Chapter Text
The first day of school passes without them crossing paths again. Yuuji is slightly disappointed. He wants to know what Yuuta has been up to for the last few years. It’s been about five years since they last saw each other.
He doesn’t get the chance to catch up with Yuuta until almost two weeks into the school year. Until then, they only cross paths a few times every day, waving at each other and sometimes even saying a quick hello. It makes Yuuji feel dejected.
“Yuuji!” hears Yuuta call to him that day.
“Hey,” Yuuji greets him.
School’s over, and he’s got nothing to do today, so he musters up all his courage and asks what he’s been wanting to ask for two weeks.
“Do you have anything to do? Let’s hang out.”
Yuuta beams at him.
“Sure!”
Yuuji finds himself smiling back. “Let’s have lunch together!”
While they walk to the closest fast food place, Yuuji thinks the air around them is still quite awkward. Besides some small talk, the two don’t talk much. Back then, it was also like this, Yuuji thinks. But somehow it wasn’t as awkward. It has nothing to do with the fact that Yuuji can’t look the boy in his eyes for more than a few seconds.
They soon reach the place, order and sit down. When carrying the food, a small girl runs into Yuuta and almost makes him spill his food. Nonetheless, the boy keeps a smile on his face and tells the girl to be careful. Yuuta was still so kind after all these years.
“So how have you been the last few years?” Yuuji asks him once they’re seated. He unwraps his burger and bites in.
“Hmm, nothing special really,” Yuuta answers him. “What about you?”
“I kind of built myself a reputation after you left.” Yuuji swallows down his food. “People thought I liked beating people up. Tiger of West Junior High or whatever.” He pouts at the memory. He was only defending others...!
Yuuta giggles at him.
“That’s cute,” Yuuji thinks he hears him say.
“Hm?”
“I said, that’s funny,” Yuuta repeats. “You’re not that type of person. I would know,” he laughs. Maybe that wasn’t the right way to start a conversation, because Yuuji is sure he just reminded him of not-so-nice memories from back then.
“Right...”
Yuuji takes another bite of his burger. Chewing, he thinks of other things to say. Maybe something more pleasant.
“How do you like school so far?” Yuuta asks this time.
“It’s fun! I’m already good friends with some people.”
“Ah, the girl from before and Fushiguro, right?”
“Fushiguro? Oh, yeah, Megumi! We’re good friends, even if those two fight a lot,” he laughs.
Yuuta doesn’t say anything. The two continue eating, and other than shallow small-talk and a few questions about school, they don’t really talk about anything. When they leave the shop, Yuuta turns to Yuuji.
“So, where do you live?”
“With Sukuna and Choso, I’ll just take that bus home,” he says, pointing at the bus station.
“Did you only move away with them?”
“Mhm, Sukuna started college, so we both moved in with Choso! Where do you have to go?” Yuuji asks, hoping they’re more or less walking in the same direction. He doesn’t want this to end yet. Unlike back then, when they only had each other, Yuuta seems to always be preoccupied with something or someone else. The thought leaves a bitter aftertaste in Yuuji.
“I also take that bus.”
“Really?! How come I never saw you?” Yuuji tries to think back. He’s 100% sure he didn’t see Yuuta anywhere.
“You always hang out with your friends,” Yuuta replies. His smile seems unwavering, but Yuuji thinks the look in his eye changes for a brief moment. How weird.
“We should hang out more.”
Yuuji nods in agreement. They should. Maybe on the weekend? He’ll text him and ask. Hmm... Suddenly, he realises that they haven’t exchanged numbers.
“Yuuta-nii, give me your number.”
The other boy breaks their eye contact.
“Sure.”
He pulls out his phone and hands it over. Yuuji does the same. He saves his number and gives the phone back. Giddy, Yuuji shoves his phone back into his pocket.
“Let’s go?”
Yuuta nods.
--
In the bus, the two sit next to each other in silence. Yuuji still feels a bit awkward, but significantly less than days before. Occasionally, when the bus sways sideways, their thighs touch. Yuuji isn’t sure why his heart seems to race at that. He plays some games on his phone to distract himself. Yuuta watches him play and laughs when Yuuji loses. None of this is good for his heart, he thinks. Maybe it’s more awkward than he thought. He’s never this nervous around people.
When the bus announces his stop, Yuuji stores his phone away and gets up. He and Yuuta exchange a quick goodbye before Yuuji hops off the bus. Yuuta continues waving as the bus drives away.
