Archive of Our Own

"It's not that bad," Yuuji lies.

"It's really bad."

"Kugisaki!"

He smacks her on the arm, praying that his indignance, sputtering, and overall vibe will convince her to shut the fuck up before Megumi overhears them.

"The curse gave him a reverse mohawk, Itadori. What else am I supposed to say?"

So, their mission hadn't exactly gone according to plan.

In Yuuji's defense, it was all Gojo's fault. He's the one who insisted on taking them all to see the midnight showing of some new body snatcher horror movie — knowing full well that he planned on waking them up at the crack of dawn the next morning to send them on a mission. It's also Gojo's fault that he promised to buy them coffee once they got there, but all of the shops were closed because, spoiler alert, having a group of Grade One curses wreaking havoc on your town kind of puts a damper on business, so they all decided to stay closed until everything blew over.

So, really, it's not Yuuji's fault that he was yawning excessively after exorcising what he thought was the last curse. He didn't even fully see what actually happened. Nobara had to fill him in after.

Apparently, the actual last curse went for him mid-yawn, and that would've been it for him if Megumi hadn't jumped into the fray. He took the brunt of the curse's attack, but was able to exorcise it with some help from Nue. Unfortunately, Megumi was also not moving at maximum efficiency, so he came in just a little closer to the curse than he planned, and his hair paid the price.

Specifically, the middle third of his head. The left and right sides of his hair are completely untouched, but the center is fucked. Reverse mohawk really is the only way to describe it.

It's a shame because Megumi has such nice hair. It's thick and soft and just kind of styles itself into the effortless coiffed look he rocks. Yuuji was certain that a snooping session through his bathroom would turn up some sort of pomade or mousse that's responsible for the style but, as of yet, no such luck.

The dark color compliments his features well, bringing out the green of his eyes, the curve of his cheekbones. Nobara says his face is "high contrast" — whatever that means. That phrasing makes it sound more technical than it is though. Megumi is striking. He's someone who's hard to miss. Who draws attention no matter how hard he tries to fade into the background. Naturally handsome in a way that other people could only dream of being.

Yuuji hasn't put much thought into it.

The pent up exhaustion must've finally gotten to Megumi after exorcising that last curse. He crashed almost the second they got to the car and hasn't come across a mirror since. Or Gojo, thankfully, since he would have snapped a million pictures and started laughing like a haunted doll.

"He's still got some hair," Yuuji defends, putting extra emphasis on the word some.

Maybe Megumi could get away with a comb over situation. Just until the middle grows out enough for him to get a regular haircut again.

"Only on the sides."

"Yeah! Some hair."

Nobara sighs heavily.

"I'm gonna tell him."

She starts walking into the infirmary. Then has the audacity to look surprised when Yuuji yanks her to a stop.

"Are you insane?!"

"What?" She wriggles free of his hold. "He's already in the infirmary. It's better he go into cardiac arrest here so Ieiri can just heal him right away, instead of when he happens to get within ten feet of a mirror next."

When she puts it like that, Yuuji can see she kinda has a point.

Doesn't mean he wants to be around when Megumi figures it out though.

"You're on your own then."

"Seriously?" She scoffs.

"I'm not gonna be on the receiving end of whatever tirade he goes on after seeing his hair! I choose life."

Nobara mutters something that sounds suspiciously like big baby under her breath.

"What was that?" Yuuji challenges.

"I said you're a cowardly little bitch baby."

His fault for asking, really.

"That's not what you said!"

"Oh, so you were listening?"

Yuuji huffs in response, but can't think of anything else to say so slams the door closed behind him on the way out.

Maybe this will be good for him. Yuuji's always thought Megumi was pretty, but that's just because he has eyes that work. And spending time with someone who's attractive and also quickly becoming one of his best friends can lead to crush adjacent thoughts. Yuuji doesn't wanna risk making their friendship weird just because Megumi is the textbook definition of facial symmetry.

Megumi will wear his goofy reverse mullet comb over for a few weeks and that'll be perfect for getting rid of the crush adjacent thoughts that Megumi's attractiveness causes.

After all, nothing kills a crush faster than a bad haircut.

