His respect for her was already high, but in this moment he felt it skyrocket.
"I love you, Josuke. No matter what, you got that?"
"Y-yes ma'am."
Tomoko pulled Josuke in for one more hug, looking at Okuyasu over her son's shoulder. "If you break my kid's heart I'll come after you, you know that right?"
"Mom!" Josuke yelled, crossing his arms in embarrassment.
"I-I, uh-"
Tomoko laughed as she strated to leave. "I'm kidding! Jeez, so serious! I change my mind, I'm gonna cook dinner tonight. You kids have fun."
Josuke and Okuyasu looked at each other, smiling. Josuke leaned in, kissing his boyfriend softly.
"But not too much fun!" Tomoko shouted from the kitchen.
Josuke rolled his eyes, blushing at the comment.
"Hey," Okuyasu said, placing a hand on Josuke's cheek. "That was really cool, you know."
Josuke kissed him again, and was absolutely certain that it felt right.
"Couldn't have done it without you."