Chapter Text
Yuji reluctantly tramped down the hallway of his new dorm building, lugging a heavy backpack over his shoulders and dragging a wheeled suitcase behind him.
He stared down at the slip of paper clutched between his sweaty fingers, complete with an uncomfortably warm metal key that was smushed into his palm.
“317, 318… 320!” Yuji muttered under his breath, slowly coming to a stop at the dark wooden door. Pulling his suitcase up into a standing position, Yuji grabbed the map of his dormitory between his teeth and slipped the key into the grip of his hand.
With a nervous gulp, and a tinge of nerves festering in the pit of his stomach, Yuji pushed the key into the door’s handle. Deciding to knock at the last moment before shoving the door open, the pink-haired boy tapped his knuckles against the door.
He heard no words in response, merely a bit of shuffling beyond the door.
Eyebrows furrowed in confusion, Yuji decided to take that response as permission to enter. He twisted the key, shoving the door open and nearly toppling through it. Pulling his suitcase behind him, Yuji gently closed the door and let his eyes roam around his new room.
He found it impossible for his gaze to not catch on the only other person present within the space, and observed him for a moment.
He sat criss cross on the edge of the farther bed, staring down at his cellphone for a moment before looking up to Yuji, obviously aware of his presence.
Yuji opened his mouth to speak, but stopped for a moment. The boy sitting atop his bed was absolutely beautiful. With wild dark hair spewing every which way from his roots, dark slanted eyes, framed by unfathomably long eyelashes that practically seemed to flutter atop his cheeks; high cut cheekbones and defined pink lips, carved by a sharp cupid’s bow, Yuji had a hard time believing that he and the boy shared the same surreal plane of existence.
After realizing he had stared at his new roommate for what felt like an uncomfortably long amount of time, Yuji finally got it in himself to manage coherent speech. “I’m Itadori Yuji, it’s nice to meet you!” he said enthusiastically.
The dark-haired boy merely cocked his head curiously at Yuji and raised a slender hand up into a wave, cheeks dusted pink all the while, an unreadable expression painting his face.
Yuji let his features contort in confusion for a moment before brushing it off and raising his hand in a similar position, figuring his new roommate was just extremely shy.
He waved back, which earned him the smallest of smiles from the boy opposite him. Yuji took it as a victory, and turned around to his suitcase. Knowing he didn’t want to shove off the task of unpacking for when he was exhausted, he got to work.
He naturally let himself fall into the comfortably silent atmosphere of the small room, humming small tunes to himself as he arranged his clothes and fitted his sheets onto his bed.
The dark haired boy, now laying atop his bed and scrolling through his phone, seemed to pay no mind. Yuji used this to his slight advantage as he snuck small glimpses at the other boy, admiring the way his sharp eyebrows softened and rose as he tapped at his screen.
Finally, just over an hour later, Yuji had finished unpacking everything. He heaved an audible sigh and stretched out on his freshly made bed, internally cringing at the small mattress he’d have to become accustomed to. He wasn’t picky, it was just that he barely fit onto the thing.
At that moment, his roommate turned and stared at him for a few moments, lifted his hand as if he were reaching upwards to stroke his chin, and then dropped it back down. Instead, he offered Yuji a proud raise of his eyebrow, complete with a small nod directed towards the way that Yuji had organized and decorated his side.
Yuji noted how pretty the boy’s hands were, just as everything about him seemed to be. Before he could get too distracted, however, he sent him a wide smile. Yuji was tempted to open his mouth and speak to him again, but what little common sense he had told him not to disrupt the silence that the blue-eyed boy seemed to be most comfortable in.
Instead, he reached into his pocket, and pulled out his phone, just as the boy opposite him was doing. Yuji used his period of down time to respond to his grandfather, promising to call him as soon as he was fully settled.
The peach-haired boy shuffled atop his covers, squinting as the setting sun angled itself perfectly through the blinds just so that it streamed right into his eyes. He attempted to shift around so that he didn’t have to completely turn his back on his new roommate, but found that whatever position he twisted himself into offered no relief.
