Archive of Our Own

It started, as many of Yuuji's problems did, with Toudou.

The sun was setting, painting the Jujutsu High grounds in various shades of orange and gold. They were sitting outside on the patchy dry grass after their rigorous training, sweaty and exhausted. Chests heaving. Backs wet. The cool evening air hitting their warm skins in the most perfect way that felt like an honest reward after a challenging sparring match.

It was autumn. Warm and quiet and brilliantly autumn when Toudou had asked him the question. The question that, unbeknownst to Yuuji, would change everything he knew about himself (not to be melodramatic).

It was a quick question. Simple and easy, really. But a question nonetheless, which meant it required a response. Toudou had turned to Yuuji with that same intensity he always had about him, whilst Yuuji was still catching his breath, before his voice boomed with those life-altering words.

"Itadori.” Toudou said gravely. "What is your type in women?"

Yuuji blinked, his focus had been on deepening his inhales and exhales. "Huh?"

"I’m asking for your type. The qualities you seek for in a girlfriend. This is very important."

This wasn't the weirdest conversation Toudou had ever started, and likely not to be the last. But given the timing of it all, after a literal one-on-one smackdown, it did catch Yuuji a little bit by surprise. Regardless, it was something Yuuji had previously yapped about with his prior schoolmates, so answering the question itself wasn’t too difficult. Although he had never truly formalised it before, there was definitely a pattern when he looked back at all of his crushes in middle school. And that was his answer.

"Tall girls." He scratched his head. "And uh... big butts. Like Jennifer Lawrence."

Toudou's eyes widened and for a moment, Yuuji thought he had said something wrong. Was that maybe not what Toudou expected or meant by his question?

Then the guy slowly pulled out a notebook from absolutely nowhere, Yuuji had no idea where he had kept it, and wrote something down with the seriousness of a man documenting sacred scriptures.

"Acceptable." Toudou said, nodding. "A very strong answer. Jennifer Lawrence is an excellent reference point too. Good man."

"Thanks?" Yuuji went back to practice his cool-down breathing.

"Now." Toudou flipped to a fresh page. "What is your type in men?"

Yuuji choked.

"Huh??? Men?"

Toudou paused to look up at the very confused pink-haired boy beside him, then his expression turned. “Oh! If you don’t like men, then that’s fine too."

"I- I don't-“ Yuuji panicked. The first thing that came to mind was the exact same answer he had just given, because his brain, that was half out of oxygen from the literal sparring match they had five minutes ago, was also useless under pressure. "Tall men? With big butts too? I guess? Wait, I don’t-“

Toudou was already writing, jotting it down with a devious grin. "How interesting. A symmetrical and well balanced response."

"No, that's not- I didn't mean-" Yuuji sputtered, his eyes looking down at his notebook, then back up to Toudou, and back down again in rapid succession.

But Toudou had already moved on, apparently satisfied with the answer, tucking his notebook back into the void (Yuuji still had no idea where he stored it, but that was now the least of his problems). He clapped Yuuji on the shoulder hard enough to send him stumbling forward.

"You have good taste, brother." Toudou said. “Be proud of yourself.”

Then he got up and walked away, leaving Yuuji sitting there with a strange buzzing feeling in his chest. He had no idea why his heart was beating so fast.

It didn't mean anything. It was just a joke answer because he had been put on the spot. Obviously.

Yuuji wasn’t interested in men. Not that it mattered or anything.

And he didn’t even get to ask Toudou the same question back.

Later that week, Yuuji watched in morbid fascination as Toudou cornered literally everyone at the school and tormented them with the same random question backed by the same goddamn notebook.

Nobara was first.

"What's my type?" She flipped her hair. "Someone who knows how to dress. Rich. Good looking. So basically no one here."

Toudou wrote this down without comment.

Next was Inumaki, who signed "tuna" repeatedly until Toudou nodded like he understood completely.

Panda got asked and simply said "I'm a panda" which Toudou apparently accepted as a full answer.

Maki just ripped the page out of his notebook and tossed it to the ground, before picking it back up and properly recycling it in the correct bins. Toudou took that as a sign to back off.

And then Toudou found Megumi.

Yuuji happened to be nearby, doing cool-down stretches after a run. He pretended not to listen. (He was absolutely listening).

"Fushiguro, it’s finally your turn now." Toudou boomed. "I’m here to ask you about your type in women."

Megumi didn't look up from his book. "Eh? I don't really have one."

"Impossible. Everyone has a type and you’re no exception. So spill, Fushiguro."

A long sigh. Megumi turned over a page on his book, but Toudou was not leaving his side. "Fine. Someone with a strong character. Someone who doesn't waver and who knows who they are."

Toudou wrote it all down, nodding slowly. "Unshakeable character. Boring answer but whatever."

Megumi continued to read, his head turning to the next paragraph on his page.

"And what about men?" Toudou pressed.

Megumi paused. Just for a second. His eyes flicked, almost involuntarily, toward where Yuuji was pretending to stretch. Then back to his book.

"...Same answer..."

Toudou followed his gaze. Looked at Yuuji, who quickly diverted his eyes and whistled. Looked back at Megumi.

"Hmm." Toudou nodded.

He wrote something in his notebook, underlined it three, maybe four times, and left. Megumi continued on with reading his book and Yuuji slyly walked away.

He had no idea why he pretended not to care.

Except now he couldn't stop thinking about it.

The question in itself caught him off-guard. Sure, it was weird and random but Toudou always held strange conversations like that. And it wasn’t like he was the only one who was asked it, so Toudou wasn’t particularly targeting him. No, for some unknown reason, he had asked the entire school population for their type, and recorded it in his notebook like it was the most important thing in the world.

Anyway, that was definitely weird. But not weird enough for Yuuji to still be hung up about it.

Well, not the question so much. But rather his own answer had baffled him the most. Because it was true that his type was tall girls with big butts. But then he had to go and say his type was the same for men.

Tall men. WITH big butts. Seriously? Who even says that.

The imagery kept flashing in his head at random moments of the day, like a persistent mosquito that kept on buzzing near his ear and would not freaking go away despite every wave of his hand. Bug off!

First it came at breakfast. He shrugged it off. Then during training. He stretched it out. Then during a sparring session against Megumi.

Megumi.

Who was tall.

Yuuji almost tripped over his own feet.

Huh.

He looked at Megumi, who was a few feet away, blissfully unaware that he was being physically evaluated by the wandering eyes of his pink-haired classmate. Megumi was taller than him. Not by a lot, maybe an inch or two, but definitely taller. Yuuji had never really registered it before. It was just a fact, like the sky being blue or Nobara being annoying. But now, Yuuji was thinking about it. And couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Megumi was tall.

Okay, that’s not a terrible observation

And Megumi had a… well.

Yuuji's eyes dropped, against his will, to Megumi's lower back. To the curve where his uniform jacket cinched at the waist.

