Chapter Text
Being his own boss and opening his own ramen stand has been great. It certainly keeps him busy in a way that feels as satisfying as it does comfortable. There's nothing that feels quite so right as having his friends seated at his counter, good food in their bellies and spotless bowls ready for seconds. Kuwabara has become a regular, keeping Yusuke company on slow nights while he studies at the counter. Sometimes they'd even switch places, Kuwabara helping out with dishes while Yusuke quizzes him from his textbook. More than a few times it's ended up with them getting distracted, goading each other into a small and friendly tussle. Other than that and a few odd demons and punks causing trouble, Yusuke hasn't done much fighting lately. It leaves him with a ton of leftover energy, enough that he's taken up jogging as a hobby. It isn't that much of a stretch to time it so he's passing Kuwabara's school as soon as it gets out. He walks Kuwabara home most days, using it as a cool down before heading back to work. It was a comfortable routine and it almost makes him a little nostalgic for the time they went to school together. A lot had changed since then, circumstances causing them to take different paths in life. For now those paths have joined back up and Yusuke quietly savors walking together again. He'd missed Kuwabara's familiar presence by his side, warm and steady. Usually they chat about nothing in particular, but today he can tell that something is weighing on Kuwabara's mind.
“Urameshi, have you ever kissed anyone?”
The question takes him off guard, lowering his cigarette and looking at Kuwabara warily. “Why?”
“Don’t be so standoffish.” Kuwabara complained, bumping him with his elbow as they walked. “You’re telling me you’ve never made a move on a girl?”
“Have you?” Yusuke shoots back. Kuwabara’s ears turn pink and he looks away.
“I’m planning on it.” He admits, nervous excitement tripping around his words like bumbling kittens.
“No.” Yusuke gasps in mock disbelief. “You’re finally going for it with Yukina? And here I thought you’d keep drooling over her for another three years.”
“Shut up.” Kuwabara huffs, irked at his tone. “This is what I get for asking you. I should’ve gone to Kurama.”
“Lighten up.” Yusuke cajoles, setting aside further teasing for later. “Yeah, I’ve kissed a few girls.”
“What’s it like?” Kuwabara keeps his voice down, his eyes wide and expectant like this was some great secret. Yusuke wasn’t sure if he was annoyed or endeared by it. Despite all his talk of being a knight in shining armor, Kuwabara sure had the pure heart of a maiden.
“Hm.” Yusuke thinks for a moment. “It was fun.”
“Fun?”
“Yeah. Good.”
“That’s not an answer!” Kuwabara exclaimed, grabbing him in a headlock. Yusuke clamps his cigarette between his teeth to avoid dropping it while he breaks out of the hold, grabbing Kuwabara in one of his own.
“Is too an answer!” He defends, squeezing Kuwabara’s neck with his bicep until he taps out. “What, are you looking for the juicy details or something? Since when do you gossip?”
“Forget it.” Kuwabara grumbles, readjusting his collar.
“Don’t tell me your nervous.” Yusuke teases.
“Shut up.” Kuwabara snaps, his cheeks flushing pink as he stomps on ahead. Oh. He really is nervous, then. Yusuke frowns, taking a deep drag of his cigarette before dropping it, grinding it under his heel. Jogging a little to catch up with Kuwabara, he tries to gauge how far he can push things. He looks pretty pissed, so probably not much further. Since Yusuke’s hoping Kuwabara drops by his stand later for dinner, he should patch things up now.
“It’s kind of weird at first.” He states, catching Kuwabara’s attention. “Being so close to someone else’s face, I mean. And it’s better if your eyes are closed.”
“... How do you know where to, like, aim if you can’t see?” Kuwabara asks tentatively, opening up again a bit. Yusuke doesn’t stomp on his nerves this time, figuring it was better to just answer honestly. If Kuwabara hasn’t had his first kiss by now, teasing him about it is like kicking a man while he’s down.
“You don't close your eyes right away. Even if you do, you can still feel their breath and the heat of their skin. It's not so hard to figure it out.” Yusuke tries to find a good way to describe it. “It feels nice. But I guess that depends on who you do it with. I’ve had some really great kisses and some really bad ones.”
“How do you tell the difference?” Kuwabara presses. “What makes someone good at kissing?”
