Work Text:
“Yuuji… Why..?”
“Cut! Alright, everyone, that’s a wrap folks, great job!”
Junpei breathed a sigh of relief, unzipping the heavy, thick, purple costume the props department had provided for him. A grotesque monster version of himself, it was clunky and intentionally hard to move in. His character had been turned into such a creature and today they were filming Junpei’s final scene for the brand new, hit T.V. series, Jujutsu Kaisen .
“You okay there, Junpei?” Yuuji asked, as he bent down and offered the boy a hand out of the monster suit.
“Yeah, don’t worry about me.” He responded, taking the man’s hand and stepping out of the costume while he wiped the tears still on his cheeks with his free hand.
“That was a great scene, oh my god – you’re such an amazing actor, and working with you… Ugh ! Everything just comes naturally and the emotions just feel so genuine and raw, y’know?” the pink-haired actor, the lead of the show exclaimed as the two of them now made their way to the food stands the staff provided.
There were sandwich platters, food wells filled with bowls of soup (today’s consisted of baked potato or broccoli cheddar, Junpei’s personal favorite), as well as light snacks like pastries and fruits.
Yuuji grabbed himself an apple and a sandwich, while Junpei filled up a cup of soup, sprinkling shredded cheddar on top as well as bacon bits.
“Wanna have lunch back at my trailer?” Yuuji asked, “They’re not shooting my next scene with Mahito and Kento until tomorrow.”
“Sure, that sounds nice.” Junpei replied with a soft smile.
So that's how the two found themselves in Yuuji’s trailer. Junpei was seated across from the pink-haired actor, taking spoonfuls of soup and gingerly blowing away at the wafting steam that rose. He looked over at Yuuji who stared out the window in silence, chin resting in his hand while his sandwich remained untouched. Junpei immediately knew something was wrong, normally the other male was all smiles and giggles as he talked Junpei’s ear off, even if his mouth was full, while the brunet listened contently. It was always nice, just hearing Yuuji’s voice. It wasn’t that he didn’t have anything to contribute, he just truly enjoyed listening to his friend. So when he was met with silence and untouched food, Junpei had to know what was bugging the male.
“Hey, talk to me – what’s wrong?” He asked softly.
The sound of Junpei’s voice instantly pulled Yuuji’s attention as he turned to look at the brunet. His smile was there but it was smaller, nowhere near as big as the grin he normally wore and not nearly as warm and sun-like. “I just,” he began, scratching the back of his head before rolling his apple on the table with his finger idly, there was a far-off look in those amber eyes as if Yuuji was trying to solve a complicated mathematics question. Finally, he shook his head and looked back up at Junpei, “Do you uhm, do you know what’s next for you? Where are you gonna go from here?”
Junpei tilted his head to the side, swallowing the spoonful of soup he had just eaten as he contemplated the question, “I don’t really know, actually. I’ll more than likely get in touch with my manager to see what my options are. I hear there’s a new movie in the works, so maybe I’ll try an audition to see what part I can land.”
It was like a bridge crumbled, the moment those words had left Junpei’s mouth Yuuji simply nodded softly, his smile gone without a trace if the brunet hadn’t known the boy and his happy-go-lucky nature, Junpei would be convinced Yuuji had never smiled a day in his life. Junpei had never seen his friend like this, he wasn’t prepared for just how much the sight before him was tugging at his heartstrings as if Yuuji’s hurt were his own.
“This just…” Yuuji swallowed, “It just really sucks, y’know? I mean, your character is dead, he isn’t coming back which means you’re leaving and you’re not coming back.” the pinkett paused to bite down on his lip, shaking his head as he looked back up at Junpei. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m getting so emotional,”
Junpei chuckled sympathetically as he reached across the table to put a hand over Yuuji’s, “Hey, it’s alright – there are no judgments here. Trust me, I hate that I’m leaving too. You were by far one of the best people I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Hell, I don’t think I’ve ever had this much fun on and off the set.”
Yuuji sniffled as he laughed softly, “Remember the time Satoru fell asleep on the green room couch and I dared you to put shaving cream in his hand and tickle his nose? He got so mad we had to lock ourselves in here for like, three hours!”
“Honestly, I don’t know why you insisted on pulling such an old prank…” The brunet replied, pinching the bridge of his nose but still grinning at the memory.
Yuuji’s grin was back and on full display, “Oh! Or how when I dragged you with me to put plastic wrap on Megumi’s toilet seat?”
“We didn’t know he’d be out for the day and we kinda ended up forgetting about it since they had to shout the scene where you and Kento fight the transfigured humans on the roof. I wonder what his reaction was.”
“Man, what I would give to have been a fly on the wall in that bathroom, holy shit. You know, he still doesn’t know who did it. Nobara found out I was involved and blackmailed me into getting her Starbucks.”
Junpei laughed at that, “Oh geez, r.i.p in peace,” he joked, “I hear she’s notorious for having complicated orders. Her assistants lowkey hate her.”
Yuuji exhaled softly, dragging a hand down his face. “Ugh, I kinda don’t blame them anymore.”