He whipped his head forward so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash.

Nope. Not looking. Not thinking about that.

But his brain, traitor that it was, had already conjured up the image.

For the rest of the match, Yuuji had to somehow tackle Megumi without his eyes falling anywhere lower than chest-level, which was fairing very difficult for the boy. Let’s just say it is extremely challenging to focus on your opponent when you can only see the top half of their body (even if it is a self-inflicted restriction).

He lost.

A few days later, they got sent on a mission together. Just Yuuji, Megumi, Nobara and a grade two curse that lurked in an abandoned warehouse on the edge of Tokyo.

The curse was ugly. Really ugly. A worm-like thing that spilled mucus from all sorts of pores and holes, which Yuuji tried very hard not to look at because it would ruin his favourite movie for him. Worms. Yuck. He had been planning on watching Human Earthworm later tonight as well.

But the real problem wasn't the curse. The real problem was that Yuuji couldn't stop looking at Megumi. Even now.

The sparring match was not a one-off.

He had been looking at Megumi a lot lately, and today was no exception.

Every time Megumi moved, dodged, formed hand signs, called out his shadows, Yuuji's eyes seemed to follow. The way his jacket pulled across his shoulders. The way his dark hair fell into his face. The way his fingers locked together when he summoned his dogs.

Stop it, Yuuji told himself. You're in a middle of a fight.

But his brain, his stupid little fried bean of a brain, wouldn't cooperate. Maybe he should’ve blamed it all on Sukuna for trying to distract him with these crazy thoughts. That would be the easy way out and could hypothetically make sense if he angled it as ‘Sukuna is deploying a distraction technique so I would lose bodily control and he can take over me’. Yeah. That could work. Maybe.

But no, because even that wretched thing hadn’t shown face since this whole ordeal. Where even was he? So Yuuji really had nobody else to point fingers at but himself. It really was just Yuuji’s own mind playing games with him. For once, not even the King of Curses was involved in his torment.

"Itadori, what are you doing?" Nobara shouted, slamming her hammer down on a nail. "The curse is RIGHT THERE." Her voice cut through Yuuji’s thoughts and he snapped back into reality.

"HUH? I’M TRYING!" Yuuji yelled back, barely dodging a strike that should have been easy to avoid.

"You're zoning out!"

“I am not-“ 

The curse lunged at him. Yuuji scrambled backward, tripping over a piece of rubble. Before he could recover, Megumi was there. He quickly pulled on Yuuji’s hood and shoved him out of the way. He took a hit.

"Itadori! Pay attention." Megumi snapped, wincing from the pain, before standing his own again. He pressed a hand on where he was hit.

"Sorry, Fushiguro, are you okay-"

"Itadori, focus."

Yuuji shook his head hard, trying to dislodge whatever weird obsessive fog that had settled over his brain. Fight now. Figure it out later.

He threw himself back into the battle, landing a solid blow to the curse's core. Megumi directed his divine dogs to attack the curse some more. Nobara finished it off with a well-placed resonance. The curse dissolved into nothing.

"Finally." Nobara said, brushing off her skirt.

Yuuji turned to Megumi. “Your shoulder-“

"It's fine." Megumi rolled it once then twice. “Probably a bruise."

Yuuji slightly frowned. "You took a hit for me."

"You weren't paying attention." Megumi's voice was flat, but his eyes were scanning Yuuji for injuries. "What is up with you?"

Yuuji’s eyes looked shamefully down, guilt swirling in his stomach. He almost got Megumi hurt. "Sorry…Just been distracted."

"By what?"

You, Yuuji thought. By your stupid face and your stupid hands and the way you move like you were born fighting.

"Nothing.” He said instead, hands tightening around the hem of his hoodie.

Megumi’s eyebrows furrowed but he didn't push. Instead, he reached up and wiped something off of Yuuji's cheek, a smear of dust from the rubble. His thumb was warm.

"There." Megumi said. "You looked stupid."

"…Thanks..." Yuuji croaked.

He noticed, then, that Megumi too had a smudge of dirt on his own cheek. A dark streak across his cheekbone, probably from when he had shoved Yuuji and got hit.

"You've got-" Yuuji reached out before he could think better of it. His fingers brushed Megumi's cheek, wiping away the dirt in a slow manner.

Megumi went very still.

Yuuji's hand hovered there, for a moment, for a second too long. Megumi's skin was warm. His eyes were wide. His lips slightly parted.

Oh no, Yuuji thought.

He yanked his hand back like he had been burned. A quick motion. Tucked it back into his pocket and coughed.

"Oh uh.” He blurted out quickly. "You had some dirt too on your uh face. You…uh…looked stupid too…."

"Thanks..." Megumi said, his voice a little surprised.

Nobara looked between them, one eyebrow raised so high it nearly disappeared into her hairline.

"Oh…kay…?." She said slowly. "Anyway. Let's go back and report it."

She started walking. Yuuji followed behind on autopilot, eyes snapped forward. His fingers were still tingling where he had touched Megumi's face.

It didn't mean anything, he told himself. He wiped my face first. I was just returning the favour. Friends do that.

But he couldn't stop thinking about that look. Megumi's sharp eyes going all blurry-soft for once, unguarded because Yuuji was too close for him to hide it. But then his expression got weirdly careful, like he was bracing against something, guarded against the touch itself, not from Yuuji. Or maybe from both.

Yuuji wondered how close they had been for that split second-

Oh no.

Oh no.

Oh no no no.

He needed a massive distraction immediately. Yuuji had been planning to watch Human Earthworm as soon as he got back. A good and necessary break from whatever nonsense was convoluting his brain. So finally, after they reported the mission details and washed up, Yuuji was now dressed in his cosiest wear and scrolling through the illegal movie site on his laptop. 

There it was. Human Earthworm. A classic. A terrible but classic movie that hit just the right spot (and feels).

He jumped out of his room to grab some snacks and a drink, then found Nobara in the common room, painting her nails a violent shade of red. She looked up when he walked in.

"Kugisaki! Wanna watch Human Earthworm with me?"

"Absolutely not." She looked back down. "I’m busy right now but even if I wasn’t busy, I have taste, Itadori. Unlike some people." The last bit barely a whisper.

Now Yuuji was glad she wasn’t looking at him because even he could tell there was menace and a glare behind her words.

"But it's so funnyyy.” He tried again anyway.

"It's garbage."

Yuuji pouted. "It's not garbage!”

She blew on her nails. "Watch it yourself. I'm busy being beautiful."

Yuuji fluttered his lashes. "You're always beautiful."

"Flattery won't work. Go away."

One last try, he shuffled the bag of popcorn in her face as an offering. She shooed him out.

Defeated, Yuuji trudged back to his bedroom. He flopped onto his bed, threw the packet of popcorn to the side, opened the laptop, and pressed play.