“Look, man, I don’t really know how to describe it.” Yusuke admits, running a hand through his hair. “I just did it and picked it up fast. It’s not rocket science.”
“That’s not helpful.” Kuwabara frowns, a worried crease to his brow. “What if I’m bad at it?”
“Relax, dude. It’s really not that big of a deal.” Yusuke reassures him.
“Maybe to you, it’s not.” Kuwabara huffed, crossing his arms. “I want my first kiss to be good.”
“Just do it, then.”
Kuwabara’s eyes narrow into a glare. “If you kiss someone for the first time and it’s bad, would you want to kiss them again?”
“Hmm.” Yusuke thinks. It would depend on the person. But still... “Fair point.”
“See?” Kuwabara sighs, his shoulders slumping. “Is it really so stupid to want to be good at something like that?”
“Yeah, I hear you.” Yusuke admits, sighing in sympathy. Kuwabara still looks pretty down as they continue their walk. That won’t do any good. At this rate, Kuwabara’s likely to go home and mope for the rest of the evening. Yusuke thinks for a moment, before coming up with an idea.
“How about I show you?” He suggests, grabbing Kuwabara’s arm to prevent him from landing on his face as he trips
“What?” He gapes, gobsmacked. Yusuke uses his grip on his arm to haul him back to his feet, dragging him to a nearby alley. “Urameshi!”
“C’mon, it’ll be a quick lesson.” Yusuke pushes him against the wall. Kuwabara’s eyes keep darting around, his cheeks flushed red as he clutches his school bag.
“Urameshi, what if someone sees —”
“Then we better make this quick.” Yusuke grabs his face, Kuwabara’s blush burning against his palms. “Shut your eyes.”
For once, Kuwabara doesn’t put up a fuss. His eyes squeeze shut like he’s bracing for a punch. Yusuke huffs a laugh at the way he tenses up as he leans in.
“Relax, man.”
“I am!” Kuwabara defends, opening his eyes to glare, then immediately looking away. “But I’ve never kissed anyone, so —”
“I know, that’s why I’m showing you.” Yusuke knocks their heads together to stun him a bit. “Don’t worry, practice doesn’t count. Now eyes closed.”
Kuwabara shuts them again, swallowing hard. Yusuke keeps his eyes open as he leans closer, brushing their noses together.
“See?” He murmurs, his voice hushed from their close proximity. “You can feel my breath and the heat of my skin, so you know exactly where my lips are.”
Kuwabara exhales shakily, his chin dipping with the smallest nod. He relaxes ever so slightly, his head tilting a bit to align better with Yusuke’s. Yusuke smiles, pleased that he’d been right. It is easier to do things like this with a bit of practice. He and Kuwabara both learn better by doing things.
“Now you’re getting it.” He congratulates, leaning back and patting him enthusiastically on the back. Kuwabara jumps, his cheeks flushed as he stares at Yusuke.
“What did I get? What was that?”
“This.” Yusuke grabbed his face again and brought them closer together. Once again, Kuwabara’s cheeks burned red and he automatically tilted his chin down to better accommodate the height difference. “See? First thing you have to do is align your faces right. Otherwise, it’s all fumbling and you might wind up kissing her chin. Cute, but I don’t think that’s what you’re going for.”
“Yeah.” Kuwabara is still staring at him all wide-eyed and wondering. Hm. He could be a little dense sometimes, so maybe that wasn’t enough of a lesson. If Kuwabara gets laughed at by a girl for a half-assed kiss, he’ll complain to Yusuke about it for the rest of his life. Better safe than sorry.
“Here, I’ll show you how it should kind of feel.” Yusuke took his hand and held it up to his face.
“O-okay.” Kuwabara stuttered, his eyes flicking down to Yusuke’s lips. His hand moves to cup Yusuke’s cheek. His touch is gentle, but solid. Good. He might not be hopeless after all.
“Focus on how my lips feel, okay?” Yusuke instructs, siding his hand down Kuwabara’s wrist to push down the sleeve. Turning his head, he presses his lips to Kuwabara’s inner wrist. He closes his eyes so it doesn’t feel so awkward, concentrating on showing Kuwabara how his lips should move while kissing. It’s different, since there’s no lips to respond, but Yusuke does his best. Kuwabara doesn’t need to know anything fancy for a first kiss, so Yusuke shows him the basics. He keeps the press of his lips plush and giving, moving sensually against the soft skin of his inner wrist. Once he thinks he’s gotten his point across, he lets go of his wrist.
