Work Text:
Christmas Eve 2025
It was early evening when Nobara settled down with her drink at the table right by the window of the small café and watched the people rushing by and the winter illuminations on the street. The last of the daylight had faded, giving way to the countless lights of Tokyo. The cosy café was decorated for Christmas and filled with couples. The menu offered a number of festive creations, such as the gingerbread latte that Nobara had treated herself to out of curiosity.
She took her first sip of the spicy-sweet brew – it was hard to say whether it really tasted good, but it was certainly unusual – when her mobile phone vibrated. She had just picked the device up when Maki sat down opposite her with a steaming cup of tea. Nobara continued to stare at the glowing display without answering the call.
“Is it Itadori again?” Maki asked, awkwardly taking off her coat and hanging it over the back of the chair. “Don't you want to answer it?”
The young woman with the eye patch shook her head. “Nah,” she replied monosyllabically as she watched the call end and be added to the considerable list of missed calls for today.
“He's been trying to reach you for half the day.” Maki blew on her cup and raised her eyebrows. “Are you mad at him? Did that idiot do something stupid again?”
“Oh, no,” Nobara waved her hand dismissively. “I've stopped getting upset when Yuji messes up. It's better for my nerves.” Besides, they weren't in school anymore and were all adults now. That had made the nonsense Yuji got up to less frequent and different. Sometimes, he was still quite childish, but that was part of what made him the big-hearted fool he was.
“But you're clearly avoiding him, or am I wrong?” The older woman took a sip of tea. “Is that why you asked me to go to town with you, because you wanted to get rid of Itadori?” She leaned back and placed her hands on her already slightly rounded belly. “Not that I mind. I could use a little break right now. Yuta is driving me crazy at the moment. He's in total panic mode, even though everything is fine with the baby and me. I'm doing great, except that I want to strangle him.”
“You can't blame Yuta for being excited,” Nobara defended him, even though she didn't really care if he got punched by Maki.
“I don't blame him for that. If only he were just nervous... Oh well, never mind, when I get home, I'm sure some cheesy surprise will be waiting for me.” After a short pause, she continued, “Now you'd better explain to me what's going on with you,” Maki demanded. Still, she couldn't quite hide her excitement about spending Christmas Eve with her husband later when she got home.
Nobara stirred the foam in her flavoured latte absent-mindedly and began to tell her story, “Yuji has been watching all these western Christmas films, and I really like some of them too. But now he's got it into his head to bake cookies with Megumi and me.” She snorted and rolled her visible eye. “I'm all for it, but of course he's already going on and on about how smitten he is with Megumi. I really thought it would subside eventually, but no such luck.”
“Everyone has noticed that he has a crush, except Megumi. When it comes to things like that, my nephew really isn't the brightest.” Maki shook her head. They all knew how Yuji felt, while Megumi remained rather inscrutable. There were moments when Nobara thought there might be something going on, but she wasn't entirely sure. Damn poker face.
“As if Yuji were any better. I've told him countless times that if he doesn't finally say or do something, it'll never work out, but he doesn't dare. Back then, he faced Sukuna without batting an eyelid, but now he's backing down. Oh well.” The young brunette shrugged and took another sip of her gingerbread latte – no, she probably wouldn't order that again. “I don't know if it'll work, but I figured it couldn't hurt to let the two idiots bake cookies alone. I even sent Yuji a playlist of romantic Christmas songs.”
Maki furrowed her brow. “Somehow I have my doubts that this forced date will be successful.”
“Me too,” Nobara admitted. “But it's worth a try.” With a disappointed sound, she pushed the glass away from her. Gingerbread definitely had no place in coffee.
***
Was Nobara fucking serious? Yuji stared at his mobile phone as if he could conjure up his friend with it, but of course she didn't appear in the small kitchen of his one-room flat. His messages remained unanswered, she didn't respond to his calls. The last thing she had sent him that morning was a link to cookie recipes and a Christmas playlist. Yuji had thought all three of them would have a fun evening together, since none of them had a date – their Valentine's Days were looking pretty bleak as well. He had even bought a red and white Christmas jumper with reindeers on it, but Nobara had obviously changed her plans without telling him.
Damn it, she had promised to help him with the preparations, to go shopping together and so on. She couldn't possibly have meant just providing the recipe, could she? Hopefully he hadn't forgotten anything, because he didn't have time to run back to the supermarket. He hadn't wanted to impose on Megumi. The shikigami user hadn't much of a sweet tooth anyway and had only reluctantly agreed to the idea on the condition that he didn't have to buy anything or take care of anything else for this childish nonsense, as he had called their cookie baking date.
