Chapter Text
“I’m home!”
Yuuta managed to get himself inside the dorm with his hands full, still leaning haphazardly on the handle as he toed the door closed behind himself. He had not meant to pick-up so many groceries on the way back from his mission, but the emergency snack texts he’d been sent had changed his plans a bit. He still was not sure how well peanut butter and mangoes would taste together, but he supposed he’d leave that for his boyfriend to decide.
Yuuta set the bags down on the countertop of the kitchen area, surprised that he had not been greeted by Toge already considering how hungry he’d sounded over text. It was still fairly early in the morning and Toge was known to be a late-riser, but it had become a bit of a habit of his to wake up earlier on the mornings Yuuta returned from out of town missions, bedhead and sleepy eyes and all welcoming him back with a onigiri greeting of “gomoku” and a tired but suffocating hug.
Of course, Yuuta never pointed this habit out, knowing that Toge was a little aloof and would never admit to his behaviour; unlike himself, the white-haired boy did not wear his heart on his sleeve, which was one of the reasons Yuuta figured it had taken them so long to start dating despite the fact they were both equally enamoured with each other. He had only in his dreams imagined that Inumaki Toge, the boy he had been drawn to from first glance and for weeks puzzled with himself how to approach, the boy who had shown him the most gentle and genuine form of kindness, would be the boy who loved him back.
Apparently, according to Maki, it had been pretty obvious Toge had liked him from the start (and he had always been pretty bad at knowing when people were flirting with him) but it didn’t help that feelings in general were complicated things for Yuuta. He always found it easy to forget that the people he cared for likely cared for him as well, and could even love him exactly for who he was and with everything he carried - which for him was a little more baggage than the average person.
Toge had never seen that as something to fear, or flee from, or fight to get rid of. From the start, he accepted Yuuta just as he was, a nervous, depressed teenage boy with a deadly curse hanging over his shoulder, and continued to love him as he grew, now an accomplished first-grade sorcerer who had many more good days than bad ones.
Now, going on nearly two years as a couple and having moved in together that past spring, Yuuta found it hard to imagine not having Toge as his partner. Both still in their vocation as sorcerers, their small home on the grounds of the Jujutsu Technical School had been the perfect place for them to settle into after they had graduated. Gojo had offered the building to the two of them as a half-joke at first, considering it wasn’t actually a house, but an old shed that had once been used to store cursed weapons before they were relocated to the main grounds, but they had jumped at the chance considering they both didn’t have much place else to go. They were the same that way, both ostracized from their families due to curses, and it made sense for them to stick close-by the family they had found at the School. The first years, who were now third years, were all still around, and likewise Panda as well as Maki, who was now sharing an attached dorm with Nobara.
In some ways, it was sort of like nothing had changed for them after graduation, which Yuuta was not upset with. He did not mind that the people he saw most days were the same people he had been seeing everyday since he had enrolled. He did not mind that his morning walk consisted of the same cobblestone courtyard, the same aged buildings and canopy of camphor trees. He did not mind that he would be called on missions to exorcise the same kinds of curses, in the same kinds of towns, in the same city.
Sameness, to Yuuta, was not dull or dissatisfying. Sameness brought him comfort, and safety, in a settled sort of way; it was change that made him anxious. After all, it had been this very fear of change that had caused him to tie his childhood friend Rika to him as a curse, that desperate wish that willed her not to die, not to leave him alone. He wanted more than anything for the people he cared for to remain close to him, and he wanted to be able to protect and keep them safe and enjoy doing the things with them that made them smile.
Sure, maybe he would not always feel this way, but right now he could not complain that each and every time he returned home, it would be Toge there to greet him, with that smile only he got to see. Yuuta knew he’d never grow tired of that.
Which was why for the second time, he wondered where his boyfriend was. Yuuta realized he’d managed to put almost all of the groceries away and Toge hadn’t made an appearance yet.
