Chapter Text
Maki had heard about the party two days earlier. She was leaning back in the chair with that sharp, satisfied look she got whenever she knew something the others did not.
“Miwa told me,” she said, tapping her phone against the table. “Big one. Everyone’s going.”
Megumi did not even look up from his notes. “Pass.”
Panda groaned immediately. “You didn’t even hear the details.”
“I heard enough,” Megumi replied, tone flat, pen still moving. “I don’t like half the people hosting it. I’m not interested.”
Maki rolled her eyes. “You’re acting like they’re personally inviting you to fight.”
“They usually do.”
“That’s because you have a face people want to fight.”
Megumi finally looked up, flat. “I have work to do. I’m already behind.”
Yuuta glanced up from across the table, soft but firm. “You’ve been studying for how many days straight? When’s the last time you even left your room?”
“That reminds me, why are you all in my room? Please leave,” Megumi said.
“Because we love our dearest kohai,” Maki shot back, resting her chin on her hand as she watched him. “You’re coming.”
“No.”
Panda leaned in, grinning. “There will be free food.”
“No.”
“Free drinks,” Maki added.
“Still no.”
Yuuta smiled faintly. “You look exhausted, Fushiguro.”
That made Megumi pause for a second.
Toge, sitting beside Panda, lifted his hands and signed: “You need a break.”
Megumi exhaled through his nose.
Maki didn’t let up. “If you hate it, we leave early. Simple.”
Silence stretched for a moment. Then Megumi set his pen down.
“…Fine.”
Panda immediately whooped. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
“Wear something decent,” Maki added, pointing at him. “Casual, but nice.”
Megumi frowned slightly. “I’m always dressed nicely.”
Toge tilted his head and signed with a small, unimpressed shrug: “Debatable.”
Maki snorted.
The house is exactly what you would expect from a campus party that everyone somehow knows about. Too loud before you even stepped inside. The place was large, and still clearly not meant to hold this many people. And yet it did anyway.
Inside, music pulsed through the walls, bass heavy enough to feel in their ribs. Lights flickered in warm tones, mismatched lamps and cheap LEDs casting uneven color across crowded rooms. Students spilled through every doorway, voices overlapping, laughter sharp and constant. Someone had dragged speakers into the living room. The kitchen was packed shoulder to shoulder, counters lined with bottles and red cups, sticky floors already indicating that something had been spilled more than once.
Megumi stopped just inside the doorway, taking it in with a faint crease between his brows. It looked exactly like the kind of party Megumi avoided. Like the kind of place Megumi avoided, in general.
“Let’s go,” Maki said, already moving forward. “Let’s get a drink.”
Todo’s voice carried over the music somewhere deeper in the house, loud and unmistakable. Miwa waved excitedly when she spotted them.
“Maki! You made it!” she said, bright, a little flushed. She was wearing a soft blue dress, simple but neat, like she tried to look nice without overthinking it. “I didn’t think you’d actually come.”
“I said I would.”
Miwa’s gaze flicks to the rest of them. “Fushiguro, you came too?”
“Unfortunately,” Megumi mutters.
From somewhere behind Miwa, Todo’s voice cuts through everything.
“IS HE NOT HERE YET?”
Several people groaned.
Mai snorted. “He’s already insufferable.”
Todo appeared a second later anyway, towering, loud, wearing a tight shirt that showed off entirely too much muscle, and a grin that was somehow both welcoming and aggressive.
“Okkotsu,” he said, turning towards him, then looking at Megumi. “You.”
“Todo.”
“Your taste in women—” Todo started immediately.
“Nope. Not doing this,” Megumi cut him off, already turning away.
Panda started laughing.
Near the kitchen, Kamo stood straighter than everyone else, dressed neatly, composed even in a party setting. He nodded politely as they passed.
“Fushiguro,” he said. “Good to see you.”
“Kamo,” Megumi replied, forcing himself to be equally polite.
Mai was leaning against the counter nearby, drink in hand, sharp eyes taking them in. “You brought Fushiguro,” she said to her sister. “Didn’t expect that.”
