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The school halls ring with chatter and laughter as Itadori Yuji makes his way to class.
He had managed to make it on time today—just barely.
As he walks into the classroom, he notices the seat in which his friend, Junpei, usually sits in is occupied by someone else.
The boy was pretty, with a tall, lean build and dark, untamed, almost spiky hair, and the most piercing green eyes Yuji had ever seen.
The light coming in from the window jumped off the piercings on his lip and ears, making his features pop.
Yuji was deep in admiration when the chemistry teacher tapped his shoulder to catch his attention, making Yuji startle and look to the teacher quickly in hope he didn’t see him looking at the boy.
“Take your seat, please.” The teacher said with a smile. Yuji’s ears burned red from embarrassment.
He glanced one more time at the rather demure boy, who was, to his surprise, also staring at him.
Yuji’s breath caught in his throat as he quickly looked back to his hands sitting on his desk.
The teacher walked to the front of the class and began announcing the seating arrangements for the class.
Yuji kept an ear out for the name of the boy sitting next to him.
“…and Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro will be paired.” Yuji stops listening once the teacher says the boy’s name.
‘Megumi Fushiguro’… He etched the name into his memory.
𓆦𓆦𓆦
During lunch, Yuji was sitting with his friends when he spots Fushiguro take a seat at an empty table.
Yuji stands up abruptly. “I’ll uh- be right back!” He tells his friends. As Yuji walks across the cafeteria to Fushiguro’s table, the dark-haired boy pops an earbud into his ear, propping up his phone.
“Is he watching a—movie?” Yuji thinks to himself. Taking a seat, he gently taps the boy on the arm. “Hey, what are you watching?”
Fushiguro looks at him, slightly startled. He takes an earbud out and sits up straight. “Huh?” He says in a monotone, almost bored voice.
“I said, “Watcha watching?”” Says Yuji with a grin.
“Why do you care?” Fushiguro replies dryly. That makes Yuji’s smile shift to one of slight embarrassment.
“I don’t know, just curious, I guess.” The boy sighs.
“That’s pretty nosy of you.” Yuji chuckles, his smile widening. “Yeah? Guess I’m nosy then.”
Yuji actually wasn’t really the nosy type; he just wanted a chance to talk to him.
The boy smiles slightly. “I’m watching this old French film about—”
“Oh cool! I didn’t take you as the kind of guy who likes old stuff.”Yuji interrupts,
making Fushiguro scoff softly. His smile widening just the slightest bit.
Fushiguro eyes him a moment longer before shifting his attention back to his phone.
Yuji sighs out of boredom, slouching in his seat. Fushiguro gives him a soft glance before looking back at his phone, his cheeks turning a soft shade of pink. He puts out his hand, offering an earbud to Itadori.
“Is he offering to share?” Yuji thinks to himself as he takes it and puts it in his ear. “Oh thanks.” Yuji mutters, sitting up to watch the film, completely forgetting about his friends on the other side of the cafeteria.
A few minutes into the movie, Yuji had absolutely zero clue about what was going on; he wasn’t even watching in truth; he tried at first, but it was too boring to him, so instead, he sat in silence with his thoughts all while pretending to watch the film.
The school bell rings, and he feels a sense of relief yet also sadness, though he’s not sure why.
Yuji stands up and sits the earbud on the table. Fushiguro starts to tidy up the table while Yuji waits for him to finish.
Fushiguro looks at him. “You can go now; I’m not sure what you’re waiting for.” He mumbles.
Yuji chuckles awkwardly.
“Oh sure, right— uh sorry.” He turns away and walks back to his table.
“How have I never noticed him before?” Yuji thinks to himself while grabbing his backpack and making way to his next class.
𓆦𓆦𓆦
The soft sound of Megumi’s door closing echoes quietly throughout the hallway as Megumi flops onto his bed.
Taking in a deep sigh, he closes his eyes. The first thing he sees is the boy from school. Truth is, he’d actually had a bit of a crush on him for a while. He just never approached him.
They had the same art class, but Megumi would usually, well, lurk in the back of the classroom while Itadori would chat with his friends at the front.
Flipping to his other side, he grabs his phone and plays music. He closes his eyes and tries to fall asleep, but he can’t help but feel restless…
He groans and sits up, walking to the kitchen. He hears humming by the stove. When he turns the corner, he sees Gojo cooking what appears to be eggs.
Megumi lets out a sigh and opens the fridge. Megumi always acted annoyed with Gojo. I mean, he was annoyed with him most of the time, and though he’d never admit it, Megumi sees him as a father, and Gojo knew he did.
Ever since his own father left and he adopted Megumi and his sister, Tsumiki, Gojo always tried to act like their dad. Megumi always shot him down, and Tsumiki went along with it. Megumi wasn’t sure if she genuinely thought of Gojo that way, though he doubted she did.
Gojo leans on the counter, smiling. “So…Megumi~ how was school?~” he asks playfully.
