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Yuuji laid on his bed, sprawled across the mattress, one foot dangling off, with his arms above him holding the latest edition of Shounen Jump. His dorm's sliding door was slightly open, letting the warm summer breeze softly billow through his curtains. His phone softly played music from his, Nobara's, and Megumi's shared playlist, some western soft pop song, undoubtedly Nobara's, playing quietly through the speakers. He felt totally, and completely relaxed.
BANG BANG BANG
Key word, felt. Past tense. He groaned quietly, hoping that whoever it was would take his silence as him being asleep and leave him alone. Tragically, he had no such luck as the banging started again and a familiar voice yelled through the wood.
"Itadori Yuuji, you have five seconds to put some clothes on before I come inside. If I open this door and you're naked, I'm going to put nails through your skull," came Nobara's voice, somehow louder than the assault she was making on his door. He looked down at the sweatpants and hoodie he was wearing, and deemed himself officially un-naked enough for her to enter his room. He wasn't wearing socks, but she would just have to deal.
He had just enough time to bookmark his page and pause his music before his door swung open, Nobara dramatically covering her eyes with her hands and peeking through her fingers. "Oh, good," she said calmly, as if she hadn't just nearly punched a whole through his door, "You're clothed."
"You act like I make it a habit of being naked all the time. What do you want?"
"I don't know what you and Megumi get up to when I'm not here and I'm not about to find out," Yuuji opened his mouth to ask what that meant, but Nobara carried on. "We're having a party tonight. Yuuta's room, be there or I will make good on my threat from earlier." And with that, she turned on her heals and slammed the door.
"What time?" Yuuji yelled back, because she gave absolutely zero details and he and Megumi were supposed to get dinner later and oh, maybe that's what she meant.
Yuuji and Megumi weren't together, but he had definitely noticed the shift in their relationship following… everything that happened. They were balancing extremely precariously on a tightrope, something a little more than friends but just short of something deeper. They hadn't talked about it, but he knew they both noticed the not-so-subtle change. Megumi spent more time in Yuuji's room than his own, and their nights were often spent with their sides melded together as they watched some D-list movie on Yuuji's laptop. Megumi always complained by huffing and mumbling comments about Yuuji's shitty taste, but he always humored him and watched with full attention to the end. They would discuss the movie after it ended, with both of them turned on their sides and faces inches apart.
On nights when they were both especially exhausted, they'd end up falling asleep like that, with their limbs tangled together in the morning. Yuuji often woke up to Megumi's head on his chest, ear pressed right over his heart as if he was checking it was still beating. Some mornings he woke up tucked into Megumi's side, face nestled deep into the junction between his collar and jaw and his arm protectively holding him closer.
They never talked about it when they were both awake, but they were long past flinching away, avoiding each other's eyes and pretending it didn't happen.
Yuuji was shaken by his musings to a buzz coming from his phone, and it was a text from Nobara telling him to be at Yuuta's room by no later than 8 PM. He supposed that would work, since he and Megumi were going for dinner at 6. He checked the time and saw that he still had about an hour before he had to leave, so he turned back to his manga and resumed his playlist.
Yuuji heard Megumi's door open just as he opened his, and they fell into step side-by-side as they walked towards the doors that would bring them to Jujutsu Tech's entrance. Ijichi sat in the car waiting diligently for them, and they hopped in the back seat with apologies for the wait on their tongues. Ijichi waved them off and took off.
"Did Nobara tell you about Yuuta's party tonight?" Yuuji asked as they drove off the school's grounds and down the mountain.
"She did. Are you going?"
"She kinda threatened bodily harm if I didn't. You?"
"Same."
Yuuji huffed a laugh; Nobara seemingly made her rounds around the dorms recruiting people. He knew that Megumi wasn't huge on parties, and if Yuuji was being honest he really wasn't either, but Megumi going gave Yuuji more of an incentive to go. He loved his friends, truly and wholeheartedly, but their parties could get a little… much.
