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Megumi has decided that this is all, without a doubt, entirely Kugisaki’s fault.
He had been sitting in the shade underneath the leaves of a nice, big tree, eating his granola bar and watching his classmates spar in peace. Maki-senpai and Itadori were beating the snot out of each other on the training field below when Kugisaki had flopped down next to him in the grass, huffing out an exhausted sigh. To Megumi’s relief, she hadn’t said a word, simply watching their friends train in silence.
“Y’know,” Nobara said suddenly after a few minutes. “If Itadori asked me nicely, I’d probably let him break me in half.”
Megumi almost dropped his granola bar. “You’d what? ”
“Oh please,” Nobara scoffed. “Don’t act like you wouldn’t.”
Megumi’s brain was broken. She’d broken his brain. “What.”
“Dude,” she said, acting like she had just said something completely normal. “The man is ripped. Our first mission together he punched through a freakin’ wall .”
Down on the training field, Itadori had somehow managed to grab one of Maki’s ankles and was swinging her in circles around his head like she was a lasso. He let go after a few swings, laughing as she sailed away from him and landed in an angry heap on the ground
Nobara snorted. “Case in point.” Itadori, still laughing, was stretching himself out while Maki yelled at him and aggressively fixed her ponytail. “God, his arms are insane . What, does he just work out twenty-four-seven?”
Megumi scowled down at his granola bar. “You know your girlfriend is down there too, right?”
Nobara grinned. “Well duh, Fushiguro. Doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate my beautiful friends. And man , Itadori is a HOT piece of-”
She squawked as Megumi’s half-eaten granola bar hit her in the face. “Hey!” she shouted as Megumi stood up, heading back down to the training field where Maki was trying to choke Itadori to death with her thighs. “Don’t act like you wouldn’t jump on him if you had the chance!” Megumi kept walking, flipping her off as she kept screeching behind him. “You think you’re cool enough to ignore me?! You’d better watch out Fushiguro, I’ll kick your mysterious emo ass all the way to-”
“Yo! Fushigumi!” Megumi glanced over to see Itadori, still being choked out, waving at him with a big grin on his face. “What’s Kugisaki yelling about?”
Megumi felt his ears heating up as he avoided eye contact, looking over at Jujutsu High in the distance. “Who knows?”
***
That’s what had led to his current problem.
Sure. He had always known that Itadori was strong. Hell, the first time Megumi had ever seen him, he had thrown a metal shotput like he was pitching a baseball. That wasn’t what was shocking.
No, what was shocking was that Itadori was- well, it was like Kugisaki had said. He was ripped.
And he looked good .
He had run into Itadori in the kitchen one afternoon during one of their days off. Nothing crazy was happening, just Itadori sitting at the table and slurping up some ramen.
Nothing crazy, except he was wearing a tank top.
See normally, Megumi wouldn’t have even batted an eye. Now though, he stands frozen in the doorway to the kitchen because jesus christ , Itadori’s arms really are-
“Earth to Fushiguro?”
He blinks a few times, shifting his gaze from the other boy’s arms up to his face. “Huh?”
“Dude.” Next thing he knows, Itadori has completely entered his space, pressing the back of one of his hands to Megumi’s forehead. “You just zoned out for thirty seconds and didn’t say anything when I called your name.” Yikes . Not his finest moment. “And you’re looking kind of flushed. Are you sick?”
Yep. Very sick. Our mutual demon friend pointed out how ripped you are and now I can’t stop thinking about it. I think I might be dying.
Megumi coughed, lightly nudging the other boy’s hand off of his forehead. “I’m fine,” he murmured, pushing past Itadori to sit on the couch a few feet away from the table. “Probably just pushed myself a little too hard this morning.”
“Awwww, man!” Itadori whined. He had suddenly appeared next to Megumi with a glass of water, pushing it into the other boy's hand before heading back to his noodles at the table. “You were training on one of our days off? You’re gonna make me look bad!”
Megumi snorted. “Not like you need the extra workout,” he said under his breath.
“What’d you say, ‘gumi?”
Megumi could feel his face flaming. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
Stupid Kugisaki. Stupid Kugisaki and her stupid observations that were stupidly accurate. God, Itadori probably could break someone in half if he tried.
Once he starts noticing, he literally can’t stop.