Megumi rolls his eyes and turns to look at Gojo, leaning slightly on the fridge. “Fine. Why?” Gojo chuckles and turns back to the stove to flip his eggs.
“Just because! Can’t your old man show affection?” Megumi grabs a pear from the bowl of fruit sitting on the counter.
“You’re not showing affection. You’re being nosy.” Megumi states dryly.
“And so what if I am? I’m just curious, okay!”
says Gojo as he moves his horrible-looking eggs to a plate.
Megumi rolls his eyes, smiling slightly. “Those look terrible…” Gojo scoffs dramatically. “Hey! They so do not!”
He looks down at the burnt eggs. They were definitely terrible, no doubt about it, and they both knew he was just going to throw them away and order takeout.
“So, make any friends today?” Gojo asks while he walks to the trash can, plate in hand.
“Some guy sat with me at lunch,” his ears burn hot. He instantly regretted saying it.
“Ooooh?? So you did make a friend..? I’m actually shocked!” Megumi scoffs.
“Why is that so shocking?” “Well, you’re such a loner, y’know. I just didn’t expect you to say you actually did.”
Megumi sighs. “He’s not my friend, and I don’t intend on making any— I just..had an interaction with him is all. Not exactly declaring friendship.”
“Well, I think you should actually make some friends. It’ll be good for your mental health. You know your therapist already said so.” Says Gojo, starting to wash his plate. Megumi sighs in annoyance.
“I don’t wanna get into this. I’m going to bed..” Gojo sighs reluctantly. He always did this when his mental health came up. Gojo was always a little worried in truth, but instead of pushing, he just let him go to his room. “Night, kid…”
Laying in bed, music playing softly in the background, Megumi stares blankly at the wall, his mind overwhelmed with thoughts.
Gojo was probably right, a friend, someone to talk to, probably wouldn’t hurt… but the thought of having to maintain a friendship made him nauseous.
Even school was a struggle; he would just—space out during school, and when he was home he’d rarely go out; when he did it was against his will. Mainly he’d just sleep, listen to music, and watch movies.
Sometimes he’d sleep so long he wouldn’t even eat anything all day. Gojo always tried to push him to eat, go out, and at least come out of his room, but he’d always just dismiss his concern.
At some point Gojo made him go to therapy, and reluctantly, Megumi agreed but he never actually tried, he stayed closed off with everyone around
—including his therapist, and yeah, sure, sometimes he’d feel lonely or he’d want to talk to someone but he didn’t want to burden anyone, Gojo had enough problems anyway, and Tsumiki was a freshman at college now, so he didn’t want to bother her.
Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to let himself get close to someone and actually let himself love and be happy, but still a part of him whispers that he’s just a burden.
The next morning, walking into the school, Itadori must have seen him because before he can even walk through the school doors, Itadori is already running up to him.
“Hey, morning, Fushiguro!” Yuji says just a slight bit too loudly making Megumi chuckle lightly, walking to his locker. Following behind him was Itadori, the keychains on his bag jingling softly.
“Hey, Fushiguro? You doing anything on Friday?” Itadori asks hesitantly. Megumi’s heart speeds up. Is he asking him out? No—I mean surely not, he’s just being nice—right?
“Uh, no. Why?” Megumi asks, not daring to look at him, scared he’ll see the red tint on his cheeks.
“Well, I was wondering if maybe you’d wanna see a movie?” He says with an awkward smile. Megumi’s breath catches in his throat—he’s totally asking him out. “Uh, sure. What time?” He asks nervously, trying his hardest to appear composed.
“How’s 7:00 p.m.?”
7:00? That should be fine, right? Enough time to get food too without getting home too late. Maybe six would be better? Nah, seven was fine enough.
“Sure.” Megumi nods. “Maybe we should exchange numbers then, so I can send you the address of the theater.” Says Itadori.
Exchange numbers? Megumi wasn’t sure how he felt about that. But before he could even help it, he was already taking his phone out of his pocket.
𓆦𓆦𓆦
6:32 p.m. Friday.
Megumi stands in front of the bathroom vanity, staring into the mirror, searching for imperfections.
He was a slight bit overdressed, a crisp white button-up with black trousers and his nicest shoes. He considered a tie but thought it would be too much. He takes in a nervous breath as he sprays cologne behind his ears and on his wrists.
Trying his best to be as quiet as possible, as not to be seen by Gojo, Megumi walks to the front door, his phone in one pocket, wallet in the other.
After managing to slip out of the house quietly, he starts walking, pulling out his phone. He confirms the address and nods to himself. “Be cool.” He mutters to himself.
Once he arrives at the theater, he looks around for Itadori. He wasn’t outside the theater; maybe he was waiting inside?
Megumi was right on time anyway, so maybe Itadori was late? “Or maybe he stood me up, and the whole thing was just a prank.” Megumi thinks to himself. The thought sends a wave of anxiety throughout his body.
As soon as he walks inside the theater, the anxiety vanishes when he sees Itadori, dressed in a perfectly fitted white T-shirt paired with an unbuttoned flannel and jeans. His hair is slightly slicked back.
