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“Nanamin, why’re you always so insistent on not working overtime?” Yuji asked, slumping against the seat. The two were on their way back to Jujutsu High, having just exorcised a particularly nasty Grade 2 cursed spirit.
“My partner is unhappy if I return too late to have dinner together. And having a good work-life balance is important, Itadori.”
He saw Yuji perk up, and he groaned internally.
“Nanamin, you have a partner? Who is she? Ooh, do I know her? What’s she like? When did you meet her? How come you’ve never mentioned her before?”
From the front, Ijichi snorted a little, being one of the few people who actually knew about Nanami and Haibara. Nanami shot him a look through the rear view mirror, then turned to Yuji.
Yuji's wide eyed stare almost reminded Nanami of Haibara himself. He couldn’t help it. In spite of his annoyance at himself-- Yuji was never going to let this go, and if he let it get to Gojo--
Nanami shook himself.
It was not going to get to Gojo.
Anyways.
Nanami couldn’t help the slight quirk of his lips.
“I prefer to not talk too much about my private life, especially not in front of that teacher of yours.” he answered, pulling a face. Clown might be a more accurate word. “But I’ll answer one question for you.”
“Ooh, ooh! I know! What’s her name?” Yuji asked, raising his hand eagerly like he was still in class.
“Not that.”
“Boo, Nanamin! Alright, then, do I know her?” he said.
“...Yes, you do,” Nanami said reluctantly. “That’s it. Go get some rest.”
---
As Nanami's self appointed protegé-slash-son-figure (a position Nanami himself didn’t know Yuji held), Yuji felt extremely disappointed that Nanami had never mentioned someone as important as his partner to him. And what was more, he still refused to tell Yuji any more about her. So he was forced to take matters into his own hands.
Operation Unmask-Nanamin’s-Partner (name under review) was a go.
---
Stage 1: Ask Gojo Satoru
Gojo Satoru was many things. One of the two teachers for the first and second years, a pain in the ass for the higher ups, the first user of both Six Eyes and Limitless in decades, the so-called strongest sorcerer alive.
He was also a huge gossip. And as such, he would serve as the perfect jumping off point for Yuji's investigation.
“Sensei!” Yuji called out to Gojo. “You know Nanamin pretty well, right? Who’s his partner?”
Gojo, who had been sprawled out on the sofa, immediately shot upright.
“Hm?”
“Oh, um, he mentioned it to me yesterday! His partner doesn’t like when he’s home late, right? I was just wondering if you know who his partner is?”
Gojo was smirking as he made his way over to where Yuji stood.
“No, no, Yuji, this is the first I’m hearing about any partner. Tell me more!” Gojo slung an arm over Yuji’s shoulders.
Oh, never mind. This was a mistake.
“Um, it’s alright, actually! I know Nanamin’s a private person and in fact I’d actually best be going, I have to train with Fush--” Yuji tried to twist out of Gojo’s grasp, but his grip was surprisingly strong, and Yuji was captured.
Nanami was going to kill him.
The wood outside creaked, and metal wheels squeaked. Yuji began to scream.
“Haibara-sensei! Help me!”
“Satoru, leave Itadori alone,” Haibara Yu called from the doorway, wheeling himself into the room.
“But you see, Yu, Yuji has some very interesting new information about Nanami,” said Gojo, ruffling Yuji’s hair. “Go on, Yuji, why don’t you ask Haibara-sensei? He might know something!”
Haibara cocked his head curiously and Yuji let out a defeated sigh. Gojo did have a point: considering the fact that Nanami actually had some respect for Haibara, he was the more likely of his teachers to know anything about Nanami’s love life.
“Haibara-sensei, do you know anything about Nanamin’s partner?” he asked, finally slipping out of Gojo’s grip. “He mentioned a little last night, but refused to tell me anything.”
Haibara’s eyes widened slightly, and the corners of his lips twitched.
“Yes, actually, I do know him,” he confirmed. Gojo let out an indignant squawk.
“And he never mentioned anything! Betrayal! I had to find out from my own student…”
“Ooh, sensei, who is she? What’s she like? How long have they been together?” Yuji turned his best puppy eyes onto Haibara, who chuckled at his student.
“Well, if Nanami didn’t tell you anything…”
“Please, sensei, please, please, please!” Yuji pleaded, ignoring Gojo lamenting in the background.
“Alright, alright, one thing. Hm. His partner’s known him for quite a long time, maybe as long as I have.”
“But that's nothing! I don't know who was with you in school! Tell me what she looks like!” he whined.
“Um, alright then. I guess his partner’s got dark hair?” he pondered.
That… was actually something to work off of.
Stage 1 status: Failure
Unexpected Stage 1.5 (Ask Haibara Yu) status: Success
---
“Kento, you told Yuji about me?” Haibara called out to his partner as he heard the door creak open. Nanami walked into their living room, loosening his tie. He groaned
“How did you find out? Who has he told?”