It was so pixelated it hurt his eyes.

So he reloaded the website, clicking the button to increase the resolution quality, only to be met with a million freaking ads. No, he was not interested in local Jennifer down the road right now. Even if she did have a big butt.

Wait… He thought for a second, then shook his head.

No, he wanted to watch Human Earthworm for goodness sakes!

Finally, he got it working and he watched the movie. For a while, it was fine. The worm costume was just as rubbery as he remembered. The acting was just as terrible. He laughed out loud at all of the funny scenes, even though there was no one there to laugh with him.

It was a little sad, actually. Watching it alone.

Maybe I should've asked Megumi.

The thought came out of nowhere. Yuuji frowned at it.

No. That was weird. Why would he ask Megumi? Megumi didn't even like bad movies. He would probably sit there with that same blank expression and say something dry and sarcastic every five minutes and roll his eyes at the special effects and… Yuuji kind of wanted to see that, actually.

Wait. Why would it be weird if he did ask Megumi anyway? He was just as good as a friend to Yuuji as Nobara was. And it was fine for him to invite Nobara to his room to watch Human Earthworm, so why not Megumi? Maybe he should go ask Megumi if he was free-

Then the kiss scene happened.

The main characters, covered in fake mud and dramatic lighting, grabbed each other's faces and pressed their mouths together with the enthusiasm of people who had never kissed anyone before. It was meant to be tense and romantic but the mouth noises were gross and sloppy.

Yuuji cringed. "Ewww."

But he couldn't look away.

And then, without meaning to, he imagined it.

Not the actors. Him and Megumi in their place.

The dirt smudges on their faces. The worm-like curse looming in the background. Megumi's hand on his cheek, not the actress’s hand, but Megumi's. The same hand that had wiped dirt off Yuuji's face after the mission. Warm and calloused and careful. The same fingers that folded through the shikigami signs, knuckles rolls and fingers precise.

Yuuji imagined his own hands sliding into Megumi's midnight dark hair that draped over his face in all the perfect ways. The hair that fell into his fierce sapphire eyes during fights. The hair Yuuji had never thought about touching until three days ago, and now he couldn't stop wondering if it was soft or if Megumi used the same cheap shampoo from the convenience store that Yuuji used and why did that make it worse. He would grab a fistful of it, just to see if Megumi would make that annoyed face he always made, or if he would pull away or lean into it. And if he did lean into it, how hot his breath would feel against his mouth. Hot and close and maybe a little unsteady.

He imagined tilting his chin up, or dragging Megumi down by that fistful of hair, and catching Megumi's bottom lip between his teeth. Just a little. Just to feel if he would gasp. He would. Megumi would totally gasp. And his eyes would tense up, or maybe go blurry-soft again like they did before. And he would probably shove Yuuji away after five seconds and call him an idiot. But during those five seconds Yuuji's other hand, the one not in Megumi's hair, would float down. Rest on the small of Megumi's back. Then lower. Just to know if it was as annoyingly perfect as the rest of him. Firm. Stupidly well-proportioned. Round. The kind of butt that had no business being attached to someone who-

Yuuji slammed his laptop shut.

His heart was pounding. His face was hot. His hands were actually shaking a little.

What the ACTUAL FUCKING FUCK.

HELL NO.

NEVERMIND.

Megumi will NOT be invited to watch Human Earthworm in his room tonight.

NOPE.

He didn't sleep that night.

He should’ve just jerked one out to local Jennifer down the road’s freaking big butt instead of watching Human Earthworm, but for once he didn’t let his godforsaken teenage hormones win him over.

Except now they were terrorising him in a completely different way.

Because now he was here, laid in the dark, staring at the ceiling, replaying the imaginary kiss scene over and over like a curse he couldn't exorcise. Every time, it got more detailed. Every time, it felt more real. Every freaking time, Yuuji wanted to scream.

All thanks to seeing a kiss scene from Human Earthworm of all reasons, BY THE WAY. What kind of weirdo does that? 

WHY AM I THINKING ABOUT MEGUMI LIKE THIS??? WHY AM I THINKING ABOUT HIS BUTT? AND HIS LIPS? AND HIS AGHHHH!!

He had never thought about a boy like that before. Not once. Not ever. Girls, sure. He had had crushes. He had imagined holding hands and going on dates and kissing and all the other normal stuff.

But Megumi was his friend. His best friend. The guy who summoned cute little doggos and gave him the judgiest looks and always made sure Yuuji ate enough after missions.

The guy who had wiped dirt off his face today. Who had looked at him with something soft and surprised in his eyes when Yuuji returned the favour. The guy that was slightly taller than him and built surprisingly well and had kind of cool hair. Why was he suddenly seeing Megumi differently?

WHY WAS HE SUDDENLY THINKING ABOUT KISSING MEGUMI?

WHY WAS HE THINKING ABOUT HIS FREAKING BUTT AGAIN?

Yuuji pressed his palms against his eyes and groaned.

This was fine. Everything was fine.

He screamed for fifteen minutes straight into his pillow.

At midnight, Yuuji did what any rational person would do.

He grabbed his phone, opened Google, and typed so fast his thumbs nearly cramped.

He wrote in the search engine "why do I keep thinking about my friend's butt"

Then realised that was embarrassing to have on his search history, so deleted that instantly and tried again.

"how to know if you like your best friend?"

The results were aggressively unhelpful.

Do you think about them all the time? Yes.

Do you get nervous around them? Yes.

Do you think about kissing them? Yuuji slammed his phone down, then picked it up again.

Yes.

Surprise, surprise, it confirmed that he indeed liked his best friend. But it was catered towards a boy and girl friendship. And Nobara and Yuuji were best friends too but Yuuji wouldn’t want to kiss Nobara ever in the slightest. So definitely not applicable to all best friendships. So, now he needed to be more specific.

Next agenda item to cover, "is it normal to want to kiss your same gender best friend"

The first result was "Yes, you might be gay."

"I'm not gay!" Yuuji said. "I like girls!"

Then another thought.

"can yuo like girls and boys at the samw time"

Auto-correct tried to fix his grammar. He ignored it.

The first result was a Reddit post. The title read "I'm a guy and I've always liked girls but now I think I like a guy?? Help??"

Yuuji nearly dropped his phone.

"THAT'S ME.” He loudly whispered to his empty room, then tried to shut his mouth when he realised the time.

He clicked on it.

The original poster had written almost exactly what Yuuji was feeling right now. He had always liked girls and never really thought about boys. And then one specific guy came along and suddenly everything was confusing. That was exactly what Yuuji felt right now, except he still wasn’t even sure if he liked liked Megumi like that. He just can’t stop thinking about him in these weird ways…

Yuuji scrolled to the comment section of the post, and it was filled with people saying similar things. That it was called being bi. That you’re not broken, it's normal. It doesn't have to be 50/50. You can like one guy and still like girls.

