Work Text:
Gojo strolls in with the latest puppy he’s just adopted–a pink-haired kid with a couple oddly symmetrical scars under his eyes. Just his presence seems coated in rainbows and sunshine and Megumi feels like he has to squint when he comes closer for an introduction.
“Hey, Megumi. This is your new friend–”
Megumi scowls.
“–Now, now, show us a cuter face! I don’t want to ruin our lovely lube tech’s first day on the job. Anyway, his name’s Yuji Itadori. Try to be nice to him.”
“Nice to meet you,” Megumi tries.
Yuji grins and takes his hand even though he never offered it.
“Nice to meet you–” Yuji pauses and Gojo fills in the blank for him, leaning in to whisper in Yuji’s perked-up ear, “Fushiguro! I’ll work hard.”
Focused on not letting his arm fly out of its socket from that demonic strength, Megumi just responds, “Yeah.”
They leave Megumi be at the roll cab and wander over to the Camry that’s raised on the lift, and Gojo starts to poke and prod at its open underbelly as Yuji nods and mm’s and ah’s along to all of it, though something’s slightly off about this picture; Megumi’s staring at them because he’s not really doing jack shit right now, but he realizes Yuji’s staring back at him and Megumi turns back to the cabinet a second too late because now Gojo’s looking back and forth between both of them and nothing good could possibly come out of–
“Megumi! Come over here and run Yuji through the oil change, why don’t you?”
“What? Why? It’s your job to train him, you do it.”
“I don’t think I’ll be as effective as a teacher as you will, and I think he’s a lot more interested in you than me right now, anyway.”
Both of them turn a couple shades redder at the comment but Megumi trudges over anyway, and Yuji shuffles his feet in place a bit as he waits.
“There we go,” Gojo pats each of them on the back then hands his gloves over to Megumi. “Thanks! I gotta go now, so take good care of him!”
“What? Where are you going–”
Gojo’s gone in a blink, his special talent of disappearing on full display, and Megumi just rolls his eyes and gets back to work.
“Is he always like that?” Yuji asks.
“What, selfish and childish? Yes.”
“He’s funny, though.”
Megumi shakes his head. “It gets old after fifteen years.”
“You’ve been working here since you were five?”
“Can you grab the drain? Watch your head.” Megumi points towards the second bay and Yuji scurries there and back in seconds. “Thanks. And no, Gojo’s my, er, guardian, I suppose.”
“Seriously?” Yuji gasps and Megumi cringes a bit at the volume. “He’s, like, your dad?”
“Absolutely not. Now, focus.”
Yuji’s mouth opens to ask another question but Megumi gives him a flat look and he closes it right away. Instead he gives Megumi a stupid mock salute, complete with the straight-legged posture, and Megumi laughs a bit before getting back to explain how they do all their basic maintenance jobs. He doesn’t miss the way Yuji’s face brightens when Megumi laughs, or the way he leans in a little too close to watch what Megumi’s doing, his sweet-colored hair brushing against Megumi’s dark spikes.
–
The next day Megumi shamelessly eavesdrops on Gojo and Yuji’s conversation. He’s just one bay over so Gojo’s probably doing this on purpose, but Yuji’s definitely just too stupid to realize that just because Megumi’s under a car, doesn’t mean he can’t hear them whisper-yelling five feet away.
“So, how was your first day at work?” Gojo asks.
“It was really good! Thanks, Gojo. I’m even more excited to work here now.”
“Oh, great. Feel free to take on as many hours as you’d like.”
Don’t do that, Megumi’s face contorts in annoyance as he wrenches the splash guard off the Mitsubishi, he’s just gonna get even lazier.
“I would if I could but I have to take care of my grandpa,” Yuji says, and his voice sounds genuinely regretful.
“Don’t worry, I was just kidding around. I know you told me that during the interview. How’s he doing?”
“He’s okay. The nurses say he’s the same as always but I don’t know,” Yuji trails off, before he cuts his thoughts short with a laugh. “But it’s fine. He’s strong!”
“Yeah? That’s good.”
“Ah, is it okay if I ask a personal question?”
“Go ahead.”
