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Yuuji’s mind is muddy.
He’s in bed—no, a bed, not his home—he gets the feeling he’s far from home—thin sheets wrapped around him. There’s something warm near him, around him, touching his face—
He groans outwardly, body aching, and he feels the bed shift. The warm—and wet, he realizes—thing is placed on his forehead. He opens his bleary eyes.
It’s dark out, but through a nearby window, the moon shines into the room. There’s a person beside him, a boy, probably his age, sits on the edge of the bed, and pets his face with the warm, wet thing— a cloth, his mind provides.
“You’re awake,” the boy says, voice deep, and Yuuji decides he likes it. His eyes, deep, deep blue, seem to glow in the moonlight. He’s pretty. So very pretty.
“You’re beautiful.” It leaves his mouth before he can stop himself. He can’t think of a reason why he should, anyway.
The boy pauses, eyebrows lifting in surprise, a soft, pink blush spreading high across his cheeks. Then, he shakes his head. “Don’t say such silly things. Though you probably can’t help it, your fever’s so high.”
Fever? Is that why Yuuji feels like this? Like he’s burning from the inside out, yet shivering? Like his brain has turned to lead?
The boy presses the back of a cool hand to Yuuji’s cheek, and it’s such a relief, Yuuji sighs, leaning into it.
There’s a soft chuckle. “Oh, you’re out of it, aren’t you?”
That doesn’t sound right. “No, I’m Yuuji.”
A louder, more genuine laugh. Yuuji’s hot insides stir. “Okay, Yuuji. I’m Megumi.”
And then the boy is getting up, taking his cold hand with him, and Yuuji whines. “It’s okay, Yuuji, I’ll be back.” Yuuji smiles, and when he looks up, the boy is smiling, too. “I’m going to get Ieiri, she’s going to help you, okay?”
Yuuji doesn’t know who Ieiri is, but if this pretty, pretty boy— Megumi , his foggy head supplies—says they’ll help, they probably will.
He doesn’t know when he nods off again, but when Megumi comes back, he’s asleep.
“He’s cursed,” Gojou says. “He most likely won’t live long, anyway, and your grandfather wants to have him killed. He’s bad luck. But, I’m sure he would make some amendments to the plan if I asked….”
Megumi thinks for a long, hard moment. “He most likely won’t live long, anyway,” he repeats, and Gojou nods. “But there’s a chance, right?”
Gojou smirks, just slightly. “There’s always a chance.”
“Then I don’t want to let him die.”
“Is that a personal opinion?”
“Yes. So, please do something about it.”
These things Yuuji knows to be true:
Yuuji is ill.
Yuuji is to be executed.
Zen’in Megumi put a stop to his execution.
And, despite what the prince may say, Zen’in Megumi is impossibly kind.
That last one, Yuuji knows, because despite possibly having a hundred servants, it is Zen’in Megumi that stays by his bedside to nurse him back to health.
His fever has gone down, no longer delirious but still intensely hot. Yuuji pushes back the covers, trying to pull himself out of bed.
“What are you doing?” Zen’in gasps, rushing over to him to tuck him back under the blankets.
“It’s too hot,” he groans, shifting uncomfortably. “I need to cool off.”
“You need to sweat your fever out.” Zen’in places that cool hand on Yuuji’s face again. Yuuji’s hums contently. “You’re still burning up.”
Yuuji all but whines, laying back against the pillows in defeat. “Zen’in-sama—”
“Don’t call me by my last name,” Zen’in snaps, but then he sighs, and gentler, “Call me Megumi.”
“Megumi-sama,” Yuuji corrects, letting his eyes fall shut. “When will it be over?”
There’s a heavy sigh, and Megumi’s hand on his cheek moves to stroke the hair off his sweaty forehead. “I don’t know,” he whispers. “I’m sorry, Yuuji.”
He’s not really sure what the prince is sorry for, but the apology is nice, so he simply nudges the hand in his hair on, and is pleased when fingers dance along his scalp.
Yuuji doesn’t know what the nightmares began, all he knows is they won’t stop.
