Chapter Text
1. The Ozawa incident
Megumi sat there for thirty minutes and watched as Itadori turned the typically awkward catching-up meal with Ozawa into a meaningful conversation that included all four people at the restaurant (not that Megumi talked much, but Itadori tried to include him regardless). He’d sat and analyzed the stranger that had came into their live's and demanded Nobara connect her to Itadori. Megumi tried hard to figure out where exactly she fit into the fragile balance of their sorcerer friend group.
Megumi’s assessment?
He fervently dislikes Ozawa.
He's never had anything against a good person before. But when judging Ozawa’s character, for some reason his blood boils at the sight of her perfectly tall, feminine figure walking shoulder to shoulder with Itadori. It's simply unfair how much she's Itadori’s type. Her brown hair, doe-like eyes, and decently sized behind are all far too similar to Jennifer Lawrence's for Megumi’s taste.
Ozawa had had her chance way back; she could've taken it if she wanted to, but no, she just had to come barging into Itadori’s life when the poor boy was still getting used to sorcery. Honestly, she didn't know about curses, but could she be more considerate?
“Pfft, you’re not subtle, you know?” Nobara says, snapping him out of his thoughts
“What?”
“You were staring daggers at her the whole time.”
“Was not!”
“Just admit you’re jealous lil bro”
Megumi was not jealous, just…protective of Itadori’s peace. Yeah, he was just trying to be a good friend.
“That's why I brought you here, you know?”
“What to make sure Itadori doesn’t fumble his date?” Megumi can hear the sneer in his voice, and it makes him cringe. Since when did he get this rude?
“No, idiot. To make sure you don't fumble tadori”
That's just ridiculous; Itadori is straight. And sure, he might be objectively attractive, but Megumi doesn't like him, not like that. They are strictly friends, nothing more.
“But it’s not like that between Itadori and me.”
“Stop lying to yourself and pass me my bags”
And then Nobara’s gone. Walking away with her bags as if she hasn't just ruined Megumi’s entire day. Now, he's stuck in a crappy coffee shop with a bill for a bunch of stuff he didn't order (it's irritating even if Gojo’s paying) and a head full of Itadori-only thoughts.
Megumi just does not like Itadori. He's far too busy to like anyone, really. But liking Itadori would be especially messy. They are classmates, roommates, and possible future coworkers. Never mind his kind demeanor, the way he always seems to know what Megumi needs. No. Itadori’s an idiotic airhead who's not good for anything but fighting. Yeah, that's it, Itadori is just a friend who fights well, nothing more, nothing less.
Itadori comes back way too quickly for Megumi’s taste. With Ozawa no longer in tow, Megumi allows himself to relax. He relays Nobara's message of “going shopping before the stores close so Itadori doesn't drag me to that atrocious movie” to Itadori before he stands up to leave when Itadori calls out to him.
“Fushiguro! You doing anything?”
Megumi shakes his head. The restaurant's window light is hitting Itadori directly; it illuminates the slope of his nose, the brown speckles in his eyes. Itadori looks good; it takes Megumi by surprise.
“Come with me to the movies? Pleaseee”
“Sure,” Megumi agrees with a shrug. Truthfully, Megumi had been planning to spend his afternoon reading a book he had gotten last week. It was a biography of some scientist he was looking forward to. But when it came to Itadori, Megumi could never say no. Maybe Nobara was onto something.
“What happened with Ozawa?”
“She was nice; we talked for a bit before I dropped her off. It was refreshing to reconnect with a classmate after so long.’
Huh? If she was nice, then why wasn't Itadori asking her to the movies instead of him?
Itadori tenses up and flushes a bit. Shit, he didn't mean to say that out loud.
“Never mind that. Let's just go!” Itadori’s all jumpy now, so Megumi presses an arm to his shoulder as consolation.
“Yeah”
They walk to the movies side by side, their shoulders pressing together every time they made space for another pedestrian on the sidewalk. And if Megumi used the situation as an excuse to lean into Itadori’s side, it was no one's business but his own.
