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Nobara doesn't remember the last time she allowed herself to be vulnerable and dependent on someone else. Maybe it was that time when she and Yuuji fought the cursed spirit brothers and Yuuji's speed helped with getting them away from the danger. That must have been the second and last time and the first one was probably back at the detention centre when Megumi saved her.
Now that she thinks about it, she wishes she was more open to letting people help her and asking for help when she needed it instead of trying to burden herself with everything.
Though it's close to funny how she almost never needs help in battles, but is close to helpless at that time of the month. Of course she can handle the cramps and the stomach and headache and still be able to do her chores and move around normally, but sometimes the pain gets unbearable and she's forced to lay in bed and take a painkiller every few hours. The first time this happens, Ieiri-sensei assists her. The second time, Gojo-sensei does(and he ends up giving away most of his sweets to her).
The third time, the pain isn't unbearable, but it's more unexpected. This time, Megumi and Yuuji are there for her.
They're gathered in the living room, bundled up in a blanket on the couch and watching a crime documentary on the TV. With her head in Megumi's lap and Yuuji's hand in her hair, Nobara is ready to nod off, but the familiar uncomfortable sensation in the lower part of her body combined with a sudden cramp makes her jump up immediately. That startles the boys, but before they have the chance to question her, she waves them off and runs to the closest bathroom.
However, her luck runs out there. There are no pads in sight, and she makes a mental note to put out some in every bathroom just in case. Then, she takes a deep breath and opens the door slightly to shout, "Yuuji! Megumi! Can you bring me my phone?"
In two seconds, Yuuji comes running and gives Nobara her phone. Once she takes it, she shuts the door. Though Yuuji remains there, and Nobara can hear a soft thump on the other side of the door, so he's probably not leaving any time soon.
"Are you okay?" He asks, "Did you eat something spoiled?"
"No, it's not that." She immediately answers. A second later, another pair of footsteps stops in front of the door. Nobara sighs. "Why did you both come?"
"You ran off so suddenly that we got worried." Megumi explains. "So… How are you? Do you need anything?"
Nobara props an elbow on the edge of the sink. She can't help but laugh, but covers her mouth with a hand because of the terrible echo in the bathroom.
"Jeez, if I was hurrying to take a dump would you be this worried?"
No answer comes from Megumi. Yuuji snorts, probably holding in his own laugh. And they're still there, patiently waiting for Nobara to enlighten them on her situation.
Texting or calling Maki and Ieiri-sensei is delayed for now. Gojo-sensei is also out of the question, so she swallows her pride and says, "Pads."
"Pats? As in headpats?" Yuuji guesses, sounding extremely confused. Poor clueless boy.
"Pads!" Nobara corrects, this time louder. "I need pads, I'm on my period!"
She hears a small collective 'oh' from Yuuji and Megumi.
"Should we go buy some?" Megumi suggests.
Nobara shakes her head 'no' until she realizes that they can't see her through the door.
"Go ask Maki or Ieiri-sensei. They should have some." She pauses for a second, nods to herself. "But yeah, I'll need more later."
"You go to Ieiri-sensei, I'll go to Zen'in-senpai." Megumi commands more than suggests, sounding like they're in the middle of a mission and he's calculating their moves.
Yuuji hums in agreement, but even after Megumi starts making his way down the hallway, the former still stays in his place.
"Um… Nobara? What are those pads you're talking about?"
Nobara rubs her forehead, feeling an incoming headache. She's ready to snap at Yuuji and tell him to just go and get my fucking pads!
However. She stops and thinks. Yuuji hasn't grown up around women unlike Megumi who had his sister. And Nobara had probably made a mistake by hiding her pads when the boys were in her room for the sole reason that she didn't know how they would react. And she has already seen and heard enough disgusted faces and 'ew's to cause her to be cautious. Not that she was really concerned about someone finding out that, surprise!– she is a female and she has normal bodily functions – she could always tell them off. But Yuuji and Megumi were a whole different story.
So she makes sure that her voice sounds normal, kind and not irritated or exasperated as she explains briefly, "They usually come in these square or rectangular packets. Just– Ieiri-sensei will know when you tell her it's about me, but call me if there's anything you need to ask."