Ever since Shinjuku, the students started hanging out all together more often. Hakari would bring booze, and at first no one but him and Kirara would touch it. Hakari would call them all squares, but none of them felt very inclined to get fucked up after dealing with such intense trauma, and half of them were on pretty heavy painkillers which put drinking out of the equation. Hakari eventually stopped badgering them at Kirara's request, but after a few months of intensive recovery, and them being allowed to taper off heavy pain medication, Nobara was the first one to cave and take one of the beers Hakari brought. Maki followed suit, followed by Toge, then Yuuta, then lastly, Yuuji and Megumi.
Yuuji was still a bit apprehensive about any sort of substance use, as he was still a minor, but Megumi pointedly reminded him that he had gambled before and, after everything they went through, they deserved the chance to let loose and relax a little bit, especially since they were in the trusted presence of their friends.
Yuuji and Megumi sat in comfortable silence for the rest of the drive, and soon enough Ijichi was dropping them off at their destination.
"I'll be around, so just give me a call when you're done and I'll come pick you up," he said kindly as they exited the car. They both gave him their thanks and walked into the restaurant. It was a quaint little thing, but it was bustling with people just getting off work and looking for a quick, cheap, and delicious meal.
Yuuji had happened upon this place accidentally one night when he was on a late-night run. His thoughts had been plaguing him and sleep had been eluding him, so he decided to burn his excess energy off. He ran down the streets of Tokyo, still bustling with people but not quite as busy as it was during the day. A lot of places were still open, but this one in specific had caught his eye. Specifically, the decorations he saw inside.
Yuuji had never been a huge sports fan, only occasionally keeping up with baseball and maybe soccer if the World Cup was happening. He never paid much attention to anything outside of those two sports, especially not volleyball. But this restaurant had volleyball jerseys and photos and newspaper clipping framed all along the walls. He stopped running to gaze inside, but decided he wasn't interested in some gimmicky volleyball-themed restaurant when he didn't really care about the sport. He was about to start running again when a couple walked out, the smell wafting through the open doors reached his nose, and he immediately changed his mind.
He walked inside, which gave him a closer look to the wall decorations. There were the jerseys and the pictures he saw outside, but now that he was inside he could tell the jerseys were from different teams. There were four red jerseys hung in a grid pattern on the left wall, with pictures and newspaper articles framed and hung to the left of the jerseys. On the other wall four more different colored jerseys hung, all with the same names as the red jerseys, but some of them had different numbers. More pictures adorned the wall, and some of the newspaper clippings were dated as far back as 2012. Yuuji absently wondered if this guy had some sort of relationship with the players hanging on his wall, or if he was some kind of crazed superfan that should warrant concern for the players' safety.
A kid who didn't look much older than Yuuji took his order after he carefully considered the menu, and once he took a bite of the onigiri he decided with certainty that he'd never had better onigiri in his life, and he'd never find something that would compare.
Since then, Yuuji had tried bringing Megumi with him whenever he went, but it never worked in their favor. Now that they both finally had a free night, besides their party later, Yuuji was eager to bring Megumi and open his eyes to the best damn onigiri in the country.
They walked in the building and it was slightly busier and more staffed than the last time he was here, but the staff worked impressively efficiently. They made their way to the front of the line in no time at all, and Yuuji gave the cashier both of their orders. They opted to sit in a booth against the right wall, this one just underneath the grid of different colored jerseys.
"I think the owner likes volleyball, but I can't really tell," Yuuji joked, passing his gaze over the jerseys.
"What gives you that impression?" Megumi snarked back, looking curiously at the names.
"Just a hunch," Yuuji shrugged. "You big into volleyball?"
"Kind of, but I don't really keep up with it. The names seem familiar though, I'm sure I've seen them talked about online. I wonder if the owner knows them, or if we should be concerned about these four players in particular."
Yuuji let out a loud, hard laugh at that. "Dude, that's exactly what I said! But one of the jerseys has the same name as the restaurant, maybe there's some relation there? Unless it's a total coincidence," Yuuji mused.
