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Yuuji had been dying for night with just him and his beloved boyfriend, Megumi. It had been far too long. The past couple of date nights Yuuji had attempted to create for them had either fallen through for weather reasons, had been crashed by friends or the other man had simply been too tired to want to do anything. Although, Yuuji claims to love Megumi completely including his extremities, he’ll be the first to admit that when Megumi gets tired, he gets cranky. And when he’s cranky he’s agitated.
And when Megumi is agitated Yuuji does not want to be within close range of him.
He knows Megumi works himself to the bone sometimes, he loves his job, he helps little animals nearly everyday, but his job also seems to take advantage of that, often demanding rather than asking him to take up extra shifts, even if that meant him staying there over his contracted weekly hours. Sometimes he’d stagger in the door hours after he was due home working from seven in the morning until just passed nine at night, with no energy left to even try to smile at Yuuji by then. More often than not he’ll collapse onto Yuuji’s lap and agree to watch an episode of something Nobara has been pestering them to watch and Yuuji would stick on the same episode of the first season because every night they attempt to watch it Megumi falls fast asleep on his lap, almost always at the same part. Yuuji only ever notices when he hears the soft snores coming from him.
He could almost cry waking him up, Megumi has made it clear that he does not want to be carried to bed on multiple occasions but sometimes Yuuji believes that might be the only solution, especially when Megumi refuses to even open an eye when responding to him.
Yuuji works happily in his job too, working as a teacher’s assistant. He takes care of the kids who need a little extra help sometimes. It not as demanding as he had hoped for, but with encouragement from his partner, he takes college online and is currently attempting to become a teacher himself. He’s good with kids, they find him fun, so when Megumi had suggested him looking into teaching as a career, it all started to click for him. He had expressed that he was in the middle of life crisis, with hating what degree he had because it meant cooking for people in a restaurant that used mostly frozen food and vegetables, he thought the other man was far too engrossed in his book to even care about Yuuji’s first world problems. But Megumi seemed to always listen. He received links upon links to courses Megumi believed would be suited to him, even links to simple part time jobs that could interest him. He always reminded Yuuji that it was ok to not know what he wanted to do for the rest of his life, that it was ok to try different things out as long as he found something he enjoyed doing along the way. He was glad to have Megumi, otherwise he’d probably have been stuck heating up the same frozen breaded chicken tenders and fries every single day.
By now Yuuji had started many arguments with Megumi about his overworking habit. It really upset him to see his favourite person in the world so exhausted – so tired to the point that his perfect skin had grown so pale, and his incredible memory was starting to slip with his lack of sleep. He’d forget to eat sometimes, forget to shower others – he even forgot to kiss Yuuji goodbye on multiple occasions, twice on one morning when he forgot his car keys and had to come back inside for them. The argument always ended the same, Megumi would get frustrated with him and leave for bed to make him happy, Yuuji would join him there a short while later with an apology for fighting with him and cuddle up to Megumi, only to be woken when the other man crawled out of bed at half five in the morning.
Their last proper Megumi and Yuuji date had been in October, every other time the weather had become chaotic, so they’d choose to stay home and order in. Don’t get it wrong, Yuuji loved those nights, sitting at home in comfortable clothes with his boyfriend never got old, but they were always the same. Yuuji craved to take him somewhere nice, somewhere they can eat good food and drink overly priced wine, that Yuuji hates but will drink for Megumi’s sake, and just be in each other’s company. A full, fancy restaurant had a good ambiance too. Well, Yuuji tried that. Two times. The first was to celebrate Megumi’s birthday, turning twenty-six wasn’t a big deal in his book, but Yuuji wanted to do something nice. Somebody had forgotten to turn their phone location off though and that same somebody’s family joined their romantic and intimate date.
Yuuji loved Megumi’s overly sweet and clingy family, he had practically been adopted by them, but he really wished it was just the two of them.
The second time had been to not only make up for what happened on Megumi’s birthday but to celebrate Yuuji passing all of his exams, meaning that at the end of the year he should be a qualified teacher. There server brought them to the table next to Maki and Nobara who had insisted they push the tables together. Not to mention how they had the other people on the table next to them move away so that Yuuta and Toge could also join them on this now triple date.
Yuuji hoped he’d get some at home time to celebrate too, but Maki and Nobara just had to have a drunken argument and Nobara insisted on coming home with her best friends and sleeping on Yuuji’s side of the bed once they got home. He sometimes wished Megumi wouldn’t fall asleep once his head hits the pillow – he wouldn’t have ended up sleeping alone in the guest room of his own house had Megumi still been awake then.