“Nobody, as far as I know, other than Satoru--” Nanami cut him off with an even bigger groan.
“I thought it was time for me to perhaps open up a little about myself to Itadori last night, and I mentioned how you insist I’m home in time for dinner, but I’m regretting that decision now.” He slumped onto the sofa next to his partner, staring up with closed eyes.
Haibara laughed. “Satoru did not let it go that I knew, he spent the whole day melodramatically monologuing about disrespect and treachery and whatnot. Yuji’s under the impression you’re in a relationship with a woman, though. I didn’t correct him, just told him you’ve known your partner about as long as I’ve known you, and has dark hair. What do you plan to do now?”
Nanami sighed. “I don’t think I’ve got a choice. Yuji will figure it out eventually. Probably. Right? And if he does, Gojo will too. I’m just hoping it’s not too soon.”
“It’s been twelve years, Kento. It’s a miracle he hasn’t found out yet. Come on, I’ve made dinner.”
---
Stage 2: Ask Ijichi
Ijichi. Dependable, reliable, trustworthy Ijichi, who had laughed in the car. Which meant one thing: he knew something. Yuji was going to find out what.
“No, Yuji, I’m sorry, but I really can’t tell you anything! Nanami will kill me! He and Y-- he and his partner trust me and I can’t break that!” Ijichi raised his hands placatingly, slowly backing away from Yuji.
Fortunately, for all his trustworthiness, Ijichi was also very easily flustered.
“Aha! His partner’s name starts with a Y, does it? I don’t know any woman whose name starts with a Y… wait, was it an I? Ijichi?”
Ijichi had fled, but it was enough.
Stage 2 status: Success(?)
---
“I’m so, so sorry, Nanami, Yu! Really! It just slipped!” Ijichi’s panicked, crackly voice came through the phone’s speaker.
“It’s all right, Kiyotaka. You just let it slip that whoever Kento’s partner may be, their name starts with the letter Y. And you said Yuji didn’t even realise that, he just thinks it’s an I. Which is even better! Seriously, calm down. Kento’s fine with it too.” Haibara waved him off.
“If you’re sure…” his voice trailed off. Haibara made his assurances and ended the call, turning to Nanami, who was sitting at the table tearing into his sandwich. Nanami looked up at him. “What?”
“You’ve got poor Kiyotaka terrified of you, you know that?”
---
Stage 3: I or Y?
Which letter was it? Yuji pondered the question as he paced the halls, stroking his chin. There didn't seem to be any likely suspect for Y.
But wait. If her name started with I, and her hair was dark…
Yuji sped into the med-bay and slammed the door open.
“Ieiri-san, are you Nanamin’s partner?” he demanded.
Shoko had been leaning back in a chair, with a cigarette halfway to her lips.
“I- Itadori, what? No? Wait, he has a partner?” She blinked at him bemusedly, but it was too late: Yuji was speeding back down the hall as fast as he'd come.
Stage 3 status: Inconclusive (possibly failure?)
---
“He asked Shoko today, did you know that?” Haibara told Nanami by way of greeting. “Yuji, I mean. He thought it might be her.”
Nanami laughed at that, a throaty laugh, flopping down next to Haibara. “I’m still confused as to why he thinks I’m dating a woman. I do realise I never mentioned any pronouns, but is my saying partner not suspicious enough?”
--
Stage 4: Photographs
Yuji perched on the edge of his bed. He ran over the information he had in his head.
- Nanami's partner lived with him.
- Yuji knew her.
- She had known him since his school days.
- She has dark hair.
- Her name started with an I. Or maybe a Y.
The problem now was that Yuji didn't know much about Nanami's school years, who he’d known back then-- the man was very close lipped. But perhaps, he realised, there might be some pictures in Yaga's office, year-end pictures or the like that might give him some hints.
No time like the present. He jumped up and sprinted off towards the principal's office, almost bumping into Nobara at a corner. He ignored her yelling and sped up to avoid her wrath, before skidding to a halt before the door of the office. Peeping at the window, he quickly checked to make sure Yaga wasn't there, before nudging the door open and slipping inside.
The walls of the office were plastered with framed photographs: some were in colour and more recent; some in black and white, their subjects wearing outdated uniforms. On the desk, though, was a picture of Yaga, surrounded by familiar faces, labelled at the bottom. Gojo wore his signature round sunglasses, with his arms around Shoko, whose bob cut made her look almost identical to Nobara, and an unfamiliar black-haired boy with strange bangs who was looking fondly at Gojo. In front of them stood Haibara with a blinding grin, his head resting on the shoulder of a blond haired boy. Yuji frowned, and picked up the photograph to read the words written at the bottom.
Middle row, L-R: Haibara Yu, Nanami Kento…
Yuji did a double take, and peered closer. Sure enough, the face did vaguely resemble Nanami’s, but it was half obscured by long bangs and-- was that eyeliner on his eyes? He was lanky, too, almost resembling Gojo’s build, but his scowl was the same as always. Yuji giggled a little, and pulled out his phone to take a picture. He was going to get something out of this trip, be it a reaction image of his mentor-slash-father-figure-who-didn’t-know-he-was-a-father-figure-whatever.
