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When Toge thinks about it, the whole ordeal is really just Maki’s fault.
Shortly after the first years arrive and they kick Kyoto’s ass at the exchange event -Toge’s still wrapping his head around the fact that three dweebs call him senpai now, he’s practically a fossil-, Yuuta returns to Tokyo Jujutsu Tech.
It’s great news for all of them: the second years have missed their classmate, the first years are excited to meet the legendary swordsman (sans Kugisaki, who still resents Yuuta for killing her dreams of exploring Kyoto) and the higher-ups are presumably grateful for more ammo against Sukuna’s Vessel.
On a sunny July morning, Yuuta drops a grainy selfie in the second years’ group chat. His blurry forehead takes up half the screen, but the neon direction sign behind him is unmistakably in Japanese. Guess who’s back~~ , Yuuta types as they crowd around Toge’s phone. Eta 2 hours until we’re together again!
“Sap,” Maki scoffs, chucking her feet into Panda’s furry lap- but if the widening grin on her face is any indication, she’s as enthusiastic as Yuuta. Chuckling lightly, Panda scratches his head, “It’s really been eight months, huh? I wonder what souvenirs he’s gotten for us.”
“Shake ,” Toge murmurs his assent. Should we meet him at the gates? He then signs, deeming mere onigiri ingredients too crude to express his thoughts with. It’s been a while.
Under Gojo’s suggestion, the students had been learning sign language for the past year. While Toge was initially hesitant about seemingly pressuring his friends into learning a skill that served no real purpose to jujutsu training, the others were quick to reassure him. Excluding Toge himself, Yuuta took to signing the fastest and had surprised him by continuing lessons online, such that he now understood Toge’s rapid hand motions over Facetime almost fluently.
“Sure,” Maki shrugs, giving Toge’s hair an affectionate pat. “Let’s head to the gates after lunch though, I’m not standing in the sun for an hour for some man.” Yuuta’s not just some man , Toge starts signing indignantly in his friend’s defence until Maki and Panda start laughing and he realises he’s being teased. “No worries, Toge,” Panda puckers up his mouth in a poor imitation of a kiss, “We know you’ve missed your man.”
As Maki starts sniggering, Toge gives up on defending himself, burrowing his face into the desk with a pained Okaka.
-
Maki would tell you Toge skipped all the way to the gates, hands clasped to his chest like a bashful maiden. If you asked Panda, however, the cursed corpse would swear on his paws that Toge sprinted at a speed rivalling Usain Bolt’s in anticipation of Yuuta’s arrival. In spite of his friends’ defaming accusations, Toge maintains that he walked to the gates in a regular form and at a normal speed. Maki had somehow roped the first years into joining, including a disgruntled Kugisaki who insists she’s just there to ‘check out her sworn enemy’.
The six of them end up sprawling lazily across the base of the gates like a fatigued honour guard. “Where is he?” Itadori, Toge’s favourite kouhai so far, balls his palms into makeshift binoculars.
Comfy in his spot on Panda’s belly, Toge yawns, “ Takana ” Be patient.
Fushiguro fakes disinterest, fixing his eyes on his phone, but as a blob resembling the shape of a car comes into sight, he’s the first one to stand up. “That’s gotta be him, right?” Mid-conversation with Maki, Kugisaki squints, “The car better be filled with gifts, or I’m whooping his ass for real.”
“Stop laughing, Toge,” Panda chimes in as Toge gets up, silently shaking with laughter. “We haven’t seen him for so long, maybe he’s developed a phobia of scrawny gingers-” Kugisaki makes a move to whack her senpai, but then the car pulls to a stop, and Toge’s vision tunnels.
It’s not like he hasn’t seen Yuuta for eight months. They play video games together on discord almost every night, but Toge’s usually the only one with video on both because of Yuuta's shit camera quality and signing purposes. The occasional selfies to the group chat could never capture how Toge’s friend has, for the lack of a better word, glowed up.
“Um, I’m back?” Yuuta’s sheepish grin as he wiggles out of the car compartment is familiar, but he’s grown at least half a foot and traded his nerves for an easy confidence, radiating grace as he effortlessly slings his katana across his back.