“Just do that and you’ll be fine.” Yusuke assured him with a grin. Instead of being grateful or bombarding him with more questions, Kuwabara just stands there, staring at him with the strangest expression. “Kuwabara?”
“Y-yeah?” Kuwabara seems to snap out of it a bit, tucking the hand Yusuke kissed to his chest.
“You good?” Yusuke asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, I’m good.” Kuwabara’s voice is a bit high, his ears steadily turning red.
“Good. Then let’s keep moving.” Yusuke clapped him on the shoulder before tucking his hands in his pockets and walking away. “C’mon. I need to get back to my stand and you need to study.”
Kuwabara is pretty quiet for the rest of their walk back to his house. He keeps sneaking glances at Yusuke, unasked questions practically floating around him like bubbles. It wears on Yusuke’s nerves a bit, until he finally snaps.
“What?!” He demands when they reach Kuwabara’s doorstep. “Just ask, dude.”
“Ask?” Kuwabara blinks, his cheeks coloring. “Ask what?”
“Whatever question that’s been bothering you for the past ten minutes.” Yusuke gives him a look. “Out with it.”
“It’s nothing.” Kuwabara denies, stiffening and looking away. “Just... will I see you later?”
“If you stop by my stand before I close, yeah.” Yusuke says pointedly. “Try to come by after the dinner rush.”
“Right. For sure.” Kuwabara readily agrees. “Okay, yeah. I’ll— I’ll see you then.”
“Yeah, see you.” Yusuke waves as Kuwabara hastily shuts the door behind him. Huh. He was acting weird. Maybe his lesson was too much for him. But Yusuke isn’t sure how he could get across what kissing is like without actually kissing him.
Later on that evening, Kuwabara does actually show up at his stand about an hour before he closes. While he seems to have loosened up a bit since earlier, but there was still an odd nervous energy about him.
“So, uh, about earlier...” Kuwabara eventually broaches the subject he’d been dancing around. “That was really helpful. So... thanks, I guess.”
“It’s whatever.” Yusuke shrugs, glancing up from the dishes he was washing. “You seemed pretty damn nervous, so I knew you would psyche yourself out otherwise. Now you know what to do, so it’s no worry, right?”
“I guess.” Kuwabara admits with a small laugh, nervous and lilting. It’s weird. He’s usually never this nervous unless he’s about to fight someone twice as strong as him. Well, someone other than Yusuke himself. He must be really freaked out about this girl crush thing.
“So, are you going to kiss her or what?” Yusuke presses. The words come out more barbed than he was intending.
“Well, to be honest,” Kuwabara hedges, fiddling with his chopsticks. Yusuke grabs them out of his hands and starts washing them. He was done with his bowl of ramen anyway. “I think I need more, uh, practice.”
The quietly hopeful way he says it has Yusuke looking up. Kuwabara, who had been staring at him all evening, now seemed to find the counter incredibly fascinating. Yusuke studied him for a long moment, baffled. Practice. Is he asking Yusuke to show him more? What else is there to teach? Yusuke frowns in thought. He supposes if you haven’t had your first kiss, those kinds of things seem daunting. Tongue is the real tricky part. Yusuke managed it all on instinct, but maybe Kuwabara doesn’t have that. He does seem like the type to go overboard. He might wind up lapping at Yukina’s face like a labrador, enthusiastic and far too messy. Staring at his lips, Yusuke imagines what helping him will look like. The longer he is silent, the more Kuwabara’s blush creeps across his face. Eventually he breaks.
“Forget it, I’ll just—”
“Okay.” Yusuke says at the same time, stopping Kuwabara’s excuse in its tracks.
“Okay?”
“I can give you some more tips.” Yusuke shrugs, oddly excited at the prospect. “Do you want me to come over tonight?”
“Really?” Kuwabara brightens immediately. “Yeah, uh, tonight works great.”