/////

Dinner that night goes terribly. Mainly because Yuuji almost sends a Black Flash through the chest of the stranger sitting in Megumi's usual chair.

He still doesn't fully understand barriers, but he knows that the ones around Jujutsu High are very good. So if this rando has managed to sneak past them, then he's a serious threat. Yuuji isn't sure why he'd go through all the trouble of getting past the school's barriers just to sit at a table in the student kitchen, but he'll figure that out later.

What he does know is that he has absolutely never seen this dude before.

His dark hair is buzzed close to his scalp. (Maybe he's in the military? Or is some kind of monk?) He's wearing a green short sleeved t-shirt that's a couple sizes too small for him, the bottom hem of it ending around where his belly button would be. The guy's also jacked. The too tight sleeves cut into the thickest part of his bicep, making the muscle even more pronounced. So, like, good for him or whatever.

No one else is around, so Yuuji knows it's up to him to step up and defend the school. He focuses his Cursed Energy into his right fist, and launches himself forward. Feeling the rush of the —

A strong hand snatches his wrist out of the air and pins it above his head. All the air is forced out of Yuuji's lungs as he's unceremoniously slammed into the kitchen table, his head knocking hard against the wood. There's a ringing in his ears. His vision going all spotty.

"Itadori, what the fuck?!"

Megumi…?

That voice is undeniably Megumi's, but that can't be right.

Yuuji blinks harder.

The visual clarity that comes brings even more mental confusion because that is Megumi. Megumi has him pinned to the table. His green eyes are scathing and focused. Studying Yuuji like they're in Gojo's body snatcher movie and his next line is Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?

Yuuji can't even find the words to apologize (proper) or scream What the fuck! (what will probably end up happening), because Megumi is bald.

Ok, bald is a bit over dramatic, and Yuuji is clearly doing really well at the whole calm and measured response thing right now.

Megumi's hair is buzzed uniformly around the top, the length matching what had been left in the center of his head after the curse got a hold of him. The parts around his temples and the sides of his neck are somehow even shorter, almost down to the skin. The two lengths fade smoothly into one another. Making a haircut of necessity into something that seems intentional.

It's … new. Different. Not what Yuuji was expecting.

It makes his features sharper. The curve of his nose, the high points of his cheek bones, the line of his jaw. He's really handsome.

Wait.

Megumi just shaved all his hair off …

And Yuuji's first thought was still that he's handsome …

Fuck.

"You know people are supposed to eat here, right?" Nobara's voice cuts through the fog. Her question reminds Yuuji and Megumi of the position they're in, enough to startle them back to standing upright.

She eyes them both suspiciously. "Seriously, what's up with you two? If you've got a problem with his haircut, take it up with me."

"You did this to him?"

"Weird way of saying I saved him from being stuck with a reverse mohawk."

Yuuji stutters. His eyes dart helplessly between his two friends. It's not like they're trying to explain quantum mechanics to him, but they might as well be with how soupy all his organs feel. Especially his brain. That's just straight up broth. Not a single other ingredient in sight.

"After laughing at me for fifteen minutes, Kugisaki offered to make it less reverse mohawk-y." Megumi gestures vaguely to his hair (or, where his hair used to be).

Yuuji turns to Nobara. "I didn't know you knew how to cut hair."

"I cut your hair, Itadori."

Oh, right. 

"Is your one brain cell taking a sick day or something?"

"I have more than one!"

"Doesn't seem like it."

Yuuji would love to prove her wrong by suddenly pulling it together and being normal, but the lots of brain cells that he definitely has are currently all working overtime trying to process the new information he's been presented with. His eyes drift down towards Megumi's torso.

"And the shirt … is that also, uhm …"

Now that Megumi is facing him and not literally on top of him, Yuuji can see the Strawberry Shortcake design across the chest of the shirt, so it's definitely not Megumi's.

"All the little hairs on my shirt started to get too itchy, so Kugisaki let me borrow this."

"Oh."

"Is it really that bad?"

There's bravado in the way he stands, but a puffed out chest and steady voice can't hide the twitching of his fingers or the insecurity lurking behind Megumi's eyes and the way that they won't meet his. It makes Yuuji's heart sink.