How were his shoulders suddenly so broad? Toge wonders as the gang walks towards Yuuta all smiles and greetings.
“Yuuta!” Panda’s the first one to reach their friend, throwing a paw around his neck. “What did you eat to get so big?” Toge hangs behind, unable to utter even a customary Kombu with his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. Maki reaches him next, knocking an oof out of Yuuta as she grabs him in a friendly headlock, “Miss us much, loser?” The first years keep a respectful distance, waving curiously to a dishevelled Yuuta as he re-emerges from the second years’ warm welcome.
“The new first years, right?” Yuuta smiles, eyes disappearing into warm crescents as he claps Fushiguro on the shoulder. “Toge’s told me all about you guys.”
Toge nearly passes out from the combination of Yuuta’s use of his first name and everyone’s eyes swivelling towards him. As he freezes, Maki tuts irritably, yanking him closer to their little cluster, “Come here, don’t act like you don’t wanna group hug.”
“H-hey Toge,” Toge’s sudden awkwardness must be infectious because Yuuta’s cheeks are dusted pink as their eyes meet. Toge’s brain short circuits, because how is he so much taller up close, this is straight-up humiliating and no word feels right- hi is too formal, yo is weird in verbal (sign, whatever) form and he’d rather die than spill his guts in front of everyone by telling Yuuta I’ve missed you.
You look like a chef. He eventually signs after what feels like a century. (Yuuta does vaguely look like one, newfound wideness filling out his puffy white shirt perfectly.)
The awkward silence is broken by Yuuta’s incredulous chuckle, one that reverberates in Toge’s ribcage for several seconds until someone pulls him into the tight huddle and he rests his chin on Yuuta’s shoulder.
The physical contact feels like coming home.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Yuuta says as they finally pull apart, sincerity practically dripping from his teal eyes. “I’ve missed you too.”
He says I missed you instead of I missed you guys. Toge would be thinking about this at 3 am.
“Alright, break it up homos,” Maki says, draping an arm around Toge and Yuuta respectively. “We can catch up properly when we’re in an air-conditioned room, it’s thirty degrees for fuck’s sake.” Falling into step with his friends, the group finally complete with Yuuta, feels as natural as breathing.
(The remainder of the day is thankfully much less awkward, although Toge still finds his breath hitching when Yuuta leans a little too close. Maki only pokes fun at him after the first years trickle off to bed one by one, exhausted by one too many rounds of Uno and Monopoly.
“With the way you’re sitting right now, who would’ve guessed you were standing stiff as a Sim this morning,” Maki teases, flopping her head over the sofa’s armrest to peer at Toge upside-down. He really should be more offended, but he’s curled into Yuuta’s side in the common room’s armchair, too comfy to be bothered by Maki’s taunt.
Toge sticks his tongue out in retaliation, just as Yuuta shifts in his seat to look at him, ”Wait, what’s a Sim?” Laying flat on the carpet, Panda bursts out in booming laughter, causing the ancient light fixture to tremble as the sound resonates throughout the room, ”No way, man- I thought you were a gamer?”
Pressing a hand to his chest, Yuuta twists his handsome features into an expression of agony, ”I have been wounded by my dear comrade- Toge, wise companion of mine, please explain.”
How does one go about explaining a worldbuilding game in sign language to one’s drowsy best friend? Too complicated, He signs instead, I’ll show you later.
“Of course,” Yuuta’s responding smile is so bright it causes Toge literal heartache. “I’ll listen to everything you’d like to say...” Toge is saved from a reply as his friend subsequently conks out, snoring softly within a minute.
Toge thinks Maki sniggers at that, but he’s not too sure, falling asleep in no time to the steady thumping of Yuuta’s heart.)
-
Yuuta falls back into their routine seamlessly, keeping up with the second years without missing a beat. The first years have warmed up to him considerably if Fushiguro’s starry eyes when they meet in the dining hall could be any indication. He gains Itadori’s instant liking and even Kugisaki’s begrudging respect as he shows off his katana-wielding skills during a joint training session, slashing and stabbing scarecrows without breaking a sweat. His cursed energy has evolved into something much more powerful and creepy, the dark aura creeping out Fushiguro’s divine dogs so much the first year had to take them for a walk to calm them down.