--
Yuuta doesn’t really text first. It only happens if he sees Yuuji, and the boy doesn’t notice. Yuuji doesn’t really mind. Yuuta is still the same shy person he was back then, he figures. He’s always been the one to show up at the other’s house, so what if he’s the one who texts first? At least Yuuji doesn’t have to deal with the butterflies in his stomach he gets when Yuuta texts him first too often. Otherwise, he thinks he really won’t survive.
“Looking at you and Okkotsu-senpai’s chat again?” Nobara asks when she sits next to Yuuji to eat lunch.
Yuuji nods, embarrassed.
“He said he’ll join us for lunch today,” Yuuji sighs. “But I don’t see him anywhere.”
He looks up from his phone to see Nobara grinning.
“Speaking of the devil,” she laughs.
Behind Yuuji, Yuuta, and Megumi are approaching them. Yuuji smiles at them and waves. The two exchange a weird glance Yuuji isn’t sure how to interpret. Sometimes, he thinks they don’t like each other. But it would be weird, right? Yuuji forgets all about his thoughts when Yuuta sits next to him. Megumi spares him another, slightly grumpy glance— but seriously, when doesn’t he look like this? —and sits down next to Nobara.
“Hello, Kugisaki,” Yuuta greets before turning to Yuuji. “What are you doing after school?”
“Going over to Megumi’s place, why?” Yuuji answers.
Somehow, he feels like he’s said the wrong thing again, because Yuuta’s smile freezes. He looks slightly irritated. Yuuji’s sure he’s imagining it.
“Wanted to ask if you want to ride the bus together again.”
“We can tomorrow?”
“Sure,” Yuuta answers.
“You could also hang out with us; I’m sure Megumi wouldn’t mind.” Yuuji finds himself saying, even though Megumi looks like he does mind.
Yuuta shakes his head. “No, thank you.”
After that, they eat in silence, with the sole exception of Nobara, who talks about random things Yuuji doesn’t pay attention to. The only thing he thinks about is Yuuta-nii’s disappointed face when he told him he won’t walk with him today. It makes his thoughts run wild. What if he’s still getting bullied? And, like back then, the worst of it only happened after school? Yuuji fidgets nervously with his food. His appetite is all gone now. He would like to ask, but what if he’s wrong? It would hurt his feelings for sure.
The bell rings, and all the students scramble back to their classes.
--
“Yuuji, how do you seduce people?” Nobara whines once they’re back in class. Confused, he arches an eyebrow in reply.
“Eugh, you’re so oblivious.”
She doesn’t explain herself even after he spends the rest of the day begging.
--
“Do you ride the bus with Okkotsu-senpai a lot?” Megumi asks out of the blue while they’re on the train to his place.
“Not really, he’s always busy.”
“Okay.”
Yuuji wonders why he’s asking, but somehow feels like asking isn’t a good idea. How strange. The rest of the ride passes in silence. Megumi isn’t a man of many words, but Yuuji doesn’t mind. They still have fun together. He supposes he’s similar to Yuuta in that aspect. Or maybe not. Yuuta wasn’t as gloomy. Yuuji snickers.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Just remembered something.”
The train announces their stop, and the two step out. It’s not a long walk until they reach Megumi’s house. Once inside, they take off their shoes and walk to the living room. Megumi recently got a new game that they want to play. The two flop down on the couch for a second before Megumi gets up to set everything up.
Too immersed in the game, the two boys spend the whole day playing. It’s not until Megumi’s sister comes home and asks Yuuji if he’ll be able to catch the train back that they realise how late it is. A quick look at the clock tells Yuuji that he, indeed, did miss the last train.
“You can stay the night if you want,” Megumi offers, and Yuuji jumps into his arms, thankful.
“I’ll call Choso to let him know.”
Choso picks up in no time. Turns out, he’s called Yuuji about ten times an hour for the past few hours. Oops. Yuuji scratches his head. The older insists on picking Yuuji up, but Yuuji is persistent. Spending the night at a friend’s is more fun than coming home to a scolding. Sukuna isn’t even home today to sort of defend him.
“I’ll get mad at you if you don’t let me stay,” he says, voice as stern as possible.
Choso’s breath hitches. Yuuji knows that phrase works like magic.
“Okay, but promise to tell me in advance next time.”
Soon, the two hang up, and Yuuji walks upstairs to Megumi’s room. He knocks before opening the door. Megumi is standing in front of his closet, with some clothes in his hands.
