Work Text:
It happened on a rainy day. A day after Yuji’s grandfather’s death anniversary. He didn’t mean to, but thinking about it now, it was rather fitting as their first meeting happened a day after his passing. Never one to consider wonders that require faith with his line of work, but if anyone were to ask, Satoru believes that day as an auspicious one. After all, that day, the world gave him Yuji.
Too busy with their respective missions to visit on the day itself, they both promised they’d free their schedules for the next day.
“Yuji.” Satoru calls, beckoning him over. “You ready?”
The younger comes over with a backpack, filled with their food and a change of clothes. “Yeah, Sensei. You?” “I’m always ready.” He teases to which Yuji scoffs at adorably, arms wrapping at his middle.
His hands come together with a sharp sound, followed by the crackling of cursed energy, and Yuji petulantly muttering “not always” as they warp out of Jujutsu Tech grounds and into a clearing. The forest clearing behind Yuji’s old high school.
“It’s been so long.” Yuji comments, looking at his old school building in the distance before turning to him with a grin. “Want me to give you a tour later?”
“I don’t mind. I wanna see the place where I fought our dear old Sukuna. Might as well check the repairs we had made.”
“I doubt that’s your job though, sensei.” He narrows his eyes at him. “You just want to bother Iji/chi-san with something. He already has a lot on his bowl.”
“Why bowl?”
“Ijichi-san likes Udon.”
“Oh, I knew that.”
“This is the part where I’m not sure if you’re bluffing or not.” Yuji sighs, but even then it sounds exasperatedly fond. “Tour is now a no, then? If you plan on just giving Ijichi-san a hard time.”
“Yuji, why must you think of me that way.” Satoru whines, tone clearly not matching his nonchalant body-language. The younger opts to roll his eyes instead. “Come on, let’s visit my house instead. You’re helping me take out the weeds.”
Hearing about the house, a little smile settles on Satoru’s lips. One that Yuji isn’t able to catch, thankfully.
—
“So,” Yuji starts, face torn between being worried or happy. “Is there a curse that happens to like gardening?”
The house. The humble home the younger had to leave behind two years ago, looks about the same as when he left it—if not, more clean.
Satoru hums, “I haven’t heard about one. ‘Might check the database about that later."
“No way.” The younger tugs at his jacket. “Sensei, maybe someone else is already living there. It's going to be a little awkward walking up to the new owners and say, hey, this is actually my house. Do you still have my stuff in there?”
Not wanting to prolong his suffering, Satoru laughs, ruffling soft pink hair. “Just kidding. I had some people come over to maintain it.”
“Why? You didn’t have to though.” Yuji rubs the back of his head, delightfully sheepish and flustered.
“Well, why not?” He shrugs, hands now resting on his nape, thumb caressing the skin under his ear. “This is your home, Yuji. Until you say it’s not, I want a place for you to come back to if you want to leave everything behind.”
“Sensei… thank you.” Yuji goes up on his toes to place a quick kiss on the underside of his jaw. “But it’s not my home anymore. I came here to see if I still got some stuff back here and if it’s still intact for selling.”
“That’s good, too. I know some people in real-estate that could take care of this and find you a place close to campus.” “There’s no need to look for one, Sensei, thank you.” Hands come up to gently hold his face.
“But my home is where I’m beside you.” He says simply, eyes as earnest as ever with lips so inviting.
“That—” Satoru pauses, feeling a rare blush warming his cheeks. “That would work. That would work really well, actually.”
“You lost your vocabulary there for a sec.”
“Yuji, it’s not good to tease your Sensei. I’m young at heart, but I still grow older each day.”
Yuji laughs, head coming to lean on his chest. “Doesn’t feel like that in bed, though.”
A moment of silence passes and Yuji thinks he may have broken his sensei for real this time.
“Wanna see if they did a good job on maintaining your futon?”
“Sensei!”
—
Yuji has always insisted on walking and Satoru doesn’t mind it at all. It’s nice to just walk around a sort of quiet city. Lots of things to see and buy—which Yuji says is a waste of money, holding onto his wallet, just letting him buy snacks he’d see on the way to the cemetery.
And that’s exactly what he does, taking a break outside of the convenience store eating a popsicle. He offers to buy Yuji one but the younger refuses, saying he doesn’t wanna spoil his appetite.
