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The sun sat high and lazy over the field, gilding the grass gold. Satoru sprawled back on his elbows, legs stretched out, black shorts, white tee catching a warm afternoon breeze, in his round glasses.
It was great afternoon. peaceful, even. Not a mood the strongest sorcerer got to enjoy often.
"Gojo-senpai! Look what I got!"
He turned before the voice even fully registered—some part of him always tuned to that voice now. Yuuji was jogging across the grass toward him, his pink hair bouncing, grin wide enough to look almost silly, two canned drinks clutched triumphantly in one hand.
Satoru's heart did not skip. It was just the side effect of being slammed to the land by a special grade curse.
His kouhai dropped down beside him sideways, knee bumping his thigh, and pressed one can into his hands before cracking open his own with a satisfying hiss.
"I heard you and Geto-senpai ran into two special grades on the last mission? Are you actually okay?" His eyes did a quick, worried once-over.
Satoru popped his own can and rolled his eyes with practiced nonchalance. "Obviously. The higher-ups sent us in half-blind, as usual. Sure, we almost got turned into paste—" a long, dramatic sip, "—but please. We're the strongest. Nothing we couldn't handle." He grinned, all teeth, all bravado.
It might've worked if he wasn't favoring one side, or if the gauze on his forehead wasn't peeking out for the whole world to see.
Yuuji's grin softened into something quieter. "Thank god," he murmured, taking a slow sip like he's finally relaxed. "I couldn't focus in class at all today. Kept thinking about you."
Satoru choked, coughing hard enough that Yuuji thumped his back while he sputtered pink to the tips of his ears, "W-what?! Where did come from?!"
Yuuji blinked, tilting his head innocently that had satoru's heart do flips, "Am I not allowed to worry about my boyfriend?"
"That's not—ugh. Do whatever you want." Satoru hid behind another gulp of soda, hissing like a cat unused to affection, because apparently being the strongest sorcerer alive had done absolutely nothing to prepare him for this particular menace.
Then Yuuji perked up. "Oh! i almost forgot about this!" He dug something out of his pocket and slid it onto his face before the white haired teenager could even ask—round, dark lenses.
"Ta-da! We match now!"
Satoru stared. Yuuji beamed back at him from behind an exact copy of his own sunglasses, looking far too pleased with himself, "Why are you wearing that?"
"Well." Yuuji said, sliding his hand over Satoru's on the grass, easy and casual, his touch burning against satoru's cool ones.
"Couples match rings, right? Figured that was a little fast for us. So I got these instead. Now you're not the only weirdo in sunglasses on a normal day. We match."
Satoru's blush crawled from his cheeks to his ears to somewhere south of his collar. Yuuji was too much, too flirtatious! Satoru can't keep up! (yuuji's not flirting btw)
Satoru forced his gaze forward and nodded as if he wasn't internally screeching. "Oh, Cool."
What the fuck!! marry me!!
Comfortable quiet settled over them after that. Satoru used to hate silence. With Yuuji, it never felt empty—it felt like something close to peace.
Two weeks. They'd been official two weeks now, and somehow almost nothing had changed (he's not disappointed okay?!)—still bickering, still splitting lunch anyways, still bumping shoulders in the hall.
The only difference was the occasional stiff, painfully awkward hug neither of them wanted to end.
They hadn't even kissed yet. Wait.
wait.....
Satoru's spine went rigid as an very crucial memory clawed its way back.
Three days earlier.
Suguru had been shoveling popcorn mid-movie when he casually turned to Yuuji. "So. What's your type?"
"Huh? Never told you?" Yuuji had leaned his head on Satoru's shoulder—who'd spent the last thirty minutes, not even focusing on the movie, still gathering the nerve to put an arm around him, ears burning the whole time.
"Not really. Tall women, big everything, I know that much. What about guys?"
Yuuji hummed, actually considering it. "Similar. Tall, strong, reliable. I like confident—chill, you know? Doesn't rattle easy."
"Yeah, you would go well with someone cool in the head. You don't use your brain good in stressful situations."
"Thank you?" Yuuji didn't know whether that was an insult or a compliment.
"Anyways, nice standards. But that's it?"
He puffed his cheeks out, pondering, "Mm—a little aggressive, though."
Suguru turned to stare. "Didn't peg you for someone into anger issues." Then, to Satoru, "Bad luck. Yours is more of a tsundere type."
"Hah?!" Satoru glared at his supposedly best friend who was more like his enemy instead.
Yuuji just laughed, the screen's blue light flickering over his face. "I meant aggressive as in—making the first move. With girls I don't mind leading, but with a guy I think I'd want him to take charge. I like being the one getting swept off my feet."
Satoru snapped back to the present so fast his brain nearly took a whiplash. Yuuji liked confident men. Men who took the lead.
And Satoru—the strongest sorcerer presently, a man who'd never once hesitated in a fight—had not made a single move in two weeks.
Was that why Yuuji stayed so easy and unbothered while Satoru turned into a shivering mess at the drop of a hat? Did he even see him as boyfriend material, or just some option he was patiently waiting out?
Something in Satoru's chest tightened, indignant and a little desperate. He set his jaw, blush already climbing, and grabbed Yuuji by the waist, hauling him up with every intention of pulling off some smooth, commanding romantic-lead move.
He intended to, and failed.
Yuuji tipped his head, entirely unmoved, drink still balanced in one hand. "Satoru? Why are you pinching my side?"
Pinching.
His grip—the one he put his whole strength in—had registered as a pinch. Satoru had never wanted to sink into the earth so badly in his life. Special grade sorcerer. Strongest.
Some strongest he was!
Abandoning that plan, he scrambled instead behind Yuuji, folding his long legs around him and wrapping both arms snug around his middle, pulling him back flush against his chest.
He dropped his forehead to Yuuji's shoulder, hiding his burning face there like it was the only safe place left.
Yuuji froze. "Senpai...?" His voice came out smaller than usual, cheeks blooming pink.
Satoru swallowed hard, forcing his voice low and steady. "W-what—" i fucking stuttered— "can't I hug my cute boyfriend now?"
Yuuji's pulse kicked up hard enough to feel through his back. His boyfriend sounds so cool! so hot actually, all lean muscular arms and deep voice right against his ear.
He might've looked cooler if his hands weren't visibly trembling where they rested over yuuji's, or if his heart wasn't hammering loud enough to hear.
Even so, Yuuji grinned, bright as the sun overhead, and threw himself backward into the hug with the crushing strength of someone who'd once throwed a car bare-handed. Satoru wheezed as something in his ribs audibly creaked.
"Of course you can!" Yuuji squealed, delighted, snuggling in closer.
Satoru, half-suffocated and fully smitten, let out a helpless, breathless laugh into his hair.
Gods, I'm so gonna marry this idiot.