010 ☀ Private Call to restardom

[skillspanner]

Yo... Rise? Do you have a few minutes?

[Pauses, letting out an uncomfortable chuckle.]

I kinda, uh... need to talk you about something.


[You bet your ass he's sitting in an alley behind the department store so nobody from the centre will hear this, too.]

Comments

[restardom.livejournal.com]

[ well, there's a strong indication that this isn't a call she should take while hanging with her romantic movie brosis, so she'll excuse herself to find a nice secluded alleyway in a very small town filled with monks.

... It understandably takes a few minutes. ]

I'm here to answer your needs! What's up, Yosuke-senpai?

[skillspanner]

[He's got no problem waiting, and does. Though he's cautiously keeping an eye out in case he sees anyone he knows. That would be pretty bad right now.]

I... well. I dunno, I've just been... thinking about some stuff. You know, the stuff that... you know. That other people don't.

[Best approach to this conversation ever. Awkward turtling all over this.]

[restardom.livejournal.com]

... Uh-huh...

[ well, that's a weird way of phrasing it, but yes, she gets it. ]

[skillspanner]

[He's uncomfortable, okay? He's trying.]

You remember everything, right? From... when we were knocked out, I mean.

[restardom.livejournal.com]

Your Shadow, yeah?

[ answer enough. ]

[skillspanner]

I guess that's a yes.

[Hesitating for a second.]

[restardom.livejournal.com]

... [ she doesn't quite reply, sans an encouraging noise; "go on." ]

1/3

[skillspanner]

[He pauses, taking in a deep breath.]

Well... I guess, it's pretty much just that. Well, what I was saying there to him? I meant that, you know?

[skillspanner]

[But then he's backpedaling a bit, because he's just all kinds of weird about this.]

Like-- I mean. I dunno. Souji's important to me, you know? So... I guess that day when we first talked. I... I kind of knew. Sort of.

[skillspanner]

B-but it's still not like that! [Adamant about this.] I mean, I'd never want to... I'm not into that stuff or whatever.

It's- I... ugh, this is coming out all wrong...

[restardom.livejournal.com]

[ Rise's just listening patiently. Yes, even through that Yosuke flusterfit; she's known him long enough to be used to them. ]

It's just that Senpai's special, right?

[skillspanner]

[He's quiet for a minute as he tries to regain his composure. This is honestly one of the hardest conversations he's ever had, and while he appreciates that Rise is being so tolerant of it, he doesn't want to be unbearable. Not after everything. Not the way he acted towards her when she first confronted him, not how he acted in the sleep-deprived weeks that followed, and not after that nightmare he'd been stuck in.]

[He draws in a quiet breath, and while Rise can't see it, he's nodding his head.]

Yeah... I mean, I knew that anyways, didn't all of us? But... this is still, well, different. I guess.

[restardom.livejournal.com]

Of course it's different, Yosuke-senpai. I don't think I have to explain it.

[ you know, because they've been through this. If he's admitted this much, he already gets it. ]

[skillspanner]

Argh... this is so confusing...

[Sighing a little. He knows what she's trying to say, but he's not conveying what he wants to say. Sorry, Rise. He doesn't mean to keep going quiet... this is harder to deal with over the phone than he expected.]

I dunno. I mean, if it's like what you mean... shouldn't it be different? I mean... I-it's not like I want to like, go on a date with him or something. You know? It's not like that.

[restardom.livejournal.com]

It doesn't have to be. [ but she doesn't quite clarify just yet, because this stuff is hard to explain. ] What is it like, then?

[skillspanner]

I just like being around him? I... it was weird when he wasn't around. But when he is, it's just comfortable, I guess.

[restardom.livejournal.com]

Mm... kinda like there's nothing you have to worry about, because you're happy like that?

[skillspanner]

Yeah, I guess it's kinda like that. It's hard to explain.

[restardom.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure we'll be here for awhile either way.

[skillspanner]

Sorry... I don't want to keep you or anything if you're busy, Rise. I mean... it can wait, you know? Until you get back.

[restardom.livejournal.com]

Nah, I'm not. [ not anymore, and even if she had been, there's no way Rise wouldn't make time for her teammates. ] I might be here for a little while, but I can still listen just as well, right?

[skillspanner]

Thanks, Rise... [He trails off. He is genuinely grateful for this, considering he really has no idea how to handle the situation.] Argh... I guess, I dunno. It's all sort of making sense now. I mean, I kinda knew he was special, even back in Inaba, you know? But since being here, it's just been... different.

[restardom.livejournal.com]

Different how? [ it's not as though she couldn't figure it out, but the more Yosuke talks about it, the easier it'll be for him. ]

[skillspanner]

Like - [He goes quiet again, trying to think of the right way to explain this.] You know, noticing all the weird things? How stubborn he is about letting us help him, or how lame he can be when it's not about being the leader. Or... you know. Just how wrong it felt when he went missing. And, you know, not just because he wasn't there to make a game plan...

[restardom.livejournal.com]

[ she's nodding along, even though he can't see it. ] You've been noticing him, not just as Senpai as a leader.