It isn't a quiet walk. Itadori’s recapping all three Human Earthworm movies to Megumi. Insisting he needed to know every detail of the last three movies so he could be ready for this one. Megumi let him talk, but at some point he tuned out of the conversation in favor of dwelling on his own thoughts.
For example, the whole Ozawa situation. Itadori was a simple guy; he liked his women tall and curvy, and here was this gorgeous girl who filled all those boxes and was his middle school crush. So why hadn't Itadori taken her out?
“Why?”
“Why what?” Itadori looks genuinely confused.
“Ozawa. Why’d you turn her down?”
“Hmm, she's nice and all I just wasn't interested.”
“I thought you liked tall girls with a big ass? She's got it.”
“It's not like that with her, tho. That’s its own thing; you can’t compare apples to oranges.”
Megumi's confused now. “What does Ozawa have to do with apples and oranges?”
Itadori simply laughs, but it's strained and awkward instead of his usual carefree laugh. “It’s just like, yeah, Ozawa is an apple, and I like apples occasionally, but right now I’m into an orange.”
“So who’s the orange? Why don't you ask her out?”
At this, Itadori turns away, trying to hide a blush that Megumi definitely caught. Huh. What does he have to be embarrassed about?
“I don't think I have a chance”
“You're pretty outgoing and decently attractive; whoever she is, I'm sure she'd be happy to have you.”
“You think I’m attractive?”
Now it's Megumi’s turn to flush. Why would Itadori focus on that? “I mean, objectively, yeah. Dont deflect idiot”
“Sorry! Its- I cant just ask him out… It's complicated.”
–
Shit, it slipped out. Yuuji hadn't meant to reveal that he had a crush on a guy, but Fushiguro's flattery was getting to him, and he's never had a tendency for thinking before he speaks. Yuuji considers developing one right this instant, though, because Fushiguro freezes; he stills where he is on the sidewalk, looking uncomfortable. He didn't think this through; maybe Fushiguro was homophobic, and he'd made him uncomfortable. Although that didn't seem likely, Fushiguro’s pause is really not helping his case. Yuuji never likes to make others uncomfortable, and honestly, if it's an issue for Fushiguro, he'll just drop out of Jujutsu High and take that death sentence now.
“Is that an issue for you, because-”
“No! No, it's not.”
“Oh. Alright…”
“So it’s like that, huh?”
“What?”
Yuuji tries not to dwell too much on what Fushiguro’s tinted ears or small smile mean. He's spent too long pining for his best friend to know not to get his hopes up.
“I mean, do you have a crush on a boy then?”
Duh, and his name is Fushiguro Megumi, and he's the most gorgeous boy he’s ever seen, but Yuuji can’t say that and ruin the entire friendship now cant he?
“Kinda”
“Can I know who it is?” Fushiguro asks nervously, and before he can think about it, Yuuji blurts out a:
“No!”
Fushiguro flinches away as if he's been hurt. Yuuji detests that. But how would Fushiguro react knowing it's he who Itadori likes? There's no way he'd feel the same, with how indifferent he always is to Yuuji. He sighs and keeps walking. He'd better tough this out like always. The rest of the walk is awkward. When they arrive at the theater, Yuuji thanks the lord for Human Earthworm and its extraordinary capacity to distract him from his own thoughts.
That's not to say he didn't feel Fushiguro staring at him the whole time, but Yuuji knew that if he wanted to keep the friendship as close as it was, he had to give Fushiguro the safety of feeling that his actions weren't being perceived. It was hard, considering all Yuuji wanted to do was know everything about Fushiguro, to ask him a million questions and know every part of him. To hold him close until their sides mended together, and they’d never have to be separated again. For now, he was satisfied with the friendship. This was enough, he liked Fushiguro in anyway he could have him. Still, Yuuji hoped his ability to turn a blind eye would pay off later.