Yuuji had sworn that they’d get a good and proper date in on Valentine’s Day. Megumi had rolled his eyes when he stated that one.
Yuuji has a list of favourite days throughout the year:
- Megumi’s birthday
- His own birthday
- Christmas
- Valentine’s day
There is more, including the leap year, which he believes is just a fantastic day altogether, but Valentine’s Day is a great day, despite all of Megumi’s eye rolling and sighing.
They don’t normally do anything; they’ve been dating for just over four years now and have yet to do anything monumental on Valentine’s. This year Megumi dropped the devastating news that he was needed in work.
All day.
He had said he’d be home at his normal time, so Yuuji added on at least two hours. He supposed he’ll put his cooking degree to good use and try and make a good meal for the two of them to enjoy this year, if Megumi will even be awake to enjoy it.
Another thing was that Megumi was really bad at gifts, not that Yuuji minded, but he would like if he could get him a card that had more than a couple letters wrote on it, considering the man would simply write: “To Y, Happy V Day, Love M.”
Meanwhile Yuuji’s cards consisted of essays he spent practicing, declaring how much he loved Megumi, solely so he can see that small smile appear on his face. Yuuji knows that it’s not Megumi’s fault that he struggles to be romantic and he also understands that he’s partially at fault for the other man not even trying, considering after their first ever valentines together he expressed that he was really bad at giving gifts, Yuuji told him that it was fine and he didn’t need to do anything for him. That, Yuuji now knows, was a mistake.
Ok, so it did bother him a little, but he knows that even the small gesture through the card is a lot from his partner.
He woke up that morning to his own phone alarm going off at seven. His body began to rise, but to his own shock, there was still a dead weight on his arm. Almost immediately Yuuji panics, shaking Megumi awake. He’s never late for work, so he must have slept in. Megumi stretches and turns to him.
“They don’t want me in until eleven.”
He practically drops onto Megumi hearing that, covering the side of his face that’s accessible to him in kisses, trying to encourage him into going back to sleep. Yuuji gets out of bed, albeit a little jealous that his boyfriend gets to curl up and go back asleep. He takes a quick shower and gets dressed, running his regular morning ritual.
Once he’s ready and about to leave he pops his head back into the bedroom, seeing that Megumi has gone fully back asleep. Yuuji gently fixes the covers around him. Clearly not carefully enough as Megumi looks at him. He kisses him goodbye and reminds him again to go back to sleep.
He hated how the school was decorated for Valentine’s and how all the teachers and other staff gloated about how their partners had left gifts for them to wake up to. Yuuji knows he and Megumi hold off on gifts until the evening for almost every event anyways, but he was still jealous. The lesson plans consisted of the same core subjects for the morning, but the afternoon was to be spent making Valentine’s Day cards for the children’s parents or other special people in their lives. It just kept reminding him. At least for Yuuji it meant that he was actually kept in the regular classroom, most of the time he would take the same small group of kids out to work in a smaller room, so it was nice to be in the room helping all the kids.
He had kind of spaced out when the other teacher started babbling to him at the top of the room. She often talked to him, and he mostly listened intently but today he just couldn’t stop thinking about his foiled plans. He knows relationships tend to fizzle out, but he didn’t think they would fizzle out this badly. Where they even fizzling out? Or was he just upset that his boyfriends career depended so much on him? Or was he upset that he’s a hopeless romantic going out with someone who is hopeless when it comes to romance?
He had even considered giving Megumi a ring today, well in truth he’d had been thinking about it since that first date back in December. There was no perfect opportunity though. On his birthday, Megumi’s parents interrupted the plan, on Christmas they also spent it with his entire family, which now included Yuuji’s own best friend, Todo and his older brother Choso, who was now dating a close family friend, Yuki. There were far too many people in that house that night, and the teasing from Gojo would have been too much for the slightly drunk Yuuji to handle.
On New Year’s Eve they had both gotten so drunk that Yuuji couldn’t even find the ring, he was grateful for that though, they were also at a party that night and he thinks Megumi would’ve killed him for doing that. Every other day had just been a boring old day. It wasn’t worth popping the biggest question of his life on. Valentine’s day was meant to be the day he did it, until Megumi got called to do some surgery on a puppy or something of the sort. He was pulled out of his thoughts when a voice called him from across the room.
“Mr Itadori! Can you help me please?” With a smile he approaches, squatting down at the little girl’s table. After helping one girl stick her paper heart onto the card, almost every other child wanted Yuuji’s help too. Soon enough, with the help of the other teacher, the kids had mostly finished up.
