Disclaimer: I solemnly swear I am up to no good...oh wait, no, I just don't own YYH.
Warnings: some crappy writing, Yusuke's big fat mouth...that's about it for now.
As requested by alexkitkat.
"Keiko and I are getting married."
Yusuke sprung this on him so nonchalantly between bites of food, like they were discussing the weather, that Kurama found himself chuckling in spite of the hollow ache in his chest. He smiled at the man seated across from him in the small green booth they shared at Kurama's favorite diner. They'd been coming here frequently ever since Yusuke returned from the Makai about a month ago and were sharing a late lunch today, Yusuke a burger with fries and Kurama a garden salad.
"Congratulations," the redhead said. "Am I to assume that I'm invited to the blessed event?"
Yusuke scowled at him, grease from his juicy burger dripping down his chin in thin streaks. "Well yeah, but don't say it like that."
"Like what?" asked the fox guilelessly, emerald eyes set wide upon his face. His long fingers twitched with the urge to reach across the white table with a napkin and wipe the mess away from his friend's face, but instead he began to fork at his meager salad with no real intention of eating it.
"All girly and shit. 'Blessed event,' my ass."
"Are you implying that you aren't excited for your own wedding, Yusuke? How crass." He kept his tone light, teasing the man. He may have pushed it a bit too far, though; the half-demon had just bit into his burger again and nearly choked to protest Kurama's accusation.
After a fit of frantic coughs, the ex-detective gulped down mouthfuls of water and shot a glare in the direction of one wry kitsune.
"You know that's not what I mean," he stated hoarsely, finally swiping at his face with a napkin.
His voice grew uncharacteristically soft when he next spoke, a testament to his devotion. "I want it to be perfect, Kurama. It has to be. She deserves perfection."
Kurama ceased stabbing at the limp lettuce on his plate to regard Yusuke knowingly, instantly understanding the direction this conversation was headed.
To his credit, Yusuke had the decency to appear sheepish when he asked, "would you mind helping me out? I kinda told her I'd do all the planning so she wouldn't have to lift a finger. Besides picking out the dress, obviously."
"So, naturally, your first instinct is to drag me into it," he sighed. The redhead leaned forward against the table ever so slightly, a serious frown painting his lips. "And she believed you to be capable of this?"
A faint tinge of pink dusted the man's cheeks. "No, not exactly...She told me I should probably ask you for help. You've got 'style', or something. Plus, your mom got married not long ago, right?" He ran a hand through his slicked back hair, tacking on as an afterthought, "she must have made you help out at least a little, Shuichi."
"You must have taken one too many blows to the head, my friend," Kurama countered, feigning concern. "My mother remarried a few years ago."
"Oh yeah, that's right. My bad."
A silence between the men settled in then; Yusuke resumed barbarically wolfing down his burger, and Kurama internally debated how to appropriately answer Yusuke's question whilst eating his salad.
On one hand, the thought of spending more time with the other man proved tempting. Kurama had stopped denying his feelings for Yusuke, at least to himself, a long time ago. The seedling for said feelings had taken root within his heart during their third encounter, when Yusuke had unwittingly saved the life of his mother and his own, and had been blossoming ever since. Kurama had fallen in love with him at some point; this much was certain.
Therein lied the problem, though: spending time with Yusuke was nice. The idea of spending time with Yusuke to assist him in planning Keiko's dream wedding, however, did not hold the same appeal. A master of self-control, he called himself, but every creature had their limits.
"Kurama?" came Yusuke's wary voice, interrupting his inner musings, "you're gonna break the plate if you keep hitting it like that."
The fox froze at once, mid-stab, not realizing the force he had been using to fork his salad into his mouth. Looking around, it seemed that others had noticed his bizarre table manners as well, and they averted their gazes politely once his eyes passed over them.
"I apologize," he said quickly, offering up a forced smile. "I've been working long hours at my stepfather's company, and haven't gotten much sleep." It was a weak explanation but Yusuke nodded regardless, sympathetic.
"I'm not trying to add more to your plate, no pun intended, but I really, really need you on this, man. I don't know a thing about flowers or suits, the only thing I know about cake is that it tastes good, and there's so many fucking decisions I have to make that I don't even know where to start." His impassioned speech ended with a tiny quiver of his bottom lip, a pout if Kurama had ever seen one. Brown eyes were fixed on him intently, as if he could stare him into compliancy.
Kurama left his friend hanging for a moment or two longer before unhappily relenting. "Fine. You win, Yusuke."
The brilliant, toothy grin the man rewarded him with made the tight pain in his chest almost worth it.
"Thank you. God, I could kiss you right now, this is awesome!"
While the descendant of Raizen celebrated his victory by catching the attention of their waitress and ordering himself a slice of chocolate pie, Kurama quietly lamented. He should have known there'd be an ulterior explanation for Yusuke's sudden desire to see him all the time, though foolishly the fox had hoped it meant they were becoming close. Realistically, he supposed that the man was just building up the courage to pester him with such an important request.