“Are you, um, related to Fushiguro?”
“I’m his dad! Don’t we look alike?”
“Eh? Seriously?” Yuji shouts. “No! You don’t! Not at all!”
Megumi has to take a deep, meditative breath as he holds himself back from throwing the wrench at Gojo’s big head.
“It’s because I lied,” Gojo laughs wholeheartedly, which makes Yuji laugh, too, and their loud voices echo obnoxiously through the warehouse, “I looked after him here and there as a kid, but you can probably tell that he didn’t need much parenting at all. It’s why he’s all stoic and dark and mysterious.”
“I thought he was really nice, though,” Yuji muses out loud, “and also really smart. He did everything so quickly and neatly. I learned a lot.”
“Hm, it’s nice for Megumi to finally have a coworker his age.”
“I’m excited to be his friend.”
Megumi drops the wrench on his forehead and grunts loud enough to make Gojo start laughing at him.
“Fuck you!” Megumi yells, though Yuji comes rushing over and takes hold of Megumi’s head between his two giant hands and starts to inspect his forehead as if he could do anything about the bump that’s definitely going to form.
“Are you okay? What happened?”
“I was being stupid,” Megumi sighs. “It’s nothing serious.”
“Are you sure?” Yuji brushes his thumb across Megumi’s skin and Megumi flinches.
“Yeah, don’t worry. Thanks, though.” Megumi lets him stroke along the red spot one more time before he gently nudges Yuji’s hand out of the way. “Let me finish this job. You can go back to talking to Gojo.”
Yuji looks apprehensive but he says okay and hops back over to Gojo, who starts actually whispering now so Megumi can no longer hear what they’re gossiping about. It’s about me, Megumi thinks to himself, surely. Gojo sucks.
–
Aside from the initial Gojo-induced awkwardness, they get along rather well. They’re both just twenty-year old dudes who change cabin filters and do tire rotations all day so it’s hard not to get along, honestly, and Megumi finds himself smiling along to whatever goofy shit Yuji elects to do for the day, whether it’s showing up to work with his shirt on backwards or some accidental mishap that gets his hair drenched in old oil. Megumi never participates in his antics though, despite all of Yuji’s begging and whining, until one day Gojo assigns an expedited lightbulb fix on a Mini Cooper to Megumi and requests it to be done within the next hour while he’s still elbows deep in the undercarriage of a Macan, and Megumi genuinely has to sprawl over the fucking engine of the Mini to get into the headlight and he’s so overstimulated he thinks he might fall right in and knock the mounts astray. Yuji strolls by on his way to grab a screwdriver and starts to laugh at Megumi’s atrocious position but shuts up immediately when he sees the grave scowl on his face.
“What’s wrong? Are you stuck?”
“No, I just have to get this fucking lightbulb replaced and the placement is so fucking irritating,” Megumi huffs, “and I was in the middle of some other shit and Gojo just comes waltzing in to tell me that I’ve got to get this shit done quick, and he was saying some bullshit about diamonds are made under pressure, but come on, you can’t be fucking serious.”
“Woah,” Yuji exclaims, “I’ve never heard you curse so many times in a row.”
“It’s Gojo’s fault.” Megumi takes a second to reconsider, but fuck it, he might as well ride the wave of annoyance and make something fun out of it. “Wanna fuck with him?”
“Seriously?!”
“Seriously.”
“Finally! I’ve been waiting for this day to come,” Yuji smiles and it’s a blinding ray that shoots straight into Megumi’s heart. “What do you wanna do?”
“Let me finish this fucking lightbulb first, and then we’ll decide.”
And that’s how Megumi and Yuji end up on detailing duty for the next two days after Gojo catches them stealing screws from his magnet board.
“Whose idea was it?” Gojo asks, dangling the offending screw around in front of their faces like some sort of cartoon villain.
“Mine,” Yuji offers without hesitation.
Offended, Megumi quickly retorts, “No, it was mine. I told Yuji I wanted to mess with you because you gave me that awful job.”
“So both of you?”
They turn to look at each other for a long moment, then Megumi speaks up first.