"No!" He's quick to soothe. "It's not bad. Just surprising is all." Then, because he doesn't know when to shut the fuck up, he adds, "It suits you. Makes your eyes really … stand out. In a good way. Obviously. You have nice eyes."

Whatever stupid ramblings would have come next get stuck in his throat as Megumi finally looks at him. Yuuji feels caught in a trance. Unable to pull his gaze away and give his focus to anything that isn't MegumiMegumiMegumiMegumi—

"Can you get started on dinner now?" Nobara asks, breaking the spell. "It's your turn to cook dinner and I'm exhausted from all my hard work today.

"Shaving my head wasn't that much work." Megumi quips.

"I was talking about the four curses I exorcised today. Which is more than either of you managed, might I add."

Megumi and Nobara start bickering about who exorcised more curses. Yuuji lets them carry the conversation, putting his attention on washing the rice and cutting vegetables for dinner. There's only so much the food prep can do to stop his brain from reminding him that even with his new haircut, Megumi is still just as handsome.

////

The haircut is hard to adapt to. Every time Yuuji passes him in the hallway or on their way to the kitchen, he startles and has to remind himself that it's just Megumi. Then, once the surprise fades, the staring starts. He knows it's rude, but he can't help it. It's like there's a giant neon sign in his brain telling him not to stare at Megumi, but knowing that he shouldn't only makes it more tempting.

The first day it happened, sure, that makes sense. It's a big change. Day two was questionable, but he'll give himself a little grace. Once it hit day three, Yuuji was forced to accept that the haircut is poisoning his mind.

Well, if what he's doing isn't working, then maybe he should do the opposite.

He clearly isn't physically capable of ignoring Megumi, so maybe he just needs to stare harder. To memorize the new hair cut. That way he can get accustomed to everything faster. That's it. He'll stare and look and fill his eyes up with Megumi until he's desensitized to him being bald. That'll work.

Now's the perfect opportunity. It's still fairly early, so everyone else is still asleep. Megumi's making coffee and eggs for the two of them, and Yuuji's just standing on the other side of the kitchen watching him. At first, the deft movements of his hands caught his focus, but Yuuji forces his gaze higher.

The skin of his scalp peaks through his short hairs, paler than the rest of him. It only makes the black of his hair stand out even sharper. It looks soft. Yuuji's own undercut is longer than even the top part of Megumi's hair now. What does hair that short feel like? Is it as soft as it looks? Or is it prickly? More like the sharp parts of a cactus? Would Megumi lean into the touch? Would he find it soothing? Would he think it's weird? Is that something he's allowed to do?

"Can I touch your hair?"

Yuuji looks around the room to see who asked that before realizing that it was himself. His cheeks instantly start overheating. Megumi stares at him blankly, which doesn't do a whole lot to help the embarrassed panic spreading through him. They're the only two people in the kitchen, so there aren't a ton of ways for Yuuji to play it off, so he supposes he just has to back peddle as hard as he can and hope for the best.

"Sorry. That's probably weird. Just forget I —"

"No, it's fine." Megumi interrupts with no discernible opinion on the matter. "You can touch it."

"Really?"

Yuuji didn't expect to be in this situation period, but now that he is he can't believe he got this far.

"I said so, didn't I?"

"Right." Yuuji rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah."

"So it's fine."

Is it actually fine? Yuuji's pretty sure he's still making the situation weird, just in a different way than he was before.

"You don't have to if you don't —"

"I do!" Yuuji interrupts with way too much enthusiasm. "I … yeah."

God, maybe he really does only have one brain cell. Nobara's been right this whole time. (He can never admit this.)

Yuuji takes a step forward, since, whether it's weird or not, this is apparently happening. Maybe it's the contrast with the sharpness of his haircut, but Yuuji would swear that Megumi's whole being softens as he draws nearer. All the muscles in his face melting as Yuuji begins to trace his fingers along the side of Megumi's head.

His thumb rests along Megumi's ear, as the rest of his digits memorize the new sensation. It's definitely a little prickly, but it's more soft than anything. Yuuji looses himself in the repetition of it, like waves dragging against the side of a boat as he traces back and forth and back and forth.

