is this more than you bargained for yet?

megumi stifles a yawn behind her sleeve as she scrolls through instagram at the dining hall table right after breakfast. every few posts, there’s an ad for that sappy new rom-com conveniently released just before valentine’s day next week. nobara has been gushing about it nonstop — how handsome the lead actor is, how the cinema will be giving out free roses to couples in matching outfits, et cetera. all the billboards in the city are displaying the rose-pink movie poster, the starring couple holding hands & making huge watery cow eyes at each other.

she tugs at the ends of her spiky black hair with her free hand. it won’t stay flat no matter how much gel she uses, but that’s life. she’s dressed in her black turtleneck & jeans with her usual chunky boots. her red headphones hang around her neck, the weight comforting against her skin. her black & white dogs rub up against her legs encouragingly, having finished their portions of beef jerky.

“oh. thanks, guys.” she scratches their heads, taking deep breaths in and out so her spiking heart rate evens out. she holds the silver chain around her neck for good luck & walks to the common area, where yuuji should be sitting. it’s a weekend, so they don’t have anything going on. nobara’s probably gone shopping by now, & she’ll surely be back late with all the sales in the shopping district today. zenin senpai will be on her morning run. gods know what okkotsu & inumaki senpais are up to (with or without rika involved).

she frames it as a textbook fact, something that’s a given so it’s easier to digest: miss megumi fushiguro will ask miss yuuji itadori out to watch human earthworm 4 for valentines’ day. 

who cares if she didn’t watch the first three movies because she couldn’t get past the first half hour of any of them without nearly dying of a heart attack? it’s funny how she looks the scariest out of all the first years, but she can’t even handle a jumpscare without the safety of her hands over her eyes. the only way she’d ever have the courage to do it is if yuuji is beside her laughing (with the reckless abandon she’s grown to love lately).

she’s been staying up late studying all the prevailing theories of the endings. she watched every jennifer lawrence interview about it, including the one where jennifer eats spicy chicken wings with the interviewer. 

jlaw can step on her any day, megumi decides. she doesn’t blame yuuji for a single thing now.

the common room is empty when she gets there. before she can put her finger on what’s strange about that, the door bursts open & yuuji bounds up, all pink hair & way too much energy for this morning. her arm is around another girl — “morning, gumi-bear! have you met junpei?” 

this… junpei would be the same height as megumi, but she’s got a little slouch to her spine that prompts her to look up from behind the curtain of her bangs covering her right eye. she wiggles her fingers in a shy wave, seemingly shrinking into the background with every passing second.

megumi folds her arms, resists the urge to wrinkle her nose in distaste. the flow of cursed energy is telling her that junpei isn’t quite a sorcerer. “...hi.”

“junpei here loooooves human earthworm. except she thinks 3 is the best, which is sooooo obviously wrong -” yuuji rolls her eyes. 

“hey!” junpei lightly elbows yuuji in the side, & they both burst into laughter. megumi feels a twinge of annoyance in her gut. of course an emo kid like that would be obsessed with horror movies their whole life long.

“anyway - anyway .” yuuji catches her breath. “that’s my lunch & dinner plans, so don’t wait up for me.”

megumi pouts slightly. all thoughts of inviting anyone, anywhere are disappearing by the second. just so you know, i woke up early & got dressed properly to ask you out. & oh yeah, it’s not like i spent weeks researching so i could watch it with you & have an actual meaningful discussion like you deserve -

“oh. thanks for being so… considerate .” the word tastes bitter on her tongue, & she purses her lips. the dogs bare their teeth at junpei, who takes a fearful hop-step back.

“you want us to bring you anything back from the city? snacks? drinks?” yuuji seems totally oblivious to everything going on (good for her!). she taps her temples knowingly. “oooh, i know. gummy bears for gumi-bear?”