Stage 4 status: Maybe the real success was the picture of emo Nanami he found along the way?
---
“I think he’s giving up, Yu.”
---
Stage 5: ???
Yuji stared at the corkboard he’d gotten for his room specifically for this purpose. It didn’t look as cool as he’d thought it would, maybe because all that was on there was the picture of emo Nanami and a few sticky notes with question marks and the few details he knew about her, connected with red string. He groaned, and Nobara poked her head into the room.
“Whatcha doing?”
“Kugisaki! Help me! Please!” Yuji dragged Nobara into the room, who already looked like she was regretting her decision. “I’m trying to figure out who Nanamin’s partner is, but this is all I’ve got.”
“Nanami’s what? Partner?” Nobara studied at the corkboard with him for a few moments, her eyes darting between the sticky notes and the picture of Nanami.
“Who’s that in the picture?”
“Nanamin, duh!” Yuji rolled his eyes. Even if he had looked different as a teen, it should have been obvious--
“No, really? I had no idea!” She smacked him upside the head, causing him to yelp. “I mean leaning on his shoulder. Could be her.”
“No, no, that’s Haibara-sensei. I’ve tried everything! I’ve ruled out Ieiri-san, and I have no idea who else it could be.”
She stared at the picture for another moment, then snapped her fingers.
“Ohh, of course! That makes sense…”
“What? Did you figure something out? Kugisaki, hello? What ohh?” Yuji shook her shoulders, and she pushed him off.
“Just for that I’m telling you jack shit. All I’ll say is, maybe you should go talk to Haibara-sensei again?” And with that, she left, leaving him even more confused than before.
Stage 5 status: Confused
---
“Kugisaki knows.”
“What?”
“She knows about us, Kento. Also, Yuji has a conspiracy board just for this.”
“What?”
---
Stage 6: A Final, Unexpected Discovery
Yuji had spent the day thinking about what Nobara had told him. It did make some sense: Haibara-sensei was, from what he could tell, the closest thing Nanami seemed to have to a friend. So there he was, on his way to his teacher’s room, when he found the door just slightly ajar.
“She knows about us, Kento,” was all he managed to hear his teacher say before the door shut fully. Yuji pressed his ear to the door, but he could just catch snippets of their conversation.
“...finding out…”
“...reputation…”
“...leave me…”
“...love you, but…”
What the hell had he just heard? She knows about us? What was there to know about Haibara and Nanami’s relationship?
Wait.
Yuji threw the door open.
“What the hell?”
Nanami was bent down slightly, in the middle of kissing Haibara.
“Nanamin, what the hell? I looked up to you! And you-- you-- you’re--”
“Itadori, wait, it’s not--”
“I can’t believe you’d do that!”
“Do what? Itadori, calm down, please. I didn’t think you, of all people, would have an issue with me dating a man.” Nanami shook his head, frowning.
“Dating a-- what, no, that’s not the issue here! The issue is that you’re cheating on your part…”
And then it clicked.
Dark hair.
Had known him since high school.
Name starting with a Y, after all.
“Oh.”
“Nanami, you’re what?” came a shout, as Gojo strode into the room.
Stage 6 status: Task failed successfully?
---
Yuji cringed as Nobara and Gojo gleefully showed Megumi the video they’d made of Yuji yelling at Nanami and Haibara.
“So, let me get this straight.” Megumi turned to the couple in question. Nanami was massaging his forehead, Haibara patting his arm. “You two successfully hid your relationship from Mister Six-Eyes, the nosiest man on Earth, only to be found out by Yuji?
“And you,” Gojo interjected, pointing at Yuji, “heard Nanami say he has a partner, and assumed it was a woman? And you still thought he’s straight, after seeing that picture of him with his gay-ass eyeliner and those skinny jeans?”
“Well, when you put it like that…” Yuji trailed off, as Nanami sighed at Gojo’s (not inaccurate) description of his teenage self.
“How long have you two been together, anyways?” Gojo asked them, as Yuji yanked the phone out of Nobara’s reach to prevent her replaying it for the fifth time.
“Twelve years now, since not long after I woke up from my coma,” Haibara said, smiling at Nanami. “He was so relieved, poor thing. Couldn’t keep it in long.”
“I still don’t know how I missed it! He’s always been nicest to you, and here I thought he was just being friendly,” Yuji lamented, waving the phone above his head as Nobara tried to jump and snatch it.
“Neither of us is big on PDA. But he wanted to tell you, Yuji, he just didn’t outright for fear of Satoru’s reaction.”
“Aww, Nanamin!” Yuji threw his arms around a rather shell-shocked Nanami who gently patted Yuji’s back, scowling at Gojo who’d pulled his own phone out.