“Neither did he,” Maki answered.
Muta was half-hidden near the speakers, adjusting something with the music, hoodie up, barely acknowledging anyone. Nishimiya passed with a drink, waving quickly at them.
The whole house felt alive in a way that was almost overwhelming. Megumi already looked like he regretted coming.
They settled near the edge of the kitchen, claiming a bit of space against the counter. Megumi poured himself a tonic, careful not to touch anything on the already sticky surface.
Maki glanced at him. “Not even a drop of alcohol?” she said, watching him over the rim of her cup.
“I just got here.”
Yuuta smiled faintly. “It’s fine if he doesn’t want to drink.”
“You never drink anything,” she went on, tone light but pointed. “What, are you afraid you’ll do something you regret?”
Megumi glanced at her, unimpressed. “I don’t need alcohol to make bad decisions.”
Panda let out a laugh.
Maki’s smile sharpened. “Please. It’s not like you’d have the courage to approach anyone anyway.”
That earned her a pause.
Megumi’s fingers tightened slightly around his cup. “So that’s what this is about?”
Yuuta shifted, sensing the turn. “Maki—”
“What?” she said, not looking away from Megumi. “Am I wrong?”
Toge leaned forward just enough to catch Megumi’s eye and signed quickly: “She’s provoking you.”
Megumi knew that. He could ignore it. He definitely should ignore it. Instead, he set his cup down, then added a little too much of the first spirit he could grab.
“…What’s the bet?”
Panda perked up instantly. “Oh, here we go.”
Maki didn’t hesitate. “Make out with someone before the night ends.”
Yuuta covered his face briefly. “That’s—”
“That’s easy,” Panda said, delighted.
“Wait,” Megumi added. “What do I get?”
“If you do that, I owe you one. Anything. No backing out.”
Panda let out a low whistle. “Oh wow.”
Megumi pondered for a second. “Alright.”
Megumi’s gaze flicked across the room, scanning without really meaning to.
Maki followed it, then pointed, casual but precise. “Like… that guy. Pink hair, in the yellow hoodie.”
Across the room, the man was easy to spot, bright even in a crowded space. He was laughing openly at something the girl next to him was saying, shoulders relaxed, completely at ease.
The girl, wearing a fitted top and a leather skirt—a ‘stylish without even trying’ look—was gesturing animatedly, drink in hand.
“How do you know that’s not his girlfriend?”
“I just do,” she answered curtly. “He seems like your type,” Maki added.
Megumi looked at him for a second longer than necessary.
“I don’t have a—” he let out a sigh. “You know what? Fine.”
Panda nearly dropped his drink. “Oh God.”
Maki raised a brow. “You’re serious?”
Megumi picked up his cup again and took a longer drink this time. “You said before the night ends.”
Toge signed, quick and sharp: “Respect.”
He set the now-empty cup down.
“I need a cigarette.”
Maki immediately pushed off the counter. “You’re stalling.”
“I’m not.”
“You are,” she insisted, following him toward the door.
Outside, the air was cooler, quieter. The noise from inside dulled to a distant thrum. Megumi lit the cigarette, inhaled, and exhaled slowly.
Maki leaned against the railing, watching him. “You can still back out.”
“I won’t.”
She studied him for a moment, then huffed a quiet laugh. “Watever. ‘S up to you.”
He finished the cigarette faster than usual, flicked it away, and headed back inside.
“Come on,” Maki said, pushing off the railing, clearly entertained now. “I want to see this.”
Yuuji was mid-sentence, gesturing animatedly. “There’s no way I’ll do that. I’m perfectly fine—”
He stopped. Nobara’s eyes had gone wide, fixed on something behind him.
“What?” Yuuji asked, turning slightly.
He turned at Nobara’s sudden silence, still half-smiling from whatever he had been saying.
Someone was standing closer than expected, enough to cut into his space without bumping into him.
He registered the black hair first, a little messy but not careless. Then the sharp green eyes, steady and unreadable.