Even so, Yuuta feels familiar, effortlessly filling the space Toge unconsciously left next to him in the special grade sorcerer’s absence. It’s almost like he never left as they crack jokes at the vending machine and conspire to pull pranks on Maki. But Toge knows, he knows Yuuta’s changed for the better, from his fighting style to the way he carries himself. It’s a welcome change, especially when Yuuta knocks on his door after dinner to heap his desk with African snacks and catch up. It becomes sort of a routine, them sitting on Toge’s bed after a long day, chatting about everything and anything that happens.
“You never actually got around to telling me what the Sims were,” Yuuta says one day, curled up in Toge’s gamer chair. Why are you still thinking about that, Toge signs, before hurriedly ducking to avoid a stray plushie Yuuta hurls at his head. Forget it, it’s not that interesting to play.
“I’m curious!” Yuuta pouts, pushing his hair back. “Won’t you just show it to me once?” His shoulders flex under his cotton sleep shirt, and Toge has to toss a cushion at his friend to hide his reddening cheeks. It should be illegal for anyone, let alone an already overpowered special grade sorcerer, to be so cute yet lethally hot at the same time.
Yuuta’s puppy dog eyes should be classified as special grade objects (?) themselves, because it doesn’t take long until Toge caves, scooting towards his desk. “ Shake, shake, ” He says to a curious Yuuta, who wheels his chair closer to peer at the computer screen over Toge’s shoulder.
Toge has the game on his Origin account, thanks to his cheapskate instincts that had kicked in when Sims 4 was randomly free for a few days. Being a serious gamer (stop laughing, Maki) who focused more on player-versus-player games, Toge had never been particularly interested in worldbuilding and storytelling, although he was certainly familiar with the terms involved in the game thanks to Youtube meme compilations.
The game takes some time to download, so Toge lets Yuuta bombard him with questions about the Sims.
“Have you played the Sims before?” No. If it was fun I would’ve forced you to download it with me.
“Why do you have it on your Origin account?” It was free for a limited time last year. You would’ve done the same.
This one elicits a light chuckle from Yuuta. “What did Maki mean when she said you were standing like a Sim?” You’ll see. The Sims stand in a really stiff position when they’re waiting for instructions, maybe she meant that.
“You wound me, Toge,” Yuuta teases in a sing-song voice. “For a second there I actually thought you’d moved on from me.”
No way? Toge turns around to tell his himbo friend exactly that, only to find Yuuta’s face a mere inch before his.
Oh.
Why were they so close all of a sudden? Yuuta must’ve moved closer while he wasn’t looking. Said position was devastating for Toge’s cardiovascular health, his heart running a mile a minute and blood rushing to his cheeks. “Um,” Yuuta looks momentarily stunned, scarlet cheeks mirroring Toge’s own. “Toge, I-”
Was he staring at Toge’s mouth? Why would he do that?
A loud ping from the computer interrupts the thick silence between the two, directing their attention back to the stream. Inexplicably irritated, Toge clicks on the newly installed game, moving over to make space for Yuuta as the game loads. He skips the game tutorial, ignoring weak protests from his friend.
They were Real Gamers with countless Fortnite wins, they could surely handle the Sims 4, right?
Wrong.
Toge is unfortunately flummoxed by the loading customisation screen, and the two of them take an embarrassingly long time to figure out that they need to make their own Sims to explore the world.
Bummer, Toge signs to an amused Yuuta. Thought we could just walk around and poke fun at our neighbours.
“Don’t you already do that in real life?” Yuuta knocks his shoulder against Toge’s, and he saves no time elbowing him back. Do you wanna make each other? Toge signs, receiving an enthusiastic nod from Yuuta.
Toge goes first and soon realises that making Yuuta as a Sim is surprisingly hard. The Sims’ extensive colour palette ultimately falls short in providing the exact shade of teal Yuuta’s eyes are, and he struggles picking a skin colour by memory, noting that his friend had gotten tanned from his trip. Just for fun, he gives Sim Yuuta a bubble butt to compensate for his real-life counterpart’s lack of ass.