Eventually, Yuji accepted that things would only change if he closed the blinds. With a sigh, he pushed himself up onto his feet and walked slowly over to the window, twisting the rod of the blinds so that they turned enough to block the sun’s rays from filtering through the glass.
Movement caught his eye, and he turned to look down at his roommate, who seemed slightly jarred by the sudden loss of sunlight. Yuji realized he probably should have asked the boy first. “Is that okay? Sorry, I didn’t think to ask.” he chuckled nervously.
The boy merely nodded up at Yuji, offering him a thumbs up. Yuji’s gaze softened as he mirrored his actions, simultaneously wondering if there was something he had done that would warrant such a drastic wordless treatment from his new roommate- hell, he didn’t even know his name.
Yuji smiled a tad as he flopped down back on his bed, though his mind was still riddled with the question of just why his roommate was so quiet. He finally decided that maybe it was because it was still the first day of school, right? It was probably simply nerves, or the anxiety of settling into a new place. The boy decided to perhaps wake up the next day and see if things had changed, and then go from there.
Evening descended much quicker than Yuji had anticipated it would, and soon the small space shared between him and his roommate was blanketed in a cozily dim hue. The events of the day were soon setting in upon Yuji’s muscles, and the brown-eyed boy decided it would be best to get to sleep early.
He quickly changed into a clean sleeping shirt, and took off his shorts, and then climbed back into bed in his same position. Just before reaching over to his bedside to turn off his lamp, Yuji motioned another wave to his roommate (who looked equally comfortable), and said “Goodnight! Sleep well.”
He received a nod back, and a one-sided smile, though he supposed that was the best he’d gotten all day. With a content sigh, Yuji switched off his lamp and turned onto his back, finding his eyes to be slipping shut on their own. Sleepily recalling the events of his day, Itadori found his thoughts swimming with tight lipped-smiles, streaming rays of sun, and the smell of his new home; until he plunged into slumber.
Yuji awoke the next morning grateful that he had closed the blinds the previous evening, because he would’ve found himself waking hours earlier today if he hadn’t done so the day before. He yawned audibly, and his attention was soon turned to the bed across the room from his, and for a moment he allowed himself to observe the way that his roommate slept.
Perfectly flat on his back, left hand sprawled over his chest, and his right somewhere on his opposite side, too curled in blankets for Yuji to see. The pink haired boy was once again astounded by just how comfortable the boy seemed to be even in stifling silence, explaining why he slept so peacefully in such a position.
Once again deciding against interrupting such a quiet, Yuji crept out of his bed cautiously and threw on some sweatpants, slipping into the small shared bathroom and brushing his teeth, then taking a quick shower.
After rinsing off, Yuji toweled himself dry and put his clothes back on, heading out into the bedroom to, most likely again, lay in his bed all day.
As he rounded the small corner back to their room, Yuji saw that his roommate had awoken in the time he had been in the shower, and watched him for a moment as he once again tapped at his phone.
Yuji decided that today, seeing as it would be their second day of “knowing” one another, he would actually try his best to start an engaging conversation with the boy, as well as learn his name.
Though after a second thought, Yuji realized that maybe cornering the boy just after he had woken up wasn’t the best idea, so he crawled into his own bed for a little while, and waited for some time to pass.
The hours of the day seemed to fly by, and after feeling a familiar restlessness begin to settle in his chest, Yuji decided to speak up.
“Hi, um, I don’t think I caught your name yesterday?” he said carefully.
The boy’s attention remained at the phone in his grasp, and Yuji frowned. He thought he’d been loud enough.
A prickling embarrassment rose to his cheeks, and Yuji waited for it to subside before standing up and crossing the short distance over to his roommates bed. Yuji noticed how the movement almost immediately alerted him, and he figured that maybe, he just really hadn’t gotten the boy’s attention earlier.
Yuji smiled warmly at the boy, who looked at him with an expression of curiosity, his blue eyes open wide, highlighting their border of long dark eyelashes.