“nah, i’m good. you two have fun, now.” megumi nods curtly, walking away. her dogs follow at her feet, their low growls a mirror of her agitation. 

she hears junpei talking again in the background. she doesn’t catch all of it, but it’s like dude, you sure your girlfriend is okay with this? & of course yuuji is like i told you, dude — she’s not my girlfriend. the resulting, utterly confused silence almost makes megumi laugh. the last she hears of the conversation is junpei’s weak hey, i just don’t want to step on anyone’s toes here. 

megumi quickly puts her headphones on & walks in the direction of the library instead, blasting her music.

she’s been enthralled with yuuji even since the first day they’d laid eyes on each other, when she’d seen the raw strength coursing through the pink-haired girl’s veins on the high school field in sendai. & later on their missions, when she saw how much yuuji cared about saving a world who’d never love her back. & just like that, she’s lost count of how many times they’ve eaten, fought, cried together, but even then they aren’t anything serious. they’ve never been, & can’t afford to be. maybe this too is a curse, just like how being a sorcerer weighs them both down. forever doomed to walking that line between friends & something more that she’s scared to put a name to. 

maybe junpei’s appearance today is a sign of that — some god or other reminding megumi that yuuji is destined to die with sukuna residing in her. that was part of the deal of her delayed execution from day one. it’s the whole reason why she’s alive now. so let yuuji do whatever she wants before her inevitable death; why should anyone care what that might be?

megumi doesn’t need her heart broken, especially not over something as stupid like this. she considers spending her first february 14th here with her dogs & panda for company. better than sitting alone in her room like a sack of coal, anyway.

she sits at an empty table in the library & opens her laptop. come to think of it, she has any number of excuses for not doing anything for valentine’s day — it’s just one day out of three hundred & sixty-five, all holidays are man-made if you think about it, she could order herself flowers & chocolates ( or even a new vibrat - yeah, never mind) if she really wanted. hell, she might even call her family to see how they’re doing — if she had any to speak of by now. if she wasn’t utterly alone here. 

no one wants you, meg. get used to it, already. 

she takes out the packet of gummy bears in her bag, popping a few in her mouth. her stash is running low & she definitely needs to stock up from that candy shop in the city, but she’ll be damned if she accepts anything from yuuji today.

tilting her head at her screen, she looks at her folder of meticulous notes related to human earthworm. in a sudden fit of anger, she drags it to the little trashcan icon in the corner. 

a dialogue box pops up, blinking at her mockingly. are you sure you want to move this folder to the trash? all files in this folder will be deleted. 

megumi pinches the bridge of her nose with a pained grimace. she remembers how she colour coded & made flowcharts of everything, & clicks the no button. the dialogue box blinks again, before disappearing.

she resigns herself to dropping it beside the trash can icon instead. for economic reasons, she reasons with herself. no point wasting all that effort. turn it into a template for your class notes or something. she stares at her online calendar, where she’s made a note about going to watch human earthworm 4, & mercilessly deletes that instead.

how did it get so confusing? they’re best friends, is all. & no one can take someone from you who wasn’t yours to begin with — but she thinks about yuuji’s arm around junpei’s shoulders, & grits her teeth. how dare yuuji go out with someone else like that without telling her?

the music through megumi’s headphones moves on to some old fall out boy track. she opens a new document for class notes. typing out reflective essays on her recent missions does precious little for her strange jealousy, but she’ll welcome any & all forms of distraction before she starts thinking about turning junpei into mincemeat.

— something, something, grass, mausoleum. i’m just a notch in your bedpost, but you’re just a line in a song. 

don’t mind me, i’m watching you two from the closet

for the next few days, megumi’s surrounded by couples doing what she can only describe as coupley things. she overhears zenin senpai ordering a rose bouquet over the phone for nobara. funniest of all has to be gojo sensei making reservations at the fanciest restaurant in tokyo for her not-so-secret lover miss geto (who — last megumi heard — gojo sensei is trying to charm into being a teacher at jujutsu tech).

yuuji is nowhere to be found, which suits her just fine. it’d be plain awkward if they kept bumping into each other anyway. everywhere she goes, she rolls her eyes, brushing past everyone with her dogs at her heels. word goes round that she’s grumpier than usual. - say, what’s gotten into fushiguro? - i dunno. maybe she ate something wrong.