Okay, stay calm. Keep cool, Yuji silently told himself. There was nothing he could do to change things now, and it wasn't as if he had never done anything alone with Megumi before. It was just that it was rare for just the two of them to meet outside of missions. Well, if Yuji was honest with himself, it was mainly because he always brought Nobara along. Today, however, she had stood him up, and Yuji was absolutely certain that it was intentional.
At first, she had just listened to him and made a few comments when he had been pouring his heart out to her about his heartbreak over Megumi. Eventually, she had started encouraging him to take the first step, and now she just raised an annoyed eyebrow when he brought up the subject. Nevertheless, she had always listened to his complaints. But now she had obviously had enough.
Nobara had probably thought that this action would give him a push in the right direction. But even though he wanted to confess his feelings to Megumi, it was out of the question. His fear of destroying their long-standing trusting friendship was too deep.
Megumi had always been special to him, ever since they first met. They quickly became friends. Good friends, best friends. But Yuji had developed other feelings. At first, he tried to suppress them, but eventually that stopped working. The tingling sensation that spread under his skin when they accidentally touched. The warmth that spread from his stomach to his whole body and the much too rapid beating of his heart when Megumi allowed himself one of those barely visible, tiny smiles. Being alone with him had started to make Yuji nervous. He had gotten better at controlling it by now, but the realisation that he would be spending the evening alone with Megumi still made him excited.
The pink-haired young man closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He couldn't change it, but Nobara would pay for it, that much was certain. Now he checked one last time to make sure he had all the necessary ingredients and utensils at hand.
***
When Yuji opened the door for Megumi, he had his usual grin on his face and beamed at his friend in greeting.
“Hi, I brought something with me,” Megumi said in return, handing Yuji a bottle as he entered the narrow entrance hall. Yuji took the gift and examined the label. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Megumi briefly glancing at him. He probably thought his sweater was ridiculous, Yuji mused. Megumi himself was wearing dark trousers and a simple black jumper, as he almost always did.
“Mulled wine?” Yuji wondered, ignoring the possible judgement of his outfit – Megumi didn't care about that sort of thing anyway. “But you didn't have to get anything.”
“I know how much you and Nobara love all this stuff,” Megumi explained, hanging his jacket and scarf on the coat hook. “Nobara was really excited about it at the Christmas market, so I stopped by a shop on the way.”
“You remembered that?” Yuji marvelled, although he shouldn't have been surprised. Megumi was always very attentive, even when he seemed disinterested. They had been to one of Tokyo's Christmas markets two weeks ago, where Nobara had casually mentioned that she loved the mulled wine. Megumi had sipped from his steaming mug and hadn't reacted at all. Nevertheless, he had listened, of course.
“Isn't Nobara here yet?” asked the black-haired sorcerer instead of answering the question, after entering the living room with Yuji and quickly looking around.
Yuji was glad he had tidied up a bit beforehand. Megumi's place was always so neat that he sometimes felt like a hoarder, even though he was just a bit messy, not dirty. The corner where he rolled out his futon to sleep was separated by a shoji screen, so you couldn't see the rumpled blanket and crumpled pillow behind it. He had stuffed the clothes that usually hung carelessly over the back of the sofa into the laundry basket in the bathroom and draped Christmas decorations in the form of candles, a few winter ornaments and a string of lights on the coffee table. He had even sorted his DVD collection, arranging it halfway neatly on the low, open shelf on which the small television stood.
“No,” replied Yuji, heading for the open kitchen. It consisted of a kitchenette with a sink and all the necessary electrical appliances, as well as a kind of counter that could be used both as a worktop and a table. The two were separated by a narrow passageway. Yuji had laid out the ingredients and baking accessories on the counter. Megumi sat down on one of the bar stools on the other side, rested his arms on the table and looked questioningly at Yuji.
“Nobara cancelled at short notice. She's not feeling well,” he lied, studying the back of the bottle. “It's gonna be heated up in a pot. Would you like some?”
Megumi nodded in agreement and swiped across the screen of his phone, which he was holding in his hand. A frown formed on his forehead. He was probably checking the group chat and wouldn't find a message from their mutual friend there. Meanwhile, Yuji poured the contents of the bottle into a pot and then fiddled with his own mobile phone, whereupon English Christmas carols began to play from the Bluetooth speaker on the windowsill.