“Toge … I’m back! I got your text so I picked up some things!” Yuuta tossed the bag of shrimp chips - specifically black pepper flavoured, as the texts had indicated - from hand to hand, “If you’re not going to have them now, I’ll put them in the cupboard so Panda doesn’t find them.”
Panda didn’t live with them, of course, but he had the habit of visiting solely for the sake of eating them out of house and home. Yuuta frowned when he didn’t hear the usual safeword response of “okaka!” to indicate his protest; usually, even the slight wrinkling of a plastic bag was enough to have Toge racing to the kitchen to snatch a handful of whatever Yuuta happened to be snacking on. The dark-haired boy pulled his phone from his back pocket, reading the time at 8:13am and not seeing any new notifications.
Yuuta left the snacks on the counter, figuring his boyfriend must have still been sleeping, and made his way down the short hallway that separated the kitchen and living area to their shared bedroom.
“Toge?” Yuuta whispered as he peeked his head in the half-open door.
As suspected, Toge was where he figured, curled up like a cat under their futon in the bit of sun that cut through the curtains from the window adjacent to their bed. The cursed speech user was chronically cold, and on mornings where Yuuta was not there as his human heating blanket to keep him cozy, Toge would always find a spot of sun to compensate and keep him warm. He was hugging a pillow with both arms, and his phone was playing some sort of Youtube video of a videogame playthrough, discarded aside him likely when he had dozed off watching it.
However adorable as it was, Yuuta could not fully enjoy the sight before him, and not for any fault of Toge’s: he looked gorgeous, yellow light hitting the soft skin on his cheeks, long pale lashes fluttering every so often as he dreamed, the span of his neck stretching lazily across his pillow. It took everything in Yuuta to not pull out his phone and snap a picture of him, knowing that he already had enough photos of Toge sleeping to last him a lifetime. No, it wasn't the sight of Toge that made him uneasy, but the fact that he could tell that even though he was asleep, he was restless.
Yuuta padded over to the bed, pushing back some of the soft hair from Toge’s forehead and letting the back of his hand settle gently there. He didn’t feel too warm, but he was breathing heavily and sleeping deeply, like he was exhausted. Peering a bit on his tiptoes, Yuuta could see a sick bucket on the floor beside the bed, and sighed softly.
He’s still sick … even after taking the weekend off, Yuuta pondered, pressing a kiss to Toge’s forehead before retrieving the pail on the floor to clean it on his boyfriend's behalf. It had been like this for nearly three weeks, and it would be an understatement to say he was starting to get worried.
Toge had always been a bit on the sensitive side when it came to sickness, and Yuuta usually blamed it on the fact that he both pushed himself too hard, and considered himself invincible. Only Toge would spend an entire day without shoes on - in the middle of one of the coldest autumn seasons he could recall in Tokyo - simply to see if he could. In their time together as a couple Yuuta had nursed him through many colds, most of which were entirely his own doing, but he had never seen Inumaki sick like he currently was.
Toge always had a healthy appetite (which had never surprised Yuuta, considering how little he slowed down) but the past few weeks he had been lucky to keep even plain steamed rice down long enough to digest. In the times he did feel well enough to eat, it was usually something strange like only the outsides of oreo cookies, or mangoes, or peanut butter and shrimp chips. He was chronically tired, which was not to unusual for Toge, but he had skipped their usual morning jog the last couple times Yuuta had asked, and had fallen asleep during their nightly Mario Kart tournaments every day that past week (much to Itadori’s dismay, who was insistent on beating him at least once before he graduated).
Yuuta thought that maybe it could be food poisoning or something, considering he hadn’t come down with anything himself, but couldn’t recall them having eaten anything strange recently. They hadn’t actually gone out to eat, or gone out much at all, not since early October when the weather had begun to grow colder. Their typical nightly routine was to return from their missions, eat dinner, take a bath and keep each other warm until morning.
That was something Yuuta was extra grateful to have their own house for. Sleeping together while living in the school's dorms had been nothing short of a nightmare; not only were the walls paper thin, but he’d been spotted far too many times by Maki or Megumi as he’d left Toge’s dorm room after a not-so-quiet makeout session. Had he known Zenin stares of disapproval were that lethal, he may have thought twice before risking it back then.