on the day itself, she waves nobara & zenin senpai off followed by okkotsu & inumaki senpais . then she goes to make her second cup of black coffee.

all things considered, it’s a perfectly normal (excellent, perfect, she tells herself ) saturday. she spends the best part of the morning reading the fantasy novel she’s been eyeing for a while. she signs for a parcel delivery on behalf of a “miss mustard leaf” while walking her dogs past the gate in the evening. on her way back to the common room, she wrinkles her nose at the package in hand, trying not to think too much about the slightly curved cylindrical shape & weight of it. it better not be human earthworm-themed or i’ll kill myself. what the hell happened to discreet shipping? ah — i hope she has fun with okkotsu senpai. & rika too, i guess. at least they’ve got each other for life.

dropping the parcel by the stairs, she heads to the common room. she’ll probably cook herself some instant ramen & disappear from view for the rest of the night. if anyone wants her, she’ll be in -

yuuji is sitting on the couch, clearly reciting some sort of script to herself while jiggling her leg up & down. she has her hands behind her back. megumi can sense the nervous energy, but chooses to ignore it. that little bitc - ahem, junpei must be on her way here. 

megumi turns away in annoyance, making sure to avoid eye contact. she shoves her hands in her sweatpants pockets & runs a hand back through her hair, walking past like she’s got a duty to prove she’s got better things to do. her dogs circle her feet, trying to tug her towards the couch, but she gives them a stern look. they whine & pull back, pulling at her pants. stupid -

“hey, gumi-bear. i mean, meg. i mean -” yuuji clears her throat.

“what, itadori?” 

yuuji brings out a red heart-shaped box from behind her back, tied with a golden silk ribbon. she holds it out towards megumi with trembling hands. she’s resolutely looking into her lap, her cheeks bright pink to match her hair now.

megumi’s never seen yuuji so shy before, & the surprise is enough for her to reach for the box, & opens it. instead of the more traditional chocolates, it’s full of chocolate-covered gummy bears. she picks up the handwritten note taped to the inside of the lid.

to: gumi-bear

you earthwormed your way into my heart. ♥️
will you watch human earthworm 4 with me?

from: yuuji

taped under it are two tickets to tonight’s screening of - what else?

megumi looks up from the box, her heart dropping into her stomach. she opens her mouth a few times, but only manages a strangled squeak.

yuuji grins, tapping her index fingers together. “i know you don’t like horror movies & i really don’t want to make you feel uncomfy. so i thought hey, i’ll ask you out today so we can watch it together.”

megumi tries to keep a serious expression. she’s happy to go with yuuji, but she has a few important things to say before she forgets.

“i actually wanted to ask you out last week, i did a ton of research so i could watch the movie with you.” megumi perches on the edge of the couch. she takes her laptop from her backpack & shows yuuji all her notes. 

“yoooo, whaaaat?” yuuji’s eyes go wide at the flowcharts, tables & mindmaps in the folder. “you went into the whole historical context? no way!”

“yeah. sorry i was snippy the other day. i know we didn’t make any plans but - ughhh. i didn’t like that you went with junpei. speaking of,” she narrows her eyes. “what’s she up to?”

“she’s with her mom today. actually, she helped me work out my idea. we went in advance so we could get things ready for you.” yuuji reaches into her pocket, brings out a small wad of papers with messy numbers scribbled on them. “here. i timestamped all the jumpscares.”

“wait, you watched it… for me?”

yuuji lets out an uncharacteristically shy giggle. “hey - you did your homework, i did mine. someone needs to protect you from the jump scares, gumi-bear.” 

“oh, gods.” megumi can’t believe this. her blue eyes are wide. she’s trying & failing not to grin. yuuji has her blushing, & it’s not every day someone gets megumi fucking fushiguro to do that. “i really appreciate that.”