While the mulled wine was heating up and the first song was playing – something about last Christmas – Yuji took two cups out of the cupboard. The one with the black and white dog face was always for Megumi. Yuji never used it and didn't give it to anyone else. His friend didn't openly admit it, but he was particularly fond of this mug.
“We can manage without Nobara,” Yuji grinned crookedly and finally placed the cup filled with mulled wine in front of Megumi. He just nodded and sipped cautiously at the hot drink. He seemed a little sceptical, but well, they had never baked together before. However, it would hardly be any different from cooking. Yuji had to admit that Megumi's greatest talent wasn't necessarily in the kitchen, but so far, everything had always turned out well. Megumi usually did the chopping, while the pink-haired man took care of the actual cooking. Nobara saw her role more as delegating, so she usually read out the individual steps of the recipes and tasted the food in between.
“It's not difficult at all,” Yuji assured confidently, leaning over the counter and showing Megumi the recipe on his screen. “All we have to do is knead all the ingredients together, roll out the dough, and then we can cut out the cookies. While they're baking, we can prepare the icing.”
“Sounds doable,” Megumi agreed, and when Yuji lifted his gaze from the display, they looked directly at each other. Yuji's mouth went dry as he saw right into those dark eyes with the long lashes. So close. Oh damn, too close. Yuji hastily backed away and Megumi took a big sip from his cup before setting it aside. Did the black-haired sorcerer have red ears, or was Yuji just imagining it?
“Then let's get started,” said Yuji, trying to hide his nervousness with good humour. For a moment, he simply couldn't look away. Megumi's eyes had a special effect on him somehow. Their deep dark blue reminded him of the midnight sky. They were just as beautiful to look at. Just like Megumi's face. That too was beautiful in Yuji's eyes, and the scars left by Sukuna didn't change that for him.
Enough of that, he told himself, and reached for the butter and sugar to put the right amount into the bowl provided. While Megumi mixed both with a hand mixer to form a homogenous, creamy mass, Yuji turned on the oven to preheat. Eggs and vanilla were added to the butter and sugar mixture. Finally, Yuji reached for the flour packet to open it. Unfortunately, the packaging proved to be somewhat stubborn, and while Megumi added baking powder and salt to the bowl with a teaspoon, Yuji pulled harder on the seal and the packet burst open with a poof. Yuji found himself in a cloud of flour, squinted his eyes and had to sneeze. The particles tickled his nose.
“Oh, damn,” he cursed, then looked at the mess, which wasn't as bad as he had feared at first. Most of the flour was still in the bag, despite the work surface around him was covered with a white layer.
A stifled snort drew his attention to Megumi. His friend was clearly trying to suppress his laughter, but he didn't quite succeed, and Yuji couldn't help but stare at him. It was rare for Megumi to laugh, not just smile, but really laugh, and Yuji felt warmth bubbling up inside him. Seeing Megumi like this was special.
“Your face,” the other explained when he had regained his composure. However, his smile remained.
“What about it?” Yuji touched his cheek and understood. It was covered in flour. The sight of it must have made Megumi laugh, and now he had to grin too. “I guess I got it all over me,” he joked, then added, “But you got some on you too.”
“Really? Where?” Megumi wanted to know. Yuji leaned over to him and reached out his hand. “Here. You've got something in your hair.” With these words, his fingers ran through Megumi's black mane. The strands were so soft. Yuji felt a tingle in the pit of his stomach and hurried to remove the flour. Then he withdrew his hand and gestured towards the bathroom.
“I'm going to clean myself up,” Yuji explained and disappeared to wash his face with cold water. He also needed a short break to collect himself and get the prickly sensation that was spreading through his body under control.
***
Yuji hummed cheerfully to himself, falling into the melody of the song that was playing. After the flour explosion, everything had gone smoothly with the dough. When he came out of the bathroom, he noticed that Megumi had wiped down the worktop in the meantime. Now they decorated the first batch of cookies with food colouring glazes.
“All done,” Yuji announced, looking at his not-quite-perfect and slightly crooked sugar creations. He glanced over at Megumi, who was concentrating on decorating a snowflake-shaped cookie with a piping bag in his hand. “Wow, that's really neat,” Yuji marvelled. Megumi nodded without looking up. Yuji smiled contentedly. Megumi seemed to be enjoying it more than he wanted to admit, but if that weren't the case, he would never have put in so much effort.
He watched his friend for a moment longer – somehow it was cute how he was so absorbed in the task – and then, as the next song began, he remarked, “I think Nobara only put English songs on the playlist. My English has never been good. I don't really understand what they're singing. No idea what the lyrics mean.”