“Sujiko, ” Toge taps on Yuuta’s shoulder once he deems his Sim a fair representation of Yuuta. Gave Sim You a nice behind, no need to thank me. He signs and is pleased to see his friend’s face turn bright pink.
During Yuuta’s turn, Toge flops on his bed and checks his socials. His friend takes his sweet, sweet time, such that Toge is still left hanging after decluttering his mail inbox.
“Okaka… ” Toge groans for Yuuta to hurry up, kicking his legs up in the air in silent defiance. “I know, I know. You were slow too! Give me five more minutes,” The heartless boy says, immune to Toge’s complaining. Feeling vengeful, he slings a tsum-tsum at the back of his friend’s head, watching it move closer to its intended target until a black cloud manifests.
“WHOOOO IS ITT….”
Shit.
Special Grade cursed spirit Rika manifests, dark fangs on display as she surveys Toge’s bedroom. “Takana ,” He croaks out an apology as Rika’s gaze falls on him. Yuuta, the bastard, pays them no mind, focusing on the computer screen.
“OOOOHHHH… TOGE!!!!” Rika hisses, releasing wisps of cursed energy that pins Toge to his bed, unable to speak or move. He shuts his eyes, preparing for the worst as he feels the room warm up, fizzling with raw power. Goodbye Ma, Pa, Yuuta, Maki, Panda, Black Gyokuken, Gojo-sensei, Itadori-
After a few seconds of being alive, he cracks open an eye to see Rika fading back into the ceiling, waving goodbye?
“Mentaiko ??” Game be damned, Toge looks at Yuuta for an answer, signing rapidly. Bro I thought I was going to die and you were staring at the computer screen? Smh.
“It’s okay, man,” Yuuta has the nerve to chuckle in face of Toge’s would-be death. “Rika would never hurt you, knowing how much you mean to me!”
“Ok-okaka? ” Toge gapes openly, trying to make sense of whatever Yuuta just said. His friend, on the other hand, is capable of not hyper-analysing interactions and instead beckons Toge to the screen with a cheerful wave, “How’d I do?”
Sim Toge is decidedly better looking than The Real Toge™, with fuller, pinker lips and much better proportions. “They didn’t have your snake tattoos, so I added some moles instead,” Yuuta says, scratching the back of his neck. “Sorry.”
Fuck his birthmarks, Toge is struck by how long and thick Okkotsu Yuuta’s eyelashes are upon closer inspection.
Where did you get your eyelashes done, Toge begins to sign, but then thinks better of it. Hey, you made me tall.
“Yeah, I spent like 5 minutes looking for a height setting before I realised there wasn’t one,” Yuuta smirks, so handsome it takes everything Toge has in him not to kiss him square on the mouth. He pulls a face instead, wagging his tongue at his friend before turning to move them into the actual gameplay part of the Sims.
The setup part is pretty standard, with Yuuta chiming in with the occasional question as Toge moves them into a cheap city apartment. It’s not like they’re actually moving in together, so he clicks on the cheapest option, heeding no mind to the haunted warnings and supposedly annoying neighbours.
“Move over, gamer boy,” Yuuta eventually says, deciding he wants a go at the game. Toge willingly makes way for him, perching on the side of his bed as Yuuta takes charge. They go through the standard commands, eating, playing music and the likes until Toge has the bright idea of letting the Sims do whatever they want.
“Are you sure they’ll do anything?” Yuuta raises a doubtful eyebrow. “They seem pretty passive so far.” Trust me, Toge signs with a shrug. I’ve watched a fair amount of random gameplay videos to know-
“Hey, they’re moving already!” Yuuta interrupts Toge mid-sentence as the Sims walk towards each other on screen. “What do you think they’re doing?”
Maybe they should fight, Toge signs idly without much thought. Sim me would whoop your ass. “Yeah, yeah,” Yuuta’s lips quirk into a wry grin, “Just like real life.”
With both Yuuta and Toge focused on the game, the worst possible outcome occurs.
