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Megumi dreads going to school the moment he opens his eyes.
When he steps into the kitchen to pack a lunch, a calloused hand shoots out to snatch his ankle. He almost trips. Toji passed out on the fucking floor again.
"What the fuck is your problem?" he hisses, retching himself free and stepping over his dad's chest.
His phone buzzes at exactly the same time, but he ignores it. Only one person ever texts him: Nobara.
Toji grumbles, wipes at his eyes and fucks off to wherever he goes while Megumi puts together his lunch feeling like it's the last meal he will ever eat. He knows exactly what week it is, so he packs the quickest thing to possibly eat. Then he chugs a serving of Toji's pre workout because they don't have coffee and he might have a slight addition to caffeine.
The mid-February breeze turns the tips of his ears pink behind the scarf that's covering half of his face. Nobara bumps shoulders with him when she meets him in front of the school, grinning.
"The winter formal is this weekend," she says as they climb the steps up to the entrance. "You know what that means?"
Megumi unloads his textbooks into his locker. A couple pieces of paper slip out. Someone wrote on them with a glitter pen. "That I need to switch schools." He leaves them on the ground.
"Nope. Singing valentines!" she squeals. "Oh my god, I'm so excited. There are some good ones this year."
Megumi turns to look at her with sheer horror in his eyes. You'd think she just told him that the school was going to blow up in ten seconds.
"What?" she asks, swatting at him. "Don't look at me like that. You know I think they're cute."
"They're not cute," he slams his locker shut. Loudly enough that a few other kids turn and stare. Most of them avoid Megumi. He established a certain reputation in middle school. "They're pompous and disruptive and half of them can't even sing."
"Okay, well I'm not going to disagree with you there. Momo was a little nasally last year." Nobara loops her arm around his and walks with him down the hallway. "But they're fun, and I'd rather listen to Justin Timberlake than Gojo any day."
"Gojo has literally sung 'Sexy Back' in more than one lesson."
Nobara just smirks.
Things go… fine. Until lunch time. Megumi has had to witness two proposals to the dance but thankfully no singing valentines. He can only hear them in the classrooms across the hall. Some students go all out, bringing in guitars or ukuleles. There are soloists, quartets. You name it.
He may have looked at the flier when it first went up on all the school bulletin boards. There are lots of theater and choir kids signed up this year. One of them, Yuuji Itadori, is sitting on top of a table a few feet away, kicking his legs while he talks with his friends. The first thing that sets off alarm bells in Megumi's head is his outfit. It's so…. festive. He has on a pair of red pants and a cropped baby pink sweater and what looks like fishnet poking out beneath it. There's a pair of bouncy, sparkly, red heart antennae on top of his head and a heart necklace around his neck and he even has valentine themed socks on. He's carrying around giant stuffed teddy bear to top it all off.
"What the fuck," Megumi says under his breath.
Yuuji's friends all have Valentine's themed outfits on too. Todo spray painted his hair red. Yuuta is carrying around a fake Cupid's bow and arrow. Everyone at the table is decked out except for his twin brother Sukuna, whose current expression rivals Megumi's.
"He's cute," Nobara comments, something unfamiliar in her voice. She doesn't usually say nice things about boys. "The kid from the occult club? I didn't realize he was in theater too."
Megumi says nothing and eats his lunch, but his leg is bouncing nervously under the table.
"Didn't his brother beat you up last year?"
He did. They got into a fight about something stupid during gym class. Megumi scowls. "Yes."
Nobara laughs.
"You're a horrible friend," he tells her. It's not true. She's a good friend, and his only friend. He used to eat lunch in Gojo's classroom, before he met her.
Yuuji's gaze flickers to Megumi momentarily and it spurns him to ask, "Are they…. singing?" He's not sure if he can even call it that. Half of the kids just croon. Some of them even try to rap, that's the worst.
"I think so," Nobara responds, picking at her nails. Every once and a while she picks a piece of lint off of Megumi’s shirt.
Halfway through lunch Megumi hears very loud giggling and a table of girls stifling their overly excited squeals. Music starts playing from somewhere, ominously, and his blood turns to ice. His eyes burn a hole into the table. God, it's so embarrassing and they aren't even serenading him.
There's dancing. For the love of god, they are dancing. If that's what you could call some synchronized flailing around and a backwards twirl.
Nobara snickers, she already has her phone out, filming the entire encounter.
Yuuji and his other friends cheer. He bops his head along to the song, silently mouthing the words from his spot on the table. At the end of the performance, Yuuta bends down on one knee and hands the girl a rose. A real actual rose. Thorns and all. Megumi doesn't know what she is supposed to do with it, carry it around all day?
He takes a deep breath, a drink of water, tries to ground himself and hide the color rising to his cheeks. It's almost over. Three more classes, and then he'll be free.
♡
His final period is physics. Gojo has on a pair of heart shaped sunglasses when they walk in, and is chewing on something. He passes candy out to everyone from his spot by the door. Chocolates and little packets of bland heart candy that say things like "be mine".