Yuuji's eyes were wide.

He clicked on a second Reddit post. Then a third. Then a fourth. He fell into a rabbit hole so deep he was basically in the Earth's core.

At 2AM, he googled "what is bisexuality"

He read articles. He read personal stories. He read a very long Wikipedia page that made his brain hurt. This is a thing, he thought, kicking his feet under the covers. This is an actual thing that people are.

He took an "am I bi?" quiz.

The result: "Likely bisexual!"

"LIKELY? Am I bisexual or am I not? This is not helpful." Yuuji said.

He took a different quiz.

"You might be questioning!"

"THAT'S EVEN LESS HELPFUL. Obviously I’m questioning, that’s why I need YOU to give me an answer."

He took a third quiz. This one had fifty questions. Fifty. He answered every single one with the seriousness of someone taking a final exam. It felt weirdly important.

Result: "Very likely bisexual. Congratulations!"

"Why is it congratulating me?" Yuuji asked his screen.

He took a fourth quiz. For good measure. For science. It came back with the same result.

He stared at the screen.

Then he paused.

“Huh? I guess I might actually be bi.” He hummed to himself. The thought didn’t come with a crazy revelation or gratification. It just never really dawned on him that he could be anything but straight.

And it was fine. It was chill. He was chill.

”Wait.” He quickly grabbed his phone and searched up again. “At least tell me what flag we’re working with.”

The image popped up. Pink, purple, blue. Three simple stripes.

Yuuji stared at it.

"...That's actually really pretty.” He said out loud.

He liked the purple best. It was a good purple. A solid purple.

He saved the image to his phone, just because.

Then he stared at his ceiling for ten more minutes, thinking about nothing and everything at the same time.

At 3:58 AM, exhausted, confused, and somehow weirdly okay, he fell asleep with his phone on his face and the bisexual flag burned into his brain.

Yuuji woke up to sunlight blasting him directly in the face and the horrible realisation that he had overslept. Of course he overslept, he was up all night having a sexuality crisis.

He launched himself out of bed, tripped over his blanket, and hit the floor running. He brushed his teeth so fast he nearly gagged, yanked on his uniform jacket, and sprinted out the door.

He made it to the common room at the same time as Nobara and Megumi. A miracle.

"Morning.” Nobara said with a yawn, her freshly painted nails in full view. Then she stopped. Stared at his face. "Did you miss your mouth?"

"What?"

She pointed at her own lips. "You've got toothpaste. Everywhere."

Yuuji wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Toothpaste foam smeared across his skin. "I was in a hurry."

"Obviously." She sat down. "Why were you even up so late? You look terrible."

Yuuji opened his mouth. Closed it. His brain, still half-asleep, offered up the first excuse it could find.

"...Was jerking off."

Nobara's face went through several expressions in rapid succession. Disgust. Horror. Like she had seen a soul-sucking curse, no actually worse. Just deep sorrowful regret for ever bothering to ask Yuuji a question first thing in the morning, a question she didn’t actually care for an answer for and was just filling the space.

And Yuuji’s brain finally caught up, unfortunately after his mouth had already done what it did.

"Wait. No. I wasn't- that's not what I meant-" Yuuji waved his hands frantically. "My mouth just said that! I didn't mean to say it! I wasn't actually- I was just up late because I couldn't sleep! Not because of THAT!"

"You literally just said-"

"I KNOW WHAT I SAID. MY BRAIN IS BROKEN. I’M TIRED. PLEASE FORGET."

Nobara pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm going to pretend this conversation never happened."

Yuuji chanced a glance at Megumi.

Megumi was staring at the table. His ears looked slightly pink. But maybe that was just the lighting. Or a trick of Yuuji's imagination. Or maybe Yuuji was hallucinating from sleep deprivation because there was no way Megumi of all people would be caught with a tinge of colour.

Is he blushing? Why would he be blushing? Does he actually think I- No. It’s Fushiguro, he would hopefully believe me. Wouldn’t he?

Megumi’s eyes still stayed on the table.

Oh shit.

He definitely doesn’t believe me. I can’t even save myself from this, can I because admitting what I actually was doing is WORSE. This is so freaking embarrassing.

Wait, unless he knows what I actually was doing last night. Does he know? Could he know? Did he hear me scream last night? Shit, am I being obvious? CRAP. CAN HE READ MY MIND? Hey Fushiguro, blink twice if you can hear my mind right now. I swear I wasn’t thinking about us making out-

"I'm going to sit down now.” Yuuji announced, his mind very very empty. Definitely not racing with thoughts about making out and kissing and-

"You've been sitting down." Megumi said quietly.

"Then I'm going to sit down HARDER."

He sat. Hard. The chair creaked.

"Moving on." Nobara announced loudly. She pulled out her phone. "Some of us NORMAL people were touching grass last night. I took this photo of the moon. Look how aesthetic and orange it looked."

She turned her phone toward them. The photo was genuinely pretty, a large orange moon hanging low over the trees, the sky fading from blue to purple.

"Oh, that's nice.” Yuuji said, grateful for the subject change. "I took one too, actually. The moon looked really big from my window."

He pulled out his phone and opened his camera roll. Swiped past a few photos of dogs, a receipt, his own foot.

The bisexual flag filled the screen.

Yuuji's thumb froze.

Oh no.

Oh no no no.

I fell asleep and I forgot I saved that.

"Ooh, what's THAT?" Nobara lunged forward.

"Nothing." Yuuji tilted the phone away. "Wrong photo."

"It was pink and purple and blue-"

"It's a... food photo. Bad lighting."

"That's not food."

"You don't know what I eat."

"Those were literal pixels, Itadori."

Across the table, Megumi looked up. His eyes flicked to Yuuji's phone, then to Yuuji's face. His expression didn't change, but the corner of his mouth twitched.

Just a tiny movement. Almost nothing.

He saw it, Yuuji's brain screamed. He definitely saw it. And he's AMUSED. Why is he amused? Does he know what it means? He's smart. He definitely knows. But maybe he doesn't. Maybe he just thinks it's a weird flag. OH GOD WHAT IF HE GOOGLES IT LATER.

"I have no idea what that was." Yuuji said, very fast. "I've never seen that before in my life. What IS that? That's so weird. Why is that on my phone."

"You just said it was a food photo." Nobara pointed out.

"I was wrong. It's not food. It's just... a random image. From the internet. I don't know how it got there."

"You don't know how a photo got onto your camera roll?"

"I must’ve gotten hacked."

She squinted at him. "Why would a hacker download that? What are you so embarrassed for?"

Yuuji's brain emptied. Completely. There was nothing there. Just white noise and the faint sound of his own panic.

"I was just trying to look at-" His mouth kept moving. He couldn't stop it. "…butts."

Silence.

