Here's chapter 3! Sorry for the super late update O_O I've been a bit busy lately, and haven't gotten around to continuing this. But, I promise faster updates from now on. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate it XD Anyways, I hope you all enjoy ;)

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"I did it."

Souji sat on the edge of his bed, with the crumpled piece of paper in his hand. He fidgeted with it, crumpling and un-crumpling it, and eventually tossing it to the wall trying to ease the tension he felt. It was a struggle to speak through the phone.

"I did it Yosuke. I… can't believe it."

Yosuke made him promise to give him a call once he got home, and so he did. Souji thought he'd be a little more excited to deliver the news, but he didn't feel the sense of triumph anyone would expect from what had just happened. It was as if he was waiting for the happiness to sink in, but it hasn't quite yet.

"That's my boy! So what did she say? What happened?"

"I told her I liked her."

"And…?"

"She told me she liked me back."

"Dude. If you're going to tell me what happened, at least give me a little more to imagine. Out with the deets, I'm dying here!"

Souji chuckled at his friend's childish demeanor. "Slow down, you seem more excited about it than I am." He had always found it cute whenever Yosuke got over excited and curious over something—it was as if whatever it was that he was hung up on was all that mattered in the world. It was always so much teasing him.

"All right, all right. We went to the temple, as usual and we prayed. And then, when the moment felt right, I told her that I like her. She said she felt the same way, and then I walked her home. Believe it or not, it really was simple as that." Souji lay down on the bed and spread himself out, trying to recall the previous events. Despite the mess that was in his head the whole time, the actual events really were that simple. Everything went according to plan, without a hitch. He was now with Yukiko.

"Why does everything come simply to you? If only it were that easy for the rest of us. You really have to teach me how you do it."

"I'm sure you could get any girl if you put your mind to it, Yosuke."

"Yyyeahh I highly doubt that. Anyways, I think this is something that calls for a celebration. I promised to treat you to steak skewers in Junes, didn't I? We can go there and you can tell me more about it."

"Here we go again." Souji thought. It was always casual invitations from Yosuke such as this that got him. He can never seem to get himself to say "no" to Yosuke, whatever it may be. Whether Yosuke asked to hang out, or asked for help with homework, or work at Junes, refusing him was out of the question. He willingly dropped everything else—previous engagements and obligations, and even his own personal time just to attend to him. At first he couldn't understand why, but he realized later on that all that really mattered to him was to see Yosuke happy.

However, as of late, things were getting a little out of hand. He had never before in his life experienced something like this—putting someone else before him, much less a guy, so much that the fine lines of emotion were getting blurred in his head. It was an entirely new feeling that confused him, probably because he had never let anyone get that close. With Yosuke, everything felt natural. He could be himself. They could spend a whole afternoon doing and talking about nothing, and it wouldn't feel like a waste of time. It was a certain feeling of contentment he had never had with anyone else before.

The friendship meant so much to him that he didn't want to jeopardize it, lest misunderstandings arise; which is exactly why he thought something had to be done before it was too late. Now that he has a girlfriend, it would be a lot easier for him to refuse Yosuke… wouldn't it?

"I think you're forgetting we're in the middle of an operation here. Rise's still in that dungeon."

"Yeah, but you know, this marks an important event in your life. As your buddy, I'm not letting this just pass by. Besides, there's no way you can refuse free food. I still have to repay you for that lunch you prepared earlier. It was so good I could still taste it in my mouth~"

"I'm not going to stop hanging out with you just because I have a girlfriend, ok? Don't worry about it. Really, maybe some other time."

"Wh-who says I'm concerned about that? I'm impressed, though. If I'd asked Chie, she'd pounce on—"

"Chie... huh? Never mind, you're right. I think we can take the day off. Junes, tomorrow?"

"Uhh… right. The usual spot, after school. We'll see each other in class, anyway. Actually we could make this a "guy's day out" thing, and bring Kanji along but I'll be broke if I had to treat that guy as well. So I guess it's just you and me, huh partner?"

"Good night, Yosuke."

Souji shut his phone and closed his eyes, and laughed in spite of himself. Who knew he could be so weak?

~x~o~x~o~x~o~

June 28, 2011

Junes Food Court

Souji and Yosuke decided to meet up at Junes food court at exactly 4 PM, since they left the school separately. Souji had to drop by the bookstore, and Yosuke had to attend to some "errands" at Junes. It was already 4:23, but Yosuke was nowhere to be seen.

Souji sat down on one of the chairs, and pulled his newly bought book out. "Mr. Coward, Worrying about Money." Ever since he got to Inaba, he got the habit of checking out the bookstore for the latest releases. They always had books on sale that were really interesting; the types of books he hadn't really noticed back when he was in the city. As he flipped through the pages, a voice called out to him.

"Soujiiii!"

Souji quickly glanced up, and saw Yosuke running towards him. He looked panicked, and somewhat tired. Why was Yosuke still wearing an apron?

"Is everything ok?"