Yuuji exhaled sharply, returning to his earlier position with his chin resting in his hand, his grin had all but vanished, and in its place was an irritated expression, one Junpei had only seen when the actor was working on a scene that required anger.
“What’s with that look?” Junpei asked, quirking up an eyebrow, though hidden behind a curtain of hair his facial expression probably looked exactly the same.
The male sighed in exasperation, “I’m just pissed now!” he exclaimed, “This is all that damn director’s fault, Gege. ” Yuuji spat, an annoyed, mocking intonation in his voice as he said the name.
“You mean the guy signing your paychecks?” Junpei asked, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips.
Junpei didn’t feel one way or the other towards the director, he had been thankful for the opportunity to portray the role he had been given and that was that. Yuuji, on the other hand, looked like he was in the middle of contemplating the man’s murder.
Does he really feel this strongly over my character’s death? He asked himself mentally.
Yuuji turned to look at Junpei again, an upset expression clear on his features. “It just – it’s so fucked! You know I read ahead in the script? Do you know what happens next?”
“No, not really..?”
“A fucking baseball game. Like,” Yuuji shook his head as he stared down at the table dumbfounded. “There’s nothing! My character is literally back to being all smiles and peachy-fucking-keen! Where’s the mourning? Where’re the scenes where I’m grieving over the loss of you, I literally watched you die in front of my eyes and, what? I just move on? The script had me say,” Here, he paused, clearing his throat as he recited his line the way his character had when shooting the scene, “ Sukuna! You can do whatever you want to me, just save Junpei !”
The brunet chuckled at the impromptu performance, he even went as far as to lightly clap his hands before smiling sympathetically at his friend, his heart was fluttering at the other’s words but Yuuji didn’t need to know that. “Maybe there just wasn’t anywhere natural to put those scenes in? I mean the whole Goodwill Event, then all the fight scenes you have to do.” Junpei offered, though he didn’t really feel like defending the director, it didn’t exactly sit right with him either but what could Junpei do? Demand the man rewrite his entire story just to fit him back in?
Yuuji just shook his head, “ Still ! I don’t understand how I can say something like that, how my character, Yuuji Itadori could just be ready to throw everything away and then just…” He sighed for a third time, pinching the bridge of his nose, “You know the scene where you’re crying and screams at me that humans don’t have hearts? How I improv’d my character to go over and hold your hands in mine?”
A crease appeared in Junpei’s eyebrows, as he reached over to squeeze Yuuji’s hand all over again, smiling when the other took his hand almost instantly, gripping it. The brunet remained silent, nodding to show he was listening and wishing for the pinkett to go on.
“Our characters just had all this chemistry but,” He stopped, scratching the back of his head as an angry blush made its way onto his features, “Ugh, okay, promise you won’t laugh or anything?”
Junpei gazed at him, eyes alight with wonder. Normally, he was the one that got flustered and devolved into a reddened mess, to be on the other side of the looking glass was a completely different story, “Yuuji, when I said there’d be no judgments here, I meant it. I promise.”
The male pursed his lips turning his head to the side, “I just, sorta, kinda… Felt like the chemistry our characters had went beyond our roles, I almost,” Yuuji breathed out a laugh as he rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t know why but, I was this close to kissing you too, I was trying really hard to resist the urge to –”
“Why don’t you just kiss me now?”
“What?” Yuuji asked.
“What?” Junpei repeated.
“Okay.”
It was as if Junpei’s heart had suddenly found itself thumping loudly in his ear as the two males leaned over the short table, meeting in the middle.
It was a tickling sensation at first as the brunet’s smooth lips met Yuuji’s chapped set. The feeling went away the moment pressure was added, it wasn’t just a simple kiss, the more they did it, the more they each found they needed to kiss again, again, again. Repeating the pattern as if needing to memorize the way the other’s lips felt against their own. Junpei hummed softly the moment he felt that familiar, calloused hand pressing at the nape of his neck, begging for more. Now this was a proper send off from Yuuji Itadori.
After a moment, Junpei finally pulled away, receiving a disgruntled groan in protest. Junpei could only chuckle at that. Just because he’d no longer be present on the show, didn’t mean that he’d have to stop seeing Yuuji altogether. The pink-haired male had been so bold, so brave for admitting something like that, now it was Junpei’s turn to show some bravery.
“Do you… Wanna go out some time? Like a date.” He asked, grinning sheepishly from the way his lips still tingled.
There it was again, Yuuji’s big, bright, sun-like grin on full display, and for Junpei’s eyes only. He nodded eagerly before holding up his index finger. “One condition though!”
The brunet tilted his head, waiting for his frien – waiting for Yuuji to proceed and state the terms of their deal.
“You gotta come visit, here on set I mean – It’s not just me that’s going to miss you and this way it’s like you never really left and in return, once you’ve found another role, tell me and invite me so that I can come bug you too, okay?” Yuuji happily exclaimed.
“You’ve got yourself a deal, Itadori.” Junpei replied with a fond smile, never having felt more wanted in his life.