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After a long, long night of exorcising curses, the sun peeked over the horizon, scaring away the littler Grade 4s into the shadows and alleyways and crevices of the world. With a pop, Itadori stretched out his back, letting out a prolonged groan in the process. His shoulders ached and his knuckles were split; his assignment for the past night had proved to be far more difficult than expected, likely another lousy ploy from the higher-ups to get him to kick the bucket.
Exiting the building, he gaped at the carless curb that he’d been told he would be picked up from, exhaustion settling heavy in his bones. He ran a hand through his hair, pulling hard at the strands as he muttered out, “You’ve gotta be shittin’ me, man.”
He sat with a huff, back against the concrete walls of this stupid abandoned building, squeezing his eyes shut as the backs of his hands began to throb, blood streaking down tanned skin and staining the asphalt. He really wished he hadn’t taken this mission solo—Megumi had even offered to come—but his stubbornness had pushed through, denying him the reassurance of having a beautiful, strong, far more experienced sorcerer accompany him.
Megumi… Itadori thought aimlessly, inhaling the crisp early morning air and exhaling in one soft puff. I miss him.
It’d been less than a day since he’d last seen his boyfriend, but now, with his back aching, hands throbbing, and sun beaming through the backs of his eyelids, he wanted to see him more than anything. He hissed as he lifted an arm to cover his face from the intruding sunlight, his body clearly in worse shape than he had thought.
M’just gonna close my eyes for a little bit, he thought, trying to relax as much as he could while sitting on the ground in a blood-stained uniform. And then I’ll find a way back to the school… yeah, that sounds… really nice…
And then he was slipping off into nothingness, with sweet thoughts of his boyfriend to keep him company. His rest lasted for no longer than a couple seconds before the sound of shoes against pavement began to get closer and closer. Someone was saying something—calling out his name, maybe? He clenched his jaw and tried to fall back into the relaxation of his pseudo-sleep but yeah, no—someone was definitely calling his name.
“Yuuji? Yuuji!”
Itadori let the arm protecting his eyes fall to his side, resisting the urge to yell when his knuckles scraped lightly against the asphalt. He squinted as this person got closer, eyes readjusting to the bright world around him. Had he really only been asleep for a few seconds? The sun now illuminated everything, backlighting the boy running towards him—Like an angel, Itadori thought.
“Hold up. Megumi?”
The taller boy crouched next to Itadori’s sorry state, panting as if he’d run here all the way from the school. His hands hovered over split knuckles and blood-stained clothes and sore muscles in absolute hesitation as he closed and opened his mouth in shock, trying to assess the catastrophic situation that was seeing Itadori in this much pain.
“I’m gonna kill you, Yuuji,” he finally whispered, pressing his lips to the top of Itadori’s head, cradling his face in gentle hands. “You should’ve called me.”
Itadori shrugged, smiling stupid and wide, leaning into Megumi’s warm touch. “I missed you, too.”
“We need—I have to get you somewhere safer. Can you walk?” Despite the urgency in his words, the tone was hushed and kind and spoken into the shorter boy’s tawny skin. His thumbs brushed carefully over Itadori’s cheeks, like he was fragile, like he would break under his fingertips.
“I can try,” he huffed, planting his feet onto the ground and willing strength into his legs as he propelled himself upwards; however, overshooting and feeling his muscles give in as his body began tipping forwards to have him almost face-planting on the ground. Almost.
Megumi laughed, a little concerned, a little lovestruck, and one arm around Itadori’s waist, “I was gonna help you stand up.” He pulled him back up to standing, steadying his balance with both hands on Itadori’s hips.
The shorter boy flushed then, skin blooming with embarrassment, “Can you imagine if I fell just then? Would’ve been so embarrassing.” He tried laughing it off, ignoring the ache in his abdomen as he did and leaned into the comfort of his boyfriend. “Thanks for catching me. My savior,” he teased.
“Y’know, if you weren’t severely injured right now, I would’ve let you fall.” All bark and no bite, that’s what Megumi was—the tips of his ears red hot with fondness, craning his neck down slightly to bury his face in the crook of Itadori’s neck. “I’ll carry you.”
“Wha—Pfft, no. I’m a big boy, I can walk on my own.”
To stress his point, Megumi pushed lightly on the older boy and felt him wobble beneath his touch. Itadori laughed it off, hands fisting tight in the back of Megumi’s shirt, and breathed out, giving in so easily, “As long as you don’t drop me.”
“I won’t. You think I'm weak?” Megumi crouched down, motioning for him to get on his back. Itadori was hesitant, but the ache in his calves moved him before he could really think twice about it. He stumbled gracelessly onto his boyfriend’s back, looping his arms around Megumi’s neck and sighed heavily as he was hoisted up.
“I wouldn’t let a weak person carry me,” he mumbled before nipping at Megumi’s neck playfully, teeth just barely scraping against the nape.
“Bite me again and your ass will meet the ground very quickly.” Megumi was laughing, even if it was small. Itadori could feel the vibrations in his chest, the joy in his voice. He liked being the one to make him laugh.
“But you promised not to drop me, ‘Gumi.”
“Actually, I didn’t promise shit.”
They continued their walk like that, in almost silence, Itadori fighting sleep against the rhythmic sound of Megumi navigating them to the nearest convenience store. His heart thundered loud in his ribcage, and he wondered, and silently hoped, that Megumi would be able to feel it too. I’m glad he looked for me. I’m glad it was him.
And after they managed a very clumsy trip through a convenience store—Megumi was adamant that Itadori could not stand on his own—they sat side-by-side on a park bench. As Megumi cleaned the split skin of Itadori’s rough hands, wrapping them tight in gauze and bandages, sealing them with a good-luck kiss, Itadori wondered if he was in love.
“I like you a lot,” he admitted, when Megumi got to work on his other hand. The other boy didn’t even look up at Itadori, instead focusing on the red, red gashes on his lover’s body, and ignoring the deep red blush coloring himself to match.
“I like you, too, Yuuji,” he replied, pulling the bandage rather tight, clicking his tongue in disappointment when Itadori winced in pain, and whispering a soft “sorry.”
“I love you, Megumi,” Itadori clarified, heart in his throat, rough hand in smooth.
And when his green-eyed boy pressed a final kiss to the last knuckle on his hand, he smiled like Itadori was the best thing he could ever have and hold and love, and he laughed then, “I love you, too.”
They laughed and laughed, until their laughs were lost in shared breath and lips pressed to one another, bandaged hands held in unbroken skin, foreheads touching. I love you, I love you, I love you.