Chapter Text
~~~Yuuji~~~
Yuuji was lying on his bed, feeling like he was rotting away. The Goodwill Event ended a few days ago, and even with Toudou’s encouragement and the progress Yuuji has made in his power, he can’t shake the despair. The fight with the patchwork curse plays over and over in his head, and he imagines everything he could’ve done differently, ways he could’ve saved Junpei. Yuuji can’t help feeling lonely, too. It’s only been a few days, and he already misses Gojo’s house. There, Yuuji was never alone. Sure, Gojo was away a lot, but Yuuji had the punching doll for company, and Gojo hung around whenever he could, even though Yuuji knew he probably had better things to do than entertain his wayward student. Not to mention the days he spent with Nanamin.
Now, though? Yuuji only sees Gojo during class, and he hasn’t seen Nanamin at all. There’s also a divide between him and Fushiguro and Kugisaki. He doesn’t think they’re mad anymore — or they’re very good at hiding it if they are — but they’re just… distant. It’s clear they’ve bonded with their senpais — Kugisaki is even dating Maki! — and Yuuji just feels… left out. Part of him wishes he had never left Gojo’s basement. There, at least, he could pretend he wasn’t lost in this limbo, not knowing if his friends wanted to be friends with him anymore.
~~~Nobara~~~
“Maki, does this skirt make me look cute?” Nobara asks as she turns from side to side in front of her mirror. The skirt is from a second-hand shop near enough to the school that she can visit semi-regularly, and is supposed to be for exercising. She can admit it’s a bit too short to be practical on missions, but it has built-in undershorts and pockets, along with a nice high waistband that makes her waist look snatched. She can wear it when she and Maki work out together.
“Yes. Adorable,” Maki draws from her spot on Nobara’s bed. The older girl hadn’t even looked up from her phone!
With a huff, Nobara stalks over to her girlfriend and places her hands on her hips. She huffs again when Maki continues to ignore her.
“What could possibly be more entertaining than me?” Nobara snaps.
“I’m concerned about Itadori-kun.”
Nobara had not expected the conversation to go in that direction.
“Why would you be concerned about that pink moron?”
Maki shrugs, looking off to the side. “He may be a moron, but he’s still one of my kohai. It’s hard to hear sometimes, but whenever I walk past his room near the evening, I swear I hear him crying. And he just seems… down. For a boy you described as hyperactive, I’ve caught him far too often sitting still and staring off into nothing.”
Yuuji has been crying at night? He’s been dissociating?!
“That idiot!” Nobara bursts out, stamping her foot.
Maki sits up. “Nobara, this is serious—“
“I know! He should’ve told me if he was struggling! Stupid pink idiot!” Nobara hisses, immediately grabbing her slippers. If Yuuji needed cheering up, she’d help him! Hadn’t she and Fushiguro told him to come to them? Even if not, he should know to come to his friends if he was struggling! She’d fix this right now!
Nobara marches out of her room with a purpose, a mildly amused and partially concerned Maki trailing behind her.
~~~Yuuji~~~
Yuuji had worked his way into sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of his bed, but now he can’t remember why he was getting up. With a sigh, he starts to shift back into bed, but a pounding at his door interrupts him.
“Itadori! Open up!” Kugisaki’s voice rings out from behind his door.
Why was Kugisaki here? Did something go wrong? Did he do something wrong without realizing it? Before he can spiral any further, Yuuji forces himself up and opens his door. In front of him stands Kugisaki, who is radiating aggression, with Maki a step behind her.
Before Yuuji can protest, Kugisaki shoves him aside and stomps into his room.
“We’re hanging out!” She announces, flopping onto Yuuji’s bed.
“I— what?” Yuuji follows behind Kugisaki, confused and a bit worried.
“You heard her, we’re hanging out,” Maki says, lightly slapping the back of Yuuji’s head, then flopping down next to Kugisaki on his bed.
Yuuji opens and closes his mouth a few times, not sure how to react. His eyes roam over the two girls, like he’s trying to find clues as to why they’re suddenly in his room, and he nearly chokes when he sees the skirt Kugisaki has on. It’s not the girl’s usual skirt. It’s much shorter. And she’s not wearing the tights she usually does. Yuuji feels his face going red, and he turns around quickly, feeling a confusing mix of shame and curiosity.
“Kugisaki, why are you wearing that?’ Yuuji chokes out.
“What? Oh, this? I forgot I had it on,” Kugisaki says dismissively.
“It’s… short.”
“Don’t tell me you’re a prude, Idatori!”
“No! I’m not! It was just a surprise!” Yuuji says quickly, whipping back around to stare at Kugisaki with wide eyes.
She sniffs and looks Yuuji up and down before nodding and settling back on Yuuji’s bed.
“Good. I would’ve smacked you if you were,” she says in a haughty voice with another sniff.
Yuuji nods faintly, then sinks on the last corner of the bed not taken up by Kugisaki and Maki. Against his will, his eyes drift back to the skirt. It’s short, sure, but Yuuji can spot the edges of shorts under it, which helps calm some of Yuuji’s nerves. The body of the skirt is loose and wavy, while the waistband looks like it hugs tightly to Kugisaki’s waist. It also creates a V shape at the front, framing where the belly button would be if Kugisaki weren’t wearing a shirt. The fabric of the skirt looks soft and stretchy, and Yuuji feels the insane urge to reach out and touch it.
Yuuji’s mind is sucked back to when he was younger. It was before Gramps had gotten rid of all his parents’ clothes. Yuuji was obsessed with some cheesy American dress-up show, and he had really wanted to dress up like the contestants. He had found his way into his mother’s closet and started trying on her skirts and blouses. Nothing fit properly, of course, but Yuuji remembers how fun it was. He also remembers how mad Gramps got at him when he found Yuuji.
