Chapter Text
Megumi realizes that he might be in love with Yuuji, and he doesn't know what to do.
That is unfortunate. Usually, when confronted with a complex situation, Megumi somehow always manages to find a solution. Whether it is a slight problem or a major, life-threatening kind of problem, his analytical mind offers various options, and he habitually chooses the most satisfactory outcome. He might not be the strongest, but at least he always considered himself smart enough to handle pretty much everything that bothered him. Which is exactly why he is terribly upset about the fact that he is now confronted with a problem he doesn't know how to deal with.
Megumi is sitting in the back of a dark car after a long and difficult mission while Ijichi drives them back to Jujutsu High. Nobara is sitting on his right, looking distractedly out the window, her eyes half closed. Megumi feels completely drained. That mission really was a pain, and it is a miracle that they all emerged relatively unscathed after their fight with a semi-grade 1 curse.
But the problem isn't about the mission or the curse. The problem is currently sitting on Megumi's left in the form of Itadori Yuuji, fast asleep with his head resting on Megumi's shoulder. The problem is that the realization just hit him. He doesn't mind Yuuji sleeping against him. He doesn't mind that their shoulders touch, that Yuuji's face is so close, that he can hear his steady breath. In fact, he thinks this is quite nice.
That is very unfortunate. Megumi glances at Nobara without moving his head, but she's not paying attention to them. Good. Megumi doesn't want to attract attention. He tries his best to maintain a neutral expression, as if there wasn't chaos in his mind and confusion in his heart. How long has this been going on? If he's being honest with himself, he can say that from the moment they met, he has felt some particular affection for Yuuji. Affection. That was all. Or was it? Now that he thinks about it, his feelings seem to strike him like a big slap in the face. Everything suddenly makes sense, somehow.
Yes, everything. How he was amazed at Yuuji's determination to save his friends when he was just a regular guy with no knowledge whatsoever about curses or cursed energy. How he felt when Yuuji fought alongside him despite the fact that they had just met and that he was facing mortal danger. How his heart sank when Yuuji swallowed Sukuna's finger and he thought he was going to die. Maybe that was why he saved him. Maybe there was a good reason why he asked Gojo-sensei to keep the higher-ups from killing him. "Is that a personal opinion?" Yes, it was.
Yuuji makes a slight movement and settles more comfortably against Megumi, still fast asleep. The evening light gives his skin a soft glow. His body is warm and it feels really nice. Megumi watches the slow movement of his chest with each breath he takes, and he feels a burning pain in his stomach at the recollection that he literally saw him die a few weeks ago. He doesn't want to think about it. He doesn't want to think about how miserable he felt the days after. He shakes his head to try and make those thoughts go away. Yuuji is alive and well now, and he's sleeping on his shoulder. Now, Megumi has another problem.
The problem isn't exactly that Megumi is in love with Yuuji. This, in itself, is not something to worry about. After all, it doesn't feel strange to Megumi. He never really cared about such things as gender preferences and always thought that it was about the people themselves, the individuals. He just knew that he liked kind, compassionate individuals, people with a good heart. Yuuji has a good heart, he is sweet, enthusiastic, supportive, charming. He's also determined, brave, and crazy strong. And rather pretty to look at. In fact, he is totally loveable.
The problem is that Megumi's feelings are certainly one-sided. And that is very unfortunate. He takes his eyes off Yuuji and lets out a sigh. Megumi can deal with a lot of things, but he doesn't know how to deal with unrequited love. Yuuji has made it quite clear that he was into girls. Jennifer fucking Lawrence, seriously?
So, what should he do? For a second he considers asking Gojo-sensei for advice. No, forget it. Maybe Nobara? But he just knows that she'll tease him mercilessly. Megumi takes a deep breath. He has a headache, and he can't think straight. Quite literally. For now, he might just suffer in silence. He'll pretend that everything is fine and that he's not in love with his classmate. For now. He'll figure out a solution later.
Ijichi stops the car in the courtyard.
"Here we are, kids."
Nobara yawns loudly and opens her door to get out. Ijichi seizes his phone and dials a number as he steps out of the car as well. Megumi turns to Yuuji, but the boy is still sleeping. He watches him for a moment, and he looks so peaceful. Sometimes he finds it hard to imagine that there is a literal monster hiding inside of Yuuji. Reluctantly, Megumi puts a gentle hand on Yuuji's arm and shakes him.
"We've arrived, Itadori" he says in a low voice.
"Uh? What?" Yuuji blinks.
"You fell asleep in the car."