“Cool. I’ll just finish up here and then we can walk over to your house.” Yusuke gets back to work scrubbing dishes. Am I cleaning faster? Does this make me look eager or something? Glancing at Kuwabara, he finds him not even looking at him. He’s too busy smiling to himself as he helps tidy things up. Yusuke huffs a small laugh. Cute.
Stepping through the door of the Kuwabara house, he’s immediately spotted.
“No. No friends over, you have to study for your test this week.” Shizuru negates their plans before even saying hello.
“Aw, what? But—”
“I’m here to help him study.” Yusuke states before Kuwabara could finish. “That’s not a problem, is it?”
“Really?” Shizuru raises an eyebrow, likely seeing right through his half-truth. “You’re going to help him with his school work.”
“Someone needs to make sure this lunk knows what he’s doing.” Yusuke grins, bumping Kuwabara with his elbow. “C’mon, Kuwabara. Let’s hit the books. We’ve got studying to do.”
“R-right.” Kuwabara nods, leading the way to his bedroom. Shizuru gives them one more suspicious look before turning back to the television.
“If I hear any roughhousing going on...” She warns.
“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Kuwabara gripes. “No friends over on weeknights.”
“Watch the attitude, mister.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Kuwabara calls back politely, but rolls his eyes to Yusuke who snickers.
“Are you sure you shouldn’t be actually studying?” Yusuke asks when they’re behind a closed door.
“It’s fine. I’m all studied out.” Kuwabara waves him off, hastily tidying up his desk. “Sorry, I didn’t get the chance to clean up first.”
“No worries, I’m used to the mess.” Yusuke shrugged, tossing his jacket on Kuwabara’s chair before sitting on the bed. “So, how do you wanna do this?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be an expert?” Kuwabara points out, sitting on the bed a good space away from Yusuke. He’s a bit stiff, so Yusuke kicks him.
“Loosen up, man. Come here.” He motions him closer, turning to face him. Kuwabara’s ears turn steadily pinker the closer they get.
“Like this?”
“That’s good.” Yusuke he puts out his wrist. “Show me what you’ve got.”
“Huh?” Kuwabara blinked. “You mean kiss your wrist?”
“What, did you not practice?” Yusuke teases, enjoying the way Kuwabara’s cheeks flushed.
“Shut up, Urameshi. I’ll show you.” He muttered, taking Yusuke’s wrist and lifting it. His breath stutters against it before his lips meet the skin. Yusuke’s attention is immediately drawn to the feeling of warm lips pressing against him. Kuwabara has his eyes closed, blushing a pretty rose color. After a brief moment, he pulls away.
“Th-there.” He drops Yusuke’s wrist, looking away. “How was that?”
“Huh. Umm...” Yusuke thinks for a minute trying to come up with anything constructive to say that wouldn’t shatter Kuwabara’s confidence. “Sheesh, this is hard.”
“What?”
“You’re too... I don’t know, stiff?” Yusuke rubs the back of his neck. “Like, I can feel how tense you are. You’re too much in your own head, not feeling it. You know?”
“Uh....” Kuwabara flounders. “No. What does that mean?”
“Like I said, it’s hard to describe.” Yusuke crosses his arms. “It would be easier to show you.”
“Okay.” Kuwabara agrees.
“Okay?”
“You can show me, right?” Kuwabara looked so earnestly hopeful that Yusuke couldn’t find it in him to refuse. “It doesn’t count if it’s practice, right?”
“Right.” Yusuke’s nerve wavers. Uh-oh. He needs to put his money where his mouth is. Yikes, he’s kind of dug a hole for himself. After a second of debate, his thinks yeah, I want to keep digging and see where this goes. “Okay, uh. You just want me to show you what to do?”
“Mm-hm.” Kuwabara confirms, the tips of his ears bright red. “Show me how you would kiss a girl.”
“How would I kiss a girl...” Yusuke repeats, thinking. “I guess that would depend.”
“On what?”
“On if I was going for the kiss or for something else.” Yusuke turns and cups Kuwabara’s cheek. “If I was going for the kiss, I’d just do this. And if she doesn’t pull back, she’s probably into it.”
“Uh-huh.” Kuwabara swallows, his blush darkening. “What’s the ‘something else’?”
“Something more than kissing.” Yusuke grins, planting his hand on Kuwabara’s upper thigh and leaning in. “If I really wanted to push things, I’d slip my fingertips up her skirt.”