The waitress swiftly brought Yusuke his dessert, then turned her attention towards the redhead with a flirty smile. "Is there anything else I can get for you, sir?" She was young with brown eyes and had long, silky black hair tied away from her pretty heart-shaped face; her voluptuous curves filled out her uniform well even underneath her dark apron. Earlier, when she'd taken down their initial orders, Kurama had noticed Yusuke blatantly ogling her well-endowed chest.
Perhaps out of bitter spite, the redhead fluttered his thick lashes at her and smiled charmingly, a move that enflamed her cheeks and had her fidgeting with her pen nervously. "No miss, I'm all set. But thank you, you've been a very gracious hostess," Kurama said with earnest. He could smell her sweat-glands kicking into overdrive, and faintly, arousal, thanks to a perk of being a demon soul trapped in a human shell: an enhanced sense of smell.
"W-will you be paying separately, or together?" She stuttered, another tell-tale sign he had her flustered. Although his eyes were on her, his peripheral vision allowed him to witness a strange look marring his friend's features. "Together, please," he purred, making sure to keep eye contact with her and flicking stray ribbons of his crimson hair over his shoulder.
Her head bobbed in a quick nod and she scribbled something down on the bill before handing it over to him; beneath his total she had included her phone number along with the name 'Kimiko.'
After turning his gaze back to Yusuke once she walked away to check on her other customers, Kurama was met with a mildly suspicious expression.
"What's the matter, Yusuke? You look perturbed."
The man shook his head slowly, dark eyebrows knit together, struggling to find the right words. "...I don't know, man. I guess I've just never seen you flirt with someone before. You're pretty good at it." The frown on the hanyou's face suggested he had something else to say, so Kurama waited patiently, red brows raised questioningly.
Only Yusuke didn't continue or even eat his pie, rather he just stared at the fox with that same odd look that even Kurama, after more than one-thousand years of living, could not place.
"What is it?" he prompted with a subtle edge of annoyance, beginning to lose his patience. Yusuke normally never really irritated him this way, but their previous subject admittedly had him a bit grumpy.
Finally, the dark-haired man dropped his eyes to the table and mumbled, "just forget about it, it's nothing." He then proceeded to dig into his dessert, content to drop the conversation entirely.
They finished their meal quietly, neither demon speaking another word. Yusuke appeared uncomfortable, much to Kurama's confusion, but he had the sense that he shouldn't bring it up again. When the time came to pay the bill, the fox took it up to the register and paid without a fuss. This was routine, no matter how much the other man protested, but today Yusuke strangely had no complaints.
The two exited the diner together, walking aimlessly along the city sidewalk. Kurama headed in the direction of his apartment, which was nestled only a few short blocks from the diner.
Yusuke, like before, seemed to want to speak, parting his pink lips often during their walk. It wasn't until they reached the entrance of Kurama's apartment complex that he did, in a hopeful tone. "Lunch tomorrow, same time?"
Kurama allowed himself a friendly smile, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Of course. I'll think of a planning schedule that will work around my job. Not all of us can make our own hours," he teased, referring to Yusuke's newly opened ramen stand.
The man had wisely decided upon returning to Ningenkai that he needed some viable source of income, aside from the fortune inherited from the late Raizen (which was absolutely useless in Ningenkai) and whatever compensation Koenma had given him from his days as a spirit detective (if anything; Kurama couldn't be sure). According to the hanyou, his business was doing well. Or well enough, at the very least.
"Someone sounds jealous," Yusuke joked, tapping him on the shoulder with a clenched fist. "Get some good rest tonight, man. Do you gotta work tomorrow?"
"No, I wouldn't have agreed to go to lunch with you otherwise."
Yusuke scratched the back of his head cheekily. "Right, duh..."
"Was there something else?" the redhead asked, head cocking slightly to the side curiously. The dark-haired man normally didn't linger like this, scuffing his sneakers against the sidewalk and watching himself do it with interest.
His blue jeans fit especially snug today, and he wore a plain white shirt with a teal blazer. He looked handsome and nervous, like someone trying to ask out the girl he liked.
"No, I just don't really feel like going home just yet..." He trailed off, brown flicking up from the ground to meet green. Then down went brown again, drinking in the fox's attire: beginning with his black loafers, then traveling up his jean clad legs to his narrow waist, admiring the black belt circling it (or a little below the belt, perhaps).
Kurama said his name before Yusuke could ogle at his upper body, which was covered in a thin, long sleeved green shirt that clung to his torso; the man jumped as if struck and turned around, attempting to hide his blush.
"Never mind. I should go, see ya."
"Never mind...?" said the fox, but Yusuke had already sprinted away.
A/N:
Hey! So I don't know guys, I wasn't super happy with this but put it up anyway (cuz I'm an idiot). I definitely love these two together, and I definitely have a faint idea about where this is going, but who knows with my crazy mind. I don't really plan things, I just write. It makes itself up as I go. Until next time!