Yuuji rubs his eyes and glances around him, then he looks back at Megumi.
"Oh, was I sleeping on you?"
"Yeah."
"Sorry" he pulls away, embarrassed. "You should've pushed me!"
Megumi simply shrugs.
"It's fine, I don't mind." I don't mind at all. "Besides, I didn't want to wake you up."
Yuuji gives him a soft smile, and Megumi isn't sure if it's only his imagination or if Yuuji's cheeks really are slightly flushed.
"Thanks" he says, averting his gaze.
"Anytime."
Megumi is almost sure that Yuuji is actually blushing a little. That can't just be the golden hour light, can it?
"Hey, you two! Get a move on, will you?" Nobara yells from the other side of Yuuji's window.
"Alright, alright!" Yuuji gets out and holds the door open for Megumi.
"Thanks."
"Right, let's report to Gojo-sensei and have some dinner" Nobara declares.
"I'm so hungry!" Yuuji groans as his stomach echoes with a loud growl. "Can't we skip the report?"
"No, we can't. He'll chase us" Megumi replies.
"Yeah, let's just get it over with" Nobara adds.
"Uh, fine."
"Why don't we go and get some sushis after?" Megumi asks.
"I'm dead tired, I'm not going out after this" Nobara shakes her head.
"You know what, I'll just order them" Megumi says, taking out his phone. "They should arrive right on time."
"That's a brilliant idea, Fushiguro! You're the best" Yuuji beams, and he casually throws an arm around Megumi's shoulders.
Well, maybe suffering in silence is going to be a bit of a challenge, after all.
*
Yuuji thinks he might have some unexpected feelings for Megumi, and he is completely lost.
A lot of things have changed in his life since he joined Jujutsu High, and he's had to deal with a number of new situations. Becoming a Jujutsu Sorcerer, fighting curses, learning how to control cursed energy, being punched in the face by cursed corpses while trying to watch The Lord of the Rings... All of those things are new to him, and exciting. But realizing that he really likes Megumi Fushiguro, as, he's into him, is also something that's entirely new and entirely confusing.
Yuuji likes girls, he knows that. He likes tall girls with big butts, that's what he told Todo when he asked him. And that's the truth. So why does he find himself staring at Megumi so often? It took him a little while to notice it, or to admit it, but he enjoys watching Megumi train more than the others. He doesn't feel the same warmth in his chest when he watches Nobara, or Maki-san. He doesn't steal glances at the others at random times to make sure that they're fine. He's starting to think that maybe there's a reason why he's risked his life several times, without even thinking twice, to protect Megumi.
He's going insane. He sits on his bed in the cool morning light, thinking about how happy he was the night before when Megumi brought him his favorite sushis after a long, hard day of chasing curses. And he knows he wasn't just happy about the sushis. He also thinks about how he fell asleep on Megumi's shoulder because he felt exhausted and warm and safe near him. How embarrassing...
He runs a hand through his hair and decides to go have a shower to clear his thoughts. Unfortunately, that doesn't work. In the shower he keeps thinking about Megumi and all the things he likes about him. His calm, comforting presence, his voice, his long lashes, his rare but beautiful smile... He shakes his head. Why is this happening to him?
Having a crush on a guy is already pretty confusing, but fine, why not? After all, these things happen to a lot of people, don't they? People can be attracted to more than one gender, and maybe Yuuji just assumed that he liked girls and only girls because he didn't think twice about it, and it took Megumi to make him understand that he was mistaken. Maybe. Alright. But having a crush on Megumi Fushiguro, of all people? How did that happen?
Why Megumi, who is always so grave, so serious? Megumi, who acts calm and collected, who's the one who thinks before he acts, who doesn't talk much and likes to be left alone. Yuuji doesn't know, and he's almost certain that Megumi finds him annoying, loud, and kind of dumb. They get along pretty well, and Megumi is too polite to say something rude to him, but there's no way he would ever want to... Well, there's no way he likes him the way Yuuji does.
He decides to go out for a walk and maybe ask for somebody's advice. He thinks of Gojo-sensei, but realizes that might not be a great idea. Gojo-sensei isn't exactly good with people. Maybe Nanamin? No, Nanamin can't be bothered by that kind of silly things. Nobara? Not a good choice either. Besides, she's gone shopping with Maki-san. Yuuji wanders around Jujutsu High, thinking that he might just go and train a little by himself, though he's not really filled with enthusiasm. Then he spots Inumaki-san sitting alone on a bench.