"Oh, okay." Yuuji says and finally shuffles away from the door. "Be right back!" And he takes off running.
And so, she waits. And waits. Until a few minutes later there's a knock on the door and a quiet 'it's me' from Megumi.
"Zen'in-senpai doesn't have any. She said it's too early for her to stock up." He reports with a sigh.
Nobara groans, hits her knee when her leg gets the pins and needles from sitting for too long, and leans on the sink.
"Either way… Thank you."
"Don’t mention it."
After a while, Yuuji arrives back at the scene, running again, and immediately opens the door slightly so that he can stick his hand in, again. Nobara breathes out a sigh of relief as she takes the pad from his outstretched hand. Once he closes the door, he's already excitedly sharing with Megumi everything he has just learned("Did you know that there are, like, five or six different types of pads?? Or maybe more?" and "Man, I don't know how girls can suffer for a week every month– How do they do it anyway? Do they have superpowers?").
After Nobara is done, she walks out and is immediately stopped by Yuuji who plasters his hands on her cheeks, looks her straight in the eyes and his expression is so serious that she starts to get worried. And Megumi, as always, seems exasperated by Yuuji's antics.
"I won't ever complain about being in pain again."
Megumi's protest of 'Yuuji, no' goes unnoticed. Nobara blinks up at Yuuji, sighs and pats his shoulder.
"That's not how it works."
Yuuji pauses, frowns in confusion, then perks up suddenly.
"Ah, that's right!" He whips around to face Megumi. "We should go to the store."
Megumi hums in agreement and opens his mouth, but before he can ask if Nobara needs anything else aside from pads, she cuts him off.
"I'm coming with you."
"No!" Megumi and Yuuji exclaim, and now Nobara frowns at them.
"Why not?"
"You don't have to push yourself if it's too painful." Megumi reasons, "And we'll be fine on our own."
Nobara tries to argue, but the words die in her throat before she has the chance to say them. Instead, she crosses her arms and looks away, a little bit uncomfortable now that she realizes that Megumi and Yuuji are fully determined to do that for her and there is no way she can stop them. And another cramp reminds her that she actually needs the help.
"Call me when you get there."
Yuuji and Megumi answer with a curt nod. They take off after Megumi presses a kiss on Nobara's forehead and Yuuji follows up with a kiss on her cheek. It takes all of Nobara's willpower to not melt in a puddle on the floor right then and there. She sees them off with a small wave and returns to the living room to lay back down on the couch.
Soon, Megumi calls her on video chat, just as promised. He sighs in relief as soon as Nobara picks up. Yuuji is behind him, crouching in front of a sanitary products aisle and holding two packs of pads.
"Quick question. Which ones do you need? For day or night use?" Megumi says instead of a greeting.
"Night." Nobara replies before her attention is drawn to Yuuji. "Uh… What's he doing?"
"Sulking about the prices and the misleading descriptions."
"You have no idea how confused I am right now." Yuuji grumbles as he puts down the packs he was holding and motions wildly at the aisle. "What the hell is the difference between long, super long and extra long?! Is this Starbucks? Also, why is it called 'Always' if you don't always need them?!"
Nobara stifles a laugh. Megumi turns to look at Yuuji and deadpans.
"You're confused all the time though."
"That's not the point!" Yuuji shoots back, makes a frustrated noise, grabs a random pack and stands up to walk over to Megumi. "Nobara, please. Tell me these are the right ones."
"Nope." Yuuji's shoulders slump immediately. Nobara quickly rephrases her answer. "But you're pretty close. Just look for the same thing, but make sure it says 'night' on the package."
A solid two minutes pass with a frustrated Yuuji asking every question that comes to mind, an almost equally frustrated Megumi trying to calm him down and Nobara who answers every question, wincing every time she shifts in her place and explaining to Megumi that she's not dying when he asks if she's alright.
Once that torture mission is done, Yuuji grabs Megumi's hand and leads him to where the snacks are. Nobara guesses that people are staring at them, judging by Megumi's glare. At one point he even snaps at someone and Yuuji has to hold him back from summoning a shikigami.