“It was my–”
“It was our idea,” Yuji concludes for both of them.
“Okay, then you both get to clean cars tomorrow and Wednesday. What a fun little date!”
“Asshat,” Megumi grumbles, but it's without any real malice. After all, Gojo still laughs at their shitty prank attempt and rubs their heads until Megumi swats him away, and Yuji follows behind Megumi as he clocks out and heads to the parking lot.
“Detailing’s really not that bad,” Yuji offers as unnecessary consolation. “I could just do it for you. I know you were busy with the Macan.”
“It’s okay, it was just some stuff with the suspension. I think I can finish it by next week.”
“I still feel bad.”
They stop in front of Megumi’s black Fiat 124 Spider, a gift from Gojo after the owner never came back to pick it up from the shop.
“Why?”
“Because I was the one who wanted to screw with Gojo,” Yuji sighs. “Oh. Screw. Haha. Get it? ‘Cause–”
“I was the one who asked you today. You don’t have to cover for me.” Megumi’s voice comes out a bit sterner than he intends and Yuji looks a bit taken aback.
“I just didn’t want you to get in trouble.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound harsh. I just don’t like it when you take the fall for me. Plus, it’s never that serious. It’s just Gojo. He can’t fire me.”
“You think he’d fire me over that?” Yuji panics.
“No,” Megumi laughs, “He does the same shit to us all the time. He just likes to be authoritative sometimes because he’ll forget how to be a boss otherwise.”
“Oh, good. I really like working here, it’d suck to leave.”
“Aim higher,” Megumi quips before he gets in his car.
“I’m pretty happy where I am right now,” Yuji waves through the Fiat’s open window. “See you tomorrow, Fushiguro.”
–
After two months Yuji finally learns to stop working through his lunch breaks so he and Megumi can eat together. Their breaks don’t always align but when they do, they sit on the massive forty-four inch tire Gojo got for decoration and chow down on their little sandwiches, shoulder to shoulder, and Megumi listens to whatever’s racking Yuji’s mind.
“So what’s your type?” Yuji asks him around the juicebox straw tucked in the corner of his mouth.
Megumi squints at him with suspicion. They’ve still got half a day left, and this feels more like an after-hours conversation. “Why are you asking me this?”
“Just ‘cause. It’s blue-collar talk, right?” Yuuji nudges Megumi with his elbow but he’s way too strong and Megumi nearly topples off the tire.
“This isn’t that kind of place.”
“Oh.” Yuji frowns. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I thought it was just, like, dude stuff. Sorry, Fushiguro.”
His considerateness makes Megumi’s eyebrow twitch because why, why does he have to be so genuinely nice? Why wasn’t God satisfied with just making him stupidly strong and handsome? Sighing, Megumi answers, “Honest people.”
At the sound of Megumi’s response Yuji sparkles like a wilted flower that’s just been revived. “Really? Honest people? That’s so cool! I thought you were going to say something like long hair or big butts.”
“Do I seem like the type?”
Tilting his head to think, Yuuji says, “Hm, maybe? There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“What, is that your type?”
“Just the big butt part,” Yuuji laughs, “but I’m not picky about hair.”
Megumi feels the tire ribs jutting straight into his pelvic bones and just sighs.
“Well, actually, I don’t have much of a preference when it comes to guys. In fact, skinny’s kinda nice on a guy.”
Because Megumi feels like he might die if he thinks too hard about that statement, he quickly shuts the conversation down by saying, “You talk as much as Gojo does.”
It works, because Yuji giggles and scratches the back of his head.
“Shoot, that’s a lot. Sorry again, Fushiguro!”
“It’s fine.”
The conversation dies down a bit as Megumi focuses on keeping the lettuce from sliding out of his poorly constructed sandwich. He’s onto his last bite when Yuji pipes up again.
“Hey, Fushiguro, I was thinking we should hang out, like, outside of work. I think it’d be fun. We could invite Gojo if you want.”
“I don’t,” Megumi answers immediately. “I mean, I don’t want to invite Gojo. But sure, we can hang out.”
Yuji snorts and then says, “Cool! You wanna go out today?”