"I-it will be. Come with me." Yosuke said, panting, and signaling towards the grocery.

"Wait, what are you—" but before Souji could finish his sentence, Yosuke grabbed his hand and pulled him up. Before he knew it, they were running hand in hand, with him being dragged along.

"What exactly is happening, Yosuke?"

"Well, you see… Junes is undergoing a major re-stocking, and…"

"And what?"

"Well, my dad wouldn't let me get anything unless I helped out. I thought I would be able to finish enough by the time you arrived, but then I ended up knocking down some boxes and messed up the storeroom. So dude, you've got to help me."

"Are you serious?"

The supermarket was crowded. Junes personnel were running around, and customers were everywhere, pushing carts, holding onto baskets, or lined up behind the counters. Souji hasn't quite seen Junes like this before. Once they were in, Yosuke quickly retied the back of his apron and pointed to another on top of a crate. "Wear that one, or they might think you're shoplifting or something. I wouldn't want to get into trouble with your uncle Dojima again."

"You know, if I had known we had to work just to get the steak skewers, I wouldn't have agreed to it." Souji said, as he picked up and put on his apron as well.

"Exactly. Which is why I didn't tell you."

"…you're impossible, Yosuke."

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"Come on, quick." Yosuke said, opening the heavy storeroom door. "If anyone else sees the mess I made, I won't hear the end of it."

The storeroom was exactly how Souji had imagined. It was pretty big, but cramped at the same time—boxes upon boxes towered over them creating a sort of labyrinth, and yellow tungsten lights hung from the ceiling. The whole place smelled like cardboard and plastic. It reminded him of whenever he got packages whenever his dad was in some other country, or whenever his mom brought home a lot of groceries back when he was a little boy. Being in there brought about a wave of nostalgic feelings, making him a little lightheaded. As they rounded a corner, he finally saw the "mess" Yosuke was talking about. "Oh boy." Souji thought.

A huge mountain of miscellaneous toiletries was piled on the ground, as if its contents were dumped by a garbage truck. Some boxes around it were opened, half packed with the goods.

"Yosuke, how did you manage to—"

"Before you react, let me explain." Yosuke said, bending over and picking up some of the toiletries. "I was just sorting the boxes according to which aisle they belonged to, and when I was about to carry them out, I got excited and knocked over some of the unpacked boxes. I-it's really not that bad, all we have to do now is put them back into their respective boxes, and bring them out later for the shelves." Yosuke said it so seriously, that Souji couldn't get himself to laugh. Yosuke was already so absorbed in sorting out the goods.

"All right, all right, let's do this." Souji bent down, and copied whatever Yosuke was doing. "The blue one goes here, the pink one goes there…"

The pile was shrinking a lot faster than he thought. In the midst of their concentration, the two barely talked and the storeroom was dead quiet, except for the occasional opening and closing of the door. Souji felt like a machine.

"Wow, you seem to be good at this, Souji." Yosuke said, packing up some of the last couple of goods. "I should probably knock down some boxes more often."

"Please, don't." Souji said, smiling at his friend's remark. He honestly wouldn't mind doing something like this again, though, if ever. Whenever Yosuke asked him to help out, it was usually just to do inventory checks on the shelves, or in Yosuke's words, use his "charms" to persuade customers to buy. This was the first time he was brought to the storeroom, and surprisingly, sorting out the goods in silence with Yosuke was really calming.

"That's the last of it." Yosuke said, closing up the boxes. "Bring those two boxes out, and I'll bring these. We can leave the shelving to the people outside. Oh, boy I can't wait for the steak skewers!"

Souji stacked two boxes on top of another and picked them up. It was a lot heavier than he thought, and he had to concentrate just to get his footing right. He couldn't even see where he was walking. It was no wonder Yosuke ended up tripping over, especially since he had to do all this by himself.

"Ungh—" Souji felt a sharp pain as he hit his shoulder on a metal corner of one of the storeroom shelves. Red seeped into his clothes, and he bent down to drop the boxes to check on it.

"Souji, watch out!"

Before he knew it, Souji was knocked to the ground and boxes from the shelf he hit came crashing down. He closed his eyes and shielded himself with his arms, bracing for the impact. He could hear the boxes falling around him—blunt thumps hitting the ground, one after the other. Whenever he expected the impact though, nothing came. Not one of them hit him. As he opened his eyes, he was surprised to meet Yosuke's brown eyes, staring straight at him.

"S-souji… are you alright?" Yosuke winced as he had taken the full impact of each of the boxes. His eyes were wide open with concern, though, and for a few moments, Souji couldn't even get himself to speak. The only sound in the room was Yosuke's ragged breathing, looming above him. Why did Yosuke save him? He would've been perfectly fine defending himself, but Yosuke had to go and shield him like that. And here Yosuke was, asking if he was alright. "Yosuke, you're such an idiot."