"BUTTS. Yes." Yuuji repeated, because apparently he hated himself. "On the internet. And then I must have accidentally saved it. The bi flag. Instead of a butt."

Nobara stared at him.

Megumi stared at him.

Yuuji wanted to die.

"You were looking at butts…" Nobara said slowly, "…And you accidentally saved a bi flag?"

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT FLAG MEANS."

"You literally just named it."

"I-" Yuuji stopped. "I didn't. You named it. You said the words."

"I said 'bi flag’ after YOU said 'bi flag.'"

The room was very quiet.

Yuuji could hear his own heartbeat. He could also hear Megumi make a small sound, a breath, almost a laugh, and when Yuuji looked at him, Megumi was looking down at the table, shoulders slightly shaking.

Is he laughing? Is he laughing AT me? Is he laughing WITH me? Does he know what it is?

"I'm going to stop talking now.” Yuuji said.

"Good." Nobara said.

"I'm also going to delete that photo."

"Okay."

"And I'm never going to mention butts again."

"Also good."

Yuuji deleted the photo. Then he deleted his entire camera roll just to be safe. Then he put his phone on the table face-down like it had personally betrayed him.

Megumi finally looked up. His face was mostly neutral, but his eyes were bright. And his ears were definitely pink now. That wasn't Yuuji's imagination.

"I liked the moon photo." Megumi said.

"That's what I was trying to show." Yuuji whispered.

"It was cool."

Their eyes met. Megumi's mouth twitched again.

Yuuji's heart did something complicated.

Nobara sighed. "You two are exhausting."

The briefing ended eventually. Gojo had shown up late, as expected, rambled about nothing, and then disappeared. Yuuji was already halfway to the door when a hand grabbed the back of his hood.

"Not so fast." Nobara said.

"I have to train my muscles-"

"You have to talk to me."

She dragged him into the hallway, around the corner, out of earshot of anyone. Megumi had already left, or at least Yuuji hoped he had left, because he didn't think he could survive Megumi hearing this conversation.

Nobara crossed her arms. "Okay. What the heck is going on with you?"

"Nothing."

"You've been weird for days."

"I'm always weird."

"Weirder than usual." She brought out a finger for every new instance. "You walked into a door frame. You almost was eaten by a curse because you were staring into space. You have a pride flag saved on your phone that you acted weirdly suspicious over. And you told me you were up last night jerking off-"

"I WASN'T-"

"Which I don't believe, by the way, because you looked genuinely horrified that you said it."

Yuuji opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.

"I was not jerking off.” He said quietly.

"Then what were you doing up so late?"

Yuuji stared at the floor.

”Okay, fine. I believe you. But seriously what is up with you?”

Yuuji still didn’t know what to say.

Nobara sighed. "Is this about the Toudou thing?"

Yuuji's head snapped up. "How do you know about that?"

"He asked everyone. He asked ME." She shuddered. "Weirdest conversation of my life."

"What did you say?"

"Someone who knows how to dress. So basically no one here." She waved a hand. "Not the point. What did YOU say?"

Yuuji buried his face in his hands. "Tall men with big butts."

A pause.

Then Nobara burst out laughing. Loud, genuine, bent-over laughter.

"It's not funny."

"It's SO funny."

"I was panicking!"

"Tall men WITH big butts?" She wiped a tear from her eye. "That's the best you could come up with?"

"I didn't have time to think! Toudou was staring at me all funny!"

"So you just panicked and said... that."

"Yes."

"And now you're all over the place because... why? Because you said something dumb to Toudou?"

Yuuji's face went red. "No. I mean- yes. But also-" He stopped. Swallowed. "Now I can't stop thinking about it."

"About big butts? Because you weirdly keep talking about butts…"

"No…About Fushiguro’s…" He couldn't finish the sentence.

Nobara's laughter cut off. She stared at him.

"...You've been staring at Fushiguro's butt?"

"I'M NOT well…I didn't mean to. It just happened-" Yuuji was spiraling. "He's tall! And I said tall! And then I looked and he was just... standing there... and I couldn't stop... LOOKING."

Nobara kept staring. Her expression was caught somewhere between horrified and hysterical.

"Itadori." She said slowly. "Fushiguro is built like a board."

"I KNOW."

"He has no butt."

"I KNOW THAT TOO."

"Then WHY are you staring at it?"

"BECAUSE I CAN'T HELP IT." Yuuji buried his face in his hands. "I keep wondering if he's my type and then I look and I get confused because he doesn't even fit the type but I can't stop THINKING about it."

Nobara was quiet for a moment. Then she snorted. Then she laughed again, but softer this time.

"You're a mess.” She said.

"I know."

"A complete disaster."

"I KNOW."

She leaned against the wall, arms crossed, still smiling. "So let me get this straight. Toudou asked you your type. You panicked and said 'tall men with big butts.' And now you can't stop looking at Fushiguro, who has NO butt, and wondering if he's your type?"

"...Yes."

"And you saved a bisexual flag to your phone."

"...Yes."

"And I assume you've been staying up late thinking about him."

Yuuji nodded miserably.

Nobara shook her head, but her smile softened. "You know this is ridiculous, right?"

"Yes."

"Like, objectively hilarious."

"I'm aware."

She was quiet for a moment. Then she said, quieter. "It's also hard, though. Isn't it?"

Yuuji looked up at her.

"Realising you like someone you didn't expect to like…” She said. "Especially when they're... you know. The same gender as you. It's confusing."

Yuuji's throat felt tight. "Yeah."

"It's okay to be confused.” She reassured. "It doesn't make you less you. You're still the same idiot who eats too much and punches curses. You just also happen to like a guy."

"...You really think so?"

"I know so." She punched his shoulder. "And for what it's worth, at least Fushiguro is tall. You got that part right. Even if the rest of your type is completely wrong."

Yuuji laughed despite himself. "He doesn't even have a big butt."

"Not even a little one."

"It's just... flat." He laughed.

"So flat." She laughed.

Yuuji paused.

"Why do I keep looking at it then?"

"Because you like him, idiot." She shook her head. "Your brain is just using the 'type' thing as an excuse. You didn't start liking him because of Toudou. Toudou just made you NOTICE that you already liked him."

Yuuji blinked.

"Like," She continued, "Maybe you've always liked him. You just didn't have words for it until some weirdo with a notebook asked you about your type."

Yuuji stared at her.

"That's... actually really insightful."

"Don't sound so surprised."

"So you think I've just... liked him this whole time?"

"I think you're an idiot who doesn't notice his own feelings until they hit him in the face." She shrugged. "But yeah. Probably. You don't accidentally save a bisexual flag to your camera roll for no reason."

"I did that for research."

"You did that because you're gay, Itadori."

"BISEXUAL."

"Whatever." She waved a hand. "The point is…It’s not that deep. You like him. He's tall and flat and grumpy and you like him anyway. Go do something about it."