"Maybe the owner lives a double life," Megumi dryly added. They were interrupted by their food being brought out, and Yuuji eagerly watched Megumi take his first bite. His expression remained passive, but Yuuji spent enough time staring at Megumi to know he was thoroughly impressed. His eyes widened ever so slightly as he chewed carefully, and the every-present tension in his shoulders seemed to have eased slightly.
"Good, huh?" Yuuji teased, finally taking a bite of his own food.
"It's decent," Megumi replied, but he couldn't hide his feelings behind nonchalance around Yuuji. He knew Megumi knew that, because he gave Yuuji a small, private smile as he took another bite.
They both ate in relative silence, which was only interrupted by Yuuji singing praises about the flavor and Megumi humming in agreement. Megumi had, surprisingly enough, finished his food before Yuuji. It was such a rarity that Yuuji couldn't keep his knowing smile off his face, earning him a kick to the shin from Megumi. Yuuji just curled his ankle around Megumi's leg under the table as he huffed and took his phone out to scroll while Yuuji finished eating.
Yuuji took this moment to just… look at Megumi. The lingering scars from Shinjuku remained, but in the following months Yuuji saw the light slowly return to his eyes. It was a hard adjustment for all of them, getting used to living without the lingering fear of Sukuna hanging over their heads, and every time Yuuji looked in the mirror he expected to still see the slits on the peak of his cheekbones. He still wasn't quite used to his head being so… quiet, either.
Sukuna didn't talk to him a lot most of the time, and tended to make an appearance to taunt him or remind him that he was at fault for Shibuya and everything that happened after up until he took over Megumi's body. He was sure Sukuna was doing the same thing to Megumi while using him as a vessel, but Megumi didn't like to talk about it, so Yuuji didn't push him.
Megumi's eyes were half-lidded as he scrolled impassively through his phone, his hand supporting his head where it rested under his chin. It almost made him look like he was pouting, but Yuuji knew that was just how he looked. It was endlessly endearing. His hair was getting a little long, and he noticed Megumi kept trying to sweep it out of his eyes only for it to settle back in its original place. Annoyed, Megumi huffed a sigh and gave up.
Yuuji reached over and gently pushed his bangs back, tucking them behind his ear as best he could and let his fingers linger over Megumi's cheeks as he slowly pulled his hand away. Megumi glared at him, but he felt him nudge his head slightly further into Yuuji's hand. Yuuji felt the smile on his face get bigger as his heart raced faster, and turned to finish the rest of his onigiri.
Once Yuuji finally finished, they cleared their garbage and went outside, where Ijichi was waiting dutifully across the street. They climbed in the backseat, and they let the drive go by in content silence until they got back to campus.
Nobara was, expectedly, waiting for them when they arrived. She grabbed them both by the sleeves and dragged them to Yuuta's room, both boys knowing better to complain. It wouldn't get them anywhere or anything but a fist to the back of the head, anyway.
Nobara none-too-gently pushed the door open and ushered Yuuji and Megumi inside. Yuuta, Toge, Maki, Hakari, and Kirara were already there, and Yuuji sheepishly waved as a half-hearted apology for being the last to arrive. Mainly for appearances sake, as he enjoyed his and Megumi's dinner together far too much to actually be sorry. Nobara breezed past them and sat herself on Maki's lap as Yuuta told them to help themselves to whatever alcohol was on his desk. Yuuji walked over and grabbed two beers for him and Megumi and sat down next to him.
"Raging party you got going on," Megumi snarked as he took the beer from Yuuji's hand, though the small smile on his face reached his eyes and it cancelled out any rudeness in his statement.
"It just started, smartass. We were waiting for you two," Nobara shot back, sticking her tongue out at Megumi petulantly. "Hakari managed to get some weed so we waited for you guys to get here before lighting up."
"How the fuck did you manage that?" Yuuji asked incredulously, looking over at Hakari with shock written all over his face.
"I know a guy who knows a guy," Hakari said vaguely as he shrugged, and then did not elaborate further.
