Chapter Text
Megumi Fushiguro was what one might call an introvert.
Actually—scratch that.
If you looked up the word introvert in the dictionary, you’d probably find a picture of Megumi Fushiguro right next to it. And if you didn’t, that was only because he’d somehow avoided being photographed in the first place.
He was the quiet kid in class. The one who always sat in the back, half-hidden, as if he could blend into the wall if he tried hard enough. Expensive wireless headphones were practically glued to his ears, usually blasting Wheezer or MCR—loud enough to drown out the world, but not loud enough to completely miss when someone said his name.
Which, unfortunately, happened more often than he’d like.
Megumi didn’t talk much. Not because he couldn’t, but because he simply didn’t see the point. Conversations were exhausting. People were unpredictable. Silence, on the other hand, was reliable. His “social circle” was… limited. And by limited, that meant exactly one person: Kugisaki Nobara. Outside of Nobara, Megumi’s interactions were restricted to: His sisters—Mimiko, Nanako, and Tsumiki, (And by extension, Maki, But she is technically his aunt? Cousin?), few acquaintances he met through Nobara, and, unfortunately, certain professors.
Talking to anyone else? Rare.
Talking to anyone else by choice? Practically unheard of.
Yuuji Itadori, on the other hand, was the complete opposite.
Loud. Energetic. Chaotic.
The kind of person who could walk into a room and instantly make it feel brighter. Yuuji knew everyone—and everyone knew him. It was just how things worked. He was the captain of the school’s basketball team, a Sports Science major, and the kind of guy professors tolerated purely because he was impossible not to like. He laughed easily. Talked easily. Lived easily. At least, that’s what it looked like from the outside.
Because what most people didn’t know…
…was that Yuuji Itadori was completely, utterly, hopelessly in love.
With a boy he had never spoken to.
All he knew was that his name is Megumi Fushiguro and that he is the most handsome person Yuuji had every laid eyes on. Well, he knew a bit more... he knew that was was some sorta science major who really seemed to hate their physics teacher. But other than that? Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zippo.
Speaking of physics, the class had recently been told they would have a group assignment and that groups would me posted soon. And when I tell you Yuji's eyes lit up so bright the moment he saw who was in his group, I mean -you would mistake for a for the fucking sun- level of bright.
Yuuji spent the remaining forty-three minutes of class trying not to vibrate out of his skin.
Play it cool. Play it cool. You're cool. You're so cool. You're the coolest person alive. Just—don't look at him. Don't turn around. Don't—
He turned around.
Megumi was in his usual spot in the back corner, headphones firmly in place, staring at his laptop screen with the kind of intense focus usually reserved for bomb defusal. His dark hair fell across his forehead, and his expression was set in that permanent state of please leave me alone that Yuuji found devastatingly attractive.
Okay. Okay. After class. You'll talk to him after class. Like a normal person. Because you ARE a normal person. A normal person who just happens to be in a group project with the love of his life. Totally normal. Completely normal. Absolutely—
"Mr. Itadori, do you have something to add?" Gojo said, wiggling his eyebrows. It looked more funny that threating honestly...
Yuuji snapped his attention back to the professor, who was staring at him with barely concealed irritation. "Uh—no, sir. Sorry."
This was going to be a long forty-three minutes.
The second class ended, Yuuji was on his feet.
Students began packing up, the usual shuffle of laptops closing and bags zipping filling the room. Yuuji watched as Megumi stood, slinging his backpack over one shoulder with practiced efficiency, headphones still firmly in place.
Now. Go now. Before he leaves. Before you lose your chance. Before—
Yuuji's legs carried him toward the back of the classroom before his brain could fully catch up.
"Hey!" he said, probably too loud, definitely too enthusiastic.
Megumi didn't react. Because of course he didn't. Because his headphones were on and he was already halfway to the door and—
Yuuji reached out, fingers barely grazing Megumi's sleeve.
Megumi stopped. His shoulders tensed slightly—the universal body language for oh god, what now—before he turned. Slowly—painfully slowly—he pulled one side of his headphones off his ear.
Up close, he was even more devastatingly beautiful. Sharp green eyes, currently narrowed in what could only be described as active irritation. A slight furrow between his brows. The kind of face that said this better be important.
"...Yes?" Megumi's voice was flat, clipped. The vocal equivalent of a closed door.
"Uh," Yuuji said, eloquently. "Hi! I'm Yuuji. Itadori. Yuuji Itadori. We're—we're in the same group. For the project. The physics project. That we just—that was just assigned. So, uh—"
"I know." Megumi's expression didn't change. "You're the guy who kept turning around during lecture."
Oh god. He noticed. He NOTICED.
"I wasn't—I mean, I was just—" Yuuji could feel his face heating up. "I was just, you know, stretching my neck? It gets stiff when I sit too long, and I play basketball so I have to be really careful about my posture and—"
"Right." Megumi's tone suggested he believed absolutely none of that. He shifted his weight, clearly ready to leave. "Was there something you needed, or...?"
"Numbers!" Yuuji blurted out. "I mean—your number. For the project. To coordinate. Because we're in a group and we'll need to, like, meet up and stuff, and I figured it would be easier if we could text instead of, I don't know, sending carrier pigeons or—" Shut up shut up shut up—
Megumi stared at him for a long moment, and Yuuji watched something that might have been resignation flicker across his face. He let out a small sigh through his nose—the kind of sigh that said I can't believe I have to deal with this—and pulled out his phone.
"Fine. What's your number?"
Yuuji rattled it off, probably too fast, definitely stumbling over the digits at least once. Megumi typed with his thumbs, his expression suggesting this was the most tedious thing he'd done all day.
Yuuji's phone buzzed. He looked down at the screen.
Unknown Number: This is Fushiguro.
Short. Efficient. Completely devoid of personality. It was perfect.
"Got it!" Yuuji said, immediately saving the contact with shaking fingers. "So I was thinking maybe we could meet up sometime this week? Like, at the library? Or a coffee shop? Do you like coffee? I mean, everyone likes coffee, right? Unless you're more of a tea person, which is totally cool too, I'm not judging—"
"I'll check my schedule," Megumi interrupted, already putting his headphone back on. "Text me."
"Right! Yeah! I'll text you! Definitely! Probably tonight? Or is tonight too soon? I don't want to seem too eager or anything, not that I'm eager, I'm just, you know, responsible about group projects because I take my academics very seriously even though I'm a Sports Science major and people think that's not a real major but it totally is and umm bye?" Yuuji is going insane.
"Bye." The next thing yuuji saw was that Megumi was already walking away. What he didnt see was the smaile smile tugging on the raven haired boys lips.
"—okay cool talk to you later bye!" Yuuji finished lamely, watching Megumi's retreating back disappear into the hallway crowd.
He stood there for a moment, phone clutched in his hand, grinning like an absolute idiot.
He had Megumi Fushiguro's phone number.
Holy shit.