He felt a tug on the back of his t-shirt, there stood one of the girls he normally takes out for extra help. She extended the homemade card to him with a smile. “Mr Itadori, I made it for you!”
He took the card from her with a huge smile, it would probably be the only card he received today, considering it was in the afternoon now and the only message he has received from Megumi had been about picking up dog food when he’s finished work.
So, he did. He got in his car and drove to the store. Megumi was so particular about what their dogs ate, so when he asks about getting some, Yuuji knows he’s about to spend a fortune on keeping their dog fed. He carried his two huge bags out to the car after the trip, along with a new plush toy for the dog, which Megumi will definitely give out to him for buying as they have far too many, tucked away under his arm.
After finally packing everything into the trunk of the car, Yuuji sits into the driver's seat. There’s ping on his phone, from Megumi. It’s a picture of a kitten. Megumi had made a habit of sending Yuuji pictures of some of the animals that came through the clinic. Yuuji had to force him to limit it to only the cute ones, especially after he received an image of a tarantula on his table. From then on it was typically only puppies and kittens, with the odd piglet and random horse dotted in sometimes.
He smiled at the picture; Megumi knows Yuuji has a soft spot for cats. Megumi is a dog person until he dies and blatantly refuses to own a cat, Yuuji swears he’ll get one in the house someday.
There is something off about the picture though. It’s not on the normal white, sterile table he’s used to seeing accompany most of his furry patients. It looks like a coffee table even, maybe one in the waiting area he assumes. Yuuji tells himself not to think much of it anyway.
The traffic isn’t too heavy on the roads. Yuuji is surprised when he only gets halfway through singing his rendition of ABBA’s ‘Gimme, Gimme, Gimme’ When he pulls into their driveway. Weirdly enough, Megumi’s car is in the driveway too, the living room light is on too, Yuuji tries to assess this before getting out of the car, but his phone rings and disturbs his thoughts.
“Hey babe –”
“Can you grab groceries on your way home please?”
Megumi sounds almost panicked, like he’s worried about Yuuji being home. He can’t make out his shape in the living room, but he does see a shadow move rather fast in their bedroom window. “Are you home?”
“Yeah. Leaving now though, I was just… on lunch and came home to grab a bite. Can you please just pick up some rice… bread… uhm eggs…” Megumi keeps listening off a very random assortment of food. There’s a voice in the background that sets off an alarm bell in Yuuji’s head. He can’t make it out at all, over Megumi’s very frantic listing of grocery items that they very suddenly need. They went shopping just a couple of days ago and he saw supermarket bags on the backseat of Megumi’s car last night when he came in from his run. There was something very weird going on here. Something that was making Yuuji’s stomach turn.
He knows Megumi inside and out, and he most definitely knows that Megumi can’t tell a lie to save his own life, nor can he hold a secret either. He tends to deflect the conversation if he needs to. That’s what this is. He doesn’t like it at all.“Ok, no problem.”
“Thank you, Yuuji. See you later.”
“Bye, babe.” The line had dropped before he had even said goodbye. There’s still no movement in the house even after the call had ended. He ultimately decided to pull out of the driveway and do as he was told; go get groceries.
He tried to shake that weird phone call, he really did, but when Megumi, who is normally so put together, has a shaken voice and is constantly stammering, Yuuji cannot help but be a little concerned. While in the supermarket he couldn’t help but add a small box of ginger truffles to his cart. The word ginger just catches his eye, and he can’t help but pick up and immediately dub it as a necessary purchase. Megumi is weak for anything ginger flavoured, or containing ginger, Yuuji has never met anyone who has liked ginger as much as Megumi does. He knows something suspicious is going on with his partner, but he can’t help but still think of him fondly. It’s situations like these when he wishes he had Megumi’s level of pettiness. Whenever they fought Megumi would make a point to be petty, sometimes not kissing him goodnight and others to an extreme and sleeping in the other room. It could be Megumi who initiates the argument and Yuuji will still think of him so fondly and wrap an arm around him on the sofa. Megumi normally just writes it off as Yuuji being a nicer and more forgiving person than he is.
Seeing Megumi happy is enough to make Yuuji forget about him being weird earlier though, he knows it himself. Once he buys everything and once again packs it all into the car he drives home. This time, with a greater delay due to the traffic being a little worse.
When he pulls into the driveway, he expects to be able to drive the full way into the garden, however Megumi’s car is stillthere. He’s still home. Yuuji catches a glimpse of the man in the living room, which now has the blinds almost pulled completely. He’s going to catch him now, doing whatever secret thing he’s trying to do. Yuuji has officially caught him in the act. He leaves the bags in the car for now, and jams his key in the door, unlocking it and beelining for the living room. He pushes the door open, and he’s met by a very startled Megumi, who greats him with a jump from the couch and a shout.
