Chapter Text
Yuuji Itadori never thought he’d have to give in to such a sweet temptation in such utter desperation, but here he is.
His uncle Sukuna is sitting in the lounge watching some god-forsaken cooking shows (as if they’re actually going to help his cooking skills), and here he is. Jumping out from his bedroom window, trying to sneak under the window ledge of his neighbours to mark down his target.
It had been a tiring day, composed mostly of sweat and slick from the school boxing club; Yuuji, too exhausted to try whatever the hell Sukuna had invented in the kitchen, was heading straight to his room for a good long rest. Yet on this day ‘composed of sweat and slick’, there was a sudden interruption.
Of something sweet; something almost foreign to Yuuji.
As the smell of this sweetness filled Yuuji’s lungs with warmth, his eyes searched around. This scent was surely not from here. And he absolutely had to find out where his target was attacking him from.
Opening the door of his room and feet stumbling over a mix of undone laundry, unsubmitted school assignments and his colored highlighters that he used to add a spark to his barely readable notes- he finally made his way through a mess of a floor to his window; eyes scanning his surroundings before finally marking his target.
‘So this is what it was’, he proudly mumbled to himself, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. His eyes landed on his neighbour’s window ledge; a tray of a certain something resting on top of it. The captivating, warm aura of the tray’s contents gave an invitation to his rumbling stomach.
After pausing for a moment, seemingly to question himself, he had made up his mind. He just had to go and check there himself.
His neighbours weren’t exactly invisible people, a small family with a teenage daughter. He’d never seen them up close, but their dogs could easily be heard from a distance. He’s seen the girl often walk them outside; two huge Huskies, one black and one white, and surprisingly obedient. Quite cute, he thought to himself.
He leaped over his window and slid under the ledge, waiting a moment or two before raising his head to take a good look at the contents of the tray. The sight of freshly baked, golden brown chocolate chip cookies was enough to drive him out of his senses.
There was no one around at the moment, and the temptation was taking him away from any remaining senses that he had left. He had to make a decision, right here and then.
In other words, he either takes a cookie right now or never.
Yes, he remembers the fact that his father, Jin, had certainly raised him as a son- a man who never steals or hurts anyone, but this was just too much of a test to bother passing.
A warm gush of air whistled through the surroundings, leaves slapping against one another as Yuuji’s hair was pushed back; a cinematic moment where the main character raises his head towards the blazing sun, face glazed with utter determination for the goal he had just now set up in his mind.
One cookie won’t hurt anyone, right?
He looked around once again, as if to assure himself, before raising his hand towards his target. His hand brushed against the crisp edges of the cookie before he took it whole into his hand, almost burning himself. But he was ready for all risks.
‘There’s a bunch left, so no one would find out- or care anyways’, he thought to himself.
One hand under and one over this achievement, he leaped back across from the small gap between his and the neighbour’s window without leaving a trace. Jumping over his own window, he now stood in his room. He quickly closed his window, standing proud of whatever the hell he had just done.
He had successfully managed to steal a cookie from his neighbours.
Ready to claim, he took a huge bite of his victory. The soft contents made their way on his tongue; his senses melting with each slow taste of it. Baked to perfection, this taste was like no other. The thick, melted chocolate chips greeted his mouth, and his eyelids shut down in utter defeat, as if taking in every little detail of this taste in mind.
With every chew the taste melted deeper and deeper into his senses, reminding him of his mother Kaori’s attempts at baking sweets for him. Yuuji’s always been an enthusiast for sweets, and ever since he moved away from his parents, he didn’t really get a chance to taste anything like this since his uncle highly opposed sweet things.
He looked down at the cookie again before taking the rest in a single mouthful, exhaling with pure bliss. The smell of fresh, toasted butter and hints of cinnamon gave a certain warmth to his heart, and as he slowly chewed through his reward, he came across his conclusion.