Megumi’s social battery begins to shriek for help at the sound of today.
“I get kind of tired after work. Maybe the weekend?”
“Sure. It’s a date, then!”
“Right.”
He’s so stupid, Megumi laments to himself.
–
Saturday rolls around and Megumi wakes up to a rushed text from Yuji.
Im so sorry fushiguro i cant go today anymore
They said my grandpas not doing good
I have to go to the hospital
Im really sorry
Can we reschedule plz
The apologies make Megumi’s blood hot.
Why are you apologizing? Just focus on your grandpa. I’m not upset at all. I hope things are okay.
He sends the text, then his fingers type, delete, type, delete, then finally type and send the next message a couple minutes later.
Which hospital is he staying at?
He reads the message over and over and his ears turn red because it sounds like a total overstepping of boundaries and it’s so not his style to be pushy like that, but he feels bad for making Yuji feel guilty. Thankfully, Yuji responds right away.
Things r okay right now
Heres the address
Megumi pulls on some decent-looking clothes and drives first to the grocery store to pick up a bundle of flowers, then to the hospital where he fumbles around at the front desk because he realizes he doesn’t know the first name of Yuji’s grandpa.
“Um, his last name is Itadori, and he’s my friend’s grandpa so I don’t really know–”
“Fushiguro!” Yuji’s unmistakable voice rings out across the waiting room. “What are you doing here? Are you visiting someone?”
“I’m here to visit your grandpa, dumbass,” Megumi jokes when he sees Yuji’s big grin. “Help me out here.”
Yuji takes him to his grandpa’s room and they meet, though it’s a bit awkward because Megumi’s not really used to speaking to elderly people, so Yuji coaches him through it. After some small talk Yuji leaves to go get tea for his grandpa, and Megumi goes with him.
“It’s really nice of you to come, Fushiguro.”
“We had plans to hang out, so it’s not a big deal.”
“It is! It’s super nice! And you were so quick about it, you showed up so fast.”
“It’s nothing, really. I’m glad he’s okay.”
“Yeah,” Yuji looks down at the cup of steaming water between his hands, “me too.”
They don’t say anything for a minute, just idling in the hallway by the water dispenser. It’s surprisingly quiet in this ward, and Megumi mentions it to Yuji.
“Oh, yeah? There’s not much going on here.”
The dark circles that rim Yuji’s eyes become clear under the white lights. They sit neatly between his lower lashes and the crescent scars on the arch of his cheekbones, and Megumi’s heart twists a little when he sees them.
In his own weird little way of being consoling, Megumi tells Yuji about his sister. "The hospital Tsumiki–my older sister–stays at is a lot busier.”
Yuji looks up from the cup and asks Megumi, “What happened to her?”
“She’s in a coma,” Megumi shrugs. “Nobody’s figured out why yet.”
“That sounds hard. I’m sorry, Fushiguro. I hope she gets better soon.”
“I didn’t tell you so you’d feel bad for me,” Megumi pats him on the shoulder, “it was so you know that I get it. It’s okay.” I’m here for you. He can’t quite get the last sentence out but Yuji seems to understand.
“We’re pretty similar,” Yuji smiles.
“Surprisingly.” Megumi smiles back, and they stick around in the hallway for a little longer, chatting quietly about this and that until the water grows cold in Yuji's hands and he remembers his grandpa's still waiting on a cup of tea.
–
Megumi keeps a closer eye on Yuji at work after that. He’s worried for Yuji, picks up on how Yuji seems to check his phone super frequently and forgets what he’s doing way more often than before. He doesn’t bring it up though because it’d probably make Yuji feel bad, and instead tells Gojo about it.
“Maybe give him a week off?” Megumi suggests as they talk in his office.
“Not unless he asks.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s grown, like you. He’ll decide for himself.”
“It’s pretty bad, though.”
“I know,” Gojo sighs, “but it’s not my place to make a move.”
That’s what Gojo says, but when he notices appointments silently get shifted to days that Yuji has off, Megumi doesn’t say a word, just picks up some extra shifts and works a bit harder.
“You care about him a lot,” Gojo says as Megumi cleans up after Yuji had left in a hurry one evening.