"But what if it makes things awkward?"

"Itadori. I'm telling you. As your friend and as someone who actually has eyes." She held up a hand. "Fushiguro has been looking at you."

Yuuji's brain broke.

"...Like that, huh?"

”Like that.”

Yuuji’s eyebrows furrowed.

"You're hopeless." Nobara turned to go. Then she paused. "Hey."

"Yeah?"

"You're not alone in this, okay? The whole figuring stuff out thing." She didn't look back. "I’ll be there for you. Regardless of what ends up happening."

She left.

Yuuji stood there for a long moment, something warm blooming in his chest.

Then he looked down at his own hands and whispered to himself. "He really doesn't even have a butt though. So why do I like him?"

He needed to figure it out.

That night, Yuuji laid in bed, staring at the ceiling.

He had accepted, sort of, that he liked Megumi. That much was becoming impossible to deny.

But why?

He had spent his whole life thinking he had a type. Tall. Big butts. Jennifer Lawrence. That was simple. That was easy to explain.

Megumi wasn't any of those things. Well, okay, he was tall. Slightly taller than Yuuji. But the rest?

Megumi was a boy. Unticked.

Megumi was flat. Unticked.

Megumi was not Jennifer Lawrence. Unticked.

Yuuji rolled onto his stomach and thought.

So what was Megumi?

Megumi was grumpy. Megumi was sarcastic. Megumi looked at Yuuji like he was an idiot at least five times a day. Megumi never laughed at Yuuji's jokes unless he thought Yuuji wasn't looking.

But Megumi also stepped in front of curses for him. Megumi shared his food without being asked. Megumi noticed when Yuuji was tired or hurt or pretending to be okay. Megumi had a core of something so steady, unshakeable, even when everything was falling apart.

That's it, Yuuji realised, sitting up so fast he nearly fell off the bed.

He thought about what Megumi had said when Toudou asked about his type. Someone with strong character. Someone who doesn't waver. Who knows who they are.

Megumi didn't like people for their looks. He liked them for who they were.

And Yuuji, Yuuji was realising, maybe for the first time, that he was the same.

The tall thing, the big butt thing, that was just noise. That was his brain trying to make sense of something it didn't understand yet.

The real answer was simpler.

He liked Megumi because Megumi is Megumi.

Because he is brave and kind and stubborn and secretly soft. Because he made Yuuji want to be better. Because when Yuuji was around him, the world felt a little less scary.

"Oh." Yuuji said out loud, to no one.

He liked Megumi for his character.

He was just as cringe as Megumi was.

And now he really couldn’t deny it. He was a helpless bisexual boy who was crushing over his boy best friend.

Bruh.

Now what?

The mission was over. A simple one, just a grade three curse that Yuuji could have handled on his own. But they had been sent together anyway, and now they were walking back to Jujutsu High in the fading evening light.

Yuuji's heart was pounding.

Not from the fight. From the fact that he was about to do something incredibly stupid.

Testing, he told himself. This is just... testing.

"Hey.” He cleared his throat, trying to sound casual. "You wanna take the long way back?"

Megumi glanced at him. "Why?"

"No reason. Just you know… It’s a nice evening. The weather is good."

Megumi looked at the darkening sky. Then back at Yuuji.

"Fine.”

Yuuji walked ahead, eager that step number one of his master plan had already been successful. Now it was time for step number two.

Wait, what was the next step?

The path curved through a small grove of trees. The sky was fading from orange to purple and the clouds above were far away in the distance. It was quiet. Peaceful. The kind of peaceful that made Yuuji's chest ache.

This feels like a date, he thought. But it's not a date. It's just a walk. A walk with Megumi. Alone. At sunset.

He wished it to were a date.

"You're being weird." Megumi broke the silence, still walking alongside Yuuji who was hopelessly in his own world of dating-Megumi-bliss.

"I'm not being weird."

"You've been weird for days."

"Huh? I've been normal."

"You had the bi flag on your phone."

Yuuji tripped over his own feet. "I- that was- you saw that?"

"You showed it to Kugisaki."

"I showed it to Kugisaki ACCIDENTALLY."

"You still saved it."

”Wait, you know what that was?”

Megumi nodded.

Yuuji wanted to die.

“I was just…uh… researching."

Megumi’s eyebrows raised. "Researching what."

"Things."

"What things."

"Flags and stuff."

Megumi's mouth twitched. He didn't say anything else. Just kept walking.

Yuuji's brain was screaming.

He knew. He knew what the flag meant. He had known this whole time. He's just been waiting for me to say something. Or maybe he's not waiting. Maybe he's just being nice. AGH.

You know what, fuck it.

”Ok wait.” He pulled Megumi’s arm back and stopped their walk. Megumi stood there, his face neutral and unchanged.

”What?”

The evening air had gone cool. Streetlights were starting to flicker on, one by one, casting everything in that hazy orange glow between day and night.

Yuuji kept his eyes on the cracks in the pavement.

"I think I'm… bisexual." The words came out slower than he meant them to, careful and a little clumsy. His eyes darted away to the ants walking along the floor. "So that's why I had that flag... on my phone."

The silence that followed stretched long enough for three of those ants to disappear into a crack.

He chanced a glance up. Megumi just stood there, face the same as before, stoic and unreadable. The fading light caught the sharp line of his jaw.

"That's cool." Megumi eventually gave a thumbs up. Then he kept walking.

"That's cool?" Yuuji scrambled after him, falling into step at his side. The sky was bleeding from pink to deep purple overhead, the first stars too faint to see yet.

"Yeah."

"Cool..." Yuuji let the word hang. A breath he didn't know he had been holding left his chest. He felt relief. Like a part of him had been accepted without even having to beg for it. Like what he said was casual and normal and nothing changed, like Nobara said.

Except that was the problem.

Nothing changed.

Because telling Megumi he was bisexual wasn't the only thing he was holding back. It wasn't even the main thing. The main thing had warm yet calloused hands, and hair that fell over those sapphire eyes during fights. The main thing was walking ahead of him in silence, every step forcing them further and further apart.

"Aren't you going to ask me any questions?" Yuuji slowed his walking.

Megumi paused a few steps ahead. He didn't turn around.

"Why would I?"

"I don't know."

The wind picked up, rustling the leaves along the pavement. It carried the smell of rain coming.

"Do you want me to ask you questions?"

Yuuji nodded. Then realised Megumi couldn't see him. He opened his mouth, but Megumi spoke first. Like he always did. Like he already knew.

"I don't have any questions." He finally turned. The streetlight behind him haloed his silhouette, but his face was soft in a way Yuuji had only seen once before, unguarded like at the mission a few days ago. "You're still the same guy, Itadori. The same unwavering guy who knows who they are. You don’t need me to confirm anything you already know."