Now that is somebody he could possibly talk to. Yuuji likes Inumaki-san, even if communicating with him can be a bit tricky. Inumaki is kind, he's good at listening, and he won't make fun of him. Exactly what he needs right now.
"Hey, Inumaki-san!" Yuuji calls, waving at him.
Inumaki turns and waves back, inviting him to come.
"Do you mind if I join you?" Yuuji asks.
"Salmon."
"Cool, thanks!"
Yuuji sits down next to him and crosses his hands behind his head.
"What are you doing here all alone? Where is Panda?"
"Kelp" Toge says.
"I see."
Yuuji isn't really sure he understands everything that Inumaki says, but usually he can determine the general meaning from the tone of his voice. There he just assumes that Inumaki doesn't know where Panda is, or that he doesn't care much. Yuuji stays silent for a while, staring at nothing in particular, then he lets out a deep sigh.
"Fish flakes?"
"Uh, yeah, it's just... I've got something on my mind, and I don't know what to do."
Yuuji straightens up and looks at Inumaki.
"This might sound like a stupid question, but... Have you ever been in love?"
Toge smiles.
"Salmon."
"Really?"
Toge nods.
"OK, but have you ever been in love with one of your classmates? I mean, here, at Jujutsu High."
Toge seems to hesitate, he gives him a strange kind of look.
"Salmon."
"Are you kidding me?"
Toge shakes his head.
"Wow, I had no idea" Yuuji says. "Wait, who was it? I mean, probably not Panda, right? So it has to be Maki-san?"
Toge shakes his head again, smiling.
"What? Don't tell me it was Panda?"
"Tuna mayo!"
"But I don't get it, is it someone who's not here anymore?"
Inumaki makes a gesture with his hand that seems to mean something like "sort of." Yuuji's eyes widen.
"Oh! Is it that guy Fushiguro told me about? The special grade sorcerer who's abroad?"
"Salmon."
"What's his name again?" Yuuji asks, trying to remember his conversation with Megumi about the second-years.
"Okkotsu" Toge says.
Yuuji stares at him, surprised. This has to be the first time he hears anything else than a rice-cake filling coming out of Inumaki's mouth, or a cursed word.
"I see. Do you miss him?"
Toge nods, and Yuuji notices that he looks unusually sad.
"Have you ever told him how you felt?" he asks tentatively.
The second-year shakes his head again.
"Why not?"
"Fish flakes."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Sorry about all the questions, it's just... I think I really like Fushiguro."
"Salted salmon roe."
"What do you mean, you know?!" Yuuji asks.
Inumaki just shrugs and gives him a knowing smile.
"Right. But I don't know what I should do about it... I'm just so scared of telling him and making things super awkward because he doesn't feel the same, like, at all."
They both remain silent for a while, until Inumaki nudges him.
"Tuna mayo."
"What? You think I should try?" Yuuji asks, unsure.
"Salmon."
"But what if I end up ruining everything?"
"Fish flakes, kelp."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right. There's only one way to find out..."
Yuuji pauses a minute to study the idea, weighing the pros and cons. On the one hand, he's pretty convinced that Megumi could never be interested in someone like him, and the idea that he might reject him makes his heart twitch. But on the other hand, not saying anything and not knowing is almost unbearable, and what if he was missing something great? In the end, he takes a deep breath, and decides to be brave.
"You know what? Why don't we make a deal?" he asks Inumaki.
"Kelp?"
"I'll tell Fushiguro how I feel, but then you've got to tell Okkotsu that you like him, when he returns."
Toge stares at him for a moment before furiously shaking his head.
"Why not? Come on, Inumaki-san! I can't do this alone!"
Toge looks down at his feet, thinking, then he takes his phone out of his pocket and starts typing something. After a minute he hands the phone to Yuuji.
You can tell Fushiguro that you like him, you
can tell him anything you want, anytime. But
I can't say a single thing to Okkotsu. There's
only so much you can express with rice-cake
fillings...
"Hey, what kind of shitty excuse is that?" Yuuji frowns. "You can always write him! I mean, there are tons of ways to tell someone you like them, without even having to talk! I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that."
"Tuna."
"Right, are we doing this together, then?" Yuuji holds out his hand expectantly.
Toge rolls his eyes and sighs, but he still raises his hand to high-five Yuuji.
"Brilliant!" he beams. "I'll tell you how it goes when I gather up the courage to do it, soon..."
Yuuji gets up suddenly and decides that he's in the mood for a bubble-tea and a walk in the city.
"Right, I'll see you later, Inumaki-san! It was nice talking to you!" he waves at him as he jogs out of the courtyard.
"Fish flakes!"