They’re taking a break from sparring one day to catch their breaths and grab a drink. Itadori stands off to the side, sweat dripping down his neck as he takes large gulps from a water bottle. He smacks his lips together when he’s done, snickering when he looks over and sees Megumi starfished on the ground a few feet away. “Dude,” he laughs. “You good?”
“Itadori,” Megumi groans, lifting an arm to cover his eyes. “Your mutant strength is gonna kill me.”
“Awww, Fushiguro!” Itadori laughs. “Gojo-sensei says it’s good to get your butt kicked sometimes! It’ll make you stronger,” he says confidently. “Plus,” he adds as an afterthought, “Sensei says you’re too much of a string bean. Gotta get some more muscle on you, ‘gumi!”
Megumi scoffs as he sits up, something like that blindfolded twig can shove it where the sun don’t shine on the tip of his tongue when he looks over and sees that Itadori has lifted up the bottom of his ratty t-shirt, wiping some of the sweat off his forehead.
Holy mother, christ on a cracker, sweet baby jesus, etc. Megumi is about to start praising the lord purely because Itadori is sculpted like a greek god . He tries to respond in normal people words, he really does, but all that comes out of his mouth is a strangled “guuuuhhh?”
Itadori pauses, lowering his shirt a little so he can see the other boy. “Huh?”
Megumi’s eyes are locked on Itadori’s stomach. He can’t even help it. He thinks he might be drooling. “Abs?” he says weakly.
Itadori lets out a shocked laugh, glancing down at himself before looking back over to Megumi. “Abs, Fushiguro?”
Megumi finally stops zoning out at that, jolting so that he’s sitting up straight on the floor. “Uh. Absolutely. That’s what I meant.” Oh god, he can feel his ears turning red.
Itadori raises both of his eyebrows, and Megumi can tell that it’s taking him an exorbitant amount of effort not to laugh. “Absolutely what?”
Shit. “Uh,” he stammers, scrambling up from the floor. Ouch . “Absolutely, um. Muscles. Me getting muscles is good.”
Apparently Itadori can’t hold it in any more because he completely gives up at that, his giggles taking over him until he’s almost completely hunched over. “Man, Fushi. You really don’t know how to be subtle, huh?” He asks, gasping a little.
Yeah, okay. That’s Megumi’s queue to leave. “Going to the bathroom,” he manages to choke out, borderline running out of the room.
Itadori’s laughter echoes in the hallway behind him.
A few days later, he’s standing a little off to the side as he’s forced to watch Itadori and Maki-senpai arm wrestle. Arm wrestle . Someone has to be punishing him for something.
What’s even worse is that they’re evenly matched, meaning that their match lasts a long . Long. Time. A Very Long Time.
There’s a vein popping out from Itadori’s forehead, and even Maki looks like she’s on the verge of bursting a blood vessel. But Itadori is in a tank top again, his arm straining and on full display for everyone to see.
Ugh. Honestly? At this point, Megumi would probably let Itadori break him in half, too.
“Dude,” Kugisaki hisses, elbowing Megumi’s side and very effectively snapping him back into reality. “Would it kill you to be a little more subtle? Your jaw is on the floor .”
Megumi, who’s mouth had, admittedly, been hanging open, snaps his mouth shut. “I’m subtle,” he mutters petulantly.
“Uh huh,” she said flatly. “Sure. That’s why you look like you’re about to cream your pants, right?”
Megumi jolts. “ Nobara! ” he hisses, vaguely scandalized and also wanting to die a little bit (a lot).
Kugisaki doesn’t even bother to respond, only rolling her eyes and making her way over to Panda, who’s cheering loudly for Itadori. Unbelievable.
Megumi hears a snort from his other side, and realizes that Inumaki-senpai has been standing right next to him the entire time. Wow, that’s embarrassing.
“You heard. Nothing .” Megumi warns the other boy, mostly menacing and only a tiny bit frantic. He’s very proud of himself for that. “Nothing at all. Got it?”
Inumaki’s snorted “Salmon” sounds a lot like keep telling yourself that, buddy , and it doesn’t do much to make Megumi feel better. He groans, rubbing at his eyes in an attempt to erase the past two minutes from his memory.
The worst, though, is when he runs into Itadori after the other boy has just finished taking a shower.
