36: Street-Kurama & Yusuke, could be shonen ai or friends
Kurama sighed as he walked home, carefully balancing the paper bag on the crook of his elbow. He was moderately annoyed; the trip there had taken much longer than he'd anticipated due to running into a particularly talkative classmate, not to mention the irritatingly bright lights that grocery stores seemed to prefer... Humans eyesight couldn't be that bad, could it? Why did they need so many damn flourescent lights? They were everywhere. Pausing, he reached into his pocket, responding to a concerned text message from his mother. She worried too much... Squinting, he cocked his head, catching a glimpse of familiar figure on the sidewalk. "Yusuke?" he said softly. The teenager didn't respond immediately; he'd been leaning against a building, apparently very deep in thought.
"Hello?" Yusuke jumped, looking up at the figure who had cast a shadow over him. "Oh hey fox boy," he smiled, just a bit, "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that, you know." "Forgive me, I'll try to be louder next time," Kurama paused, looking around, noticing this was nowhere near his captain's home, "What are you doing out here, so late at night?"
"Oh you know," he shrugged, thoughtfully chewing a toothpick, "Mom's out with friends tonight, forgot to leave me a key the one time she actually remembered to lock the door..." A red brow went up, "Well, when is she due home?"
"Um...well could be anywhere from a couple minutes to...," Yusuke pretended to check his nonexistant watch, "Tomorrow afternoon. Depends on which house she went to." The kitsune blinked, cocked his head, "And I take it you've nowhere to stay." "Nope!" Yusuke's voice was surprisingly light, and he stretched casually, "Keiko's out of town, can't stay with Kuwabarra because his sister bugs me." Sighing, Kurama shook his head, "And you intend to...stay on the sidewalk until your mother returns home, is that your plan?"
"Hey I'll go to the arcade in the morning," Yusuke shrugged, "They open at ten. Not a big deal." "Not a big deal indeed," the fox snorted, shoving one of the bags into Yusuke's arms and reaching into his pocket, "Would you prefer to stay with me, or would you like me to pick the lock to your home?"
"No, fox boy, you don't have to-!"
"Yusuke." "Well," the detective held the bag nervously, tapping his fingers against the sides, "I mean, if you can get the lock undone that would be great..." Not that staying in an empty house full of bottles and cigarette butts was any fun. 'I really should clean that place up...but hell it's not my mess.'
"Very well," Kurama nodded, turning on his heel, "Come along then."
"Woah, wait!" Yusuke jogged to catch up, "Weren't you going to unlock my door? My house is the other way!"
The redhead smiled, cocked his head, "Yes, that was one of my offers, but you seemed to be suddenly shy. So I am inviting you over to my home. It's warm there and you could stay in the guest room." Yusuke blinked; 'they have a guest room? Fancy.' "I will unlock your door in the morning," Kurama finished, "Have you eaten supper?"
"Yeah," okay so he'd eaten a bag of chips from the vending machine. That counted right?
"I'll be making stir fry."
Yusuke smiled, shook his head, "Can't hide anything from you, can I?"
"No," the kitsune said lightly, stepping aside and gesturing to the stairs, "After you, Yusuke."
...
And so it came to pass that Kurama's home was Yusuke's safe haven, his own second home. Shiori had not at all seemed disturbed or bothered by a random guest, and she always made cookies, which Yusuke had to admit were damned delicious. It saved him many a night in the rain, and he had to admit, having a friend who could either pick your lock or let you in at three in the morning was a hell of a good deal.