“You can change into those,” he says, looking at the floor.
Yuuji takes the clothes with a quick thanks and starts undressing. Megumi starts coughing.
“You can use the bathroom,” he says.
Yuuji cocks his head. Maybe he stinks? Nodding, he pulls his shirt back down and leaves for the bathroom. When he’s finished, he comes back to the room. Megumi laid out a futon for him to sleep on. Yuuji thanks him and lies down, stretching his limbs. He doesn’t notice Megumi’s eyes lingering.
--
Yuuji and Megumi are walking to school when Yuuji sees Yuuta from afar. He waves, hoping to catch the boy’s attention. He succeeds. Yuuta smiles at him as he waves back, but then he looks next to Yuuji, and his smile falters. When they’re closer, Yuuta greets him.
“Morning Yuuji!”
Yuuta looks at Yuuji, then at Megumi, and then back at Yuuji. It makes Yuuji feel a bit weird. Was there something? Ah, maybe these two really didn’t like each other.
“I didn’t see you on the bus.”
“Oh, I slept over at Megumi’s,” Yuuji says, running his hand through his hair.
“Slept over,” Yuuta seemingly murmurs.
Yuuji nods.
“We’re going to be late,” Megumi interrupts.
“It’s still early,” Yuuta replies. “You can leave if you need to do something.”
Megumi grits his teeth. “No.”
“You’re awfully close for people who’ve only known each other for a month.” Yuuta looks slightly agitated, but Yuuji isn’t sure.
“And you’re not close at all, given that you’re childhood friends,” Megumi says, and Yuuji has to step back.
Why were these two being so...weird to each other? When he looks at Yuuta’s face, he is—for the first time—super sure that Megumi struck a nerve. Yuuji grabs Megumi’s hand and drags him away, walking towards the entrance.
“We really do have to do something, I just remembered,” Yuuji hopes he sounds more or less convincing. “Bye, Yuuta-nii!”
Once again, he isn’t sure if Yuuta’s face just soured. In contrast, Megumi has been awfully quiet since he started dragging him. How weird. Usually, he would yell at him to stop. Mentally patting himself on the shoulders for de-escalating whatever these two were about to do, Yuuji leads his friend to class.
When they enter, Megumi finally returns to his usual self. He pulls his hand away, grumbling about how Yuuji should stop dragging him. Yuuji laughs. He walks over to his seat, greeting Nobara, who’s looking at him weirdly. An eyebrow raised, she looks at him, then at Megumi, and then back at him.
“I thought you were into Senpai...”
“Hm?”
“You’re hopeless.”
Yuuji doesn’t know what she means.
--
At lunch, Yuuji eyes Yuuta with a girl he assumes is Maki-senpai. They look close, he notes. Are they maybe more than friends? The thought sours Yuuji’s temper for some reason. They’re just best friends, he’s sure. But that too makes Yuuji feel weirdly agitated. Yuuji thinks back to Megumi’s words. Not close at all, he had said. Frowning, Yuuji sits down next to his friends. So, what if Maki and Yuuta were close? Doesn’t mean he and Yuuji couldn’t be close again. They’ll be best friends—no, the bestest of friends!
He and his friends eat their food in silence. Megumi is the first one to go back to class. The moment he’s at a reasonable distance from him and Nobara, the girl looks at Yuuji. It’s a scary look. She’s way too excited for some reason. The same type of excitement when she’s talking about Maki-senpai. Yuuji frowns. Hopefully, she wouldn’t start gushing about her. The girl has done nothing wrong to him, but he feels strange when thinking about her.
“So, you stayed over at Megumi’s,” she says. “And then you look super jealous that Okkotsu isn’t spending lunch with you. What’s up with that?”
Yuuji isn’t sure what the correlation is. And he isn’t jealous. That’s not it, he’s sure.
“You really are hopeless,” Nobara sighs. “It’s obvious you’re in love with Okkotsu. But what’s up with Megumi?”
“Love?!” Yuuji says, way too loud. “I’m not in love with him!?”
He feels himself sweating. No, that’s not it. Nobara is just dreaming. Maybe it’s all a plot to have some sort of double date with Maki and Yuuta. He ignores how it actually sounds appealing. He isn’t in love with Yuuta-nii.
“So, what, you like Megumi?”
Yuuji’s head spins.
“NO!?”
“Calm down, people are looking...”