Yeah. It goes almost exactly how you’re expecting it to.
It’s first thing in the morning, he hasn’t even managed to rub the sleep out of his eyes yet, and he’s just barely stepped through the doorway of his room out into the hallway when he’s bulldozed by a drippy and mostly-naked Itadori. Greeeeat. He falls hard on his ass with a muffled “oomph”, and for a second he genuinely considers laying down on the floor and going back to sleep.
“Oh jeez , Fushiguro, I’m so sorry!” Itadori blurts, using one of his hands to haul Megumi upright while the other holds up a towel at his waist. “Are you okay? Did you bruise anything?”
Megumi huffs out what can almost be considered a laugh through his nose. “I’m fine,” he assures the other boy, right before he lets out a truly massive yawn. It’s too early for this. “Why are you naked in the hallway?”
“Ah,” he says, looking a little embarrassed as he brings up his hand to scratch at the nape of his neck. “I left my clothes in my room on accident. Thought I could sneak back and grab them without anyone noticing me.”
“Oh,” Megumi says slowly, still groggy. “Sorry.”
Itadori’s grin lights up his face. “Don’t be sorry, Fushigumi! You didn’t do anything!” he laughs. He glances down at Megumi’s clothes, taking in his rumpled pajamas and slippered feet. “Did you just wake up?”
Megumi has barely let out an “Mhmm” in response when he feels fingers reaching up to come through his spiky hair. Itadori’s fingers.
What.
“Man, you’ve got some crazy bedhead!” Itadori exclaims, his other hand moving up to join in messing with Megumi’s hair. Megumi totally doesn’t notice his towel dropping a couple of inches when he lets go of it. “I thought you made it all spiky by yourself but I guess it’s just naturally like that, huh?”
What are words? Megumi doesn’t know anymore. All he can think about is Itadori’s fingers in his hair and that stupid, stupid towel. He wants to burn that towel.“Bluh?”
Itadori laughs lightly before pulling his hands back, moving his towel back up (disappointing) and looking back up at Megumi’s hair, which he’s sure is even more messed up now. “You’re so cute, Fushiguro.”
Megumi’s brain short-circuits completely. “Cute?”
“Mhmm!” Itadori hums, eyes bright and happy and only a little teasing. “But I’ll let you go, Fushi,” he says, nudging Megumi’s shoulder a little as he pushes past him towards his own room. “I need to get dressed and you need to go have some coffee, yeah?”
“Yeah,” Megumi echoes faintly, not really listening to the words coming out of the other boy’s mouth because god, even his back is toned and well-defined, and to make things worse there’s still water dripping down it. Dripping, dripping, dripping from his hair all the way down until it’s absorbed by the towel. Megumi scowls at the towel.
“Oh dude, I almost forgot!” Itadori says all of a sudden, turning around. “Are we still on for dinner tonight? There was that new sushi place Kugisaki wanted to try-” Megumi lifts his eyes from where they were staring at Itadori’s towel (i.e, ass) up to the other boy’s face just a little too slow. He can feel his face flaming as he makes eye contact and Itadori’s words seem to die in his throat, brows lifting and eyes widening. “Whatcha lookin’ at there, ‘gumi?” he asks, grinning.
Kill me now . “Nothing.” he says too quickly, walking past Itadori with his stupid smile and stupid towel and heading towards the kitchen.
“Really?” Itadori asks, tilting his head. “Because it kind of looked like you were checking out my-”
“Shut up!” Megumi shouts over his back. “And put some clothes on!”
He can hear Itadori losing it even after the door to his bedroom closes behind him.
Thankfully, Itadori is nice enough to not bring up Megumi’s new staring problem for the rest of the day. What a guy, right?
Wrong. He brings it up during their movie night. Jerk.
“Sooooo, Fushiguro,” he starts, laying down next to Megumi on the sofa and putting his legs in the other boy's lap. Mulan starts to play on the TV. “I’ve been wondering. What’s up with all the staring recently?”
Megumi can already feel himself overheating. He looks straight ahead at the screen, refusing to make eye contact. “Staring?” he asks calmly.
“Man, don’t try to act cool!” Itadori says, and Megumi can almost physically hear the teasing grin in his voice. “I’ve caught you like a million times, and I asked Kugisaki about it too.”