Every time he doses off, he’s met with a dream so vivid and violent he gets thrown out of sleep, panting and gagging at the gore.
There’s blood on his hands. He’s killed .
He lays back down in bed, shivering from the fever and the dream, nails digging into his wrists. He feels hot bile fill his mouth, but he swallows it down—he can’t get up now, he can’t disturb—
“Yuuji?” Zen’in—no, Megumi—slides open his door, slipping inside with light steps. “Are you okay?”
He should say yes, let the prince get back to bed. He doesn’t deserve his attention, not after what he’s done. Even so, he can still feel the near whimper that leaves his throat, and softly, he chokes out, “No.”
Megumi draws closer, sitting on the edge of the bed, reaching out to place his hand on Yuuji’s arm. “You’re shaking,” Megumi observes, and as if on cue, a full body shiver wracks through Yuuji. “Bad dream?”
Yuuji nods.
Megumi brings his hand up to press his knuckles to Yuuji’s jaw, then flipping his hand over. “Your fever went up.”
Yuuji squeezes his eyes shut, curling into himself.
Then, the bed is shifting, and when Yuuji looks back up, Megumi is standing. “I’ll go get you some water.”
“Wait,” Yuuji is calling before his brain can catch up, shooting out a hand to grip Megumi’s. “Please,” he whispers. “Stay.”
Megumi’s face looks troubled, brows pulling together and lips turning into a slight frown, before he sighs, and it’s all realesed. “Okay,” Megumi agrees, sitting back down. His hand rubs up and down Yuuji’s arm, and the contact is more comforting that Yuuji thought it would be.
It’s silent for a few moments. Yuuji watches Megumi—his long eyelashes flutter as he blinks, his night shirt rises and falls with his breathing. Yuuji has stared at him enough times to know that his eyes are not an illusion in the dark—even in the light, they are a deep, dark blue, like the depths of the ocean.
Yuuji has Megumi’s appearance ingrained in his mind. However, as he’s starting to realize now, he hardly knows anything past what he looks like. Yuuji’s been here for a week now, maybe two, and he can’t even think of one reason Megumi would—
“Megumi-sama,” Yuuji whispers. “What’s your favorite color?”
Megumi looks taken aback at the question. “Where did that come from?”
Yuuji shrugs as best he can. It hurts his sore muscles. “Just wondering.”
Megumi glances up for a second, genuinely considering, before he shrugs. “I don’t know. I don’t really have a preference.”
Yuuji lets himself smile. “That’s a lame answer.”
Megumi clicks his tongue. “Lame?” He asks, voice curling up in offense. “What, what do you want me to say?”
Yuuji reaches out to tug the fabric of his shirt between his fingers. “I was thinking blue,” he says. “You always wear blue.”
Megumi looks down at his own attire. “Huh,” he says, and when Yuuji looks up, there’s something like a smile on his face, “I guess you’re right.”
Then, “Yuuji.”
Yuuji hums.
“What’s your family name?”
Yuuji thinks of his grandfather, the name on their mailbox. “Itadori.”
“Itadori,” Megumi repeats back.
“I prefer Yuuji, though,” Yuuji supplies.
“Okay, then, Yuuji,” Megumi says. “Who gave you that name?”
“My dad, I think,” Yuuji says, though he isn’t really sure. “Either that or my grandfather.”
“Your mother wasn’t around I’m guessing?”
Yuuji nods.
Megumi hums, drawing a circle into Yuuji’s arm. “Neither was mine.”
It’s quiet for a moment, before Yuuji asks, “What about you? Your name, I mean.”
Megumi looks to the ceiling. “My father named me, though I don’t think he put much thought into it. Megumi’s a popular name, let alone gender neutral.” Megumi shrugs. “He left when I was little, so I guess he didn’t care much.”
“Why don’t you like your last name, then?” That confused Yuuji—there was so much power in his family’s name, it’s strange that Megumi did not claim it.
“Because it’s not really my name,” Megumi says.
“What do you mean?”
