#sorry my fic has me thinking about them and I'm tryna write a misunderstanding yusuke has of their relationship

[bisaster-energy]

expanding on this a little lol but yeah as they're getting closer while they're still kids i dont think Yusuke is normal about it in the SLIGHTEST. he had a set dynamic: keiko is his friend and kuwabara is his other friend and it's awesome

but now all of a sudden his friends are pairing up? having things in common besides knowing him? he's not gonna be rational about that at like 14. he's actually gonna be insufferable

inserting himself when they're just studying, making snide suggestive remarks about their friendship making kuwa embarrassed and keiko angry which just convinces him that it's true and he gets even more upset it's a mess

he just feels like he's being left behind even though half the time kuwabara and keiko are just talking about HIM

obviously he doesn't stay like this they sit his ass down and force him to listen they both love him and the last thing they'd do is cut him out of the loop "you matter you are precious to us now stop being an asshole"

because i personally see his and keiko's relationship as like. rock solid i feel like he'd be more wary of keiko taking kuwabara out of his reach, especially when he starts getting more studious and serious about school and less involved in spirit world shit

cos keiko? he's known her forever he couldn't get rid of her even if he tried. he knew keiko before most of his insecurities settled in but kuwabara came later. after the walls were put up

and that might make him feel like "well he can leave me at any time and of the 2 of us keiko is clearly the better option..also keiko is like a girl so what if he ends up liking her more than me :(" queer insecurities moment

so i do think he'd be fighting the change in the dynamic at first. not being the sole connection between keiko and kuwabara. but he'll see that it's actually great to be friends with people that also care about each other. to be able to walk away for a little and know they have each other. when he's a little more mature

big believer in keiko and kuwabara being besties like. you're my best friend's best friend and instead of it being awkward they realize "hey i really like hanging out with you!" this is ofc extremely detrimental to yusuke who now has two people on his ass

they share textbooks keiko quizzes kuwabara til he drops and she asks for fitness advice. why do i think this? I simply think it'd be funny asf if Keiko randomly got abs of steel. yusuke walks in on them doing sit ups while testing each other on vocab and almost breaks into tears.

"Keiko stop turning kuwabara into a fucking nerd he's wasting all his time studying instead of goofing off" "yusuke shut up and feel my abs" "holy shit these guys are like rock hard" "right??"

Kuwabara gets glasses and yusuke genuinely thinks it's a bit at first but kuwa is like "man seriously I realized part of the reason school was hard was cos I couldn't make out the words in my books half the time I need these things fr" classic yyh collapse in shock moment

Keiko and Kuwa are there for each other when yusuke goes off doing god knows what in Makai. They know he'll be back but it can be shitty not knowing what he's doing when he'll be back. Kuwabara reassures her that Yusuke does give a shit even when he leaves and Keiko reminds Kuwabara of why he doesn't need to drop everything and join him. He'll be back he'll be back he'll be back.

Kuwabara can only make simple meals Shizuru forced him to learn and Keiko doesn't really cook even tho her parents own a restaurant so when yusuke is in the human world there's cheers and applause "finally I get to eat 🙏🏼" "aren't you guys graduating college soon how are you surviving when I'm not here" "get back in the kitchen boy" "yeah I need another bowl 😌" "im poisoning ur food"

because girls and guys apparently can't just hang out school mates are sure Keiko is dating kuwabara but some think she's with yusuke and others think the two are fighting over her and she just looks at them like they're stupid if anyone ever asks directly

as for Kuwabara nobody knows whether he has a gf or a bf cos sometimes a polite brunette with a sweet smile visits him on campus and they talk at a picnic table (she's seen hitting him sometimes tho) but other times a guy with slicked back hair and devil may care attitude like. swaggers up to kuwa when he's with some classmates and drops a homemade lunch in his lap "you forgot this dumbass" "ahh thanks yusuke you're a life saver 🥺" "just eat your food" inside is the cutest box lunch and yusuke's glare keeps the people kuwa was with from cracking jokes. kuwabara acts like this is very normal

anyway i just think it'd be cool if they hung out and yusuke was equal parts delighted and grumpy about it