afterlogs | [closed] you could be the best of me

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[closed] you could be the best of me

Who: Shouma and Yamashita

What: ~~no homo~~ The only way to get Shouma to make chocolate for Yamashita is to trick him into making it together - as handholding soulmates on top of it all

Where: One of those school kitchen rooms

When: the day of raburabu aka February 14th

Warnings: intense awkward gay crushing from Yamashita and intense awkward obliviousness and exasperation from Shouma, most likely, so none, really

[ Being in love with Shouma Takakura is a full time job, but Yamashita prides himself on doing it relatively well lately. One way or another, he always seems to get what he wants. It's almost creepy. But he doesn't want to think about what could go wrong now.
His plan so far had been a success, which is surprising, considering he made it up completely last minute. Amazingly enough, Shouma seems to have bought his excuse of being too excited to wait for White Day to get a gift for a loved one. It probably just isn't that unlikely. If there was anybody who just would turn everything upside down for his own romantic needs, it was probably him.
At least it wasn't the slightest bit of a problem to also convince Shouma that he definitely needed help with making chocolate. Any cooking classes he had attended in the last months spoke loud and clear on his ability in the kitchen.

Really, from Yamashita's perspective it's all perfectly logical. Because his crush is a boy, one of them would have to do the 'girly' part and give a gift on Valentine's. Since Shouma is the one skilled in the kitchen, the chocolate would be largely his work, so it would almost be as if he made it for Yamashita. As long as he tries avoiding the entire 'for whom are we even doing this' as much as he can, this plan should be foolproof.

However, waiting for Shouma in front of the kitchen already confronts him with an obstacle in the form of NPCs with Valentine's chocolate of their own. Yamashita really didn't expect getting any, let alone from NPC girls he didn't even know, so he's startled beyond believe. Awkwardly scratching the back of his head as he talks to them, he only hopes Shouma will get here fast. ]

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[If it has something to do with cooking, Shouma's already halfway involved. Food is the one thing in life that he can pride himself on, and getting him to cook something usually isn't a huge task...even in this context. Valentine's Day isn't much like the other holidays, even if most of them are centered around love and family, this one is a little...

Grosser. A lot grosser. And while he put up some protest, it wasn't like he had any solid reason to decline Yamashita's proposition. The more he thought about it, the more he figured he could pass some of the extras out to any deserving individuals, like Madoka-san. Literally the only other person he's spent time with. Not even to romance her or anything, but, she's been tolerant of him. She's nice. She deserves some chocolate hearts straight from the friendzone.

Lucky for Yamashita, he doesn't have to wait too long before Shouma shows up. Without any obstacles (penguins, fate, icy hallways), he's a fairly punctual guy, and it's no surprise to see him flirting with the NPCs when he does arrive. It looks more like he's being hassled, but, ah, details. Shouma forgot to ask whether or not Yamashita had the ingredients, but he decided to bring his own instead of texting. Just in case. Trusting Yamashita with details like proper ingredients after their last home ec assignment seemed like a risky idea.

And as we all know, he's not prone to risk-taking.]

If you're busy, we can do this some other time.

[He says, despite making a straight line for the countertop to set his plastic bag of ingredients upon it.]

[ There it is. The most awkward situation. Yamashita can't go as far as to say he doesn't like getting a lot of Valentine's advances from a lot of cute girls. It always feels good to be popular after all.
Still, it's not exactly pleasant to be seen by your crush when you're surrounded with people who are apparently romantically interested in you.

The best part of this is that the slightly miffed wording Shouma has here might be interpreted as jealousy if you were creative enough. Yamashita is certainly willing to be this creative.
With a bit of a grin he turns to greet Shouma and as their looks meet.... Well, actually, Yamashita almost doesn't notice what's wrong. The way Shouma looks in his mind, he might as well always be surrounded by sparkles and hearts. That this vision is more drastic than the gaze he usually sends through his fringe almost doesn't stand out to him at all. And even when he has to wonder why it's happening like this right now, it's easy to pass it off with the thought of Shouma being extraordinarily beautiful this day. ]

Ah, Little Takakuraaa! Of course I'm not busy, see, I even arrived before time!!

