He sighed as he walked home, the cloudy sky reflecting his current emotions. He was afraid, confused, pained. He knew he wouldn't be able to hide his feelings from his friends for much longer, but he needed just a little more time.
He thought back to when his current dilemma began. He had been watching Yosuke play with Nanako, listening to the squeals of laughter from the little girl and the chuckles from his partner. He never wanted this moment to end, it made him feel light inside. It was a nice change from the TV world and reminded him of all that was right with the world. He loved Yosuke's smile and laugh, the way he would bob his head to the music he was always listening to. He may not be the smartest member of the group, but he was always there when you needed him, he had this way about him that made people feel at ease with him. The more he watched Yosuke, the more he realized that he couldn't imagine his life without him anymore.
Flash forward a week to yet another conversation about girls. While he smiled and participated in the guy talk, his heart just wasn't into it. He was jealous of the girls Yosuke kept mooning over. It had taken him a week, but that was definitely what it was. He was jealous. He wanted more than he could have. He had decided to keep his feelings from his partner. He didn't want to put Yosuke on the spot and risk messing up the group dynamics. Besides, he was fairly sure Yosuke secretly had a thing for Chie, they did fight like an old married couple after all. No, he couldn't say anything, not if he wanted to keep seeing that smile he loved. He would rather watch his partner's happiness from a distance than risk ruining it just to remove this weight from his chest. This was his burden to bear.
He sighed again as he looked to the setting sun. He was still shaken from today's trip into the TV. Yosuke had taken a nasty hit from a particularly strong shadow while protecting him. He had lost it when he saw his friend on the ground. He didn't remember much of what happened next, when he had come back to his senses the shadow was gone and Yukiko had healed Yosuke. He had proceeded to call out Lucifer and one hit KO every shadow remaining on that floor. They decided to call it a day soon after, planning on coming back the next day to finish the dungeon. He would have lost his mind had Yosuke gotten hurt again on his watch.
"Crap!" The youth exclaimed, fighting with himself about confessing. He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost missed the object of his desires calling out his name while running after him.
"Where you running off to so fast? Partner? Hey!" Yosuke reached out to grab his shoulder and pull him around, forcing him to come face to face with the first friend he had made in Inaba. He couldn't stand the worried look on Yosuke's face, had he caused his friend to worry?
"Dude! What's been up with you lately? Did I piss you off? Tell me what I did! I can't stand you avoiding me anymore. Come on Souji, please?" Yosuke had said that last part with slightly teary eyes and a whimper, and with it any resolve Souji had mustered to keep his feelings to himself disappeared.
Souji whispered a soft, "I'm sorry," before closing his eyes and leaning in to kiss Yosuke on the lips. He pulled away and flinched, fully expecting his friend to slap him and ask what was wrong with him. He was so sure Yosuke would be pissed that he was completely caught off-guard when he was pulled back in for a lingering kiss, Yosuke's right hand gripping a fistful of hair while his left held on to Souji's shoulder. After several moments their lips parted, but Yosuke didn't pull away. Instead he rested his forehead on Souji's and smiled while chuckling.