—
Did Itadori not trust him? Megumi thought seeing your classmate die, come back, and then rescue you after you saved their life was good enough to build trust. Apparently he was wrong. Because Itdori does not betray a single detail about who he likes. It hurts, honestly. Megumi had spent a great deal of his time in learning how to be a friend, and behaving like a good one for Itadori's sake. If Megumi had learned one thing, was that trust was important. If Itadori couldn't even trust him with the trivial fact of who his crush was, does that mean Megumi was failing as a friend? Itadori had been the first person Megumi had trusted enough to let in after Tsumiki fell into a coma. He'd made a point in trying, and Megumi, if he did say so himself, had previously thought he was doing pretty well. Had he been mistaken? Was he not as important to Itadori as Itadori was to him?
Megumi ponders all this as the movie plays in the background. If Itadori were to ask him about a single thing that happened in the movie, he'd have no answer. However, if he were to be asked how brightly Itadori’s amber eyes shined and reflected each scene, Megumi could describe to you in detail the hypnotizing effect of the boy’s iris. But that was normal, right? Everybody looked at their friends like that. It was paying attention to detail. Especially if Megumi was worried about trust, he had to stock up on details. Megumi didn't have my experience with friends, his two jujutsu high classmates being the first ones he'd had. So he presumed his astute observations about the beauty of Itadori were perfectly ordinary. Not that he'd think like that about Nobara, but that was just because it was different with her; she got him, and he got her. Talking to Nobara was like talking to his sister, in a way, if his sister was hyperactively annoying and vain. Their friendship was simple, in an unspoken way that Megumi appreciated and felt no need to admire.
Whatever, he just had to get through this horrible movie. He'd ponder how rational it was to admire his friends eyes in private, later, in the comfort of his own room.
–
Human Earthworm has never disappointed. Oh my god, it was so good, so, so, so good.
“That movie was so cool, oh my god, it just has to win a Grammy, right, dude?”
“Sure? It was fine, I guess.”
“Just fine? Come on, Fushiguro! It was S tier at minimum.”
“What the hell is S tier”
“Right, I forget you don’t watch YouTube. Anyway-” He goes on a rant about the movie, about how the plot is much more developed and how the romance adds nuance to an already complex story
“Who’s the guy?”
“Huh? The mad scientist?”
“No. I mean the guy you like. Why can't you tell me?”
“Well, because it’s kind of embarrassing.”
“Aren't we friends, though? I thought we could share stuff like this…”
Now Fushiguro's hurt again, and it's Itadori’s fault. Shit, shit, shit, he has to smooth this over.
“Yes! I mean, we are friends; it's just…”
“Just what?”
“Well, I’m afraid to ruin our friendship and make it awkward on missions and stuff”
“What, because you like a dude? You know I'm not a homophobe, right? Just tell me”
“Um, well uh….”
“Spit it out already!”
“He has a dog!”
“What is this, guess who?”
“Uh…yes?”
ccc
Perfect. As long as Fushiguro’s satisfied with vague details, Itadori doesn't have to reveal his embarrassing one-sided crush and ruin the friendship. Okay, he can do this.
“What else can I know?”
Oh. Oh. Now Yuuji has the upper hand. He would never manipulate someone, but! If it gets him some more time alone with Fushiguro… High risk, high reward, right?’
“Nothing! At least not for today. If you want to get another clue, you have to go to the movies again with me. There's this horror movie I really want to watch next week. You could come with me…”
“And then I get another clue?”
“Sure! Deal?”
“Deal, I guess.”
“Sweet!”
—
Itadori’s insufferable. It's not like he had promised to annihilate Sukuna or anything. He had no reason to be this happy. Megumi couldn't deny the rest of the afternoon was nice, though. They had walked home and chatted before going to their respective rooms. He was still uneasy about the whole Itadori-has-a-crush-and-I-don’t-know-who-it-is situation, but sharing more time with his friend made it slightly more bearable, just a bit. And if he fell asleep with a smile on his face and a head full of thoughts of a certain pink-haired boy, it was no one's business but his own.