It takes Yuuji a second to fully digest what he’s walked in on. He feels his own eyes well up with tears, and his jaw starts to shake, he can’t help it, he’s always been a sucker for letting his emotions get to him. Megumi’s reaction isn’t helping either. The panic earlier does make a lot more sense now.
Megumi actually tried.
“Surprise!” The latter says softly, waving both of his hands. Yuuji stays silent, looking from the box to the card to the bag that has been stood on their coffee table. There’s a small bouquet of lilies, Yuuji’s favourite, if he had to pick. “Ok, I know it’s not a lot but –”
“Megumi, you know I love your terrible cards, anything more than that is a lot.” He opens his arms and Megumi is in them within moments. “So, you weren’t in work today?”
“We’ll get to that. Open these.”
It’s probably been killing Megumi to keep these a secret, so he humours him and sits down on the couch, the other man joining him. He goes for the small bag first but his hand is quickly swatted away.
“Not that one. That one’s last.”
“You could’ve told me that!”
“I wanted you to choose.”
“I did!”
“You chose wrong.”
He’s not going to argue with that logic. Instead, he reaches for the box and Megumi nods at him to take it. He opens the lid and if his jaw had not been attached to his head it would have hit the floor. “This isn’t…”
“All four human earthworm movies in a special edition box set including the limited-edition statue that comes with it?”
Yuuji had tried to get it only a month ago when the special edition box set had come out but was unfortunately stopped by the terrible internet in his job. He knows how much this cost, and he knows that Megumi hates anything to do with what he and Nobara had dubbed ‘Wormo man’, so he’s even more shocked that Megumi picked this up for him. It began to explain the extra hours in the past two months, maybe the clinic did actually need him that much, but it could’ve also been to cover up the volume of money Megumi used to buy this for him.
Yuuji could cry from this gift alone. He had begun to doubt that Megumi listened to him when he babbled on about his favourite movie series of all time, but this just proves that he does in fact listen and he must listen very well.
Around the box set and statue there was some clothes for the gym that Yuuji was in dire need of, Megumi must have been getting sick of his clothes being stretched out to fit Yuuji’s shoulders.
With approval from Megumi, he opened the card. And of course, it was Yuuji’s favourite contents:
To Y,
Happy V Day
Love M
Always the same. It was so simple, straight to the point and so very Megumi. However, this year on the other side was a small surprise.
Date tonight?
Followed by a yes and a no box. Of course, Yuuji checked yes. How could he not? He was itching for it.
The bag was next to which Yuuji opened, only to be left extremely confused. A collar. He hoped this wasn’t some new kink that Megumi had found because Yuuji wasn’t sure how to break it to him that the collar was far too small for his neck. Yuuji held the small pink leather in one hand while Megumi stood and left the room with a small smile painted on his face.
No. He wouldn’t have…
Upon his return Yuuji’s eyes locked to the bundle of fur in Megumi’s arms. The kitten in the picture. The same snow-white kitten, now being held in Megumi’s arms. No words could leave Yuuji’s mouth then, he just silently had his mouth open, slowly growing into a smile, accompanied by a laugh. He reached his hand out to pet the small fur ball.
“No. Way.”
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Yuuji.”
Megumi slowly passed the kitten to Yuuji who graciously accepted it.
“So… You know how I hate people, well restaurants are always so busy today and I really don’t think I can deal with the possibility of seeing sickeningly in love couples all around me – So I really hope you have nothing planned, because I do!” He’s rambling now, Yuuji’s still attempting to recover from a kitten being dumped in his arms. Yuuji is really glad he didn’t book anything now, he had weighed the odds of Megumi being home in time to get ready for a nice dinner and he’s glad he came to the conclusion that he wouldn’t be, as he has now seemingly gone the full mile of planning the rest of the evening.
“So, where we going?” The kitten is taken from his lap and Megumi takes it to the kitchen. Within moments he’s back, car keys in hand.
“You’ll see. Just trust me, Yuu. What you’re wearing is fine.”
Then he remembered. His jacket upstairs has the ring in the pocket, not just that but everything else he got for Megumi is still hidden in his wardrobe. “I haven’t given you your gifts yet –”
“I can wait – Just c’mon.” He hears the front door opening and Megumi jingling his keys to show Yuuji the urgency of the situation.