The guy didn’t look drunk. That was the first thing Yuuji noticed, oddly enough. He looked present and calm. Not like the relaxed, easy kind Yuuji was used to seeing at parties, but something quieter, more contained. Like everything about him was deliberate, from the way he stood to the way he held Yuuji’s gaze without wavering.
Yuuji became suddenly aware that Nobara had gone very still beside him.
Behind the guy, a group hovered at a distance, watching. One girl with glasses and a sharp posture, a tall guy barely holding back laughter, another covering his face, and someone else signing something, eyes locked on the scene.
Yuuji blinked once, trying to catch up.
The guy in front of him didn’t look away.
“Hey,” he said, voice steady.
Yuuji blinked, surprised but not alarmed. “Oh, uh… hey?”
Megumi met his eyes. “You into men?”
Yuuji processed, then nodded, a little uncertain but honest. “Uhm, yeah?”
“Wanna make out?”
A beat.
Yuuji shrugged, easy as anything. “Okay.”
Nobara’s expression shifted, in a mix of shocked and sharply interested. Her gaze flicked past Megumi for a second, spotting Maki across the room. Recognition sparked immediately. She stepped aside without a word, already moving toward the girl, curiosity winning out. “You set this up?” she asked as she joined them.
Maki smirked. “Obviously.”
“Nice,” Nobara said, satisfied, turning back to watch.
Megumi didn’t waste time.
He reached out, hand coming up to Yuuji’s jaw, firm but not rough, giving him just enough time to pull back if he wanted to.
Yuuji didn’t.
So Megumi leaned in and kissed him.
He didn’t rush. Yuuji made a soft sound of surprise at first, then settled into it, one hand coming up instinctively to Megumi’s waist. The noise of the party blurred around them, voices fading under the steady rhythm of the music.
Megumi adjusted slightly, closer now.
Yuuji leaned into it without overthinking, open and responsive, like he did everything else.
Panda was fully invested now. “He did it. He actually did it.”
Maki’s grin widened. “I can’t believe that worked.”
Yuuta looked like he had forgotten how to breathe.
Toge signed rapidly, eyes wide: “No hesitation.”
Nobara tilted her head, evaluating. “He’s not bad,” she commented.
The kiss stretched longer than anyone expected.
Then Megumi pulled back, just slightly, enough to look at Yuuji.
There was a flicker of something there. Not just satisfaction.
He didn’t say anything. He just took Yuuji’s wrist.
“Come with me,” he said.
Yuuji blinked, still a little dazed, then smiled. “O-okay.”
And just like that, Megumi turned and started toward the stairs, pulling him along.
Behind them, Panda finally exploded. “HE’S LEAVING WITH HIM.”
Yuuta covered his face again. “I cannot believe this happened.”
Toge signed: “Legend.”
Maki watched them disappear upstairs, entirely pleased.
Nobara crossed her arms beside her, smirking. “I like him.”
Megumi moved through the crowd, weaving past people, up the stairs, and down a hallway where the noise of the party dulled into a distant, muffled thrum. He pushed open a door to an empty room, barely lit, and closed it behind them.
For a second, the quiet settled.
Then he stepped back in.
Yuuji barely had time to register the shift before Megumi kissed him again.
It was different this time. Less measured. There was more weight behind it, more intent, like whatever had been contained before had been let loose now that there were no eyes on them. Megumi’s hand came up to the back of Yuuji’s neck, pulling him closer.
Yuuji let out a soft breath against his lips, then leaned in fully, responding without hesitation.
After a moment, he pulled back just enough to speak, a little breathless. “Is it okay if we don’t…”
Megumi didn’t look confused. If anything, he seemed relieved.
“Yes,” he said, voice low. “I just wanted to get out of there. My friends were staring. It was annoying.”
Yuuji huffed a quiet laugh. “Yeah… fair.”
Then, they were kissing again.