“so, uh…” yuuji nods towards the box, tilting her head sheepishly. megumi feels so relieved that this was all a misunderstanding. she might even apologise to junpei when this is all over. “will you…”

“yeah, i’ll go out with you, silly.” megumi leans closer to yuuji slowly. she’s wanted to do this for a long time now. it isn’t something she’s used to doing, & she suddenly wishes she watched more rom-coms to learn how to act properly romantic — but she leans in to kiss yuuji on the cheek gently, her heart fluttering at the contact. it’s her first time doing this for anyone. yuuji is surprisingly soft, & she smells like chocolate & oranges.

when megumi pulls away, yuuji pumps her fist with an audible yeahhhh! under her breath, a huge grin spreading across her face. “oh man, i have got to be the luckiest bitch in the universe. c’mon, we’ll get there on time if we take the next bus.”

she gets up, & megumi follows.

wishing to be the friction in your jeans

there’s quite a crowd in the hall, probably all the people who think romantic movies are stupid, or couldn’t book their tickets in time. it’s cold, but the popcorn — in the limited edition human earthworm bucket — is warm, & so is yuuji’s protective arm around her shoulders. 

“pssst, gumi-bear.” yuuji takes a plastic bag of gummy bears out of her jacket pocket, gleefully flouting the theatre rules. she offers the bag to megumi, who takes one & pops it in her mouth. the sweet chocolate balances out the sour apple flavour beneath. perfect. 

the movie starts, with jarring string music & green-blue dark filters lending every scene the chilling sci-fi atmosphere she’s seen in stills. megumi squeezes yuuji’s hand every ten seconds, until her knuckles turn white. she’s still scared shitless, but it’s so much better when she’s not alone, & even more that she’s with her best friend in all the world. in fact, being scared in this situation is probably part of the fun.

while they’re still looking at the screen, their hands brush in the popcorn bucket. megumi feels heat rush to her cheeks, & she looks up into yuuji’s bright eyes. she offers yuuji a handful of popcorn & gets her fingers nibbled playfully in return.

“hey, you’re just as bad as my dogs,” she hisses, elbowing yuuji in the side & earning a sheepish shrug in return.

halfway in, yuuji taps megumi’s arm, leaning in to whisper. “oop - she’s about to get a compound fracture. the sound is real nasty too. cover your ears, i’ll get your eyes.”

megumi obediently covers her ears. yuuji’s hands are warm over her face. she misses the fracture itself. she screams again once she sees the bloody aftermath, but it’s covered up by yuuji’s laugh. people in front turn around in annoyance. she could care less, she’s way more interested in her watch, seeing that she actually made it through the first half hour.

yuuji stays for the post-credits scene. to no one’s surprise, jlaw makes it back from the dead & there’ll be a human earthworm 5. 

the last of the audience files out onto the street, only a few people besides them. it’s just after ten p.m. & the full moon is out.

“thanks for today, yuuji. i really enjoyed tonight.” megumi turns, genuinely smiling. “hey, uh. i like you. a lot.”

“you like me? oh my gods, megumi fushiguro likes me!” yuuji lets out a whoop, grabbing the nearest streetlight & swinging around it like she’s in a musical. “for real?”

megumi laughs at how comical yuuji can be sometimes. “yes, she does. a whole lot, actually.” 

yuuji pulls her in, so close that their foreheads are touching. her brown eyes are lit up a rich gold in the streetlights, & she takes megumi’s hands in hers with a gentle strength. her voice is sweet & low, her pink hair just brushing megumi’s shoulders. “same here.”

megumi briefly wonders what yuuji’s lips would taste like, & thank gods she doesn’t have to wait long to find out. yuuji is soft, the kiss sending a caramel-tinged warmth bubbling up inside her. it’s so much richer than she could ever have imagined, & when they pull away, she finds her hands have moved up to yuuji’s elbows.

they hold hands while walking to the bus stop, yuuji talking about some other horror movie she wants to watch next month. megumi listens in interest, leaning on yuuji’s broad shoulder. maybe it’s just her, but every streetlight in their path seems to glow just that bit brighter, & hey, what could go wrong with a human earthworm marathon?