[yusuke seems to just fall apart for a few moments, his breath hitching, and he holds akira close, face pressed to his shoulder. when was the last time someone embraced him like this? when the phantom thieves defeated yaldabaoth, he thinks. that was a moment of celebration, so it felt appropriate then. before that... casual touches, there were, between friends and comrades, patching each other up after a battle, hands on shoulders, the occasional body pile-up after a rough turn in the mona car in mementos.

but nothing like this. nothing that pulls at yusuke's emotional core like this, makes him wish he could fall apart for just a few minutes and let akira put him back together. he knows what akira means, knows that part of him is feeling heartbreak, but this boy matters too much to him to let himself wallow in that. he meant it when he said he'd follow akira into the depths of hell; and nothing, not even a broken heart, will change that.]