“I guess.”
There’s a faraway look in Gojo’s eyes and Megumi already knows what he’s thinking about, but he doesn’t need to hear the story again so he quickly adds, “I know. I’ll make sure to treasure our time together, or whatever you always say.”
–
Thankfully, things swing back to normalcy after a couple weeks. Yuji happily reports back from the nurses that things are getting much better and his grandpa’s nice and stable and grumpy as he always is again, and Yuji’s spirits, though always lifted, seem to shoot through the roof. He thanks both Megumi and Gojo profusely for helping him out during tough times and Gojo decides the best way to cap this all off is to throw a small celebration, which really just means the three of them are having hotpot at Megumi's place while Gojo pours them non-alcoholic concoctions of pineapple juice and ginger ale. After Yuji does the dishes the trio sprawl out on Megumi's couch and watch a mediocre horror film, to Megumi's great displeasure, but it's at least boring enough to make Gojo fall asleep on the one end of the sofa while Yuji and Megumi whisper about the film's shittiness on the opposite end.
Somehow, Yuji's migrated incredibly close to Megumi over the past forty minutes–when he turns to whisper into Megumi's ear his mouth is close enough to fan hot air all over Megumi's cheek and the feeling tickles him, so Megumi snaps his head to the side to tell Yuji to back up a bit. Unfortunately he comes face to face with Yuji, whose cheerful grin is dimly lit by the glow of the television.
“Oh, hey, Fushiguro. I was just gonna say, the girl runs really slow, doesn't she?”
“I think you just run inhumanly fast.”
“I just feel like if you were getting chased by a monster you'd probably run faster.”
Megumi snorts at his comment. Despite the shrieks coming from the speakers neither of them turn back towards the TV, and Megumi can't help but take the chance to ask a question he's been curious about.
“How'd you get those?” He reaches out and lightly touches the scars under Yuji's eyes.
“The marks? They're weird, huh?”
“They're interesting, not weird.”
“Oh. Um.” Yuji coughs a bit and Megumi retracts his hand. “Well, I was just born with them, so they're really more like birthmarks than scars.’
“I thought you were a delinquent or something.”
They both laugh because that's impossibly far from the truth. Then Yuji copies Megumi and runs a finger over the scar cutting through Megumi's right eye.
“What about you? Gojo told me you beat up a lot of kids back then.”
“He's exaggerating,” Megumi lies. “Plus. I never lost,” he clarifies anyway, because he refuses to let Yuji think he's walking around getting chopped up by some middle schoolers.
“That's crazy, I can't imagine you fighting people. I wanna see pictures!”
“Nope.”
“Come on. Just one!”
“Anyway,” Megumi gets back to the original point, “It's from a work accident a few years back.”
“Woah. Scary.”
“Yeah.”
“It looks cool on you, though.”
Blushing, Megumi mumbles a thanks, you too, before they get back to watching the movie. Their sides are glued together and eventually Yuji starts to go still, breath steadying in little sighs, and his head falls over onto Megumi's shoulder and Megumi lets it happen.
Sometimes later, Gojo wakes them both up and drives a half-asleep Yuji home as Megumi retreats to his bed. When he wakes up in the morning and checks his phone, he sees a text from Gojo.
It's a picture of both of them asleep on the couch, Megumi snuggled into the armrest as Yuji collapses into him, heads tucked nicely together and eyes shut peacefully against the dim light of the still-playing television.
Fuck, it's actually super cute. Megumi's stomach does a stupid flip as he zooms in and out on their faces, saves the picture twice to his gallery, and leaves Gojo on read.
–
Winter and spring pass in a blink of an eye–Megumi’s never had a friend quite like Yuji, someone who makes each tedious workday fly by and fills his weekends with things like movie premiers and arcade games and cheap restaurants. Megumi doesn't even particularly like any of those things but he goes because Yuji invites him out, only saying no when he's really, really too tired, and the best part is that Yuji never gets upset, just tells Megumi to rest and drink some hot tea so he'll be all better for the next time they hang out.
