Chapter Text
You have a problem, a relatively big, human-sized problem that is currently standing at the doorstep of your room without even bothering to close the door, and staring at you so smugly that it feels almost creepy.
With hands on her hips and a dangerous glint in her eyes, Nobara looks way too interested for it to be one of her regular visits.
These visits are practically an everyday thing that at these point are a routine. Since her room is quite literally next to yours, about twenty steps away, naturally she treats it as an extension of hers, as well as the other way around. It’s not a rarity to have her hanging out here in pajamas, doing assignments or overall pestering you with the best intentions in heart.
Though, looking at her now and noticing the way she suddenly clears her throat as if getting ready for something, you start doubting the said intentions.
“A little birdie told me something interesting,” she says, looking all too pleased with herself. “Anything you want to fess up to?”
Her question has you fully pausing your phone-scrolling bed session for good. You put it away, screen down just in case.
“Can I get a hint?” you ask, finally sitting up and feeling increasingly suspicious that she is not walking into the room fully, since she never really has a problem with it.
“Oh, I’ll give you a hint. Actually, I’ll spell it out,” she grins. “You and Fushiguro coming back from a mission together and all cozy.”
The last name purposefully said loud and clear for the whole hallway to hear has you reacting no worse than a sleeper agent in response to a trigger. You spring up from the bed to pull her further into the room before urgently peeking out into the hallway. With her delighted cackle, you look left, right, then forward, just in case. Met with an empty space, a ton of closed doors and dust specks floating around untouched, you close the door with as little sound as possible.
Before you’re even done, Nobara is in your bed.
Telling her about your little…infatuation might have been the biggest mistake ever. Now that she never misses an opportunity to bring it up, she’s getting more loud and bold about it with each passing day.
“First of all, that’s not even true,” you begin, intending to give a very clear and concise explanation on how that definitely did not take place, but unfortunately for you, she finds another thing to latch on to before you can even get into it.
“Aw, is that a blush I see?” she coos, getting even more comfortable on the mattress and tucking her legs under her as if ready for more entertainment.
You are one hundred percent sure that you aren’t blushing, but now that she mentioned it, an embarrassed flush does start crawling up. You get a hold of yourself fast; even manage to mimic the pose that she did before to try and look more confident about it, thought judging by a tilt of her head, you’re doing an average job.
“Like I said, that’s not what happened. We finished out part of the mission faster and were let go. That’s it.”
Group assignments, group projects, and group missions are all a regular part of the studying process here. But since the missions with four people on them often get a bit crowded, you are almost always divided into pairs and given different tasks. Today, it just so happened that you and Megumi were done with your tasks much faster than the timer intended.
“Which is why you two decided to leave me and Itadori behind and go on a little scenic trip?” she says, clearly reaching her own conclusions already and paying no mind to you energetically shaking your head ‘no.’
You get close enough to her to sit on the bed too just so that the conversation can be a tiny bit quieter. After all, the walls around the dorm rooms aren’t exactly the world’s most reliable when it comes to noise-cancellation.
“Which is why Gojo-sensei sent us on our merry way back here.”
“With no supervision?”
You nod to that.
It’s not exactly a standard practice to let the students come back to campus unaccompanied, but after saying something along the lines of trusting the two of you to be responsible enough to not get lost on your way to the train, all he did was wave.
Nobara is clearly suspicious of that, but when a brand new idea hits, the little wrinkle on her forehead is suddenly gone.
“I see...did you get to lean on him when the train suddenly stopped? Or maybe there were not enough empty seats and the train was just so crammed that you had no choice but to sit on his lap and-“
After getting elbowed she not only ‘ow’s but also gives you a little glare.
“What is this, a movie?” you ask, knowing that your vow to not react to her very obvious provocations has already failed. “Besides, we took a taxi, not a train.”
A pensive look she gives you is not a good sign, at least not when it comes to the topic of her imagining all sorts of romantic escapades.
Her level of investment in this never ceases to amaze you. When you first met, as well as weeks after, she seemed like the type that could not care less, but ever since you shared your interest with her, she has become in expert in every love-related field, and a rabid supporter. Probably has something to do with an opportunity to not only be an integral part of someone’s personal business, but also tease them about it relentlessly, since, apparently, it’s fun.