No sooner had he said that than the timer beeped and Yuji turned away to check on the new tray of cookies. He crouched down in front of the humming oven and asked thoughtfully, “What would your Christmas wish be if we celebrated like they do in the West?”
However, all he could hear above the noise of the oven was Megumi's indistinct murmur.
“They need another minute,” announced Yuji, after turning away from the cookies and back towards the counter. “What did you just say?” He reached for his mulled wine and took a sip.
Megumi stared at the candy cane cookie he was decorating with red icing and said, “All I want for Christmas is you.”
Yuji choked, set the mug down with a loud clunk and coughed violently.
“Are you okay?” Megumi asked worriedly, leaving the piping bag where it was and coming around the counter. He gently patted the other man on the back until the coughing fit subsided.
“I just choked,” Yuji gasped, taking a deep breath. He stared at Megumi with wide eyes and felt his heart beating in his throat. He felt hot, the warmth creeping inexorably into his face.
“What did you just say?” stammered the pink-haired sorcerer again.
“All I want for Christmas is you,” Megumi repeated, somewhat irritated. Why was Yuji suddenly looking at him in complete bewilderment? Admittedly, his English was rusty, but he was pretty sure he had translated the line that had just been played, at least in essence.
“Um, well...” Yuji rubbed his neck awkwardly and cleared his throat. “I... Well, this is a bit sudden.”
Confused, Megumi looked at him with narrowed eyes. Had he missed something? Yuji had asked about the meaning of the English Christmas carol, hadn't he? Then he had glanced at the oven and muttered something to himself. Probably about the state of the cookies. Then he had announced that the cookies needed a little more time. So what was going on?
“What do you mean?” Megumi asked, feeling uncertain, and Yuji's cheeks seemed to turn even redder.
“I just thought... I don't know,” Yuji stammered. “I'm not sure, maybe we should go out together first, like a real date, before... You really caught me off guard. I didn't think that would be your answer to my question about what you want for Christmas.”
What he wanted for Christmas? Oh god, was that Yuji's muttering? Megumi's face also flushed red. Had he just accidentally confessed to his best friend? Fuck, fuck, fuck! He felt panic rising inside him, but then... Yuji's reaction. He would have thought they would at least go on a proper date first? Wait, did that mean...? The wheels in Megumi's brain turned incessantly and finally clicked into place. Yuji had taken his statement as a confession, but he didn't reject him, quite the contrary.
Megumi's heart beat faster as he suggested, somewhat overwhelmed, “Can't we count this as a date?”
For a moment, Yuji just looked at him speechless, then his typical beaming smile spread across his face and he said happily, “Yes, I'd love to.”
Somewhat indecisive about how to proceed, the two young men now stood facing each other. Taken aback by themselves.
“So, if this is a date,” Yuji finally began awkwardly and paused. “Um, is it okay then... So...” He stared at Megumi, trying to read his expression, then blurted out, “Can I kiss you?”
Megumi's eyes widened, but then he shrugged resignedly. “Yes, that's kind of part of a date, isn't it?” he nodded, unable to suppress a smile as Yuji leaned forward somewhat hesitantly and carefully pressed his lips to Megumi's. Warm, soft. He tasted the mulled wine.
As Yuji tilted his head slightly to the side and slowly deepened the kiss, a burnt smell reached their noses. They abruptly pulled away from each other, and after a second, Yuji remembered, “Damn, the cookies!”
Cursing, Yuji turned off the oven, took out the tray with the charred baked goods, and set it on the stove.
Megumi stepped behind his boyfriend – he definitely had to get used to that – who was pouting disappointedly. “We don't need that many anyway,” said the shikigami user, wrapping his arms around Yuji's waist and kissing him on the cheek.
***
Nobara sat relaxed on the edge of her bathtub, painting her toenails. Not that anyone but herself would see her feet in winter, but ultimately, the main thing was that she liked it.
She heard soft, relaxing music coming from her mobile phone, which was lying on the shelf above the sink. But the jazzy song was suddenly interrupted by her message tone. Nobara flinched in surprise and the purple polish landed on her toe instead of her nail.
“Damn,” she cursed and reached for her phone with her free hand. Yuji had texted her and she opened the chat, snorting. He'd better have something important to say if he was disturbing her during her late evening me-time.
Yuji's message consisted of nothing more than a heart emoji.
“Holy shit!” she exclaimed loudly and called him immediately. When Yuji answered, she demanded, “Tell me everything.”