“My dad’s family name was Fushiguro.”
Fushiguro . The name rolls around in Yuuji’s brain a few times. “That suits you better.”
Megumi huffs a little laugh. “Doesn’t it?”
They toss a few more questions back and forth—Megumi’s favorite food is anything made with ginger, he loves the smell of eucalyptus, he came to the clan after his father left, expecting to become a servant, when his grandfather took him in to become a prince.
“It’s because of my technique, I think,” Megumi explains. “I’m not sure what else it would be.”
They both fall quiet, Megumi leaning his head against the headboard, eyes falling shut. The moon has fallen low, and Yuuji can tell sunrise is just around the corner.
He scoots over in the bed, giving Megumi some room. Wordlessly, he slides into the bed next to him, letting his head fall against the pillow.
“Megumi-sama,” Yuuji calls out, because there’s one more question he has to ask, one thing that’s been bothering him—
“Just Megumi,” Megumi whispers back.
“Megumi,” Yuuji corrects. “Why did you save me?”
Megumi frowns. “Because I couldn’t just let you die.” He says it like it’s obvious.
“Yes, but….” Yuuji huffs, trying to collect his thoughts. “I’ve done an awful thing, and I’m being punished for it, anyway, so why not just let things play out the way they’re supposed to?”
Megumi’s quiet for a minute. “Don’t say things like that,” he finally scolds. “You did what you had to do. I’m not going to let you go that easily.”
Yuuji opens his mouth to disagree, but Megumi shushes him.
“It’s late, Yuuji. You need some sleep if you ever want to get better.”
Yuuji isn’t sure if he wants to, but he’s not going to argue. Besides, he can feel his eyelids grow heavy, anyway.
“It’s like he doesn’t want to live,” Megumi almost cries, tugging at his own hair.
“Give him time,” Gojou says simply. A frustrated sound slips from Megumi’s lips.
“It’s been weeks, though, he’s not getting any better!”
“You knew what you were getting into when you took him in, Megumi,” Gojou shrugs. “Let’s just see it out. You can only save people who want to be saved.”
“Then how to I get him to want? How do I help him?”
The hot water feels amazing against Yuuji’s aching muscles as he settles into the bath. He’s taken a few, just to wash off at the sweat. Before, Megumi would help him into the bath and leave him to his business, but this time, he stays, helping him lather nice smelling soap across his back.
“Relax,” Megumi eases, reaching across the tub for a bottle, and when he pops it open, it smells like flowers.
“Yours?” Yuuji asks, and hums when Megumi runs his nails across his scalp.
“Yeah,” Megumi says, rubbing the suds all through his hair, the long part on the top and then scrubbing the shorter hair of his undercut. “Feels good?”
“Mhmmm,” Yuuji sighs, and Megumi’s little chuckle sounds amused.
Megumi scratches his scalp a few more times before rinsing the shampoo, then reaching for a bottle of conditioner.
Despite urging Yuuji to relax, when Yuuji gets a glance of Megumi, he looks tense. Shoulders drawn up, frown tugging at his face. Yuuji stays silent as Megumi runs the conditioner through his hair, but when Megumi lets out a quiet sigh, he can’t help but ask, “Are you okay?”
Megumi pauses, before rolling his shoulders, and mumbling, “Yes.” He puts the conditioner back, sitting back on his heels. “Don’t worry about it.”
Yuuji watches him as he brings his hand to his mouth, nipping at a nail. He doesn’t really look okay. “Do you wanna come in with me?”
That snaps Megumi out of it. His face pulls into a scandalized expression, ears growing red. “ What ?”
Yuuji frowns. “What? Baths are supposed to be relaxing. It’ll help you chill out.”
Megumi shakes his head. “Yeah, but, with you ?”
“What’s wrong with me?” Yuuji kicks the water a little. “There’s plenty of room in here, and clearly you don’t think I’m gross, seeing as you just washed me.”
Megumi still looks incredibly bothered, but before Yuuji can take it back, Megumi’s huffing, “Fine. Don’t look,” and is rising from his seat.