He hears Megumi swallow and his eyes shift to the bob of his Adam's apple.

Damn. They're, like, really close right now.

Megumi must notice it at the same time Yuuji does. Their eyes meet and Yuuji is reminded all over again of just how devastatingly gorgeous Megumi is.

He doesn't give a shit about his hair cut. Not when they're standing this close. Not when his hand drifts slightly lower and cradles Megumi's cheek. Not when Megumi tilts his head to the side. Not when the distance between them begins to shrink. Not when he can lean in just a little more and —

"Salmon?"

The electric chair would be less painful than the shock to his system Yuuji experiences at the interruption. His heart rate has to be in the three hundreds. It might seriously burst out of his chest, and that is not a sensation Yuuji wants to experience again.

"Sorry, Inumaki." Megumi recovers first, his voice only a little stilted. "Didn't see you there."

Somehow, the situation must not strike Inumaki as that odd, since he simply shrugs before opening one of the pantry doors, grabbing a granola bar, and leaving the two of them alone in the kitchen once more.

"Were you …" Megumi starts. He trails off just as Yuuji is finally able to begin a sentence.

"I should …"

"Right."

"Yeah."

"Cool."

"Cool."

Neither of them move for several seconds. Yuuji's feet feel weighed down with anvils. His limbs begging him to stay in place and stare a little longer. But his limbs also just tried to convince him to kiss Megumi, so clearly those guys cannot be trusted right now.

He gets the courage to move at the same time as Megumi does. The two of them splitting off in opposite directions once they get to the hallway. Yuuji counts it as a small blessing, since he marches straight towards his room, slams the door shut behind him, and collapses face first into his bed.

Did … did he almost kiss Megumi just now? Or did Megumi almost kiss him? No, definitely not that. He's even more delusional than recent events would have him believe if he actually thinks Megumi almost kissed him.

But, it felt like he did. For just a second, his crush hadn't felt so one sided.

Yuuji flops onto his back and stares at the ceiling for a very long time.

/////

The kitchen is really starting to feel like the center of all evils.

Yuuji is in there with Nobara and Maki, peacefully minding his own business. He generously offered to make them all popcorn for their movie night. Using the kitchen for its intended purpose of cooking. Not for its recent purpose of ogling Megumi and almost kissing him.

The microwave dings and Yuuji gingerly takes the popcorn bag out by its corner. Hot potato-ing (hot popcorn-ing?) the bag as he tries to get it from the microwave to the kitchen table and open it without burning himself. The warm, buttery smell of it intensifies as he sets about splitting it evenly between the three bowls he has set out for them.

Floorboards creak near the doorway and Yuuji turns his head in time to see, "Fushiguro! Hi."

As he turns, his hip knocks against the bowl he was just filling with popcorn, sending kernels of it flying in all directions. He bends down to start gathering up pieces with his fingers, then immediately realizes that'll take forever and decides to grab the broom.

"So, Fushiguro," Yuuji continues. "What're you —"

As he stands, Yuuji hits his head on the edge of the table. Another popcorn bowl tumbles to the ground and directly onto Yuuji. There's popcorn in his hair, down his shirt, in his slippers. His whole body feels oily from all of the artificial butter.

"I'll get that, I swear." Yuuji starts shaking all of the popcorn out of his sleeves. "So, anyways, yeah, Fushiguro, do you wanna —"

He swings his arm a little too wild trying to get a stubborn kernel out and his hand hits the last bowl of popcorn. It clatters loudly to the floor. The sound is so loud it's sobering. Forcing Yuuji to think past his embarrassing attempts to talk normally with Megumi and stare forlornly at the mess he's made.

For better or for worse, Yuuji seems to be the only one staring at the mountain of popcorn on the floor, because Megumi, Nobara, and Maki are all staring at him.

"Dude, just sit down." Nobara says like a parent who isn't angry, just stunned into disappointment.

Yuuji sits down at the kitchen table and lays his head on top of his forearms.

He needs to chill! And stop being so weird! It's a fucking haircut!

Yuuji feels a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey," Megumi murmurs. "Are you alright?"

Yuuji leans his head up to look at him.

Big mistake.