“Does this mean he sat next to you?” she inquires.
“Not really.”
“Did you guys talk a lot when driving?”
“Nope.”
“Did he at least open the car door for you?”
“No?”
Judging by her facial expressions, each new ‘no’ further cements her belief that the two of you are at the very least hopeless. With a disappointed sigh and a change in demeanor she goes on, her arms now crossed over on her chest.
“Okay, let me guess, the two of you split the cost of the ride and then went back to the dorm in full silence like two monks?”
When an immediate confirmation does not follow, she gives you a surprised look while you practically stiffen. Suddenly, she is not all that disappointed anymore. In fact, she turns fully on the bed to you, even leans in close to try and meet your gaze as if looking for a verbal answer even when it’s pretty obvious.
“You know what, I’ll give Fushiguro credit for this one,” she concludes and finally leaves you be for now.
The truth is, the ride really was silent, but definitely not an uncomfortable kind. During the mission, the two of you talked a lot. Even though the two of yoyou have been paired up on more than a few occasions, it never ceases to amaze you how quickly he adjusts to any task, how willing to help he is, how he plans and thinks things through, doesn’t question your abilities, doesn’t doubt you, lets you rely on him the same way he relies on you…
“Oh, my, what are we thinking about?” Nobara muses, finding her usual groove again.
Despite it being a designated mission day for every first-year student around here, she is never too tired for this.
You have half a mind to change topics and try to ease her into a more neutral conversation that does not involve you being emotionally terrorized because of the continuous awkward attempts at establishing your love life, when you recognize a familiar sound coming closer, your head turns in the direction of it like a dog to a whistle.
Nobara notices too, but doesn’t seem to think anything of it. All she does is take an expectant look at the door, clearly having no clue about the split-second decision being made.
“Get under the bed.”
When her eyebrows shoot up, she is more flabbergasted than offended even when you yank her off the sheets.
“Huh?!”
The thing is, Megumi never comes over unannounced. Yes, he does live half a corridor away. Yes, he does acknowledge you in the hallways and sometimes even walks with you. But the purposeful stride over to your room is so new, that the only possible answer on your mind is that he wants to talk privately.
Is it rational? No. Does it have logic behind it? Also no. Is it better than jumping out the window to avoid the conversation altogether? Yeah. Moreover, it does feel right in the moment of a possible opportunity to talk to him on his own initiative.
“Are you crazy? It’s dusty and I can’t even fit in there,” she hisses, but doesn’t actively protest your sudden burst in energy that has you dragging her with you. The space under is indeed way too narrow. “He can literally sense that I’m here by cursed energy alone,” she whispers as you look around the room with her hand clutched in yours.
The wardrobe is too crammed, the space behind the door too obvious. You tug her over to the glass sliding door that leads into the small fenced off, garden-like area.
Since the number of students isn’t exactly at an all-time high, the accommodations given to everyone are relatively luxurious, with every room including a tiny nature nook just a door away. There isn’t much to do there but breathe the fresh air, which has always been alright by you.
“Lucky me it’s not winter,” she grumbles and weasels out of your hold, clearly preferring to save some dignity and slip out of the room into the nature’s embrace on her own terms. “You owe me for putting up with this one, got it?”
With a decisive nod, you hurry to close the door. When she just stands there trying to look mad, you have to gesture for her to at least move over. One eye-roll and a dramatic sigh later, she takes a few steps away to the side and away from the view.
You stiffen when a knock to the door is heard. It’s calm, measured, very Megumi-like.
You press your cold palms up to your forehead and cheeks to cool down a little and make sure you don’t look red in the face, before counting up to five in your head and moving to crack the door open. You throw one last look Nobara’s way. Thankfully, she diligently stays out of view for now.
His expressions often seem unreadable, but in the time you’ve known him, what’s considered a blank stare by most is easily distinguishable by you. He is not nearly as indifferent as he is often interpreted. Of course, he is irritable sometimes, stern, even a bit aloof, but the way his eyes seem to soften just a fraction at the door creaking open is none of those three things in the slightest.
Seeing him in his uniform makes your eyes curiously jump up straight to his face. Usually, when off missions and training, he prefers casual stuff and more informal wear which you are almost more used to at this point. Considering how today is supposed to be a rest day since your mission ended, his attire is a bit out of place.