Nevertheless, everything is well when it ends well, and it ends with Yuuji and Megumi barely holding together everything they took by the time they reach the cash register. Nobara makes sure to praise them for the good work and both of them smile like the lovestruck fools they are. Well, at least Yuuji does. Megumi wipes his own smile and blushes when the former points it out.
After they finally come back with a total of three full bags, they practically collapse on the couch next to Nobara. She goes straight for one of the bags to help herself to a chocolate before she faints from blood loss.
"So how was the trip on a scale of terrible to never again?" She asks around a mouthful of the sweet treat.
Yuuji groans in response as he leans on Megumi. The latter pats his head and wipes a bit of chocolate from the corner of Nobara's lips with his thumb before speaking up.
"Well, given that it's necessary to learn how to help you in the future… It wasn't that bad."
Nobara raises a brow.
"You sure? Because for a moment there I thought you were gonna go back to being the school bully."
Megumi scoffs and averts his gaze.
"I can't believe you still remember this..."
Yuuji perks up at that and, much to Megumi's disappointment, teams up with Nobara.
"I remember it too! Especially those poor guys who got so nervous just from seeing you." Megumi sinks in his seat, but Yuuji proceeds with the teasing by poorly imitating one of the guys' voice. "Sorry for not greeting you properly, Fushiguro-san!"
Nobara assists with "He beat half of the punks in the area to a pulp!"
Megumi stares at the ceiling helplessly, swipes his hands over his face and groans.
"Can we please not talk about this? And maybe stop focusing on me when there's a more pressing matter at hand?"
Nobara and Yuuji freeze and mutter a 'sorry'. The former looks down at her chocolate, breaks off a small piece of it and stuffs it in Megumi's mouth.
"You need it more than I do."
"I'm not on my period, but thank you." Megumi grits out, after eating the chocolate, of course. Yuuji barks out a laugh, so naturally, Megumi plasters a hand on his face and pushes him away while keeping his attention on Nobara. "And speaking of that, do you keep track of it?"
"Uh, yeah? Sure." Nobara replies. She fumbles with the chocolate and slumps back. "Of course I do."
"And you weren't prepared for today." Megumi deadpans. Nobara slumps further.
"We'll keep track of it then!" Yuuji suggests after successfully wrestling Megumi's hand away. Well, not too far because he's now playing with Megumi's fingers. Meanwhile Megumi is already searching for an appropriate app on his phone.
"But… You don't have to do that. I mean…" Nobara trails off and looks away. Her voice lowers almost to a whisper. "It's enough that you went out of your way to get so many things for me."
Damn, that was hard. Why is it so hard to talk about your feelings anyway?
Yuuji looks offended, Nobara doesn't know why. But the next moment, he gets up, moves to sit next to Nobara and wraps an arm around her.
"Look. We didn't go out of our way because we had to. We did it because we wanted to. We know you're strong and perfectly capable of taking care of yourself, but you should rely on us every once in a while for a change." He smiles and rubs her shoulder as he finishes with "How does that sound?"
Nobara's vision is blurring, so she looks down. She bites her lip because she can't be crying now, but somehow, Yuuji never fails to get her emotional when he's serious and especially when she's on her damn period and her emotions are acting against her. It seems that Yuuji affected Megumi too - Nobara is a hundred percent sure she can hear something suspiciously similar to a sniffle. And then, Megumi is also leaning in closer to her and resting his head on top of hers.
"Yuuji is right." He finally says, quietly, as if he would ruin the moment if he raised his voice. "I also had a hard time opening up to you two and, honestly, I still do, but… It feels nice to know that you're here for me when I need you. We just want you to feel that way too."
"Idiots…" Nobara mumbles after a while, wipes her eyes with her sleeves and looks up with a wobbly smile. "You said that on purpose to make me cry, didn't you?"
Before they can answer, she embraces them tightly, and their ribs almost crack under the pressure. The chocolate is quickly forgotten on her lap, already melting, but neither of them cares.
When they return the hug, Nobara sighs and closes her eyes. She comes to the conclusion that she could definitely get used to relying on them more often.
Bonus:
"From now on, if Nobara's on her period, we're all on our period!" Yuuji proclaims with a grin as an aftermath from the emotional moment.
Nobara and Megumi sigh.
"Yuuji, no."