In their new place, they had the freedom they’d both been craving, and Yuuta was almost embarrassed to admit they’d taken advantage of nearly every spot in their house to … enjoy each other. It was in Toge’s nature to push Yuuta out of his comfort zone in that way, and of course his usual chastity would bend to Toge’s adventurous tendencies, with some restraint. He wouldn’t be able to live it down if Gojo ever stopped by for a surprise visit and found them naked on the kitchen counter; as lenient as he could be, Yuuta was pretty sure their former teacher would evict them if that ever occurred.
Toge had been too tired for any of that since he’d gotten sick, which Yuuta understood completely, but was still uneasy about. Though he would not admit it, Toge was often the initiator of sex, as well as being generally clingy and longing for physical touch; for him to have not even kissed Yuuta for a few days was strangely out of character.
Yuuta had been called on a mission in a town a few hours north of the school, and, seeing as Toge had not improved after days of his symptoms persisting, had forced his boyfriend to take the weekend off from training to rest. He had hoped Toge would seem more like himself upon his return, and he had asked Maki and Panda to keep an eye out around the school grounds to make sure Toge didn’t sneak out and try to push himself to improve.
Returning home to him in this state, still after so many days, made that knot in Yuuta’s stomach seem much heavier than before. Whatever this was, it was more than a simple bug. He figured he was going to have to consult an expert to get to the bottom of things.
After he cleaned and sanitized the sick pail, Yuuta returned to the bedroom and placed it at Toge’s side again. As well, he retrieved a glass of ice water and a few anti-nausea pills and left them on the bedside table for when his boyfriend awoke, along with a cool cloth for his forehead. He checked to make sure Toge had taken his binder off before bed, which he’d been better at remembering after Yuuta had encouraged him it was both good for his body, and that he didn’t mind how he looked. Toge had never been very shy with Yuuta, or struggled much with dysphoria; he was just a little forgetful. Thankfully, Yuuta could tell his binder was off as he gently peeked under the collar of his hoodie, glad he wouldn’t have to wake him up to undress.
Wanting Toge to know he had returned, Yuuta unbuttoned his white uniform jacket and draped it over his body, still curled in a relaxed fetal position on the bed. He knew it probably smelled like sweat and dirt and curses, but Toge never complained about it. He hoped it would comfort him a bit whenever he woke up, since he had somewhere else to be.
Yuuta needed an expert’s opinion on this, someone who could tell him with great certainty what ailed Toge and the obvious solution to making him better again. Of course, he knew exactly who to consult.
“He’s being a baby.”
Yuuta’s fingers came up to pinch the bridge of his nose, both to prevent himself from palming his forehead and to steady that bit of frustration in him. The comment was tossed his way without the slightest hint of sympathy, as usual, and he wondered if a day would ever exist that Maki could speak to him without some sort of sarcasm in her voice.
“Maki-san … “
“What? Was that not what you wanted to hear?”
“... is that a rhetorical question?”
“Oh, I’m sorry - ” The voice, in fact, didn’t sound the least bit sorry, “- am I supposed to take your obvious display of distaste at my astute and accurate observation as a yes?”
“You’re supposed to take me telling you Toge’s symptoms as an opportunity to help me figure out why he’s sick.”
“Drop the act, Okkotsu; you’re about as easy to read as you are to tease. If you wanted medical advice, you could have strolled right into Shoko-san’s office. But you came to me because you know I’ll be honest.”
“Toge isn’t being a baby - “
“You’re telling me he’s sleeping all day, only eating junk food, and hardly showing his face around here except when you decide to join us for dinner - does that not sound something similar to how a toddler behaves?”
Maki, from her place in the centre of the sparring room, planted a hand on her hip with that typical air of impatience about her as she raised her brows at him. She was already mad at him for interrupting her training session, and the fact that it was about Toge did not seem to help Yuuta’s chances at her lending an ear to his worries. It was not that she did not like Toge, because Yuuta knew she cared for him as much as she did the rest of them, but it was sometimes hard for her to relate to him. It reminded Yuuta of how he felt with his kid sister, back when they were young; he loved her very much, but she could irritate him in the worst of ways.