[ He nods and waves apologetically but charmingly (or so he thinks) at the NPCs as he fights his way through them and over to Shouma to wrap his arms around him from behind and rest his chin on his shoulder. ]

Thank yooouuu for coming, too, you're my saviour!!

[ Doesn't hurt to play some theatre, hmh? ]

[Yamashita always does put on a good act, unbeknownst to him. To him, this looks like the ideal situation for Yamashita. He's not even moving closer to yell at him for being perverted and wasting time. He's far too busy unloading his supplies, too busy to dodge Yamashita's embrace, which is much more tamer than he's used to.

Which is why he doesn't immediately fight it, even if the weight on his shoulder's grating. It doesn't interfere with him lining up his supplies (icing, cocoa powder, flour, butter, sugar, so many healthy things), anyway.]

Saviour?

[Isn't that drama— well, Yamashita factor is strong here.]

We haven't even started yet.

Well, maybe, but I have full faith in your food skills!

[ He grins, leaving over Shouma's shoulder some more to examine the ingredients. Behind them, the NPCs seem to have figured they need a change of battle strategy, leaving the boys some time before the inevitable apocalypse. ]

I'm already as good as rescued, with you by my side.

[ And the 'by my side' is certainly worded this intimately on purpose.
Finally he lets go of Shouma again, enthusiastically clapping his hands together. Maybe his motivation will make up for the fact that he has literally no clue how to do this. ]

[Sadly, that's just written off as one of Yamashita's quirks. Sometimes, he feels like a guinea pig for those things, but it's Valentine's Day so Yamashita should already have a Valentine.

Ergo, he doesn't need to be testing pickup lines on him.]

You don't need to go that far.

[It's just chocolate, after all. Did Yamashita even bother to check if his woo-er is allergic to chocolate? What if she dislikes it? A million things could go wrong, even if he's a damn good baker.]

First, [He begins, sparing Yamashita a proper glance since catching him getting intimate with the NPC's.] you should wash your ha—

[And in that moment, for a hair of a second, his friend looked...glowing? Sparkling, like some prince in a really cheesy movie. This is new, a first, even. He swallows nervously, blinks hard, and tries to remember whether or not he may have eaten anything odd today.]

h-hands. Wash your hands.

[He quickly turns his attention back to the sink, rolls up his sleeves with pointed effort and taps a little too much soap into his palm.]

[ Yamashita tilts his head really far to the side at that stuttering that he, already having had his vision and dubbed it normal, could really not see any reason for. ]

Sure, makes sense. Kitchen hygiene, right?

[ He's the absolute last person to talk about that after the flour disaster, but oh well. At least he also moves to wash his hands pretty much immediately, which may lead to him standing way too close to Shouma at the sink. ]

Is the sink alright though? You looked so startled just now.

[Shouma's too busy amassing soap suds to elbow at Yamashita or even request that he wait a minute for him to finish up.]

It's fine. [His answer comes quickly, suddenly hyper-aware of how fidgety he's become thanks to Yamashita's little remark.] I was just...

Thinking about last time. [Yeah, that flour incident. Even though it wasn't very shocking at the time, months later it apparently is.] Make sure you don't leave any soap behind.

[He's gonna spend twenty minutes washing his own hands, half because of how much he decided to use, and half because he's somewhat afraid to get on with it, face Yamashita again. What if that happens again?! What if he did eat something odd? It was creepy, and he's going to be distracted the entire time. What if he burns the chocolate...]

[ The flour has already faded to the back of Yamashita's head again as an everyday occurrence, so for a moment he's a humanoid question mark washing his hands, as he tries to figure out what Shouma is even referring to and why it is apparently so unsettling. Last time? Last time they hung out? Last time they hung out in a vaguely romantic setting? Last time they talked? Last Valentine's? The options are endless. When he finally arrives at the conclusion that 'last time they cooked' is probably a logical answer he already confused himself so much that he decides not to reply to that remark at all. ]

You say that, but you're kind of covered in soap lather yourself, aren't you?