‘Woah’, he looked down at his hands, traces of cookie crumbles left behind. ‘This was certainly worth it’.
A day passed since this incident, and then another; and then a whole week that Yuuji had realized very well. Every day, he looked out his window for any new invitation, but was disappointed to find none. He didn’t really lose hope- but he certainly did miss the taste of the treat.
His days were droopy as ever; either filled with his teachers nagging him to work on his grades, or Nobara’s nagging on how his shoes went terribly with his choice of socks, or the worst of all- Sukuna’s nagging about a different topic daily. School was boring as always and going home consisted of little to no motivation for Yuuji.
‘Everyone keeps talking about how exciting and life changing high school is’, he says to Nobara, too lazy to look in her direction and too sure to find her staring down at her phone anyway. ‘Are we the only ones like this? I mean, there’s no spark, dude’.
‘Speak for yourself, Itadori’, she replies in a tone equally as bored. ‘I’m going shopping with Maki-san tomorrow. Gonna try out the new boba stall’.
‘Really?’, his eyes shine with hope. It sounds fun, and maybe he could come along-
‘No. You’re not coming with us’.
‘Oh come on! I’m going to die here- there’s nothing to do anyway’, he rolls his eyes, hoping that maybe, just maybe, Nobara could come up with a cure to this.
‘Why don’t you find a cutie to crush on or something?’
‘Like hell there are’, he blatantly states, looking up at the sky. Pale coloured clouds fill the endless sea of blue, trying to stretch enough to cover it, yet failing and being regarded as mere decoration in the reign of cold.
‘Hell yes there are- or is’’, she nudges him in the shoulder, grabbing his attention and turning it towards something else than the depressing sky.
Yuuji looks at her in confusion, and then traces where her eyes lead his gaze onto.
Across the small ground and over the benches, a dark haired boy of his age stands, looking over his phone. He’s wearing their uniform, so he’s from their school too; Yuuji deciphers. Looking like he’s waiting for someone, he glances around and that’s when Yuuji realizes. The boy is really fucking pretty.
Sunlight droops down on his tall frame as if gracing his presence with pure elegance, his mouth closed gently tight, his dark bangs falling just over his eyes, framing them beautifully instead of hiding them behind its curtains. His posture is straight and only enhances the already well-built frame, his pale hands gracefully wrapped around his phone. From this distance, Yuuji can’t really tell the colour of his eyes, but he sure knows that any colour would go well paired with such beauty.
And this is the instance where Yuuji realizes he’s been staring a little too long.
And Nobaras also staring; at Yuuji staring at another dude, with this gay ass admiration in his eyes.
Beating him to it, she leans into his ear and whispers, ‘Dude. You’re such a creep’.
A shiver of realization runs through his body as he jolts up and snatches his head from the boy's direction protectively, as if his gaze might get stolen any moment again now.
‘Look who’s talking!’, he exclaims before snatching his eyes away from her, too, before she might catch the faint, warm blush creeping up his neck. A giggle escapes Nobara, and he quickly realizes that this is not going to leave her mind.
‘No, seriously- you were admiring him so hard. I actually thought you were going to start drooling’.
‘Like hell I would drool over a dude’, he states with absolutely no confidence in himself. Quickly grabbing his plastic bottle and empty ramen cup, Yuuji raises himself up from his seat, flushed in embarrassment, trying not to run away from this situation. He’s been exposed in front of Nobara of all people, after all.
Turning around to the opposite direction to reduce Nobara’s chances of getting a look at his face, having no clue where exactly he’s headed. ‘If you want, I can help you out with him!’, she shouts behind his shoulder, a hint of faint excitement in her voice.
And this is the thing with Nobara, despite their 3 years of friendship, he still can’t tell whether she actually means it or if she’s just teasing him.
‘Shut up!’ he looks in her direction one last time, burning red just by the thought of someone hearing this, especially him.
And just from the corner of his eye, he’s able to guess that the boy just might be staring at him.