"How do we know it's not laced?" Megumi asked, raising a dubious eyebrow in Hakari's direction. It was a good question, one that Yuuji hadn't even considered.
"I know of the guy and he seems trustworthy." When no one was comforted by that, Hakari huffed and tried again. "I smoked some before I came over to make sure, you wet blankets."
Yuuji hid a laugh behind a cough, and the group decided that was as trustworthy of a response that they'd be getting. Since Hakari smoked it and didn't die or start experiencing hallucinations — to their knowledge — they unanimously decided that was good enough.
"If we're going to smoke, we should go outside. Yuuta probably wouldn't appreciate his room reeking of weed," Maki pointed out as she patted Nobara's hip, silently indicating she wanted her to get up. Nobara rose to her feet and extended a hand to help Maki up as the rest of them also got to their feet.
"Yes please," Yuuta nodded in agreement, albeit a bit sheepishly. "I don't necessarily hate the smell, but Toge is a bit sensitive to it." Toge nodded sagely at his side as he brought his arms up to make an X shape over his chest.
The group walked out the patio door in Yuuta's room and stood in a circle as Hakari grabbed a plastic tube from his pocket. He shook a blunt out and held it up to his lips as he lit up, taking a deep inhale and passing it to Maki as he exhaled the smoke through his nose. Yuuji muffled another giggle as Megumi elbowed him in the ribs, but he saw the small, amused smile on his face, too.
Maki took a hit and passed it to Nobara who, in a bout of overconfidence, over-inhaled and promptly began hacking and coughing. Maki hammered on her back which, honestly, did more harm than good, but she somehow effortlessly caught the water bottle Hakuri tossed to her while she did so. Nobara recovered enough to take the water handed to her as she glowered at Yuuji, who was doing a horrible job at hiding his laugh. She practically slammed the blunt into Yuuji's outstretched hand, nearly extinguishing the glowing embers.
"Thank you," he muttered as he brought the blunt to his lips, being careful to inhale slowly so as to not make the same mistake as Nobara. He didn't notice the affronted look he sent her until he opened his eyes again.
"What?"
"Nothing," she muttered, rolling her eyes. Yuuji hummed and passed it to Megumi, next.
"Thanks," he said as he took it, gently brushing his fingers against Yuuji softly. Yuuji heard what sounded like "seriously?" she uttered from her mouth, but he was still thinking about Megumi's hands on his.
The blunt got passed around as they made easy conversation. Hakari got sick of standing after his second hit, and the others decided they'd rather be sitting as well. Nobara managed her second hit without further complications, and she handed it back to Yuuji. He took it with another "thank you," but he didn't even it the blunt to his lips before Nobara stood up and stomped her foot.
"Why are you being so polite?" She yelled more than she asked, "I've seen you die, you've seen me die! Why am I your colleague?"
He was barely able to ask what the fuck she was talking about when she barrelled on further.
"You might as well be asking about the weather! Stop pissing me off or you're out of the rotation," she finished with a growl, roughly sitting back down and leaning back against Maki with a huff. Yuuji gaped at her for a moment, then decided he didn't feel like unpacking whatever that was.
He exhaled his smoke, still gazing puzzedly at her, when he handed the blunt to Megumi.
"Thank you, Yuuji," Megumi said, face seemingly impassive except for the glint of amusement in his eyes. Yuuji felt a light bulb go off in his head.
"No, no, Thank you, Megumi," Yuuji grinned, leaning forward and extending an arm out beside him for flourish. He felt Nobara's sharp eyes on him.
"Yuuji, truly, you have no idea how grateful I am. Thank you," Megumi urged, clasping his palms in front of him. Oh, Yuuji thought, this is going to be so fun.
"Megumi-san, I insist, the pleasure is all mine," Yuuji insisted as he stood up, bowing at the waist. Megumi swallowed, his lips twitching as he held back a laugh. Yuuji felt a little breathless at the sight, Megumi's eyes filled with mirth, his jaw visibly clenched from trying to fight back a smile. He looked beautiful, and Yuuji thought he was a little—a lot—in love with him. Yuuji also thought Nobara was about to blow a gasket, and he had to fight extra hard to swallow his laughter.