[ Because you know, Yamashita is drying his hands by now. ]

[Yes to everything. Yamashita's unaffected by his little jibe, if it could be considered one, and instead — of course he'd notice the soap. That comment prompts him to rub his hands together in fast-motion, shake them off, and then he reaches to grab a towel of his own-! There's no way he's starting out on the wrong foot here.]

Isn't it more like you didn't use enough?

[Dab dab, dabbing his hands dry, all around his knuckles up to either wrist.]

...For starters, [Since Yamashita really doesn't need to wash his hands anymore, proving that Shouma is a class A nitpicker.] We have to mix the flour and cocoa together.

Got it!!

[ Has he really? At least he's rolling his sleeves up as a sign of his enthusiasm. Yamashita is absolutely set on impressing Shouma this time around. There are so many things that didn't get Shouma to like him already, so that narrows down the list and makes every new thing a little more likely, right? He'll ignore the infinity of things that can be done to impress someone.

When he turns towards their materials again, he also can't help notice the NPCs though. ]

Uh... don't you think they're looking at us kinda funny?

[ And with kinda funny, he means kind of terrifyingly. ]

[Shouma is like a tiny, innocent version of Gordon Ramsay, which means he isn't much like Gordon Ramsay at all, but his standards are awfully high for a nerdy high schooler and his faith in Yamashita's cooking abilities have long waned away.

But his excitement is commendable.]

Who?

[While grabbing for a bowl; he pauses to follow Yamashita's line of vision, frowning instantaneously...]

...Isn't that because you just blew them off?

[Logic!!]

Eeeeeeeh? I didn't mean to offend them though!!

[ Yamashita seems kind of in despair here, which probably contradicts his entire 'womanizer' image quite a bit. This isn't what he's used to at all though. It's him whose supposed to comment on everyone and look after everyone - other people are not supposed to look at him with the same kind of eyes. ]

I... it's just that I have someone I like now, so even if some of them are like really really hot, that just.... arrrgghhh...

[ Someone he likes. Ah yes. He can probably use this as an excuse now, given it is the entire premise for their situation here. Yamashita just prays Shouma never asks who. And as he struggles to explain this situation, his wandering gaze goes back to them and instinctively he moves closer to Shouma. ]

No, seriously, they're creepy....

[Such a weak defense!! The NPCs don't seem to buy it either. Shouma sets the bowl down in front of himself, kinda....not really wanting to focus on those creeps, even if they're sitting there in his peripheral vision and it's totally distracting in an aggravatingly subtle way.]

Are you just saying that, or does it have to do with your chocolates?

[Said while seeking out a measuring cup. He doesn't seem to mind at all when his friend inches closer, there's really no excuse to mind it at this point.]

Maybe you should apologize? Or ask them to go...

[Yeah, he's totally pinning this on Yamashita. 100%.]

Uh... you think that's the right thing to do?

[ Yamashita swallows hard. He really doesn't want to go back there. At all. But he also wants to convince Shouma that yes, he is serious about not wanting any of them.
It's kind of counterproductive that he still makes Shouma believe all that new determination is for an unknown other love interest, oh well, but baby steps are being taken. One day Shouma may figure it's hiiiim.

After this little detour of thoughts, Yamashita finally gets back to the matter at hand. If they're gonna do this, it'll probably be better to be alone. The NPCs need to go.
Which means he needs to go over to them. He finally nods. ]

Alright, I'll send them away. Politely.

[ He actually makes his way toward them, yet unaware of how creepy they really are. His ignorance does not last too long. Before he can even open his mouth to say something one of the girls shuts him up. ]

If there's no chance for you and me... then I guess I'll have to use drastic measures.

[ Yamashita doesn't even wait to get a proper glance at the knife in her hand, he just shrieks and jumps back towards Shouma. ]

T-that was a really bad idea!!