Yuuji shifted first this time, letting his mouth trail from Megumi’s lips to his jaw, slower, curious. Megumi’s breath hitched, just slightly. Yuuji noticed—he followed the line down, brushing against his neck, then up toward his ear, teeth grazing lightly before he caught the edge of the industrial piercing between his fingers, turning it absently as he leaned back in.
Megumi’s grip tightened.
For a moment, he could only feel. The warmth, the pressure, the way the boy responded without overthinking. It was easy to stay there, in that narrow space of sensation and reaction, without letting anything else in.
He shifted, returning the motion, pressing in closer and moving to Yuuji’s neck. At first it was light, testing. Then firmer, teeth catching just enough to draw a sharper reaction. Yuuji inhaled, fingers tightening in Megumi’s shirt.
Megumi lingered there, then pressed his mouth, leaving a mark without really deciding to. Yuuji tilted his head slightly, giving him more space, then laughed softly under his breath. “You don’t do things halfway, huh…”
Megumi didn’t answer.
Yuuji pulled back just enough to look at him, still close, still holding onto him. “At least tell me your name?”
Megumi glanced at him, expression unreadable. “Do you always talk this much?”
Yuuji flushed a little, looking briefly to the side. “I mean… not always.”
“Mm.”
That was all Megumi gave him before leaning back in.
Yuuji didn’t seem put off. If anything, he smiled faintly and met him halfway again.
Time blurred a little after that. The music downstairs, the occasional noise from the hallway, none of it really broke through.
Until Megumi’s phone started vibrating.
He ignored it at first, hoping it would stop ringing soon.
It kept going.
With a quiet exhale, he pulled back, fished it out of his pocket, and rejected the call without looking too closely.
Yuuji watched him. “You’re popular.”
Megumi didn’t respond, already leaning in again.
Then the phone rang.
Again.
Megumi’s jaw tightened slightly. He didn’t move to answer.
“You should take it,” Yuuji said, softer this time.
“It’s just my guardian,” Megumi replied, dismissive.
“Seems urgent.”
Megumi hesitated for a second, then clicked his tongue under his breath and stood, answering the call as he stepped a little to the side.
“What?”
Satoru’s voice came through immediately, loud even from a distance. “Megumi, you’re alive. Good. I was starting to think you’d been kidnapped.”
“I’m fine,” Megumi said flatly.
“You didn’t answer any of my texts.”
“I’m at a party.”
There was a pause. Then, amused, “You? At a party? Should I be worried about the state of the building?”
“Go to sleep, old man.”
Megumi hung up before he could respond.
When he turned back, Yuuji was watching him with a small, amused smile.
“Your guardian seems… intense.”
Megumi shrugged, slipping the phone back into his pocket. “He’s annoying.”
Yuuji hummed, like he wanted to ask more, but didn’t.
Instead, when Megumi stepped close again, he leaned in without hesitation. The kiss resumed easily, like it hadn’t been interrupted at all.
After a while, Yuuji pulled back just slightly, resting his forehead against Megumi’s shoulder slope.
“I was kind of hoping to at least get your number. Take you out sometime,” he said, voice quieter now.
Megumi didn’t answer immediately.
Then, simply, “I’m not really planning on starting anything. Dating, or whatever.”
Yuuji stilled for a moment.
“Sorry.”
“Oh,” Yuuji said, not sharply, just… processing. Then he straightened up and simply nodded, even if there was a flicker of something else there. “Yeah. That’s fine.”
A small pause.
“But I should probably…” He gestured vaguely toward the door.
“Sure.”
Yuuji lingered for half a second longer, like he might say something else, then didn’t. He gave a small, easy smile instead.
“See you around, Fushiguro.”
Megumi didn’t ask how he knew.
Yuuji slipped out of the room, the noise from the party rushing back in briefly before the door clicked shut again.
Silence settled. Megumi stood there for a moment, unmoving.
He exhaled slowly, lifting a hand to his mouth without thinking, like he could still feel the shape of it there.
The room felt different now.
And for a reason he didn’t bother to examine, it wasn’t as easy to ignore.