(“I made a perfectly nice sandwich for us in my backpack, I want to eat that first before dessert.”)
Throwing the popsicle in the trash, it starts to rain. Not that it’ll ever be a problem for him; steps out of the convenience store’s roof and into the rain.
“Ah, I found it.” Yuji suddenly says, taking out an umbrella from his backpack, placing it over them.
“‘Knew it was a good idea to pack one.”
“You do know I can just use limitless for us both, right?”
“But that would look weird for non-shamans.” Yuji pouts. “And besides, don’t you want to share an umbrella with me?”
“It looks kinda small.” Satoru comments.
“Yeah, but at least your limitless won’t look as questionable when we’re under here!” Yuji’s cheeks are red and he’s starting to think it’s not from the June weather or the rain.
“I kinda want to experience being under the same umbrella with someone I like at least once... And be the first person that puts an umbrella over Sensei’s head, I don’t think anyone has done it for you before.”
Normalcy amidst the irregularities. Yes, that’s what Satoru would describe what Yuji brings to him since coming, hole in his chest obsolete. His unconventional human embodiment of chance at a normal life akin to a non-shaman's.
It’s a simple gesture—a simple wish come true from a teenager. To him, it’s everything. A single act of romance that’s able to nudge each piece of their world into place, making it different from yesterday. This place, this time, and with this person. It all feels right. He's sure it'll still feel right the next morning with Yuji beside his bed, in their home, and even the next decades after that.
Such is this serendipitous moment that he’s starting to think the Universe might’ve moved for them. All to make his existence bloom from a lifetime of ache, made possible solely because of Yuji.
Heck, maybe that pesky Fate, who has done nothing but give him a metaphorical migraine had something to do with it too.
“Yuji.” The younger one hums in reply, looking up, honey eyes looking deeper than usual under the shade of the umbrella.
Meddling transcendent beings aside, he’d very much like to believe that Yuji is his own miracle.
“Marry me.” The umbrella falls from Yuji’s hand, too shocked to notice the raindrops that start to drench them both nor the cursed energy that crackles and fades around them. “Sensei…”
“Marry me.” Satoru repeats, taking out the ring he got from his mother’s jewelry collection. Her engagement ring.
“How long have you had that in your pocket?!”
“I can’t remember, actually.” He laughs. “So, what do you say?”
Yuji laughs along with him (though he can definitely hear the little sobs that meld with it), “Grandpa’s gonna be so happy.”
“Hey, there.” Satoru chastises half-heartedly. “I’m proposing to you, I wanna know what you feel.”
The younger one wipes his face, “yes, of course.”
Satoru doesn’t bother slipping the ring on first, cradling Yuji’s face in his hands and leaning down for a kiss. Tasting the salt and rain from willing lips. Huh.
That’s also one way to describe Yuji, willing. And he’s never been more thankful to have someone willing to change his mind about love, the intricacies of it all than its curses.
—
After slipping the ring on Yuji’s finger and going back to the convenience store to change clothes, they finally made their way up to the cemetery. Yuji clinging onto his arm as Satoru holds the umbrella. And then, seeing as there aren’t any people in the cemetery, Satoru widens the range of Limitless to surround the Itadori family grave (that Yuji’s currently cleaning with the help of the remaining raindrops).
“Grandpa, you see the nerve of this guy.” The younger one jerks his thumb in Satoru's direction. “He proposed before I could! I was planning to do it here.”
“Yuji, complain and propose to me later.” He chuckles. “Tell Itadori-san properly.”
Yuji sighs with a fond smile on his lips. “You heard it right, grandpa. I’m getting married. I won’t be alone anymore. You can rest easy knowing I’m not alone in helping other people out now. You better bless us from up there on the day of the ceremony.”
“Hello, again, Itadori-san. You probably remember me from back then. Thank you for taking care of Yuji.” Satoru chimes in, blindfold resting on the collar of his jacket.
“I’ll be here for him from now on—as I always have been from the start.”
”He’s my new home, grandpa.” The younger one leans on his side, arms unconsciously going around him. “I hope you don't mind me moving out."
That statement has them both chuckling.
Suddenly—maybe it's the wind, or someone from above—a branch falls on top of his limitless.
"He says he's cool with it." He smirks.
"Hush, sensei." Yuji giggles some more.