“Nobara looks like a dream, doesn’t she?” Maki’s voice breaks Yuuji out of his trance, and his eyes shoot to Maki’s. She had a teasing grin on her face, though her chest was puffed out like she was proud, too.
“Oi, were you ogling me?!” Nobara screeches, sitting up sharply.
“No! I was just admiring your skirt!” Yuuji screeches back, flailing his hands about as he scrambles to stand up and back away as Kugisaki crawls like a demon towards him.
Kugisaki stops at the foot of Yuuji’s bed and narrows her eyes. Yuuji feels a distinct sense of dread creeping up on him.
“You like my skirt?” She asks, a tone to her voice that Yuuji can’t place.
“Yes! It’s very pretty and suits you perfectly! It is very cute and you wear it well!” Yuuji says, voice squeaky and a bit panicked. He’s not lying; Kugisaki does wear it well, he’s just also scared that he’s about to be attacked.
Kugisaki sniffs and sits back on her heels.
“Fine. I’ll allow you to try it on,” she says with an air of confidence. “Give me a pair of shorts.”
Yuuji’s brain short-circuits. Him? Wearing a skirt? Boys don’t wear skirts.
“Oi, get me a pair of shorts!” Kugisaki barks.
Yuuji leaps into action and grabs a pair of clean shorts to give to Kugisaki. He feels like his brain is turning to mush.
Kugisaki snatches the shorts from his hand and slips into Yuuji’s closet to change. She comes out a minute later in the shorts and throws the skirt at Yuuji. He catches it on autopilot, then stares down at it blankly. He was right. It really is soft, and it stretches when he tugs on the material. What is he supposed to do with a skirt?
“Go on, Itadori-kun, try it on!” Maki says, lightly kicking Yuuji’s hip.
He looks up at her, eyes wide.
“But—”
“No buts! Try it on!” Maki crows, kicking him a bit harder.
With a grunt, Yuuji follows the momentum of the kick and trots into his closet. Once the door closes, he stares at the bundle of fabric in his hands. Is he really going to wear another skirt?
He changes on autopilot. The skirt’s a bit tight, especially around his thighs and hips, but the stretchy material holds. It makes his waist look thinner, squeezing his muscles in an interesting way and making small indents on his thighs and around the waistband, but when he shifts his hips from side to side, the material’s swishing brings a small smile to his face. He feels like a kid again, trying on his mother’s skirts. A small laugh bubbles out of his throat, and he does a small swirl, careful not to bump into anything in his closet.
“Oi! Don’t hold out on us! Come out here and let us see!” Nobara calls, throwing something at the closet door.
“Coming, coming!” Yuuji calls back. He steps out, and the insecurity comes back. This skirt was not built for someone with his amount of muscle mass, and he’s a boy . What if they laugh at him?
Maki whistles, and there’s the distinct sound of a camera shutter clicking.
Yuuji looks up quickly to see Maki holding up her phone.
“Maki-senpai, did you take a picture of me?” Yuuji whines, stepping forward and pouting. He feels a blush starting to color his face.
Maki smirks and takes another. “Of course. You look so good, Itadori-kun!”
“Don’t make fun of me, senpai!!” Yuuji whines louder, blushing more, and hiding his face behind his hands.
Another click.
“Senpai!”
“Maki!”
Yuuji and Kugisaki whine at the same time.
“Sorry, Nobara. But look at him!” Maki says with a small laugh, wrapping her arm around Kugisaki’s waist and pulling her girlfriend against her side.
A bolt of shame and humiliation goes through Yuuji. Of course, he looked silly. He knew Maki was teasing him. Tears prick in the corner of his eyes, which he tries desperately to hold in.
‘I— uhm… I’m gonna take the skirt off,” Yuuji mumbles, stepping back towards the closet.
“Don’t you dare!”
“No way!”
Kugisaki and Maki cry out at the same time. Kugisaki even follows up with darting over and grabbing Yuuji by the shoulders to keep him from retreating. Her eyes sweep over him once, twice, then she sighs and shakes her head.
“I hate to admit it, but Maki’s right. You look great,” she says, grimacing like she’s pulling teeth.
Yuuji’s brain freezes again. He’s going to have brain damage by the end of the night; he knows it.
“I— what?”
“You look great! Stop fishing for compliments!” Kugisaki snaps, pouting.
“But… I’m wearing a skirt?”
“So? You still look great,” Maki says, standing too and coming over to Yuuji’s side.
Yuuji feels overwhelmed. Confused. Still a bit humiliated. But also… hopeful. This specific skirt is a bit too short for his liking, but could he look good in other skirts?
“You really think so?” He asks in a small voice.
“Ugh. What did I just say about fishing for compliments? I know so, moron,” Kugisaki says with an eye roll and a long-suffering sigh.
Yuuji laughs a bit, shoulders relaxing. “Thanks, guys.”
“Now go change back!”
‘Wait, what? Kugisaki—”
“I don’t wanna be in your gross boy shorts any longer, so shoo!” Kugisaki says as she shoves Yuuji into the closet.
Yuuji can’t help but laugh again, and Maki laughs with him. He changes out of the skirt and into his pants again with the sounds of Maki fighting off an incensed Kugisaki in the background. When he emerges again, he throws the skirt at Kugisaki’s head.
It takes a few more minutes before Kugisaki calms down enough to stop chasing Yuuji and Maki around. Eventually, though, she's coaxed into the closet, and when she finally emerges again, back in her skirt, she, Maki, and Yuuji lie down to watch movies together for a while.
After the girls finally left, Yuuji realized he hadn’t thought of Junpei or his loneliness once that entire evening. It was nice. Yuuji goes to sleep with a smile on his face.