Yuuji snorts a laugh, turning a little to face away. “What, you’ve never been to an onsen before?”
“Of course not!” Megumi exclaims.
“You’re weird, then.” Yuuji decides then flustered Megumi is very cute. “You’ve seen me naked plenty of times.”
There’s rustling as Megumi rids himself of his clothes. “Yeah, but, this is different.”
“How is it different?”
The water rises a bit as Megumi sinks in, shuffling down so the water is up to his collar. Yuuji decides he’s allowed to look now, and when he looks back to Megumi’s face, he’s still flushed red.
Flustered Megumi is very cute.
“Good?” Yuuji asks, leaning forward a little, bringing his knees to his chest.
Megumi just sinks lower, water rising to his chin. “‘S fine,” he mumbles.
But Megumi lets his eyes slip shut, and Yuuji can’t help but smile.
“I think my uncle’s trying to kill me.”
Yuuji blinks. “Huh?”
Megumi sighs, sitting up a bit. “The throne is complicated, but basically, I’m not the first,” Megumi explains, and Yuuji’s having a little bit of trouble connecting the dots. “But I’m not the last. There’s a lot of weird conditions and shit that needs to happen, too, but,” Megumi sighs again. “I’m definitely a contender to the throne.
“And my uncle, he’s been,” Megumi pauses, grimacing. “ Weird towards me recently, and I know that he wants to eliminate his opponents for the crown. So I think he’s going to try to kill me.”
He says it so nonchalant, and Yuuji can tell he’s been rolling it over in his mind for a while.
“He can’t do that,” Yuuji says, simply.
Megumi shrugs. “Well, no, but that doesn’t mean he won’t try.”
“I won’t let him.”
Megumi glances at him. “What are you going to do? You can hardly stand on your own, Yuuji.”
“Then I’ll get better,” Yuuji finds himself saying.
Megumi raises his eyebrows.
“I’ll protect you, Megumi,” Yuuji affirms, nodding along with it. “I’ll do anything I can to help.”
“Yeah?” Megumi whispers, a little smile toying at his lips.
Yuuji smiles, too. “Yeah.”
Megumi sinks back down into the water, and Yuuji watches the tension slip from his shoulders. “Okay, Yuuji,” Megumi says. “Get better for me.”
Under the water, Megumi’s foot presses against his.
The bed shifts next to him, startling Yuuji awake. His eyes open, and there beside him is Megumi, laying on his side facing him.
“Megumi,” Yuuji mumbles, rubbing his eyes.
“I didn’t mean to wake you up,” Megumi whispers, and his hand reaches out to cup Yuuji’s jaw, thumb stroking his cheek. It’s so nice to Yuuji’s sleepy brain, and he leans into the touch. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“Why not?” Yuuji yawns, rubbing the other side of his face into the pillow.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” Megumi admits. His hand moves to press into his forehead. “Your fever’s gone down.”
“‘s good.”
“Yeah,” Megumi whispers, “it is.”
And then Megumi leans forward and presses a kiss where his hand was.
Yuuji lets out a little gasp, suddenly more awake than before. Megumi’s still cupping his face, drawing little distracting circles on his cheek with his thumb.
“Is that okay?” He asks, voice low.
Yuuji nods quickly, turning his face up. “Yeah, yes.”
Megumi smiles. “Good.”
And then he leans in and kisses his lips.
“Come on,” Megumi calls, a few meters ahead already. “You’re so slow.”
Yuuji stumbles across the sand, nearly tripping, but then there’s a strong arm catching him across the chest, pulling him back to his feet. “Klutz,” Megumi teases.
“Let me be,” Yuuji whines, leaning heavily onto Megumi. They kicked their shoes off a little while back, and the cold water threatens to meet their feet with every draw of the waves. “You try to learn to walk again. On sand .”
“The sea breeze is supposed to be nice on your lungs,” Megumi says, steadying Yuuji with a hand on the small of his back, leading him down the shore. “There you go,” he whispers. “Lean on me.”