Yuuji can at least grab the jacket if he’s really fast. So he does, he darts upstairs hearing Megumi give out about it just below him. He pulls the jacket so fast off of the coat rack. Throwing it over his shoulders, he pats the pockets down. The box. It’s thankfully still there.
They were driving pretty far out, Yuuji was beginning to believe that he was about to get murdered in some forest somewhere. He gets out of the car with Megumi, the latter grabbing a backpack of stuff and shoving it into Yuuji’s arms, knowing full well he will carry it with no complaints. It’s a regular park to Yuuji, just a little later in the day, the sun painting the sky a purple colour. Megumi extends his hand to Yuuji, and when Yuuji takes it he’s quick to fix the way their hands are, instead interlocking their fingers, which Megumi always just seemed to prefer.
“Babe – I really love that you’ve done all this for me but why here?”
“Do you seriously not remember?”
Yuuji is wracking his brain as they walk. He catches Megumi steal a glance at him, a stifled laugh emerging on him.
Then he sees it and remembers. Months ago, Yuuji had commented that he would absolutely love to go see an outdoor movie. At the time, it had been the second human earthworm, only bringing it up because he saw it on his phone. Last month, Yuuji mentioned another movie being shown just on the outskirts of their town.
“How did you –” He’s at a complete loss of words as they walk up. Megumi talking to someone working their first before tugging Yuuji off to a pillowed spot on the dry grass. There’s a couple of people around, mostly couples but thankfully none they know.
“At least now you know how I feel every holiday.” He laughs, and he leans into Yuuji. He knows Megumi is looking for him to kiss him, but Yuuji is so full of love for this man that can’t resist it.
Under the gentle orange hue of the fairy lights dangling above them, Yuuji allows himself to spew his word vomit, instead of what he actually rehearsed. It comes from his heart though, not from mind to pen to paper, he can mess the words up and it’ll be ok. It’s how he’s feeling, how he has felt.
“I love you so much, Gumi – I actually don’t think I even know how to say how much I love you. I don’t know what I did to deserve you –”
“Yuuji –”
“Let me finish, please.” Megumi’s soft smile is enough to egg him on again, even though Yuuji himself can feel his voice waver. “You’re the smartest person I know, I don’t even know how you remembered all these things I mentioned like… forever ago, but whatever. I count myself lucky every single day I get to see you and please don’t tell Todo, but you’re my best friend.
I’m not the most intelligent guy in the world… and I don’t think that I’m your perfect match or soulmate or whatever they’re called. But I love you, I loved you since I first met you. So, I was wondering if…”
Yuuji felt his blood run cold. Shit.
Shit. Shit. Shit!
He couldn’t believe himself; he lost the main part of this conversation. The ring. Why didn’t he double check that it was there before he started speaking? He felt so stupid, and he honestly might cry for the wrong reason today.
But Megumi’s eyes are so teary, he knows where this conversation is leading, that smile is a toothy grin. It takes a second for Yuuji to realise that maybe Megumi is as stupidly in love with him as he is with Megumi.
“I… I haven’t got the ring.” He drops his head; he can hear Megumi laugh. He really wants to tell him off, but he won’t. He’s so ashamed, he supposes he’ll just have to try again when he gets home, if he even dropped the ring box at home, he could’ve dropped it on the walk from the car to where they sit.
Megumi goes silent, but he’s suddenly moving and searching through the bag. Yuuji hears plastic tear from a little bit away.
“Yuuji.” In front of him, extended in Megumi’s hand, is a jelly ring, one of Yuuji’s favourite jellies, especially the Haribo ones. He was such a problem solver too, another reason on Yuuji’s long list of why he loves Megumi so much. “So, you wanted to ask me something?”
“Please marry me.”
Megumi laughs. “I will, Yuuji. Don’t worry.”
He pulls on the jelly ring to make it fit Megumi’s finger, Megumi does the same to another for Yuuji’s, the poor jelly almost breaking around Yuuji’s finger.
“I don’t know if it matters Yuu, but I think you are my soulmate.”
Yuuji knows that he’s probably just saying that, he knows Megumi gives out to his sister for saying that sometimes. It is nice to hear though. The movie starts and they cuddle up, Yuuji near forgetting the dropped ring.
Until they’re leaving, and Megumi picks the box up off of the passenger chair and gives it back to Yuuji.
“You can give it to me when we’re home again. Do it with the speech you wrote this time.”
“You knew?”
“Who do you think does all your laundry and puts all your clothes away?”
So that might be why he went through all the effort. It didn’t matter to Yuuji though, he did finally get a proper date with his fiancé.