Summer, on the other hand, is a little harder. It's hot, muggy, nasty as it creeps into the AC-less warehouse, and they have to work with the constant whirring noise of three giant floor fans battling the stale heat away. The most challenging part is that Yuji's gotten comfortable enough with Megumi to start peeling off layers when it's just the two of them working. While Megumi sweats through his shop button-down like a proper, decorous individual, Yuji sweats right out into the open, the thin black tank top he wears painfully highlighting each and every muscle fiber of his stocky arms. Megumi finds himself distracted far too often, and today's another one of those days spent half-assedly torquing bolts to whatever spec his heart decides on as he steals long glances at Yuji.
His peaceful bout of perversion is interrupted by the harrowing noise of metal creaking and snapping, and Megumi, terrified, only has time to look up from where he's standing and witness the entire trunk of a Honda Odyssey coming down full force onto his face and he's got just enough time to close his eyes and apologize in his head to his sister for being a bad kid in middle school before–
“Fushiguro!”
Something hard and heavy thumps into Megumi as the sound of two tons of metal hitting concrete erupts through the warehouse and Megumi thinks this is it until he realizes the weight is on his chest, not his face, and that he's definitely still breathing and has not collapsed into a pathetic sheet metal pancake yet. In fact the warm weight is breathing, huffing, and muttering something to him, and Megumi opens his eyes to a flurry of pink resting on his chest.
“Itadori?!”
Yuji lifts his head off Megumi's chest and gets up onto his hands and knees, pinning Megumi against the concrete. “Fushiguro, you almost died just now! Holy fuck!”
Oh my God.
Megumi seriously almost died in the most Final Destination-esque way ever and yet all he can focus on is Yuji's flushed, panting, exhilarated face hovering inches above his. His eyes are huge, blown beyond comprehension, and he looks like he's about to start crying if Megumi doesn't say something right now.
It feels so stupid talking to him while lying on the floor like a total damsel in distress but Megumi starts with a simple, “Itadori, calm down.”
“I can’t, I just saw–you almost just died! Right there! There's no way you could've lived that. I'm so–I'm just so glad you're alive!”
“I can't really believe it either, if I'm being honest. I owe you a big one.”
“No, you don't. I wouldn’t just sit there and watch you get smashed to bits.”
“Thank you, Itadori.”
“How are you so calm right now?”
Honestly, Megumi’s not. There's so much adrenaline hitting him now that he feels like his body's levitating, and he definitely can't think straight, and he blames that for why he can't seem to get the fuck up or even peel his eyes away from Yuji’s beautiful, blindingly bright face.
“I'm, um, not really.”
“Oh. Do you want water? I can go get–”
“No. Just. Uh, I need to like, ground myself.” Internally, Megumi cringes. Outwardly, he powers forward. “Stay here for a second.”
“Okay,” Yuji answers innocently. He keeps his body over Megumi's, waves of heat radiating off him.
“How’d you even manage that?”
“Pushing you? I heard the noise and just jumped right into you. Thankfully it worked.”
“You shouldn't put yourself in danger like that.” You're always putting others before yourself, Megumi wants to tell him.
“I'd rather try than not.”
Megumi doesn’t argue with that. A minute of silence passes by and Megumi is starting to internalize the bizarreness of their position as his adrenaline buzz weans off, so he speaks up.
“This is so cliche.”
Realization slowly colors Yuji’s face as he babbles. “Yeah, ahahah, yeah… um… it is.”
He seriously didn't notice until now. Wow. “Are you going to get off of me then?”
Yuuji stares at him with wide eyes and worries his bottom lip between his teeth, but he doesn’t budge.
Megumi’s not about to sit here and be a victim of Hallmark movie suspense so he takes on the flattest tone he can manage with his heart thrumming against his ribcage to tell Yuji, “If you’re not going to get off, then you might as well make a move.”