Because Megumi is right there. Is face is so close to Yuuji's and his eyes are so green and their lips are right next to each other again and oh my god Yuuji almost kissed Megumi yesterday. What if they kissed right now?

"You're really pretty."

Yuuji's hand slams over his mouth, but at this point it's too late. He is truly, pitifully beyond help.

A million conversations are happening with just glances. Yuuji looking at Megumi. Nobara looking at Maki. Megumi looking at Maki. Nobara looking at Yuuji. It's a miracle everyone's eyes stay inside their skulls with how far they're bulging out of everyone's heads.

He knows they're all talking about him, since, duh. Crimson heat flares across his cheeks. The darting of his own eyes turns more panicked. Searching for any means of escape.

"Well, I dunno about you guys, but I sure am ready for the movie. Kugisaki? Your room? Yeah? Yeah. Cool. I'll — I'll get it all set up."

There. That's … something.

Yuuji bolts from the kitchen, not giving anyone else a chance to stop him or ask a single follow up question. Once he's safely down the hall he contemplates going back to his own room, but he was really looking forward to movie night. He goes to Nobara's room and pulls out her laptop.

A few minutes later, the door opens, and Yuuji lets out a huge sigh of relief when only Maki and Nobara are on the other side of it.

/////

It's becoming truly inconvenient that Yuuji needs three square meals a day, and that the food for said meals is exclusively stored in the kitchen.

He almost walks in without thinking, until he hears the sound of a knife chopping against a cutting board and the smell of fresh coffee. Yuuji lingers in the doorway and sees Megumi, still in his pajamas, eyes half open, making breakfast. Hunger and habit tell him to go in there and start helping him cook, but he can't risk it. Their conversations (if you can call Yuuji blurting out weird things at every turn conversations) have been so off lately. Yuuji can't bring himself to have another.

So instead he'll just stare. Since that's totally less weird.

Yuuji groans, internally.

He hates this. He misses being able to talk to Megumi like a normal person. That's his best friend, and it fucking sucks that in an attempt to not be weird about his crush adjacent thoughts, Yuuji's only making it worse.

He misses making breakfast and talking about manga and making plans for where they wanna go on the weekend and just hanging out doing nothing together. The mundane parts of life that become something worth remembering if Megumi's by his side.

Yuuji's always thought it'd be nice to live with Megumi. He can almost picture it. The two of them getting an apartment after graduation. Far enough from the city to have some peace and quiet, but not so far that they can't get back easily if they need to. Maybe they'd get a cat. Definitely a cuddly one. His thoughts turn to Megumi, sleeping in on a lazy Saturday, sunlight trickling in through the widow to their room, a small cat settled on his solar plexus and purring softly into —

"Nope!"

A hand with sharp nails grabs his ear and pinches. Hard. Yuuji is unceremoniously yanked out of the doorway and dragged down the hall towards the girls dorms.

"Owww! Kugisaki, what the hell?!"

Nobara says nothing. Just continues marching them down the hall until they get to her room. When they finally get there, she opens the door, shoves Yuuji inside, and slams the door shut behind them.

"Alright, sit down."

Yuuji plops to the ground right where hes standing, electing to sit crisscross applesauce. Nobara rolls her eyes, grabs a pillow off her bed, and sits down next to him.

"Ok," she starts. "Tell it to me straight."

Yuuji doesn't really think that anything that's been happening to him this week has been straight, so not off to a great start.

Nobara takes another second to gather her words before continuing. "Are you, like, afraid of bald people or something?"

What the fuck?

"What the fuck? Why would you think I'm afraid of bald people?"

"Because you've been acting weird around Fushiguro ever since I had to shave his head!"

"That's what you've taken away from this week?"

As crazy as it is that that's the reasoning she's landed on to explain Yuuji's sudden inability to be normal, in a way it's actually a win. His crush isn't obvious enough for her to notice, so maybe Megumi hasn't figured it out either.

Maybe he just thinks that Yuuji is having an off week. He can bounce back from this. He doesn't have to lose his best friend.

"Well, that, and that you think Fushiguro is — to quote you — really pretty."

Fuck, she's so onto him. Yuuji groans, throwing his head back in despair.