[He mumbles a 'how should I know?', more invested in cooking than Yamashita's NPC dilemma, like a good little Martha Stewart. This tow— afterlife was full of those weirdos, and Shouma has yet to spend time negotiating with any of them. On the contrary, he's done everything in his power to avoid them. Ignorance is, uh, something.

Trusting Yamashita's ability to ward off the unsuspecting, for now, he busies himself with mixing the cocoa and the flour, and while he's not watching, he isn't deaf, but...

...But he's sure he's misheard something. The discrepancy is enough to still his spoon and sideglance the scene until Yamashita cries out..which in turn, startles him. He ends up flinging a spoonful of flour onto the countertop (and now he can't chastise Yamashita for making a floury mess anymore).]

Yamashita!

[Not in annoyance; surprise, concern...a hand automatically grips at his friend's upper-arm once he's within range.]

I thought you were going to be polite?!

I was!! But she didn't even let me say anything!

[ Have a little more faith here, Shouma!! Yamashita is a nice young chap, obviously, what do you even think he could do to offend someone this badly?! Other than make inappropriately sexual comments, because in that case....

Also Shouma is touching him and that should really be a plus, but at a certain rate of mortal terror the small pleasures in life don't really get through anymore.
Yamashita knows the NPCs are not all fun and games. He's seen them turn into shadows at the school festival. So running from them in fear for his life - afterlife - is nothing new. Last time he spent some awful oursh hiding out in the biology closet with Madoka.

The NPC approaches steadily and it's for once more an instinct than a conscious reaction that Yamashita himself reaches up to grab Shouma's hand. As if holding on to something could save you from murder, what obvious logic. Or maybe to drag him away, run, run, run..... Yamashita doesn't get far enough to decide which of these was his own reasoning.

Because as their hands touch, the NPC suddenly seems to look right through them. What had been the eyes of a killer before, suddenly looks casual and unaffected. ]

Uh....

[ The NPC turns away, walks over to the counter and puts the knife in it's rightful kitchen place. ]

Uuuuuhm....

[ Yamashita doesn't even know what to say to this experience, really. ]

[Yamashita could have said any number of things! Shouma...of course, didn't hear him say anything particularly vulgar, or anything at all, but that's not logical! Of course Yamashita did something. Maybe it was an inappropriate gesture? That kid has no concept of personal space.

Fear warps certain things, and as it were, he doesn't mind Yamashita's invasiveness right now (he kinda started it this time anyway...). These NPCs are terrifying and attaching to the nearest thing for comfort goes without saying. The whole process of setting the knife down takes much longer than it does in actuality, but in the end...

They're safe?

Shouma stares between the knife and the NPC, back and forth several times before settling on Yamashita, no longer prepared to accuse him of anything, but dubious all the same.]

Are we...?

[Safe. He doesn't want to jinx it.]

Maybe we should go somewhere else.

I...

[ Yamashita stares back at Shouma and then back to the slowly leaving NPC and then back at Shouma. Then he nods slowly, not looking entirely convinced. ]

I think... we are?

[ Maybe? At the very least the NPCs do not seem to want to come back. Yamashita still feels his heart pounding in fear and tension refuses to quite leave his body - resulting in him continuing to cling to Shouma's hand as well. Not that he really feels like letting go is necessary in any way. ]

I don't wanna go out there though... [ That's the direction the NPCs left in, don't you understand? ] Let's just... close the door and hope for the best.

[This has been his worst cooking experience yet, here or otherwise. Since they're celebrating Valentine's Day, this place must celebrate Halloween as well, and Shouma's going to make it a point to not leave his room on that day. On that day especially. And April Fool's Day. That also has a lot of deadly potential.

Now that the NPC..NPCS seem to be bored with them, he's got his attention set on that knife.]

Seriously? You think they're waiting out there?

[He was thinking it too, but Yamashita had to say it which is totally different. It opens so many new paranoia doors, it isn't even a little bit cute.]