The bell rings. His saviour. Yuuji rushes to class, ignoring Nobara’s yell to wait for her.
--
“Give me your money, boy,” Yuuji hears someone say.
He’s aimlessly walking down the street, trying to clear his mind. Maybe thinking of Yuuta has some weird aftereffects, because he’s sure he hears him.
“Look, I really don’t want to do that.”
A look to the side confirms it. His suspicions were real. Yuuta still gets bullied. A group of boys their age, wearing a different school’s uniform, surround Yuuta. One is grabbing him by the collar. The scene makes Yuuji’s blood boil. He rushes over and kicks the guy in the shins. He falters and lets go of Yuuta.
“Yuuta-nii, step back, I’ll deal with this!”
The situation is dealt with within seconds. The bullies scram after Yuuji beats half of them. Their arrogance is gone.
Yuuji looks back at Yuuta. There are no bruises, no scratches. He came at the perfect moment, thankfully.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Yuuji asks, trying not to sound angry. He is, but not at Yuuta. It’s not his fault he is frail and too kind. People like taking advantage of timid people.
“Tell you what?” Yuuta looks confused, and Yuuji feels hurt. Did he not think about confiding in him at all? Maybe Megumi was right. They aren’t close at all.
Yuuji looks away from Yuuta. He has never been good at pretending, so his emotions are probably written all over his face,
“Just because we aren’t as close as we were back then, doesn’t mean I don’t want to know if people are bullying you.”
“Yuuji—”
“I told you back then, I’ll protect you forever,” Yuuji says. Maybe it’s childish. “Just because we didn’t see each other for a few years, doesn’t mean...”
“I’m sorry,” Yuuta says, and it doesn’t make Yuuji feel any better.
“I didn’t want to worry you,” he explains.
“Can I walk with you after school? Like back then?” Yuuji finally manages to look up. “Please?”
Yuuta smiles, and it makes all of Yuuji’s negative emotions disappear. “Of course.”
The two walk to the bus station together. Yuuji feels too awkward to start a conversation. When they’re in the bus, every accidental touch makes him think of Nobara’s words. It isn’t like that. Whenever they have eye contact, he feels his heart speed up. Stupid Nobara. Her words make him feel too self-conscious.
“Yuuji, isn’t this your stop?”
Yuuji looks up. It is. He rushes to get off. Yuuta laughs at him, and it makes Yuuji laugh too.
“Bye!!”
--
The day after Yuuji and Yuuta meet up right after school. Megumi and Nobara don’t give them too much of a reaction until a week later.
“So, are you just going to hang with Okkotsu-senpai from now on?” Megumi asks.
“Someone’s pissed. But yeah, you’ve been stuck to him all week, we haven’t met up in so long...” Nobara voices.
Yuuji isn’t sure what to tell them. He can’t just tell them he’s scared of Yuuta getting bullied. That’d be rude. He thinks and thinks and thinks, until Megumi rolls his eyes and Nobara seems to hold in a laugh.
“Sure, whatever. I have a train to catch.” Megumi eaves and goes.
“Did you start dating?”
“Who?”
“You and senpai, who else?”
Dating...dating...
“No?!”
Yuuji sees Yuuta approach them. The accusation swirls in his brain. Dating... He looks back at Nobara.
“Stop asking weird things.”
“Dude, it’s not weird to be in love with your friend—”
“Who’s in love?” Yuuji hears Yuuta ask. Ah, it couldn’t get any worse.
“Nobody!” he yells, waves bye to Nobara and drags Yuuta to the exit. “Ignore her, please...” He’s sweating.
If he had looked at Yuuta, he’d, maybe, finally notice the bitter jealousy on his face. Instead, Yuuji looks straight ahead until he feels Yuuta’s grip on him tighten. A glance at their intertwined hands raises the flush on his face once again. Dating... Embarrassed, he lets go and pockets his hands.
“You like someone?” Yuuta asks. Once again, the bitter tone flies over Yuuji’s head.
“No?”
“Is it Megumi?”
“What?”
“You hang out with him a lot. Do you like him?”
Huh? Yuuji finally looks up at Yuuta. He’s not sure how to interpret his look.
“Why would I like Megumi?!” Seriously, why is everyone being so weird?
“Sorry, I got too...” Yuuta doesn’t finish his sentence. “Ah, right, I’m meeting up with Maki today, I have to go.” Yuuji watches him go, completely confused. Once again, something inside him doesn’t like that.
In love... dating...?