Surprising Leadership

[madimpossibledreamer]

Main Points:
Persona 4 Past Will Tell AU (protag swap + Average AU)
Chapter Summary: Yosuke has some surprising skills.
Word Count: 465
Rating: Teen
pre-yosuke/souji

        Chie has to admit, at first, she’d thought Yosuke-kun was so ‘in demand’ for working at Junes because they were so short-staffed and his dad was trying to teach him some sense of responsibility.  It’s why she never used to give a second thought to forcing him to spend his paychecks on steak or anything else she wanted.
        “What’re you up to?” she asks as she joins him on the roof and finds him staring at what looks like a really colorful spreadsheet rather than eating.  He’s nibbling on a pencil absently.
        He glances up with a distracted if friendly smile.  “Trying to find equipment money.  My paycheck definitely won’t cover this, and even if we ended up with a break, it won’t last.  We still haven’t figured out who’s responsible.”
        She thinks about it and sighs.  “Yukiko won’t be able to do this, but you know those Junes shifts you were begging me to help you with?  Sign me up.”
        His eyes are definitely shocked.  “You sure?”
        “I’d rather suffer a little in my free time than have one of us bite it,” she tells him bluntly, and he nods solemnly.
        “Good point.  Uh.  I’ll get to you on schedule, okay?”  He shuffles to another page and pencils in probably an appointment to bring up the idea to his dad in one of the few white spots.
        The thing is, Yosuke-kun threw himself into this with enthusiasm, sure, but he’s being so mature and responsible about it, she gets it, now.  She’s been seeing signs of his customer service skills, and now he’s working on budgeting and logistics.  He’s keeping track of their Persona, their weapons and equipment, juggling all of their schedules, keeping an eye on things like classes and jobs.  He might come off as a goof, but he has an analytical mind that so far is doing a good job working through possibilities—better, even, than her, and she’s the one that wants to be a cop.  He’s even staying objective about this.  Even if he has a crush on the new kid, he’s not claiming there’s no possible way it could be him, and he’s (reluctantly) letting Saki be the one to investigate, because he knows he’s too close to this.  (He’s only reluctant because he’s scared.  If it’s true, if this is the murderer, he’s putting her in danger.  He only let her go ahead and do it because Saki’s feeling a little guilty again about not being comfortable fighting and she’s just as stubborn as he is.)
        The point is, she’d underestimated him.  There’s a reason he’s the leader, above and beyond the fact that he’s the first to have gotten a Persona, without a Shadow.  He might be a dork, but she’s proud to be his friend.