What if they don't want us to use their kitchen?

[Though it isn't technically theirs, is it? Besides, they could have vocalized that. Knifeplay is hardly necessary.]

Wouldn't they have chased us out then instead of... potentially locking us in?

[ Though Shouma is supposedly the smarter one of them, so maybe he has a point? But the NPCs all already had their chocolate, so they wouldn't need the kitchen, right? ]

There are none of them in here now, so can't we just continue and pretend this never happened?

[ Not that he is going to stop feeling kind of panicked for a while. Still, he won't even let knife-wielding NPCs get between them now. Also he just really doesn't want to go out and face any of them. ]

[That. Brings up a slew of concerns. What if they plan on setting the place on fire? What could Yamashita have said...?! Deep breaths, Shouma. This place probably has sprinklers set up. The afterlife may be for the dead, but this place, thus far, has been an awful lot like being alive. Aside from the random glitches and creepy NPCs...then again, the creepy NPCs are another home-y facet.]

Pretend it never...Yamashita! What do you think she was going to do with that knife?!

[Okay, he can't even figure it out himself. Part of him doesn't even want to speculate. He should just be glad she set it down.

This is also a new record for Shouma not giving a crap about his personal space being totally violated, though. That's something to celebrate later. Assuming there is a later.]

I don't know!! But it probably wasn't anything good, right?!

[ Yamashita is with Shouma here. Better not give it a name. Don't think of it in detail. Even if you know. ]

Did I ever tell you about the school festiva-- Actually now's probably not the time for that.

[ It will be the exact opposite of calming to reveal what these NPCs are capable of... Yamashita realizes that almost in time. Deep breaths, deep breaths... Everything will be fine. They are dead. There is technically nothing left that can really harm them. So whatever was going to happen, they might as well relax before it, right?
It wasn't as easily said as done, but at least there were no noises of movement coming from outside that led to any more nasty speculating. ]

[Nothing good could have come of that. It's not like there's anything available to be sliced up here; no cakes, no sandwiches, just teenagers.]

The school festival? What school festival?

[Time to spill. There's a rule everyone has to follow as a society, which is: you can't go to say something and then not finish. The only one exempt from this is probably Shouma Takakura, but that aside, this is their life on the line, and Yamashita clearly knows things-!]

...you're breathing on me.

[Just a little addendum.]

[ Why does he have to elaborate on things he hints while Shouma never does that? How is that a fair and balanced relationship? Platonic relationship, uh. Yamashita looks like he's seriously fighting with himself for a moment, which leads to him just completely ignoring that last comment.
There may be a ton of better times to have a conversation while being this close, but there are none where it is more justified and that's really enough. ]

The one... here... before you got here. Last September. I mentioned the good part of it, I think.... I just may have left out the part where the NPCs... turned to shadow monsters and went after us.

[ Heh. Just a minor detail. Yamashita smiles sheepishly according to that and then just leads his head fall down onto Shouma's shoulder. ]

That time everything turned back to normal soon though and Madoka-chan and I were fine just hiding out in a single room for a while, too... So I'd really rather stay here.

[Shouma's learned about keeping secrets from the very best, aka Kamba. He's already bracing himself for a helping of bad news, but it's better than being ignorant! Currently, he feels like an exposed zebra out in the Savannah being stalked by a pride of lions, and Yamashita, his only other zebra comrade, is holding out on some vital information. Maybe the lions are zombies, but that just means they have to find another venue.

...something like that.]

What are you talking about, shadow monsters?!

[That's ...pretty literal of an explanation. The image pops into his head well enough: monsters who are shadows, in form. Or maybe they're jus shadowy dark-- okay, the breaking news here is that the NPCs are monsters and no one bothered to tell him! His grip goes rigid, and Yamashita ought'a enjoy getting pulled closer for a change.]

You know Kaname-san? [An interesting revelation amidst the chaos.] ...Wouldn't they have gotten smarter? If they already tried to kill you before?

[This is NPCs we're talking about, Shouma...]

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