Megumi doesn't take one so Nobara takes two.
He thinks he's in the clear. He thinks all he has to deal with is Gojo's stupid demonstrations and a pop quiz.
He's wrong.
There's a knock on the door and Gojo gasps dramatically. "Who is it?"
The door creaks open and Yuuji pokes his head in, followed by his friend. "Um, hi!" he chirps. "We have a song for…" He looks down at a note in his hand. "Megumi Fushiguro?"
Megumi feels his soul leave his body.
No. Hell no. Who did this? Hana? No, it had to be Nobara. There has to be some kind of way he can opt out of this. There should have to be consent.
Every single head in the room swivels to face him and he thinks he might actually throw up. Right there. Sandwich chunks and his dad's preworkout all over his desk.
Yuuji's eyes widen a little as he stares at him too. What is he expecting? Permission? For Megumi to swoon?
He can't even talk. "I-"
"Yes, come in, come in," Gojo says, gesturing towards him. "Right up front. The stage is yours."
Megumi is sitting in the front row. Why did he sit in the front row. Fuck. He sinks into his seat.
Yuuji waves to a girl sitting in the back. Yuko? She's bright red and openly simping. They must know each other. "So um, your secret admirer wanted to remain anonymous… but they did leave a message. It saaaays… 'You're welcome, asshole'?"
Megumi glares at Nobara. She looks so dangerously smug. Her stupid phone is pointed right at him.
Gojo cackles like a hyena and kicks his feet up onto his desk, leaning way too far back in his chair. Half of the candy pieces he tosses at his open mouth miss their target.
"Ready?" Yuuji clears his throat and Todo starts fucking beatboxing. Megumi runs out of the room in less than two seconds flat.
He hears Nobara call out for him but he doesn't dare look back. He doesn't even grab his backpack.
He slams open the bathroom door, hands visibly shaking as he grips the porcelain sink. Thank god there's no one around. It's humiliating. He doesn't think he's ever been this embarrassed in his life. Not even when Toji used to say he forgot his wallet when they went out to eat or ask people for money, holding six year old Megumi in front of him like a donation jar.
He bites back a sob. This is so fucking stupid. Everything about it. He hates Valentine's day and he hates all of this. He doesn't even believe in love.
The door opens. He rushes to wipe the angry tears away from his eyes.
"Hello?"
Megumi knows that voice.
"I'm sorry, if we surprised you." It's Yuuji, he looks apologetic and it's almost funny how serious he sounds with two red hearts still wiggling around on top of his head. He's holding a single rose. Megumi hadn't noticed that before. "I don't want you to be embarrassed."
"How are you not?" Megumi asks bitterly.
"I am," Yuuji answers. "Honestly, my friends talked me into this. But I thought it would be good for me, you know? Push myself out of my comfort zone."
Megumi listens, side-eyeing the other boy the whole time.
"I don't have to sing for you. I just wanted to make sure that you were ok-"
"I can't go back there," Megumi argues, pacing the small bathroom. "I'm not. Not after everyone- I'll look like a coward." He never meant to make a scene. Now that he’s calmed down a little he wishes he would have just taken it in stride. Part of him is curious too… about what Yuuji’s voice might sound like. Or why Nobara chose him.
Yuuji nods and scratches the back of his head awkwardly. "We could leave," he offers. "It's last period. I'll cut with you."
Megumi feels some of the tension leave his shoulders as they finally drop. "No, you don't have to.”
“I don’t mind,” Yuuji insists, stepping a little closer. “Seriously, I feel really awful about putting you in that position. Most people just think its funny but you looked.... you looked really bothered. Let me take you out for food?”
Megumi hesitates. It’s really not Yuuji’s fault for doing what he signed up to do. Nobara’s evil scheming and his own naivety are solely to blame. “Okay,” he says. “But it’s not- No singing, and it’s not a valentine’s thing.” Or a date.
“No singing.” Yuuji laughs, and his whole face lights up. “I can still give you this though, right?” He lifts the rose and offers it to Megumi.
Megumi takes it gingerly, holding it up to his chest. It smells fresh. “Yeah,” he says quietly. “You can.”
Yuuji pokes his head out of the bathroom door to check if the coast is clear, and then he waves for Megumi to follow. He speed-walks down the empty hallway with his heart antennae wiggling. Megumi creeps after him, still blushing.
♡
Yuuji’s locker is full of all kinds of stuff. Gym equipment, spare hoodies and snacks all shoved inside it. There’s a photo of him and Sukuna held up on the door with a magnet, too.
“Where are we going?” Megumi asks, his hands shoved into the pocket of his coat, scarf pulled up around his face again.
“I don’t know,” Yuuji answers honestly. “I was hoping you did.”
“You asked me out and you don’t know where you’re taking me?”
“Uh.” Yuuji gapes. “Correct.”
Megumi’s phone buzzes again. He opens it this time to a text from Nobara. It reads, ‘That place on 7th & Main. Ice Cream. You’re welcome, asshole.’