"You don't get it, Kugisaki! When your crush gets a terrible haircut, the crush is supposed to go away, but it just isn't! It anything I've only been more down bad for him ever since you shaved his head."

There's no point in trying to deny it any longer. Especially to himself, but even to Nobara.

There's only so many times you can freak out about almost kissing your best friend, while still feeling totally platonic about everything, and Yuuji's pretty sure that number isn't two.

"Fuck." Nobara slumps back against the wall.

"I know, it's the worst."

"No, I'm pissed because now I owe Maki four thousand yen."

"What?"

"Yeah, she totally clocked that you were acting weird because you had a crush on him."

Yuuji's heart jumps into his throat, which is now really fucking dry.

"I said you looked too scared to be attempting to flirt, so it had to be something else."

He thinks back to her first question. "So you immediately put money on me being scared of bald people?"

"Shut up! You're the one whose crush is bald."

Yuuji creates several new sounds that are neither vowels nor consonants, but a garbled mix of both. "When did you guys even talk about this?"

"Right after we watched you guys almost kiss last night."

Gojo isn't the only one around here with freaky powerful eyes, because how the fuck were they able to communicate all that without saying anything? Yuuji knew all that eye bulging was incredibly suspicious.

"Do you think Fushiguro knows?"

It had been a surprise to Nobara, and she's great at figuring out people's secrets. Which means there's still an outside chance Megumi hasn't realized yet.

"Nah, you're good. No way he's figured it out."

Beside them, Nobara's phone buzzes. She looks at the screen, types something, then sets her phone back on the ground, face down.

"Actually, I lied. You're fucked."

"What?!"

What could that text possibly have said to make her switch up like that? Why is he fucked? He might genuinely throw up. Why does he have to be nauseous? He'd way rather pass out — that way at least he wouldn't have to be conscious. If he was really lucky, maybe he'd hit his head on the way down and wake up with amnesia and forget this whole week.

"You don't look so good." Nobara grimaces. "Stay here, I'm gonna get you water. You just put your head between your knees or something."

She stands up to leave, then turns back to him. "And if you even think about throwing up on any of my stuff, don't."

Yuuji doesn't even get a chance to panic once he's left alone in Nobara's room, because on the other side of the door he hears muffled arguing. One of the voices obviously has to be Nobara, but he has no idea who the other voice could be.

His answer comes in the form of a very bedraggled Megumi being shoved through the door. They stare at each other, eyes wild and confused and both trying to process what the hell they're supposed to do now.

Megumi moves first. His hand wraps around the door handle as he tries to run away, but the door won't move. He tries the handle again. Still nothing. He knocks on the door with the heel of his hand.

"Kugisaki, let me out!"

"Not until you two talk it out!" She shouts from the other side of the door.

Another voice speaks. "We'd all like to be able to go back to using the kitchen without being subjected to the two of you flirting."

"Maki?"

"Salmon roe!"

"Inumaki?"

"Why're none of you at breakfast? I was gonna make everyone pancakes."

Gojo?! Why is Gojo here?

Megumi grimaces and takes a very deep breath before speaking again. "Can I please have an ounce of privacy?"

"Alright everyone, let's give him some space," Gojo says. "Sounds like he really needs it."

There are sounds of mumbled complaints, but it does seem like everyone obeys their teacher and starts heading back to the kitchen.

Megumi breathes a little easier in the quiet. He reaches for the door handle again.

"No can do, kid." At the sound of Gojo's voice, Megumi deflates. "I'll be back in half an hour. If this still isn't resolved when I get back, I'm locking you both in the secret basement until it is."

The secret basement? Is that the one with all the Cursed Seals where Gojo explained who Sukuna was to him or the one where Yuuji had to watch all those movies when everyone thought he was dead? Could there be a third secret basement?

There's the faint sound of footsteps retreating and Yuuji and Megumi are finally alone. They both stare at anything but each other as the silence lingers.

"So …"

Yuuji looks up at Megumi. Waiting for him to continue.

"This week has been … interesting." Megumi opens and closes his mouth several times as he looks for the words to say, but can't find them. "Look. I've already had to shave my head this week, so I need you to just level with me. Is Maki fucking with me?"