At the mention of the devil incarnate Megumi finally gives up, groaning loudly and pulling the blanket on his shoulders up and over his head so that it can cover his face. “My time has come,” he says flatly, muffled a little by the blanket. “It was nice knowing you, Itadori, but I think I have to end it all now-”
“Woah woah woah!” Itadori laughs, sitting up and yanking the blanket away from Megumi’s face. “It’s okay, Fushiguro!”
Since his blanket has been taken away, Megumi settles for burying his red face in his hands instead. “It’s embarrassing , Itadori.” he complains. “And it’s all Kugisaki’s fault anyways. Can’t we just ignore it and I’ll stop?”
“Nope!” the other boy says cheerfully, now pulling Megumi’s hands away from his face. His own face is way too close, and it definitely doesn’t help that he’s basically sitting in Megumi’s lap now. “Spill!”
Megumi struggles for a second, but eventually he lets his hands go limp in Itadori’s grasp. “Okay,” he starts, and Itadori sits up a little to listen. “So we were watching you and Maki-san train one day.” He stops, letting out a massive sigh. This is so stupid. Is it too late to abandon ship? Is there a window nearby that he can fling himself out of?
“Uh huh. Training. Keep going!” Itadori encourages.
“You were training,” Megumi continues, “and Kugisaki mentioned that you looked… nice.”
Itadori raises an eyebrow, looking very doubtful. “ Kugisaki said that I look nice?”
“Well, okay. I’m paraphrasing.”
“Don’t know what that means, Fushi.”
Megumi groans again, still avoiding eye contact. “She basically said that you look nice. That was the gist of it. And I just kind of… noticed that she was right. So I’ve maybe been staring at you a little.” At that, he looks Itadori in the eye. “I’m so sorry,” he says, almost a little pleadingly. “I’ll make myself stop, I promise.”
Itadori’s cheeks are pink now, too, his mouth forming a little “o” shape. “Fushiguro, it’s okay-”
“It’s not okay ,” Megumi protests, letting his head fall back on the sofa and closing his eyes. “It’s probably making you really uncomfortable, and it’s really weird, and I’m stopping. I’ve officially stopped. It’s official.”
“Fushi.” Itadori says firmly, and next thing Megumi knows, Itadori's hands are on either side of his face, squishing his cheeks together a little so that he stops talking and is forced to look the other boy in the eye. “It’s all right. I promise. I’m actually kind of flattered, really. Okay?”
Itadori’s face is so, so close to his. “Okay.” Megumi says faintly.
“Good.” Itadori nods, satisfied. He lets go of Megumi’s face and lays back down on the sofa, feet still in his lap. After a few seconds of silence, he asks “So it’s just because I look nice? Nothing else?”
It’s an innocent question, but Itadori asks it a little too casually. Megumi frowns, looking over at the other boy. “I mean, yeah. What else would it be?”
“Ah. Nothing.” If Megumi didn’t know any better, he would say that Itadori sounded a little disappointed. After a second though, he has a soft smile on his face. “For what it’s worth, I think you look nice too, Fushiguro.”
Megumi blinks. And then he blinks again, staring at Itadori until the other boy’s expression turns teasing, and then Megumi chucks a pillow in his face. “Shut up!” he complains as Itadori laughs. He pulls the blanket up to cover his own smile.
They watch the rest of the movie mostly in comfortable silence. Well, Itadori looks comfortable. Megumi’s head is a total mess.
‘So it’s just because I look nice? Nothing else?’
Nothing else? What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Does Itadori-
Does Itadori like him?
No way. Itadori was a self-proclaimed lover of tall girls with big asses, and Megumi only met one of the three criteria. That wasn’t even a passing grade!
Still… he’d said that he thinks Megumi looks nice. And he’d seemed almost- hopeful? When he’d asked.
‘Nothing else?’
Maybe Megumi was imagining things.
More important question, though: Does Megumi like Itadori?
He angsts for the entire movie.
Once the credits are rolling and Mushu and the ancestors are having their rager, Itadori finally sits back up, yawning and stretching with his legs still in Megumi’s lap. “Man! That movie is good stuff. I hadn’t seen it in so long!”
“Mmm,” Megumi agrees, tired and still a little caught up in his head.