Yuuta also did not blame Maki, having had to put up with him and Toge’s on and off flirting for nearly two years, all the while constantly begging the both of them to just confess to their feelings. Easy for her to say, having straight-up asked Nobara to date her in the middle of dinner one night - only Maki could be that bold, and she didn’t understand why other people couldn’t be too. Yuuta wouldn’t call her unsympathetic, just maybe a bit … ruthless. That wasn’t too terrible of a word.
And, as usual, she was correct - it was half the reason Yuuta had come to her in the first place. He knew she would always say it to him straight. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t protest it, though.
“I don’t think it’s fair to say he’s acting childish,” Yuuta replied, shifting against the beam where he leaned, watching Maki as she continued her warm-up routine in the centre of the hardwood floors. Though he understood Maki’s rationale, he wanted to stick up for his boyfriend.
Maki shot a look over her shoulder as she rotated her torso back and forth in twisting stretches, “It might not be fair, but it’s not wrong. You do realize before you came along, he wouldn’t come running to Panda and I anytime he scraped his knee looking for a band-aid and someone to kiss it better.”
“Are you saying that I’m babying him?”
“You’ve always been a big softy, Okkotsu, especially when it comes to Inumaki. And that guy can be a sneaky son of a bitch if he wants to be.”
“He’s not taking advantage of me, if that’s what you think.”
“Don’t take it the wrong way; you’re allowed to be a doting boyfriend. Believe me, if I could I’d give Nobara all of Tokyo if she asked - and she has, but I’m not rich enough yet to follow-through. Gotta wait til I inherit the Zenin clan’s funds.”
Yuuta chuckled at the grin Maki flashed at him, still glad she hadn’t given up on that goal of hers; now that she had graduated, it had been something she had thrown herself headlong into achieving recently, and Yuuta had assisted her any chance he got. Maki was not in it for the money, of course, but to settle a score that she’d been burdened with since her birth. Yuuta never ceased to admire her tenacity in that way.
However, he didn’t admire how deftly she could change the subject on him, which always made speaking with her seem like he never knew what exactly he was talking about.
“So you’re saying it’s normal for me to be worried?”
“No, I’m saying the opposite. Doting is fine, but you need to relax a little. You read into things too much and end up getting stressed out about stuff that isn’t even real.”
Maki motioned him closer to her, and Yuuta was confused until he realized she wanted him to spot her as she went toward the wall and pushed up into a handstand. Yuuta held one of her ankles, steadying her carefully as he replied.
“I get what you’re saying, but I don’t think I’m overreacting here - “
“Says the guy who was convinced he was having arrhythmia when he got heartburn for the first time.”
“That was one time!”
“I can provide more examples if you’d like.”
“You should have seen Toge when I got in this morning; he didn’t even wake up, and he’s usually right at the door to greet me.”
“Oh, so he’s a puppy now?”
“He's exhausted, Maki.” Yuuta lowered his tone a bit, trying to convey his seriousness. “I know you’ve seen it, too. If he was milking this, or just using it to try and get extra sleep or attention, we’d be able to tell by now. He’s not himself. I think he’s really sick.”
The silence was enough for him to tell she was actually listening, able to hear the genuine worry in his voice. Though her face was currently flipped upside down, he could tell Maki’s expression was tense, brows furrowed a bit as she seemed to ponder his words.
“What did you say was wrong again? He’s got a fever?”
“No, but he’s tired all the time. He hardly eats, which is insane because he usually eats more than me and he’s half my size, and when he does eat it’s something weird like taro milk tea or half an avocado! And then it’s a miracle if he even keeps it down -”
“He’s throwing up?”
“Yeah.”
“Like, a lot?”
“Like clockwork, basically. It’s been a bit better recently, but he still gets sick at least twice a day.”