The I-just-narrowly-dodged-death confidence boost must be empowering both of them because Yuji actually shuts his eyes and dips down with a smoothness that Megumi's both shocked and kind of mesmerized by, and Megumi takes a split second to close his own eyes before their lips connect. And all Megumi can think is wow, this is must be an apology gift sent from heaven because wow, wow, wow, and Yuji seems to think the same because he makes some sort of strangled whimper noise that makes Megumi want to eat him whole and he does, deepens the kiss right then and there even though it's probably inappropriately early, he can't care right now. They tilt their heads so that everything slots together even tighter and Megumi holds Yuji’s head close, fingers digging into that pink field, and when he feels Yuji's tongue prod at his lips he's worried he might pass out when he opens his mouth.
They go on like that for God knows how long, just making out on that hard floor next to the grotesque remains of some poor customer's minivan, until they hear the familiar tune of Gojo's exhaust pipe popping into his parking spot in front of the shop and they immediately leap off each other, lips so obviously shiny and swollen it makes Megumi blush.
“I got you guys drinks!” Gojo announces as he strolls in, one Starbucks cup in each hand, and looks over at the Odyssey that's been smashed into the floor, the bent lift that once held it up, and finally, Megumi and Yuji's blissful little faces. “What the fuck happened here?”
“I'm suing this time,” Megumi exhales.
Yuji, still riding the high of their first kiss, just grabs the drink out of Gojo's limp hand and slurps away.
–
Gojo gets a new lift and presents Megumi with a rather fat stack of cash as an apology. Yuji's shocked by the exchange but Megumi explains that's just Gojo's way of expressing remorse since he's emotionally inept, and together they blow the cash on some crane games and fancy sushi. They never actually talk about the kiss–Megumi doesn't want to get into it right now, it seems like a headache and a half, and Yuji probably hasn't thought about it beyond yay, kissing–but when Yuji walks Megumi back to his apartment and stops in to “grab a drink,” or whatever excuse he'd used to slip through the door, they spend the next hour making out on the couch like it's the most natural thing in the world. Eventually Megumi checks the time and realizes it’s getting way too late and shoos a reluctant Yuji out, though they do share one soft, sweet kiss in the hallway. It makes the butterflies in Megumi’s stomach vortex like a tornado, much more apparent than during either of their messy make out sessions, and Megumi is forced to admit to himself that he’s totally in over his head.
By the time his head hits the pillows Megumi’s completely exhausted, but he's glad they were able to do so much together because he doesn’t see Yuji often after that. For the first time since he'd started working, Yuji actually requests a few days off.
“Sorry Megumi,” Yuji says as they reorganize the tool cab, “I won’t be working for the next week or so.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. It’s fine.”
Megumi taps Yuji’s hand with a wrench.
“You can talk about it, if you want.”
“Uh, it’s just my grandpa, again.”
“I see.”
Yuji doesn’t elaborate so Megumi doesn’t push, and they finish putting everything back in silence. When they walk out to Megumi’s car, Yuji grabs his hand.
“Fushiguro.”
“Yes?”
“I hope I’m not giving you guys too much work.”
Megumi shrugs. “We didn’t have another tech before you, so it’s nothing new.” The pained look is still on Yuji’s face so Megumi adds, “Don’t worry too much.”
“Okay.”
Yuji squeezes Megumi’s hand and it’s surprisingly gentle. Without much thought Megumi tugs him in for a kiss.
“Good luck, Itadori. Call me if you need something.”
“Yeah. I will.”
Megumi unlocks his car door but they’re both still standing there, unsaid words hanging in the hot air. Right now Megumi can’t find the confidence to gather them up and say them, but it doesn’t seem like the right time, either, so he lets them go, wondering if Yuji’s thinking the same thing, feeling the same way as him.
The simpler thing to do, though, is just to kiss again, and it’s what Yuji does–leans over with one giant hand in Megumi’s hair and the other around his waist and holds him close as they kiss for a long moment.
“Okay, I have to go to the hospital now. Sorry we can’t see Jurassic World this weekend,” Yuji says as he parts from Megumi.
“It’s okay, I didn’t want to watch it that badly, anyway.” He offers Yuji a grin and then gets in his car so that this goodbye doesn’t drag out forever. “I’ll see you in a few.”
Waving, Yuji shouts back, “Yeah. See you!”
–
Work blows without Yuji around, Megumi quickly realizes. All he has is Gojo to help him get everything done and the hours drag by, the tasks get infinitely harder.