The wind blew again. Stronger this time. It pushed Megumi's hair across his forehead, those stupid perfect strands falling into his stupid perfect eyes, and Yuuji's chest ached so hard it felt like he was going to explode.

Wait.

Something clicked. Quiet and deep.

That phrase.

Unwavering. Knows who they are.

The wind blew again. Yuuji didn't feel it anymore.

He was too busy realising that Megumi, the never-talks-about-his feelings-ever Megumi, had just told Yuuji he was his type without actually saying it.

Or maybe Yuuji was reading into things.

He was definitely reading into things.

Right?

Yuuji's hands were in his pockets. His shoulders were tense. His brain was a mess of half-formed sentences that all ended with nevermind’s.

"So.” He started. Stopped. Kicked a pebble. "So you really don't have any questions?"

"None."

"Like... none none?"

Megumi shot him a sideways glance. Annoyed. Amused. Impossible to tell which. "Why would I need to ask you about who you like?"

Yuuji's heart tripped over itself.

"I mean…" He swallowed. "What if I like someone?"

"Then you like someone."

"What if that someone is-" You. The word died in his throat. He coughed. "-close by. Like. Really close by."

Megumi didn't respond for a few steps. His outline contrasted against the fading purple sky, all sharp edges and quiet restraint. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and careful.

"Then you should tell them."

"I should?"

"That's usually how it works."

Yuuji's face was burning. He could feel it, the heat crawling up his neck, into his ears, spreading across his cheeks like wildfire. He hoped the dim light hid it. It probably didn't.

"What if they... don't feel the same way?"

Megumi stopped walking.

The streetlight above him flickered once, twice, then steadied. His shadow stretched long across the pavement, pointing straight at Yuuji.

He turned. Slowly. Those dark eyes pinned Yuuji in place.

”Are you going to keep dancing around it?” Megumi’s voice quietened. “Or are you going to say it?”

Yuuji bit his tongue. “So you know-“

"No. I don’t know. I'm not going to guess." Megumi said, firmly. "If you have something to say, just say it."

Yuuji stared at him.

Megumi stared back.

He wasn't going to make this easy. He wasn't going to fill in the blanks. He was going to stand there with his deep eyes and his neutral face and make Yuuji say the words out loud.

Why is he like this, Yuuji thought desperately. Why can't he just KNOW.

But maybe, maybe that was the point. Maybe Megumi needed to hear it. Needed to be sure.

Yuuji took a breath.

"I like you.” He eventually, and finally, said. "Not as a friend. Or, I mean I like you as a friend too. But I like you MORE than a friend. I like like you. In a, I want to hold your hand and go on walks and kiss you, kind of way. And it's confusing because I've never liked a guy before and I don't know what I'm doing but I can't stop thinking about you and-"

"Itadori."

"-and I saved the flag because I was trying to figure out if I was bisexual and I am and you're the reason I figured it out and-"

"Itadori."

"-and I know this is a lot and I'm sorry for dumping it all at once but you asked and it’s hard to hide it for any longer and Kugisaki said-“

"Itadori." Megumi stepped closer, like a few inches away from Yuuji closer. "I like you too."

Yuuji stopped talking.

"You do?"

"I've liked you for months." Megumi's ears were dusted in pink, a colour Yuuji hadn’t known could look pretty on him. "I just didn't know what to do about it."

"You should have said something."

Megumi looked down at his hands. "I didn't think you liked men. I didn't even know if I liked men. I just knew I liked you."

Yuuji's heart ached.

"I never really cared about romance." Megumi continued. "The whole dating, having crushes thing. It just wasn't something I thought about. I figured I would just never meet anyone who made me feel like that. I didn’t care and I didn’t mind.”

He looked up at Yuuji. Their eyes, brown and green-blue, collided.

"And then you showed up."

Yuuji's throat felt tight. "Me?"

"Yeah." Megumi's voice was barely a whisper. "And now I think about it all the time. Think about you all the time."

They stood there in the fading light. A moth fluttered around the humming streetlight, casting a tiny dancing shadow. The last of the purple was bleeding out of the sky above. Neither of them noticed. Both eyes still glued on one another.

"So you didn't tell me…" Yuuji said slowly, "Because you didn't know if I even liked guys?"

Megumi nodded.

"And you also didn't know if YOU liked guys?"

Another nod.

"So you were just confused and silently liking me for months?”

"Yeah...Thanks for the reminder."

Yuuji stared at him.

Then he started laughing.

"It's not funny.” Megumi hit his shoulder, and Yuuji slightly stumbled.

"It's a little funny."

"I was suffering."

"Sorry, sorry." Yuuji was still laughing. "But at least we can suffer together now.”

Megumi huffed out.

“Wow, I’m so relieved now. I didn't know I could like guys. Not until Toudou asked me that stupid question and I couldn't stop thinking about you."

Megumi stared at him. "Toudou?"

"He asked my type.”

“Yeah, he asked everyone.”

“Well, I panicked and said tall men with a big butt. And then I realised you're tall and I couldn't stop…" Yuuji gestured vaguely. "Uh…looking."

Megumi just stood there.

"Dude, have you been staring at my…?"

"WE DON'T NEED TO SAY IT."

"You said big butt."

"I WAS PANICKING."

"You think I have a big butt?"

"I don't know! I haven't CONFIRMED anything. I was just… It was a whole THING-"

Megumi's mouth twitched. Then he laughed. Actually laughed, not just a huff.

"You're an idiot.” He said.

"I know."

Megumi shook his head, still smiling. "I can't believe Toudou is the reason we're here. Seriously, Itadori?”

"Please don’t tell him that. His ego will explode if he finds out."

"Too late. He probably already knows."

They stood there for a moment, the awkwardness finally lifting.

"So," Yuuji said. "What now?"

Megumi shrugged. "I don't know. I've never done this before."

"Me neither."

"So we're both clueless."

"Apparently."

They looked at each other. Megumi’s eyes were soft again, like they had been just for Yuuji.

"We could just... figure it out together." Yuuji said.

Megumi's expression softened. "Together."

"Yeah."

"...Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay."

Yuuji grinned. "Cool. So, can I kiss you now? Or is that too fast?"

"Not fast enough. I’ve been waiting for ages. And it looks like you have been thinking about it for days."

"How do you know that."

"Your face."

"What's wrong with my face?"

"It's very red. Actually, your face has been constantly red over the last few days. You’re not good at hiding it.”

Yuuji gasped. "It’s because of the sunset-"

"The sun set half an hour ago."

"Shut up."

"You shut up."

”Now what?”

Megumi sighed. “Kiss me, you idiot.”

Yuuji leaned in.

The kiss was clumsy. Their noses bumped. Yuuji accidentally kissed the corner of Megumi's mouth first. Megumi made a small surprised sound.

"Sorry." Yuuji let go.

"It's fine."

"Let me try again-"

"You don't have to."

"I want to-"

Yuuji leaned in again. This time, he aimed better.