“Urameshi!” Kuwabara exclaimed, his face red as Yusuke teases his inner thigh with his fingertips. “I’m not going to do that to a lady! Especially for a first kiss.”
“Alright, alright. Save that for later, I guess.” Yusuke laughed, taking his hands away and holding them up to show he was backing off. “And if she squeaks like you did, she probably needs more time to be comfortable.”
“I did not squeak.” Kuwabara denies, glaring. “Quit messing around.”
“I’m not messing around, you asked!”
“I asked you to show me how to kiss a girl, not feel one up!”
“Whatever, it’s the same course, different lesson.” Yusuke rolled his eyes. “But if you just want me to show you the mechanics without the context, then fine.”
“What...” Kuwabara’s voice dies as Yusuke cups his cheek, leans in, and kisses him. He makes a surprised sound, but doesn’t pull away. Yusuke keeps the kiss soft, but firm, moving his lips in an easy fashion that feels right. Kuwabara’s lips are slightly parted and Yusuke is tempted to take that as an invitation. But since Kuwabara’s still a novice, he decides to save that for later. Later? His stunned brain questions. We’re doing this again? To which his body replied; hell yeah we are.
Yusuke wants to make this good, so he pushes forwards despite unresponsive lips. He coaxes Kuwabara’s lips with his own, gently massaging them together and sending tingles of warmth down into his gut. He lightly teases him with a small hint of his tongue and it’s like Kuwabara can breathe again. His breath stutters as it comes out in a rush, breathing in Yusuke’s air as they kiss. Yusuke keeps kissing him until he feels Kuwabara finally unwind, leaning into the contact and starting to tentatively respond.
“There.” He says, pulling away and licking his lips. “That’s how I would do it.”
Kuwabara blinks his eyes open, looking a little dazed. He touches his fingers to his lips with a hint of awe that has pride curling in Yusuke’s chest. Oh yeah, I’ve still got it. It’s been a while since he’s kissed anyone, so it’s good to know he hasn’t lost his touch.
“So that’s how it’s supposed to feel...?” Kuwabara whispers, looking a tad shell-shocked.
“Yes and no.” Yusuke doesn’t bother moving back into his own space, comfortable in Kuwabara’s gravity. “There’s other kinds of kisses, too.”
“Other kinds?”
“Haven't you heard of kissing with tongue?” Yusuke smiled, liking the way it caught Kuwabara's attention, his eyes flickering down to his lips. “But that requires more practice. I'm sure you'll pick it up fast.”
“Would you teach me?” He asks, his face red as a rose. “You seem really good at this and you know what you're doing, and I—”
“Dude, relax.” Yusuke chuckled. “I said I would teach you, didn't I? Whatever you want to know, we can practice. It'll just be between us, okay?”
“Okay.” Kuwabara readily agreed, a beaming, flustered smile gracing his face as he laughed. “Yeah, that would be great. Should we, uh, keep going, then?”
“Sure.” Yusuke taps his lips. “Show me what you’ve learned so far.”
“Oh.” Kuwabara tensed up again. “I thought— never mind. Yeah, okay.”
“You’re psyching yourself out again, I can see it in your eyes.” Yusuke pokes him between the brows. “Just don’t shove your tongue down my throat, and you’ll do fine.”
“I know! I’m not an idiot.” Kuwabara exclaimed with scarlet cheeks. He cups Yusuke face and leans in. As he does, his irritated look fades as nerves set back in. “But if it’s bad, don’t be a jerk, alright?”
“C’mon, just lay one on me.” Yusuke goads, shifting closer. “Are you a warrior of love or—”
His words are swallowed up as Kuwabara closes the distance and kisses him. Yusuke stays still, letting Kuwabara figure this out. It’s firm, even enthusiastic, but self-conscious and stiff. Kuwabara’s breath stutters shallowly as he moves his lips a bit, pulling back before Yusuke even has the chance to respond. Kuwabara’s eyes are narrowed in a glare, but there’s an uncertainty in it that he can’t hide.
“How was that?” He asked, embarrassed and uncomfortable.
“Not bad.” Yusuke admits, coming back to himself. “You need to do it with more confidence, though. It was too quick and hesitant.”