So Yuuji does, resting his lead against Megumi’s shoulder as they walk. Yuuji jumps a little when the water touches his toes, but then he pulls Megumi towards it, wading to their ankles.
Yuuji wraps his arms around Megumi’s neck, resting his head on Megumi’s shoulder, looking up at him, and Megumi’s arms come around his middle.
His eyelashes brush across his cheeks as he blinks, and Yuuji watches the movement, over and over. The wind has turned Megumi’s pale face a soft pink, dusting his cheeks with a pretty blush.
Megumi glances down at him. “What?”
Yuuji grins back. “You’re beautiful.”
Megumi pauses, blush growing, before he rolls his eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’m not!” Yuuji claims, poking Megumi’s side. “It’s true! You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.”
Megumi studies him for a moment, before he shakes his head. “That’s not true.”
Yuuji frowns. “How do you know?”
“Because you've seen yourself.”
Yuuji gapes at that, before his face is splitting open into a smile. “So smooth, Megumi!” He laughs, pulling at Megumi’s neck so he bends down to kiss him. They’re both smiling, so it ends up being mostly teeth, but Yuuji wouldn’t have it any other way.
They pull back, and Megumi’s still smiling, open and honest, and Yuuji wants to stay in the moment forever.
Then, Megumi’s tugging his arm, pulling him out of the water.
“Come on, my feet are cold.”
Hand in hand, Yuuji leaning his weight on Megumi, they continue down the beach.
“Our luck ran out,” Gojou says, mouth downturned to a grim frown. “They’re moving up his execution date.”
Megumi pales. “To when?”
“As soon as possible.”
The rug swept from right underneath his feet, Megumi looks like he might actually tip over. “So that’s it?”
Gojou sighs. “I’m afraid the King won’t take any more requests from me.”
Megumi’s eyes stay trained on the table, focusing, unfocusing, focusing again.
Finally, he whispers, “I have to go.”
“Megumi-kun,” Gojou begins. “As your advisor, I have to warn you, if you do what I think you’re going to do, you will put yourself in danger.”
Megumi nods.
“You’ll lose your chances for the throne.”
“I don’t care ,” Megumi says, last word slipping out with a sigh. “Wherever he goes, I’m going. I’m not losing him after all of this.”
Whatever this is goes unspoken, but Gojou knows that unspoken all too well.
Then, quieter, “Are you going to stop me?”
Gojou shakes his head. “I have no right to interfere.” Then, he flashes Megumi a grin. “You’re grown. I’ll have to wish you luck, though.” He stands, giving Megumi a pat on the back. “You’ll need it.”
Megumi grins his arm. “Gojou-san?”
“Hm?”
“Thank you.”
Gojou just ruffles his hair. “Don’t mention it.”
He makes his way out, because he knows in the next moment, Megumi bursts into tears.
“Yuuji,” Megumi’s calling, a steady hand on his shoulder shaking him away. “Come on, wake up.”
Yuuji opens his eyes, bleary from sleep, to see Megumi looking above him. “Wha’s’it?” He mumbles, wiping his eyes as Megumi cups his face, pressing a firm kiss to his forehead.
Megumi presses their foreheads together, sighing wetly against Yuuji’s lips, and that awakens him. Yuuji reaches around him, rubbing his back. “What’s the matter?”
Megumi takes a minute, breathing deep, before he pulls back, still holding Yuuji in his grasp. “I was right,” he whispers. “My uncle has been plotting—I’m no longer safe here, Yuuji.”
Yuuji wipes his tears with his thumb, peppering his cheek with kisses, and Megumi’s breathing hitches. “So what now?” Yuuji asks.
“We have to leave,” Megumi says with a nod, as if almost convincing himself. “I need you to save me, Yuuji.”
The words light something akin to fire in Yuuji’s belly, and Yuuji leans in, kissing Megumi sweetly before pulling away, nodding himself. “Okay.” Megumi swallows hard. “Hey,” he whispers, and when Megumi looks up, he says, “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Another shuddering breath. “Okay,” Megumi says back. “Okay.”