#josuko

Notes: This was supposed to be a two parter; one chapter with Koichi & Josuke and one with Okuyasu & Josuke, but my muse won't cooperate... so we'll see in the future!

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“Hey, Koichi, could you--” Josuke cuts himself off and waves his hand vaguely through the air above his abdomen. He doesn’t know how to put into words what he’s asking for, and he can feel his cheeks warm slightly.

Koichi’s brows knit together before understanding passes through his features. He sets his notes down and crawls across the bed until he’s close to Josuke. There’s a moment of hesitation before he carefully climbs on top of the other boy and stretches his body on top of Josuke’s with his own stomach pressed against the other boy’s. He turns his head, so that his cheek is pressed against Josuke’s sternum, while his arms curl around either side of the other’s ribs.

“Like this?” Koichi asks once he’s settled, and all Josuke can do is hum in response. His face is blazing red now, but there’s a calmness spreading through him. A comfort that he can’t quite describe, but it helps settle his overactive mind.

Silence passes between them. Koichi closes his eyes, though he doesn’t go to sleep. Instead, he listens to the steady beat of Josuke’s heart just above where his head is resting. The sound of it is calming, and he has to admit that Josuke is actually quite comfortable to lay on.

“It… it’s weird, right?” Josuke asks with uncertainty tainting his voice. He sounds almost scared, like he fears what Koichi might say.

“This? No. I don’t mind,” Koichi could stay like this all day. In fact, he could take a nap just like this, though he doesn’t plan to. He knows Josuke’s on edge. Has been for the better part of the day, and leaving him in the waking world alone would be unkind.

“No,” Josuke pauses, “Like--it’s weird that it helps, right?” They’ve done this before, after all. Usually in brief bouts. Koichi sometimes lies perpendicular instead, but all that really matters is the warmth and weight of him. The solid surface of another body bearing down on Josuke’s.

“Oh,” Koichi goes quiet for a moment, chewing the words over as he thinks about how to reply. How to share what he’s learned from research after their previous sessions. He’d wanted to do a bit more digging before he went about explaining the phenomenon to Josuke, but he can feel lingering tension in Josuke’s muscles that points to a lingering bout of self-consciousness. “Actually, I’ve read about something called ‘deep pressure therapy’ before. It can be helpful with physical pain and--well, mental distress.”

“Oh. Huh,” Josuke whispers his response. He sounds mystified. As if the idea of such an odd request having real world benefits is completely beyond him.

Koichi gently squeezes his arms around Josuke in response. “I don’t mind. I don’t think Okuyasu does, either.”

“Yeah,” Josuke breathes. This time a little louder. More confident. “Thank you, Koichi.”

“Of course,” Koichi tilts his head up to smile at Josuke. The other boy has his eyes closed, with his head resting back against his pillows. He looks peaceful like that, and Koichi’s just glad he doesn’t weigh much. Otherwise he would worry about any ill effects. Then again, Okuyasu is a lot bigger than he is, and he’s pretty sure Josuke enjoys the experience just as much then. If for different reasons.

“Aww, no fair!” Speak of the devil. Koichi looks up to see Okuyasu standing in the doorway with a plate stacked high with snacks. He watches as Okuyasu kicks the door closed behind him and makes his way over to the bed. The plate gets deposited on the nearby nightstand, and Okuyasu clambers onto the bed in an instant.

Josuke pops one eye open to watch him with a half-grin. “Sorry,” he says, though he doesn’t sound it. His tone is too playful, and it’s music to Koichi’s ears after how sullen he’d sounded earlier.

“Pfft,” Okuyasu huffs, almost affronted. “You don’t gotta apologize to me, bro, but you do gotta let me get in on this,” he says, though he doesn’t actually wait to be invited into the pile. Rather, he presses himself up against Josuke’s side and slings an arm over Koichi’s waist. Josuke wraps his arm around Okuyasu in return, and Koichi does the same.

“Everyone good?” Josuke asks once everyone’s settled down. His eyes are closed again. Face relaxed. There are a few flyaway hairs sticking out of his pompadour that Koichi is tempted to smooth back into place, but he’s too comfortable to actually bother.

“Perfect,” Koichi says at the same time as Okuyasu practically shouts, “Yeah!”