“Really?” Kuwabara’s shoulders droop. “It’s hard not to feel nervous. I... I just want to be good at this, you know?”
The words are hushed with self-consciousness, pulling sympathy from him. Yusuke sighs through his nose. It looks like the only way Kuwabara will gain confidence is with more practice.
“Just follow my lead, alright?” Yusuke tells him, planting his hand by Kuwabara’s hip and leaning in. Kuwabara meets him halfway, bumping their noses together. Yusuke cups his cheek and adjusts the angle, their lips pressing firmly against each other. He keeps is slow, almost sensual, and Kuwabara does his best to mimic what he’s doing, moving his lips in the same way.
“Better, but you’re just mirroring me.” Yusuke tells him without pulling away. “Focus more on the feeling, rather than the technique. It’s like dancing. Just follow my rhythm.”
Kuwabara nods, his breathing picking up as Yusuke kisses him again. He lets Yusuke takes the lead, responding with soft presses of his lips. It’s nice. Better than what Yusuke had been expecting when he first offered. Kissing Kuwabara isn’t super awkward either. In fact, the more he relaxes, the more it feels like when they spar. Yusuke dominates while Kuwabara keeps up, surprising him every now and then with something new. When the wet heat of a tongue swipes across his lips, he figures Kuwabara is ready to go up a level. Moving his hand to frame his jaw, Yusuke coaxes Kuwabara’s lips to part and slips his tongue in his mouth. Kuwabara’s breath hitches and he makes a sound akin to a whimper. Yusuke can feel his blush intensify, the heat radiating against his skin before Kuwabara pulls away.
“S-sorry.” He stutters, putting a hand over his mouth. “I wasn’t expecting...”
“Too much?” Yusuke asks, his eyes darting down to Kuwabara’s lips. Now that he’s gotten into this, he wants to keep going.
“No, it’s fine!” Kuwabara hastily corrects. “We can keep going.”
“Alright, but sitting like this is a little awkward.” Yusuke frowns. “We’re too far apart.”
“How’s this?” Kuwabara moves closer until their legs are touching. “Close enough?”
“I have a better idea.” Yusuke grins, planting his hands on his shoulders and straddling his lap. Kuwabara’s hands automatically steady themselves on his waist, his cheeks flushed. “This should be good.”
“O-okay.” Kuwabara nods, tilting his chin as a silent invitation to kiss him. Yusuke drapes his arms around his neck and accepts. It’s good to have the height advantage, leaning down instead of reaching up. It allows him for better control over the kiss, bracing both hands along Kuwabara’s jaw and kissing him soundly. Kuwabara’s panting into his mouth as Yusuke slips his tongue between his lips. He uses it sparingly, teasing Kuwabara with hints of it before taking it away again. When Kuwabara tries to copy, it’s too much too fast. Yusuke disconnects their lips with a wet sound, pecking kisses around his mouth before diving back in to take control again. Kuwabara relents with a soft sound that echoes in Yusuke’s throat, a hum of encouragement. When Yusuke next teases his lips with his tongue, Kuwabara tentatively meets him with a shy touch of his own. Yusuke strokes it with his tongue, following back into Kuwabara’s mouth like he was being led by the hand.
Maybe Yusuke’s getting a little carried away, because the kiss turns hungry. He nips Kuwabara’s lower lip, swallowing the surprised noise he makes. When Kuwabara does it back, Yusuke takes that as a sign to show him more. He tugs on Kuwabara’s lower lip with his teeth, before letting it go and soothing the bite with his tongue. He follows it up with a few more kisses, pecking them with just the right amount of grace period before going for a longer kiss again. Yusuke only realizes he’s been pushing forwards for more when Kuwabara starts to tilt back. Yusuke follows him, kissing him as his back falls against the bed and settling on top of him.
“Urameshi...” Kuwabara breathes into the kiss, his hands sliding up Yusuke’s back to grip his shoulders.
“You’re doing good.” Yusuke tells him between kisses, ignoring the husky way his voice comes out. “Just keep going.”