Before either of them could speak, Yosuke suddenly collapses. "Yosuke!" Souji could feel the Yosuke's whole weight against him, as he started to get worried. He held Yosuke's face in his right hand, trying to prop himself up with his left elbow. "Yosuke, look at me!"

Yosuke finally raises his head, and looks at him. Souji was shocked to see tears welling up a bit around his expressive brown eyes. It was a painful sight for Souji to see. Yosuke must've been really hurt. "I-I'm alright, Souji. It just hit my head, don't worry about it. O-oww-"

"Hey let me look at it." Souji said, as he tried to sit both of them up.

"W-wait, can I stay like this on you for a while? I just—I don't think I can sit up yet. Oww my heaaad."

"Yosuke, I think I need to at least take a look at where you got hit."

"Please? Just a moment. Let me stay like this."

Souji gave up, and let Yosuke rest on him. Yosuke's head was on his chest, and he stroked it, feeling the soft brown hair pass through his fingers.

Before long, Souji realized that his heart was beating twice as hard as it normally did, in the stillness of the room. He had never been this close to Yosuke before—so close their bodies were practically pressed against each other's, and he could smell Yosuke's wintergreen scent more than he ever did before. What was that smell, anyway? Shampoo? Bodywash? Cologne? He had always wanted to find out, but was too ashamed to ask him. At that moment, all he could hear was Yosuke's breathing, feeling it through the fabric of his his clothes. The moment seemed a lot longer than it really was, as thoughts raced through Souji's head. "Given a completely different context, we could be lovers." Souji didn't even mind the cold, hard cement floor behind his back, or the stinging pain that spread through his shoulder. This moment was special, because it was something that probably wouldn't happen again. Not that he wanted it to happen, or anything. Or did he? Souji closed his eyes, and try to shake off his inappropriate thoughts. He was obviously getting carried away.

"Souji." Yosuke said while laughing, as he raised his head meeting Souji's gaze.

"What's so funny? A-are you ok?"

"Don't you find it funny how we can get so beat up by sorting out boxes? I mean, we're almost always in the dungeon, battling shadows or whatever, but this hardly happens. Just look at me. And just look at you, your shoulder is—oh my God, Souji, your shoulder is bleeding." Yosuke looked alarmed, and quickly put his hand over the spot. "S-see what I mean?"

"I think someone had his head hit a little too hard." Souji said, and he started to laugh as well. "I'm alright Yosuke, it doesn't hurt as much as it looks. Come let me look at that head of yours." He finally got Yosuke to sit up, as he examined a red slump behind his head.

"O-oww, quit that."

"There's a little swelling, but you'll be fine. We need to get ice on it as soon as possible, though. Let's get out of here, can you stand?"

Souji pulled Yosuke up, and escorted him out of the maze of boxes they were in.

"I forgot to tell you Yosuke… thank you."

"For what?"

"Don't be ridiculous, you could've been seriously hurt."

"Don't worry about it, we're buddies right?" Yosuke was smiling, with that signature wink of his. "Whether we're in here, or inside the TV, I'll always have your back. Besides, I was the one who asked you to help me out. If you got hurt and I could've done something about it, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"I-I suppose." Souji once again felt the blood rush into his cheeks, trying to avert Yosuke's gaze. "Why is he always like this?" Souji thought. He started to wonder whether or not Yosuke was aware of the effect he had on him. He had never once met anyone as caring and loyal as Yosuke was, and he felt lucky that he got to call him his own best friend. "Is this really what best friends feel for each other?"

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"We're finally done." Yosuke walked out of the grocery with Souji, holding an ice pack to his head. "Never mind what I said earlier, I'm never asking you to sort boxes with me again."

The two of them laughed, as they headed over to the food court. They got their usual table, a little far from the food stands. Yosuke always insisted staying there, because it tended to get crowded near the other tables. Souji sat down, and Yosuke ran up to the counter. "Souji, what do you want? I think I'm getting a hamburg steak instead. It's new on the menu."

Before Souji could reply, he felt something vibrate in his pants pocket.

"3 messages, Amagi Yukiko"

A cold feeling suddenly went over him. During the time he spent with Yosuke, he had completely forgotten to check his phone. Yukiko was probably worried about him.

"Souji, so what will it be?" Yosuke called out from the stand.

"Uhh…" Souji hesitated, as he read through Yukiko's messages. She was clearly looking for him.

"I don't think I can—"

"What? Make it louder, I can't hear you."

He fidgeted with his phone, trying to make a last minute decision. He couldn't just leave Yosuke there, right? After all that's happened, the least he could do was fulfill what their purpose for going there in the first place. He was also hungry, after all. And when he tried being really honest with himself, this was where he wanted to be.

"Get me the usual. Steak skewers with barbecue sauce."

Souji looked at his phone again, and replied.

"I'm with Yosuke, I had to help out with his errands at Junes." He folded his phone shut, placed it back into his pocket, and buried his face in hands.

"What the hell am I doing?"

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A/N: That's all for now, guys! :) Tell me what you think, ok? X3