“Today’s the twenty-fifth of November … Toge usually gets his period around the first week of the month, so that shouldn’t be what’s bothering him.”
“Oh. Uh … should I … should I know this?” Yuuta was concerned that he might have been missing something; Toge usually communicated with him when he was on his period, but he’d never made a point to keep track on his own time.
“The only reason I do is ‘cuz I always have. I was with him the first time he got it, and he comes to me sometimes if he needs anything. Since he’s so small, and so athletic, sometimes he’ll go a month or two without one, so I check up on him to make sure he doesn’t skip for too long.” Maki replied, both matter-of-factly and in a way that made Yuuta feel reassured. “Shouko-san has tried him on the pill a few times, but it’s too hard on his stomach, and he never seemed too bothered by cramps or anything.”
“Oh. I see. No, I don’t think it’s that -”
“Hold on.”
Maki suddenly pulled free from his grip, landing backwards on her haunches and twisting around to face him. Yuuta was surprised at how quickly she’d not only gone from upside-down to right-side up, but was wagging her finger in his face, eyes drawn in a suspicious looking expression.
“When was the last time you two did it?”
“... did what?”
Maki rolled her eyes, “You really are dense, aren’t you? When’s the last time you two fucked?”
It took his brain a moment to truly process what Maki was asking him. The moment it did, Yuuta’s mouth fell open, a telltale flush heating his face as he stuttered, “W-what - why are you asking that?!”
“Believe me, Okkotsu, this is the last thing I’m curious about getting the juicy details on. I’d rather listen to Panda run his claws along every chalkboard in this damn school than hear about you and Inumaki’s sex life.”
“Then why are you asking?”
“It’s clearly important, damn it! Now fess up!”
As much as he wished he did not have to reply, Yuuta feared Maki’s threatening finger would turn into a threatening chokehold if he didn’t. The problem was, having already pondered this himself over the past few days, he knew exactly when the last time he and Toge had sex was. And Maki was the last person he wanted to know about it.
Yuuta swallowed, throat drier than he thought it could possibly be, squeezing his eyes shut as he muttered, “It was … on October twenty-third.”
“October … Toge’s birthday?”
“Yeah.”
“Didn’t we … didn’t Nobara throw a surprise party for him …”
“Yes …”
“And you two crashed in her - oh my god, Yuuta, please don’t tell me you had sex with Toge on her -”
“You asked me when!”
“Oh my god, I didn’t know you’d be that specific!”
Maki suddenly dropped her previous demeanour, the mortified grimace on her face strong enough to make Yuuta simply wish to die. Right there. On the spot. Rest in peace Yuuta Okkotsu, special grade sorcerer and grade-A dumbass. He almost thought it could not possibly get worse than this, but he didn’t want to jinx it.
“I knew Inumaki was handsy, but I thought at least you had some restraint!”
“I was probably drunk.”
“And in Nobara’s dorm room?! Of all places!”
“Okay, I was definitely drunk.”
“I’ve gotta text Nobara and tell her to throw out that blow up mattress right now - “
“Maki-san, please tell me why you wanted me to share this with you,” Yuuta’s hand found the bridge of his nose again, seeing Maki had fallen face-first dramatically to the floor in front of him. “I’d rather this had never seen the light of day as much as you, but you did insist I tell you.”
“If this wasn’t so important, I’d beat the shit out of you right here and now; you know I don’t need cursed energy to kick your ass!”
“What’s so important?!”
Maki sighed, pulling herself upright again, “October twenty-third was what … over a month ago? And you said Toge’s been sick for about three weeks?”
Yuuta nodded.
Maki stared at him blankly, and he wished (for not the first and certainly not the last time) that Maki would just tell him whatever it was he could never seem to read from her. Maybe he was a little dense, but Yuuta had never known anyone as hard to decipher as she was.
Maki stood again, this time placing both her hands firmly on his shoulders, her eyebrows lifting and her glasses tilting down a bit as she blinked at him.
“Did Gojo-sensei ever teach you about the birds and the bees?”