It was short. Simple. A little messy. When they pulled apart, both of them were bright red.

"That was…" Yuuji started.

"Terrible." Megumi said.

"Yeah."

"Really terrible."

"I know."

They looked at each other.

"Can we try again?" Yuuji asked.

"...Yes."

The second attempt was better. Both of their lips brushed against each other, delicate and soft and hesitant. It wasn’t perfect, maybe a little bit awkward and stiff, but it was better than the first. Better than what Yuuji could ever hope for. And when they pulled apart, Megumi was smiling. A real smile. Small and private and for only Yuuji.

"You're an idiot.” Megumi finally said.

"Your idiot?"

Megumi's smile grew. Just a little. "...Yeah. My idiot."

They started walking again down the same path, both of their red faces really feeling the cool breeze. Yuuji’s hand not so subtly brushed Megumi’s. He pointed his pinky out, and within the next second, Megumi's fingers intertwined with his.

"This isn't a date.” Megumi said.

"Obviously."

"Just us walking."

"With hand-holding."

"The hand-holding doesn’t count."

Yuuji grinned. "Sure."

Megumi squeezed his hand. Yuuji squeezed back.

The walk back to Jujutsu High was quiet. The stars were coming out, bright and scattered. Their hands were sweaty. Neither of them let go.

It wasn't a date, just yet.

But it was something.

And they would figure out the rest together.

The next morning, Gojo swept into the common room, late as usual, like he owned it, which technically he kind of did.

"Good morning, my adorable little students! What did I miss?"

"Nothing." Yuuji, Megumi, and Nobara said in unison.

Gojo put a hand over his heart. "Three voices, one answer. Suspicious." He slid his blindfold down just enough to peer at them with one terrifying blue eye. "Yuuji, you're smiling."

"I always smile."

"You're smiling like you have a secret." Gojo said.

"Secrets? What secrets." Stuttered the guy who obviously had a secret.

Gojo observed Megumi next. "Megumi, your ears are pink."

"It's warm in here."

"It's November."

"I run warm."

Then, finally, Nobara. She scoffed, but her tone just slightly off. ”Nobara, you look disgusted.”

”I am always disgusted.”

Gojo's gaze shifted between the three. His grin grew wider and wider until Yuuji was genuinely concerned his face might split open.

"Oh my god…" Gojo gasped, hand over mouth. "You two finally figured it out." He pointed at Yuuji and Megumi.

"Figured what out?" Yuuji asked, voice cracking.

"That you're in love with each other. Obviously." Gojo waved a hand. "I've been waiting for months! I had a betting pool with Shoko."

Yuuji choked on air. "A what."

"A betting pool! On when you would stop being oblivious and finally kiss, kiss, fall in love~." Gojo pulled out his phone, scrolling. "Let's see... Shoko bet by December. I bet by November. I won!”

"You BET on us?"

"Everyone did. Except Nanami. He said it was 'inappropriate to commodify student relationships.'" Gojo made air quotes. "Boring."

Megumi rolled his eyes. “Who is everyone? It was just you and Shoko, freaking pervs.”

"Not just me and Shoko. Everyone. Toudou knew. I saw him update his little book last week."

Yuuji's brain short-circuited. "THAT’S what the book is for?"

Megumi looked away awkwardly, scratching his nape very slowly.

"Toudou’s book has everyone. He's very dedicated." Gojo ruffled Yuuji's hair as he walked past. "Congrats, by the way. Cherish it. Try not to make it weird during missions though."

He was gone before any of them could respond.

Silence.

"I hate him." Megumi eventually muttered.

"He's so annoying." Nobara agreed.

"He knew before I knew." Yuuji whispered, horrified. "Guys, they had a betting pool. Are we just gonna brush over that, hello!”

”I’m annoyed I didn’t know about it. I would’ve been loaded.” Nobara tsked.

Megumi shuffled an exhale then rested his head on Yuuji's shoulder for a second, and it made Yuuji’s heart flutter.

"We're never going to hear the end of this, are we?" Megumi mumbled.

Yuuji put an arm around him. "Probably not."

"...Worth it?"

Yuuji looked down at Megumi, grumpy, embarrassed, perfect Megumi, and smiled.

"Yeah.” He smiled. "Worth it. Though, I do want to know how much money he made. Think we should negotiate a cut?"

”You’re a genius. That’s why I like you.”

Nobara fake gagged. "You two are disgusting."

"You're just jealous." Yuuji stuck his tongue out.

"Of what? Your matching obliviousness?"

But she was smiling too.

A few days later, Toudou found Yuuji in the hallway. Megumi was three steps behind him, grabbing water from the fountain.

"Itadori.” Toudou’s voice boomed again as it usually did, way too early in the morning for the noise pollution. "I have a follow-up question."

Yuuji approached him. "What’s up?"

"Your type. If I recall correctly, you said tall women and men with big butts."

Yuuji felt his face go hot. Behind him, he heard Megumi stop walking.

"I, uh-" Yuuji started.

"Are you certain about your type?" Toudou demanded.

Yuuji glanced back at Megumi. Megumi raised an eyebrow.

"No…" Yuuji said, and he couldn't help the grin spreading across his face. "It’s changed."

Toudou stared at him for a long moment. Then he pulled out his notebook, the same one from before, and flipped to a page covered in notes. Yuuji caught a glimpse of handwriting, arrows, what looked like a flowchart.

Toudou found the page with Yuuji's answers, well previous answers. He looked at it. Then he looked at Yuuji. Then he looked at Megumi.

Slowly, deliberately, he crossed something out.

In its place, he wrote two words, underlined twice: Fushiguro Megumi.

He closed the notebook, gave Yuuji a nod of profound respect, and walked away without another word.

Yuuji stood there, dumbfounded.

Behind him, Megumi said, "What was that about?"

"I have no idea." Yuuji admitted. He turned around. Megumi was leaning against the wall, water bottle in hand, looking at Yuuji with an expression that made his heart do flips.

"You're staring at me.” Megumi said.

"I'm allowed to now."

"Are you?"

"We kissed and held hands. I think that gives me staring rights."

Megumi rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.

"Hey, Fushiguro."

"What?"

"You're tall."

"...Okay."

"And you've got a-" Yuuji's brain caught up with his mouth just in time. "-great personality."

Megumi stared at him. "Did you just almost say something else?"

"No."

"You definitely did."

"I'm going to go find Kugisaki." Yuuji announced, and turned to flee.

But Megumi caught his wrist.

"Idiot." Megumi said, and kissed him on the cheek. Quick and casual, like it was nothing. But it was everything.

Then he let go and walked away, leaving Yuuji standing in the middle of the hallway, face burning and heart absolutely exploding.

Turns out, his type wasn't tall or big butts after all. (Well, it was. But shut up).

It was also just him.

It had always been just him.