"Can you just pass the blunt please? The rest of us don't deserve to be subjected to this mating ritual," Nobara huffed, crossing her arms. "Maki, do something!" Maki adjusted her glasses and shrugged her shoulders, choosing to stay as uninvolved as possible. "If you guys don't knock it off I'm going to make sure you have the worst fucking high of your life. I knew I was right to add you both to my nightmare blunt rotation last week."
Yuuji and Megumi nearly cracked at that, both of them covering up their laughter with coughing. Nobara glared at them harder, and made a gesture with her hand indicating them to move their little performance along.
"Yuuji-kimi, please," Megumi began slowly, shifting his body into dogeza, and fuck if that wasn't the funniest goddamn thing Yuuji had ever seen. The -kimi, the dogeza, everything was just so… funny. Maybe it was the weed, maybe it was the feeling of being safe enough to even be smoking in the first place, but Yuuji's heart swelled so much he was surprised it didn't burst out of his chest a second time.
Yuuji finally passed the blunt, borderline in hysterics, as Megumi peeked his head up the slightest bit to actually take hold of the blunt. He sat back up, paused for a second, and kissed Yuuji's cheek.
Wait.
What.
Megumi pulled back slowly after leaving that feather light kiss on the scarred skin. Yuuji felt his eyes blow wide as he stared at Megumi, the same lips that were just pressed against his cheek now wrapped gently around the blunt. Yuuji's throat suddenly felt very, very dry.
He thought he faintly heard Kirara giggle and Nobara groan in frustration, but the ringing in his ears and the cotton in his throat made it hard to focus on anything but Megumi.
Yuuji thought he deserved an award for his outstanding patience, because he managed to hold himself back for the duration of Megumi's hit, and only when the blunt was passed safely to Yuuta did he sit up on his knees, place his hands on Megumi's jaw, and kiss him.
Megumi was still for an endless moment, and Yuuji almost pulled back, but then Megumi placed one hand on Yuuji's wrist and used the other to pull him closer by his shirt, and he was kissing him back in earnest.
Yuuji could smoke all the weed in the world and it wouldn't compare to the high he felt while kissing Megumi. His scarred skin was rough beneath his hands and his hair was soft between his fingers. His lips felt like coming home.
Yuuji didn't care about Nobara's grumbling complaints or about their audience, and he could tell Megumi didn't either. His grip on Yuuji's wrist tightened, but his other hand moved from his shirt to the nape of Yuuji's neck, where he gently scratched at Yuuji's undercut. Yuuji felt a shiver wrack through his body and he tried to pull Megumi impossibly closer. Megumi's tongue gently swiped across Yuuji's bottom lip, and he felt his brain short circuit. He opened his mouth to let him in, and—
"Ahem?"
Yuuji almost pulled away completely on impulse, but Megumi's hand tightened its grip on his neck, keeping him in place.
"Yes?" Megumi asked, slightly out of breath but very annoyed.
"If you two are done being gay, it's your turn for the blunt."
Yuuji blinked. How was it already Yuuji's turn again? He cast a glance around the circle, and sure enough the blunt was back in Nobara's hands, which were extended towards Yuuji. Yuuji just stared at it for a second as Nobara waving it around expectantly.
He was torn. He had a very pleasant buzz going from the weed, but he had an even better buzz from Megumi's lips against his own. He felt Megumi's thumb rub gentle circles in his wrist, and he decided it wasn't all that hard of a decision. He made a move to stand up as Megumi followed, and he grabbed his hand as Yuuji turned to look at Nobara again.
"Sorry, Nobara, we're done for the night. Feel free to keep going without us!" Yuuji announced, walking maybe a bit too quickly toward the patio door back into Yuuta's room. He heard Nobara scoff again as she said something that sounded like as if we need your permission.
Megumi's hand tightened in his as they walked back to Yuuji's dorm, and Yuuji felt the blur in their relationship become crystal clear.