Chapter Text
“He can't have been that bad,” Nobara said, sipping nonchalantly on her iced coffee, a leg thrown casually over her other, resting back comfortably against the wooden chair of the cafe.
“But he was,” Yuji argued desperately, “He kept forgetting what he was saying and restarted every single time. We got absolutely nothing done.”
“As if you were paying attention anyway,” Nobara said, giving him a look.
“That is not the point,” Yuji groaned, sliding down his chair, head in his hands. “How the hell am I supposed to pass if my professor won't teach me?”
“Well,” Nobara said. and Yuji already knew he wasn't going to like what he was going to hear. “At least you'll have an excuse for failing the class.”
“Boooo,” Yuji intoned, frowning at her, “Fuck you too, Kugisaki.”
“Hey, I'm just keeping it real,” she said, standing up and patting him on the head like he was a sickly puppy. “Now if you'll excuse me I have to meet up with my lovely girlfriend. See you tomorrow?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Yuji said absentmindedly, staring out the window, only realizing Nobara hadn't paid for her drink when she was too far gone.
-
Yuji collapsed onto his bed, groaning with relief. He was so tired. The classes today had honestly exhausted him; he always knew he wasn't very smart academically wise (or at all according to Megumi and Nobara.), but these classes truly drove that point home. It's not like he didn't try; he just genuinely didn't understand. It frustrated him to no end, but it's not like he could do that much about it. He much preferred track, anyway.
He came here on a sports scholarship after all, why did he have to participate in so many useless, scholarly subjects?
He sighed, eyeing his computer that was filled with hours worth of homework still needing to be done. Leaving it for another day wouldn't hurt, would it? He nodded to himself, instead sighing as he curled up into a ball in his soft, cozy, homework free bed and fell asleep.
-
He woke up what could have been minutes, hours or days later. He truly did not know. He both loved and hated naps- he loved them because they meant he finally got to sleep; he hated them because when he woke up he didn't know what plane of existence he was currently existing on.
He groaned, nearly rolling off his bed as he stretched, his blanket tangling in his legs. He really, really didn't want to open his eyes; maybe if he just stayed like this a little longer, wrapped up in his own little world.
But he had promised Coach Gojo he would volunteer at the local junior high as assistant coach for the track team. He was already regretting it, but that was probably just because he wasn't there yet. He loved track, and he loved hanging out with kids.
It would be a fun experience; he knew it, but damn was he just wanting to stay in his bed forever.
Sighing, he rolled out of bed, falling without grace to the floor which served him a face full of musky dust bunnies. He really did need to clean; Megumi kept his side of the dorm clean but always refused to help Yuji with his, no matter how much he insisted. Which meant Yuji’s side was inevitably dirty. It's not that he necessarily wanted it to be dirty; he just never had time and always lacked the energy after practice.
Pulling himself up and away from the atrocious floor, he hurried to change and pull on his tennis shoes and grabbing his track bag before heading out the door, making sure to double (and then triple) check he had his room keys. He had already lost one set and didn't want to face the wrath of either Megumi or Utahime, the terrifying front desk lady for their dorm hall. He would much rather dig his own grave, thank you very much.
Checking the time he cursed as he realized he was most likely going to be late; oh well. Coach Gojo probably would be too, anyway. But still, being late on the first day would be a bad impression, even for preteens though he doubted that they would really care that much. He could just imagine what his Grandpa would say, though, if he found out that Yuji was going to be late on the first day. It definitely wouldn't be anything kind.
But that didn't matter now. Yuji had his own life, his own way of living.
He did need to hurry it up though, or even Coach Gojo would get there before him.
-
The first thing Yuji saw when he entered his dorm was Megumi, sitting on Yuji’s bed, computer on his lap.
Yuji blinked before shrugging and throwing his bag onto his pile of clean yet always unfolded clothes. He then easily collapsed onto his bed, right next to Megumi, watching with an easy disinterest as his fingers flew across the keyboard.
It was fun watching Megumi type up whatever it was he was working on. He looked so focused, his eyes narrowed and his lip worrying between his teeth. He almost seemed to be glaring at the screen, as though it deserved any anger directed at it. Honestly, considering Megumi was majoring in Comparative Literature, of all subjects, it probably did deserve that anger and ten times more.
But wait. Yuji frowned at the computer. He recognized those big fancy words. Like 'cognitive’ and 'behavioral therapy.’
“Megumi,” Yuji said slowly, “why are you learning about CBT?”
Yuji figured he had made a mistake when all Megumi did was pause for a moment before sighing and continuing to type away with renewed vigor. But he genuinely had no idea why-
Oh.
“Is that my computer?” He asked, very much confused as to what was going on.
“Yes,” Megumi said simply, continuing to tap away at the computer. Yuji's computer.