Yusuke loses himself in the warm press of lips and wet slide of tongues. He relaxes, stretching out on Kuwabara with a contented sigh as they kiss. Kuwabara is picking it up quickly, but there was still the tell-tale clumsiness to his technique that marked him as inexperienced. Yusuke does his best to accommodate this, guiding Kuwabara and demonstrating what to do. After a while, Yusuke loses track of time. It feels like forever and not long at all since they started kissing. He should probably pull back soon, but it seems like Kuwabara’s really getting somewhere. He’s about to fall back into the moment, when his ears pick up the sound of someone coming up the stairs.
“Shit.” He swears, pulling back with a slick noise as their mouths part. Kuwabara looks up at him, flushed and dazed by the sudden lack of kissing.
“Huh?” He says stupidly, but there’s no time. Yusuke hauls him up and pushes him in the direction of his desk chair, causing him to stumble and fall into it. “Urameshi, what—”
“We’re studying!” Yusuke hisses, throwing the notebooks haphazardly on the desk and grabbing his science textbook. He has enough time left to take a steadying breath before there’s a knock at the door.
“Yo!” He calls and Kuwabara’s cheeks flush red as he catches on. Yusuke kicks him, silently telling him to compose himself.
“How’d the studying going?” Shizuru asks as she opens the door, a tray balanced on one hand.
“Good.” Yusuke says offhandedly, flipping through the textbook to avoid making eye contact. “We’re learning lots of stuff.”
“Really?” Shizuru raises an eyebrow at Kuwabara. “I could’ve sworn you needed to study for your math test, not science.”
“We, uh, we already covered math.” Kuwabara fumbles, rubbing his neck and laughing awkwardly. “Yusuke offered to help me touch up on, uh, science. He’s a really good study buddy.”
“Is that so?” Shizuru looks a little suspicious, but ultimately seems to decide she doesn’t care what they’re up to. “Well, I thought I’d bring up some refreshments for you.”
“Thanks.” Yusuke grins, taking his cup of tea. “Perfect timing.”
“Right. Uh, thanks.” Kuwabara accepts his with a smile that looks a little pinched. Shizuru gives them one last lingering stare.
“You two are up to something, but as long as he passes his test, I don’t care.” Shizuru sighs before leaving. “Don’t distract him too much, Yusuke.”
“Right.” Yusuke agrees. As soon as the door shuts, both of them breath a heavy sigh of relief. He sets the cup and textbook aside. “Man, that was close. I think I was almost banned from your house for good.”
“Yeah.” Kuwabara sets aside his cup of tea and looks at him hopefully. “So... do you want to keep studying?”
“I should probably head out, actually. It’s getting pretty late.” Yusuke checks his watch and sees that he’s been here for over an hour and a half. Wow. It did not feel that long while they were making out.
“Oh.” Kuwabara’s shoulders wilt with disappointment. “Did I, uh... Did I do good, at least?”
He looks over to see him blushing and biting his lip. Yusuke licks his own lips and tastes Kuwabara on them.
“Yeah.” He says, his tone soft and husky. He clears his throat and tries again. “Uh, yeah. You did pretty good for your first try. But if you want to continue to practice, I should probably come over on Saturdays and stuff. I don’t want to get in the way of your grades, otherwise Shizuru will beat me with a broom.”
“So, Saturday is good, then?” Kuwabara perks up.
“Yeah. We can walk over here after I close my stand.” Yusuke grabs his jacket from the chair and puts it on. “See you.”
“Are you still going to meet up with me on my way home from school?”
“Duh. It’s on my jogging route.” Yusuke says as he opens the door. “Good luck studying.”
“See you later!” Kuwabara calls as he shuts the door. Shizuru gives him a long look as she sees him out. It’s a little uncomfortable, like she’s puzzling out what they’ve been up to. It makes him wonder how obvious it was that they’d been kissing when she opened the door on them. Whatever. He’s probably just being paranoid. As he’s walking home, he lights up a cigarette. Blowing out the first drag, something occurs to him. Did my mouth taste like cigarettes when we kissed? Kuwabara’s mouth had tasted sweet and a little minty. Maybe he’d eaten a mint or some gum or something beforehand. Maybe Yusuke should do that next time. I’m probably overthinking things. It felt nice, so let’s leave it at that. If Kuwabara has any complaints, he can voice them. But if the look on Kuwabara’s face when they parted lips was any indication, he didn’t have a single complaint.