The sight made Megumi’s heart speed up.
This evening would not be easy.
Once Itadori catches sight of him, he smiles and walks over to Megumi. “Hey, right on time!”
Megumi nods at Itadori’s statement.
“Yep. So, what movie did you want to watch?” He looks anywhere but Itadori’s eyes, his tone slightly nervous, though Itadori didn’t seem to notice it.
𓆦𓆦𓆦
After choosing a movie and getting snacks they settle into their seats, a cola in each of their hands and a large bucket of popcorn in Itadori’s lap.
“I still can’t believe you didn’t want any popcorn, Fushiguro.” Itadori says, mumbling with his mouth full, making Megumi let out a soft laugh.
“I’m just not hungry.” He whispers, trying not to disturb anyone else. “And you can call me Megumi, if you want…”
Itadori raises his eyebrows. “Oh, okay. You can call me Yuji then.” He says with a smile so mesmerizing Megumi can’t help but stare at him a second too long.
“Uhm, Fushi—i mean, Megumi, the movie’s starting.” Itadori points at the screen, both of them shifting their attention to the movie.
Throughout the movie, Megumi kept subtly glancing at Itadori, admiring his features. At some point, Itadori noticed and turned to look at him.
Megumi looked away quickly; in that moment, he was eternally grateful for the dark setting so no one could see the pink hue that took over his face.
Megumi could hardly enjoy the movie; he just felt utterly restless. All he wanted to do was hold Itadori’s hand, but he didn’t want to be so cliché.
After quite a few moments of contemplating, he slowly reached over and lightly touched Itadori’s hand with his pinky. Itadori looked down at his hand, watching Megumi slowly intertwine his fingers with his.
Itadori’s eyes lifted to meet Megumi’s. Megumi looked back at him, leaning in slightly closer, then moving his hand back to his own lap and sitting up straight, shifting his eyes back to the screen.
“God! What is wrong with you!” Megumi thought to himself.
Once the movie ends, they walk out of the theater, not uttering a word, each of the boys visibly flustered.
“So did you like the movie?” Megumi asks awkwardly after a few moments.
“Uh—yeah, it was pretty good.” Itadori responds.“Uhm…Are you hungry? My treat.” Says Megumi says as they walk out of the building.
“Sure, I could eat.” Itadori says a bit too quickly. Megumi finally looks at him. Itadori stutters. “So uhm…what place did you have in mind?” Megumi shrugs, not taking his gaze away from him. “You can choose.”
Megumi was glad he let him choose.
Itadori was a big-time foodie; he knew all the good places in the area.
They ended up going to a cozy little place whose menu mainly consisted of comfort food. Not that Megumi cared about food, because he really didn’t; he just wanted this night to go on as long as possible.
Sitting across him was Itadori, absolutely destroying a curry-filled croquette, the crumbs falling onto his plate and lap. Megumi had ordered the same thing, but he’d finished before him.
The moment was peaceful, no talking, just eating and stealing glances. He could do this forever.
Once Itadori finished his food, he sighed in pleasure. “That was so good.” He says with a content smile, looking at Megumi. Megumi nods in agreement; it was pretty good.
“Hey Megumi? About—what happened in the theater…” Megumi flushes instantly. “Don’t worry about it.” Says Megumi says much too fast, avoiding his gaze.
“No, I wasn’t complaining; I just…I just wanted to say that I didn’t mind it…” Megumi’s cheeks feel hot suddenly. He doesn’t reply immediately, just looks at him for a moment and nods. “Me neither…”
𓆦𓆦𓆦
Megumi walked Itadori home after paying for dinner, staring at Itadori most of the the way there.
“You really didn’t have to walk me home, yknow.” Itadori says with a lighthearted tone.
“It’s no bother, where you live is on route to my house anyway.” Megumi says softy.
That was a lie, he lived on the other side of the city.
“Oh— okay then. I just don’t want you to go through any trouble for me.” Itadori says uncertainly.
“Don’t worry about it, it’s no worry.” Megumi says with a reassuring smile.
Once they arrive at Itadori’s house Megumi walks him all the way up to the door.
“Good night, Itadori. I’ll see you at school.”
Megumi starts to turn to leave when Itadori gently touches his wrist.
“Wait…you’re not even going to kiss me good night?” Says Itadori with a cheeky grin.
Megumi knew he was joking but he still took the opportunity and slowly leaned in, his hand going to rest on Itadori’s hip, slightly pulling him forward before firmly pressing his lips into Itadori’s.
Pure pleasure spreads throughout his body, he’d been wanting to kiss him since he first saw him.
Itadori’s arms wrap around Megumi’s neck, angling his head sideways with a soft sigh.
After a moment Megumi breaks the kiss gently, his hand resting on Itadori’s hip.
“I’m should get going home…” Megumi whispers, not breaking eye contact with Itadori.
Itadori nods. “Yeah..sure, right.” He mutters.
Megumi gives him a slight smile before turning to leave.
“Good night, Yuji.”