“How’d you ever survive without him? You owe me for hiring him.”
“I almost died twice now working for you. I think my debt’s settled.”
Gojo laughs at him but doesn’t argue, and they get back to dismantling the CVT together as Megumi finds himself counting down the days until Yuji comes back. At least he still sends memes and funny videos; it helps quell the newly formed Yuji-shaped hole in his life.
–
Yuji comes back the following week looking oddly calm. His atmosphere falls somewhere between refreshed and resolute, and it makes Megumi kind of nervous.
“I missed you,” Yuji says casually as they clock in together.
Stay calm, Megumi instructs himself. “How’d everything go?”
“Oh. Well,” a soft, private smile forms across Yuji’s lips as he looks down at the floor, then back up at Megumi. “My grandpa died.”
Megumi takes hold of Yuji’s hands and gathers his thoughts before he speaks. “I–”
“And I love you.”
What? The string of thoughts seems to have gotten somewhat tangled because Megumi doesn’t quite follow. He’s standing there with Yuji’s hands in his but he just doesn’t… really… know what to say to that. At all. His face must betray his shock because Yuji rushes to speak again.
“Sorry, let me explain. When my grandpa died, I realized that I should be honest with the people I love. He said I’m strong and I should use my strength to do good things for the people around me but you’re not really someone that needs protecting or anything like that, and well, the only other thing I could really do for you is be honest with my feelings. And you said your type is honest guys, so–”
“Itadori, your grandpa just passed away. Are you okay? Before all this stuff about me, what about you?”
Yuji’s face softens at Megumi’s concern.
“I’m okay. I knew it was going to happen. I’m lucky to have spent that time with him, anyway. And he gave me some cool parting words. The best thing I can do for him is take them to heart.”
“Okay.” Megumi still needs to take another minute to process this rollercoaster of statements. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.”
There’s only one thing left to address. Megumi sucks a quiet puff of air into his chest before saying, “And I love you, too.”
Yuji sighs with relief. “I’m so glad.”
–
By some miracle they manage to hide their relationship from Gojo for a blessed four and a half months. The facade only falls apart when Yuji fumbles and tells Gojo he’s got a date with his boyfriend on the weekend so he can’t come in to do a job on Saturday, and Gojo looks at him with a long, suspicious look before dropping a bomb.
“You know, that's very interesting because I asked Megumi earlier and he said he was also busy on Saturday. In fact, he said he was busy with,” and Gojo pauses just to be evil and savor the horrified expression slowly unfolding over Yuji’s face, “you.”
“Um, well, uh, he’s coming along, as like, a third-wheel?” Yuji offers pitifully. “Right? That’s very common and normal. We’re a friend group. A trio. You know how it is.”
“You’re awful at lying. That’s probably why Megumi’s dating you, huh?”
Yuji’s mouth flaps open and closed like a dying fish before he just sighs and shakes his head.
“Yes. It’s true. I hate denying it.”
Gojo smiles. “That’s cute. So when’s the wedding?”
Completely serious, Yuji replies, “I think it’s too soon, Gojo.”
“Hm, I suppose. Well, just don’t break up, okay? I can’t lose either of my best workers.”
“Yes, sir! I’ll be a good boyfriend!” Yuji salutes, and Gojo pats his bubbly head.
–
They’re lying in bed that night with Yuji wrapped around Megumi when Yuji confesses to his slip-up from earlier.
“Wait, he said what?”
“He said we should get married,” Yuji states matter of factly. “I mean, it’s a good point.”
“You need to stop talking to him.”
Squeezing Megumi tighter, Yuji asks, “What, you don’t want to get married?”
His tone is so pouty that Megumi splutters before he can manage a reasonable answer. “I mean, eventually! But we just started dating, and we’re broke.”
“Yay,” Yuji buries his nose into Megumi’s porcupine hair, “Fushiguro wants to marry me. I’m so happy.”
Thank God they’re not facing each other, because Megumi turns so impossibly red he’s worried he’s going to start bleeding from his nose.
He has to take a second before he can respond, “I’m happy, too.”