Yuuji blinks. "What?"

"Is she lying to me? Or misreading the situation or getting my hopes — or, just … yeah."

"What … what did she say?"

"That you've been acting weird this week because you have a crush on me."

Damn Megumi and his stupid ability to be decisive and not beat around the bush.

Yuuji could lie and pretend like that isn't exactly why he's been acting so weird. But he's pretty sure his friends wouldn't let him leave this room alive if he tried that.

The second Yuuji decides that telling the truth is probably his best course of action, his body instantly starts having an allergic reaction to emotional honesty. His palms are sweaty and his face is overheating and he can't make his breath happen regularly — all the air is coming and going way too fast.

Words are clearly a limited time window, so Yuuji forces some out as fast as he can.

"Uhm, yeah."

"Yeah, she's fucking with me?"

Megumi looks heartbroken for exactly one second before pulling his expression back to neural, but the strain to hold it all together looks painful. Yuuji can't bear it.

"Wait, I meant to say no!"

"No, you don't have a crush on me?"

How is the smartest person Yuuji's ever met capable of being this fucking dense?

"Will you just —" Yuuji cuts himself off witch a tsk noise in the back of his throat. "I like you ok!"

Megumi's whole face opens — the widening of his eyes, the soft parting of his lips, the gentle ease with which he now draws breath.

"I've had a crush on you for months — that I was being really normal about — but then you got that stupid reverse mohawk and I was sure that would make it go away. Because everyone always says that crushes don't last after a bad haircut, but if anything, it just made it worse, since I can't get you out of my head. And, like, I keep thinking about how nice your hair felt when you let me touch it, and about what would've happened if I kissed you and just … yeah."

Yuuji's panting. Completely and utterly out of breath. He hates the way him gulping down air sounds in the otherwise silent room, but it's better than letting himself keep talking. His whole body feels tingly.

"Oh …"

A soft pink blush creeps up Megumi's cheeks. Yuuji's first thought is pretty, which only saddens the reminder that it's all about to be over when Megumi doesn't like him back.

"Well, that works out."

"What does?" Yuuji asks.

"I mean that I also … have a crush on you."

"Oh."

It's disappointing, but at the end of the day, Yuuji knew his crush was totally unrequited. It's better now that he knows Megumi doesn't like him, so he can finally move —

Wait.

"Oh."

Yuuji's eyes dart up to look at Megumi. He's smiling, but hiding it. Like he's nervous to let the expression fully take over his face, because if he does that means believing that this is real.

But, as absurd as it is, this is real. They're here, smiling like idiots in a room that isn't theirs, and they both have crushes on each other.

"So, what do we do now?"

Megumi laughs unbidden, the warm honeyed sound coming directly from the center of his chest. The sound makes Yuuji wants to melt, even though it's at his expense.

"Hey!" Yuuji scolds. "I'm serious!"

"I know you are." His laughter is softer now, settling into a smile that sets Yuuji's pulse racing. "How about instead of having breakfast with everyone else, we go get crêpes from that place downtown you've been wanting to try. My treat."

"Like a date?"

"Yeah, like a date."

Yuuji has never stood up faster. He gets a head rush, his brain going all dizzy and light headed, but that's maybe just the adrenaline of Megumi asking him out on a date. After quickly trying to make his clothes less wrinkly (it doesn't really work, but it's the thought that counts), Yuuji opens the door for Megumi. He was raised with manners, after all.

Megumi takes a step into the hall and promptly runs into Gojo.

"You said you'd be back in thirty minutes." Incredulous is a new look on Megumi, far more muted than when Yuuji wears it. "That was barely four."

"Yeah, I also said Santa was real when you were eight. I've lied about a lot of things." Gojo says, with a remarkable amount of dignity for someone just caught eavesdropping.

Instead of replying, Megumi grabs Yuuji's hand (ohmygodthey'reholdinghands) and drags him down the hall.

"Seems like it all worked out though!" Gojo calls after them.

Huh. Just like everything else this week, this is kinda all Gojo's fault. But at least this time he's right — it all worked out in the end. And if Megumi had to endure getting a reverse mohawk from a curse for them to get here, then Yuuji can't say he minds.