“Weeeeeell,” Itadori says after a few seconds. “I think I’m gonna go to bed.” He brings up his hand to cup the base of Megumi’s neck, pulling Megumi towards him to lightly press the sides of their heads together. “Thanks for hanging out with me, ‘gumi,” he says softly before pulling away.
And see, it’s that . It’s that gentle touch and that kind voice that finally makes Megumi’s brain calm down.
He likes Itadori. Maybe he’s liked him this whole time.
That realization is what makes Megumi grab the sleeve of Itadori’s shirt after the other boy has already stood up and started walking away. “Fushi?” he asks, face twisted in confusion. “What’s up, man?” Megumi pulls Itdaori down next to him on the sofa. “Hey! What gives-”
“Yuuji.”
Itadori nearly chokes on his words. Sure, he calls Megumi by all sorts of nicknames, but never once has Megumi used his given name. “Uh. Yeah?”
“Before the movie,” Megumi starts, hesitating a little. “You asked if… you asked-” God, he’s so bad at this. Being vulnerable has never been his strong suit (thanks a lot, Gojo ). “You asked if I thought you were just nice to look at. And nothing else.”
Itadori stares at Megumi, wide-eyed and a little nervous. “Yeah?”
“I think,” Megumi says, slowly and carefully with his eyes glued stubbornly to his hands, “that you’re nice to look at.”
Itadori’s brow furrows. “Okay?”
“And I-” he’s fighting to get enough air into his lungs. “I also think. That. You’re nice to be around.”
Itadori’s mouth falls slack. “Fushiguro?”
“I think you’re nice to be around,” he presses on, “and I like being around you.” He pauses, finally lifting his face to look Itadori in the eye. “Do you understand?”
Looking Itadori in the eye turns out to have been a mistake, because the earnestness on the other boy’s face is enough to make Megumi want to crumble into pieces. “I don’t- Fushiguro, I don’t think you understand.”
Megumi reaches up and sweeps pink hair off of the other boy’s forehead. Itadori looks like he’s about to faint, his face darker than his hair. “I understand,” Megumi says quietly. “I think I understand perfectly.”
“Do you?” Itadori asks, a little incredulous and a little breathless, too. His face is so, so close. “Do you actually? Because I don’t think you-” he sucks in a sharp breath when Megumi’s hand moves from his forehead to lightly cup his jaw, thumb brushing against his cheek. “Megumi?” he whispers. “What’re you-?”
He stops when Megumi leans impossibly closer, close enough that their noses are brushing together. “Yuuji,” he breathes.
It’s cautious and a little clumsy when Megumi slowly presses his lips to the other boys, ignoring the whimper that Itadori makes in the back of his throat. His lips are sweet, and he kisses like how he tastes. Megumi moves even closer, and he hears Itadori gasp when Megumi’s tongue swipes at his lower lip.
He pulls away after a few minutes, opening his eyes to see Itadori’s face dazed and impossibly pink. “Yuuji,” he says, breathing a little heavily. “I promise you. I understand.”
Itadori just stares at him for a few seconds, eyes wide and a little shocked, before laughing wetly, leaning forward to hide his face in the crook of Megumi’s neck. “Yeah, okay,” he says weakly. “I should’ve believed you.” Megumi hides his smile in Yuuji’s hair. “Hey, ‘gumi?” he asks after a few seconds.
“Mmm?”
“I-” Yuuji starts, then hesitates. He sits up, pressing his forehead to Megumis. “I like it when you look at me.”
Oh.
Oh.
“I really don’t want you to stop.” Yuuji says, voice pleading “Promise me you won’t?”
Megumi’s eyes widen for an instant before he full-on wheezes , and it’s his turn to press his face into the crook of Yuuji’s neck. “Yeah, okay,” he says as he tries to hold in his laughs. “I’ll just keep staring at you like a creep, then. Since that’s what you want.”
“Heeeeey.” Yuuji complains. “You’re making fun of me.” Megumi can hear the smile in his voice.
“You just make it so easy .”
“Yeah, yeah,” Yuuji sighs, reaching up to card his fingers through Megumi’s hair. “You won’t stop though, right?”
At that Megumi lifts his head, looking the other boy in the eye. “I won’t,” he agrees easily, kissing Yuuji softly. “I promise.