“Hi,” you greet, despite having seen him today already for hours straight and talking to him for at least a quarter of a duration of that time. “Is everything okay?”
After getting off the taxi and climbing all the way up the stairs from the foot of the mountain up to the actual campus you parted ways almost right away. He had some meeting he needed to attend, while you wanted to decompress and relax after talking his ear off during the entirety of your relatively short hike up. It’s barely been a few hours since then.
“Yes. I just came to make sure you saw the announcement.”
For about three second you stare at him blankly, trying to piece his words together and figure out what that means. Seeing your confusion, he goes on:
“About today’s training,” he explains, clearly studying your expressions for some sort of a sign that you’ve heard about that. “I saw that you didn’t read the message and though I’d make sure you’ve heard.”
Clearly recognizing that you’re missing something, you dive back into the room for your phone that was abandoned when Nobara first barged in. The opening is enough for his eyes to briefly sweep over the room before politely looking away and waiting for you to be back.
With your phone now in hand, you wander back over to him as you check for the notifications. A pretty important one pops up right away.
For everyone’s convenience, aside from the traditional methods of informing students, some of the informal ones are used too. Considering how low the number of students is, there’s a group chat for everything. The one including the first-year students, as well as Gojo-sensei as a person responsible for them, displays a clear message:
‘Exciting news: additional training for today to work on your physical abilities! Be in a good mood and ready within the next hour. No absences.’
The only two reactions to the teacher’s message are a thumbs up from Yuji, and a thumbs down from Nobara. Considering how it was sent around forty minutes ago, there isn’t much time until the group training session starts.
You don’t even notice the silence stretching until he speaks up again.
“You will be there, right?”
“Oh, of course! I just need five minutes to change,” you say, trying to silently figure out whether he is offering to wait for you. “Do you want to come in?”
You can practically see the gears shifting in his head in response to the invitation. Though now that you think about it further, inviting someone in when planning to change isn’t exactly the best idea there. Judging by him briefly scratching the back of his neck and looking away, he comes to the same conclusion. You freeze up at that.
“Uh…I’d rather wait out here.”
When it seems like the situation couldn’t get more awkward, he speaks again.
“Is Kugisaki with you?”
Well-aware that her presence is likely obvious enough, hence why he is asking, the lie you come up with is fast, but maybe not the best possible one:
“Her…um, yeah, she got lightheaded and needed to get some air,” you assure, pointing in the general direction of the garden with you thumb. “I’ll get her, we’ll be out soon.”
With his hands now stuffed in the pockets of his pants, he takes a step away but sticks around regardless, very obviously intending on actually waiting. Since the conversation is clearly not turning out to be your best, you at least try and smooth the landing.
“Five minutes, okay? Just…don’t go anywhere.”
A curt nod from him is enough of a reassurance that he’ll be there when you open the door again, so with no anxiety and just a tiny bit of embarrassment from inviting him in without thinking it through, you slip back into the safety of your room, leaving him out in the hallway.
As if sensing the less than ideal end of the conversation, Nobara is already standing on the other side of the glass, arms still crossed. The first thing she does when you open for her to get back in from the outside, is give you a measured shove.
“Next time stuff me in the closet, so I can at least hear what’s going on,” she complains, clearly more upset about missing the conversation than being banished.
You give the same measured shove back to her, which she laughs at.
“And you warn me about an upcoming training if you’re barging into my room and clearly seeing that I’m clueless about it.”
She waves it off dismissively.
“I was going to tell you eventually. It’s not my fault we had a more important topic to discuss,” she shrugs, walking over closer to the entrance into the room and leaning in as if trying to hear. Whatever she hears seems to confirm her suspicions that Megumi is still around. “Look at you getting a personal escort.”
The word itself might be normal, but the tone she says it with makes you sigh tiredly as you dig your uniform out of your not-so-organized shelf.
“First of all, don’t call him that, second of all, it’s not my escort. It’s our escort.”
“Yeah-yeah. And yet somehow, our escort never comes to pick me up from my room.”
“Might have something to do with you calling him a hermit every half an hour.”
Obviously not seeing anything wrong with that, she doesn’t even bother acknowledging your words. Though the way her look turns more calculating means one thing only: she is planning something.