There was a silence before Yuji realized-
“Oh my god,” he said, raising his voice, “Are you doing my homework for me?”
Megumi hesitated for a moment, before saying-
“Yes.”
Yuji stared at him, his mouth open in disbelief. He's pretty sure he stopped breathing for a moment too; he was in shock. In all his years of knowing Megumi (ten years of friendship and going strong) he had never, never known him to do anybody's school work for them.
And there were times when Yuji and Nobara practically begged him to.
“Are you just going to keep staring at me?” Megumi asked, not tearing his eyes away from the screen.
“What no-” Yuji started before cutting himself off, “Why the hell are you doing my homework?”
“You haven't turned it in yet and it's due in less than an hour,” Megumi explained as if he hadn't just completely turned Yuji's world upside down.
“I didn't even know I had an assignment due today,” Yuji groaned, hiding his face in his hands.
“I figured,” Megumi said, continuing with his typing as though his life depended on it.
Yuji stared at him again, unsure whether to rip the computer away from him and do his own damn homework or let Megumi finish it and repay him with copious amounts of food and a promise to always keep his side of the room clean.
He decided to go with the latter; he was not about to pass up this glorious opportunity. Besides, it would probably end up being his first piece of work to get a decent enough grade.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Yuji said, suddenly realizing something. “How did you know I hadn't turned my work in? How did you even know I had work to turn in?”
Megumi glanced at him once, it was the ‘how are you this fucking stupid’ look but Yuji couldn't even feel embarrassed at this point. He was used to Megumi explaining things, anyway.
“I'm Geto’s teacher assistant, Yuji,” Megumi said, resuming his typing.
“Oh,” Yuji said, “Yeah; I forgot about that.”
“Clearly,” Megumi said, turning back to his work.
“Well, thank you,” Yuji said and he had never been more genuine. “If you want I could totally do it-”
“No,” Megumi said, cutting him off decisively. “I'm too invested now. Besides, you'll get a higher grade this way.”
“Rude,” Yuji said, sticking his tongue out at him.
“Are you a literal child?” Megumi asked, giving him another look.
“An adult, legally,” Yuji corrected him on one of the only laws he really knew by heart.
Megumi scoffed, rolling his eyes before returning to his quiet solitude; which gave Yuji the opportunity to look at him. Megumi was pretty, Yuji realized.
He would most likely be killed in one swift move if Megumi ever heard him say it, but that didn't make it any less true. His hair looked soft, like a nice fluffy black cloud. Yuji wondered if that's what it felt like. He had nice, long eyelashes that accentuated his green eyes, making them seem even brighter; Yuji could see the computer light reflected in them, words flashing across as fast as he typed them.
It was impressive honestly, how fast he typed, his long lithe fingers having seemingly memorized where each letter was on the keyboard. Yuji wished he could do that, wished he could be as smart as Megumi. Alas, that was not in the cards for him so he had to use Megumi himself.
A part of him felt bad for it; the rest of him figured it was alright. After all, Megumi decided to do it, and Megumi never really did things he didn't want to do.
If he didn't want to help Yuji he wouldn't have picked up the computer.
“Why are you staring at me?” Megumi asked suddenly, his hands suddenly still resting atop the laptop.
“Oh, um,” Yuji said, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. Why was he staring at him? “I just- thank you, for doing this.”
Megumi’s gaze softened, if only by a fraction, and said-
“Of course, Yuji. I'm gonna help my best friend.”
Yuji grinned, a feeling of lightness filling his chest.
“So, if I asked you to do this every other wee-”
“Know your limits, Itadori,” Megumi said giving Yuji yet another look (why did it make Yuji feel all warm?), before typing out a few more words and powering the computer off.
“You finished already?” Yuji asked, disbelief coloring his voice.
“Yeah,” Megumi said, giving him a side eye, “It was a pretty simple essay. The only thing you have left to do is respond to some discussion posts, but nobody else has even posted one.”
“Oh my god, Megs, thank you so much,” Yuji said, grabbing his phone to order doordash from their favorite restaurant. “I'm ordering all your favorite foods right now. You are never ever ever getting rid of me.”
“I could have gotten rid of you before?” Megumi asked, an eyebrow raised.
“Hell no,” Yuji said, “You're stuck with me.”
“Perfect,” Megumi said wryly, “that's just what I wanted.”
“I know it is,” Yuji said half jokingly.
Megumi rolled his eyes (again), giving Yuji a playful push.
“Next time don't expect me to do all that writing for you.”
“You didn't have to do it in the first place.” Yuji defended, finishing placing the order.
“Yeah, yeah,” Megumi said and Yuji could practically hear the eye roll. “Do you want me to put a movie on?”
“Human Earthworm?” Yuji asked, perking up.
“Hell no.”