“Um, good morning.” Yuji said quietly, thinking about what to say to him next. “I’ve noticed that you’re very quiet, which obviously uh- isn’t a bad thing!” he said quickly. “But, if I’ve done anything to make you uncomfortable or something, I’m really sorry.” he said earnestly.
The black-haired boy focused on Yuji’s face intently, and moments after the pink-haired boy had spoken, a look of realization dawned across his face, and seconds later, he turned completely red.
Yuji cringed. “Ah, fuck. I’m sorry if I just.. did something now.” he said, taking a step back. “I just wanted to make sure everything was okay for you here.”
The blue-eyed boy shook his head quickly, a frantic look in his eyes as he beckoned Yuji closer again. With an understanding smile, he slowly raised a shaky hand up to his chest, moving his fingers as he spoke with a distinct accent, “No, it’s okay.”
Yuji pursed his lips in sheer embarrassment as he watched the boy continue to sign what he now knew to mean “it’s okay.” His roommate was deaf. That’s why he was so quiet.
He was entirely certain that his whole face now matched the shade of his hair, and he began to sputter out embarrassed explanations and apologies before the boy reached out a hand in a motion to stop him.
Yuji watched as he brought a hand to his heart, making a circular motion, quietly mumbling the word “my” thoughtfully. Next, he brought both hands together with his first two fingers extended on each, pressing their sides together in an x a few times, “name,” he mumbled. He then brought one finger to his chin, and extended it forward, out to Yuji. “is.”
He paused for a brief moment, and Yuji took the opportunity at hand to let his gaze linger on the boy’s hands-- pale and slender, with long, spindly fingers; all of which seemed to be synonymous of the word ‘elegant.’
Yuji heard him beginning to speak again, and brought his gaze back up to his eyes. “F,” he said, bringing his pointer and thumb together. “U,” now, raising his pointer and middle fingers. “S,” he said brightly, closing his fist and laying his thumb over top. “H,” he uttered, pointing his raised pointer and middle fingers to the side.
“Fush-” Yuji said aloud, just so that the boy knew he was following along. He received a solemn nod in return, and a smile lit up Yuji’s face.
“I,” he said, raising just his pinky. “G,” he continued, the same sign as H, yet retracting just his middle finger. “U,” he uttered again. “R,” he muttered, crossing his middle and pointer fingers. “O,” he finalized, mirroring his whole hand in the shape of an O.
Yuji thought about the letters for a moment, remembering the first four he had been told, and then spoke aloud. “Fushiguro.” he said slowly.
He was met with a more enthusiastic nod, and he smiled once again at the thought of pleasing Fushiguro. “Very nice name,” he complimented.
Fushiguro promptly turned red.
“Is that your surname?” Yuji asked curiously.
Another nod. Fushiguro began signing again as he spoke. “Yes, my first name is a girl’s name.” he smiled playfully.
Yuji raised an intrigued eyebrow, and Fushiguro just rolled his eyes as he began spelling out letters again. “M,” he spoke, tucking his thumb under his first three fingers. “E,” he said, folding all of his fingers upwards and tucking his thumb on his palm. “G,” he said softly, Yuji recognized this sign a bit. “U,” this one was most familiar to Yuji. “M,” another one. And finally, “I.” Fushiguro said, his cheeks tinged with pink.
A grin crawled across Yuji’s lips. “Megumi Fushiguro.” he said warmly. He received yet another shy nod from the blue-eyed boy. “I think the name fits you well, it’s pretty.” he said honestly.
Fushiguro raised his hand to his chin and motioned outwards a few times, this time not vocalizing, instead just mouthing the two words. “Thank you,” he shoved down a smile.
Yuji smiled a tad brighter, and nodded once again. “You’re welcome.” he replied, and he meant it. Every word of it, and perhaps even moreso. Fushiguro was absolutely stunning, and his name being so beautiful as him was merely coincidental. Yuji just figured to compliment what he could about the boy without being weird, first.
The restless ache in Yuji’s bones seemed to have just been some passing phase, because as Yuji stepped springily back into the comforts of his own bed, he found that passing the rest of his day inside it wouldn’t prove to be such a problem any longer.