Sim Toge grabs Sim Yuuta by the waist and pulls him into a fiery kiss. A ‘passionate kiss’, the action panel indicates, and Toge figures as such, what with Sim Yuuta sticking his leg in the air and the Sims staring longingly at each other.
Toge had never been so jealous of a computer graphic.
A mortified silence follows, so quiet that Toge can hear his own breathing. When he finally finds the courage to look at Yuuta, his friend is beetroot all the way down to his neck. Judging from the spreading heat on his face, Toge’s probably not much better off.
Must be the ghosts in the apartment, Toge signs shakily, willing his blush to go down. Yuuta seems to be in similar degrees of discomfort, smile not reaching his eyes, “Yeah, ghosts.”
-
Group: Yuuta’s Surprise Farewell Party 🥳😭
02:03 Inumaki Toge: Gojo-sensei
02:04 Inumaki Toge: Can you make me admin?
02:15 Gojo Satoru: yh why
Gojo Satoru has made Inumaki Toge the group admin
Inumaki Toge has removed Gojo Satoru Gojo from the group
02:22 Inumaki Toge: fellas is it gay to watch ur sim kiss ur bro’s sim
02:22 Inumaki Toge: with said bro in the room
02:34 Panda: bruh
02:35 Panda: ofc?
02:35 Panda: y r we back in this gc
02:36 Inumaki Toge: family emergency
02:41 Z**** Maki: OUCH
02:41 Z**** Maki: also yes that is gay
02:42 Z**** Maki: have u considered asking him out
02:45 Panda: who is he
02:46 Panda: mayhaps our bestie okkotsu yuuta?
02:49 Inumaki Toge: wtf
02:49 Inumaki Toge: how did u find out
02:51 Z**** Maki: we have eyes
02:53 Z**** Maki: anyway gn
02:54 Z**** Maki: have fun getting stressed over ur big gay crush on Yuuta
02:55 Z**** Maki: rip 2 u but i’m different 🥰
03:01 Inumaki Toge: FUCK U
03:01 Inumaki Toge: panda? u still up?
03:05 Inumaki Toge: panda……..
09:02 Panda: oof fell asleep LOL 😗 wat goes on
-
Toge ends up avoiding Yuuta for a solid three days. (It could also be Yuuta who was avoiding him, but he decides not to overthink too much.) With the sheer size of Tokyo Jujutsu Tech’s school grounds, their packed schedules and a panda-sized shield, keeping interactions with his (maybe?) crush to a minimum was easier than Toge would’ve thought.
Maki, the source of 90% of Toge’s grievances, intervenes, tripping him with a sword once he steps foot outside his room after a nap and dragging him to who-knows-where. “ Okaka !” Toge knocks on Maki’s combat boots, pleading for his freedom. “ Takana! Tuna mayo! ”
“Nope,” Maki hums, with no respect for Toge’s safety as she lifts him down a flight of stairs, his face barely scraping the floor. “You’re just gonna hide in your room like a little hermit if you don’t do anything about your colossal crush on YUUT-”
Fuck was Maki doing, airing his business for the whole school to hear?
“Be quiet,” Toge curses, grinning as Maki opens and closes her mouth without making any sound, the spitting image of a bespectacled goldfish. The satisfaction wears off pretty quickly though- Maki dumps Toge on the pavement, switching to rapid JSL.
This is for your own good, son, Maki signs, albeit clumsily, brows knitted together in genuine concern. Toge, too soft and naive for his own good, starts feeling guilty almost instantaneously. What kind of sorcerer was he, cursing a comrade with no cursed energy?
“ Speak,” He curses again, regretting his decision once Maki’s lips twist into a sneer that translates to you’re dead meat, Toge. “Okaka!” Raising his hands in surrender, Toge signs quickly.
I’ll go with you. No more war crimes, please.
Maki pats Toge on the back in a manner that signifies comfort but somehow feels threatening, “We’re best friends, therefore nullifying any violations of the Geneva Convention.”
Toge, as always, has no idea what Maki means.
Like most afternoons, the training arena is packed (as packed as it gets in an exclusive sorcerer training academy) with students. In the centre of the chaos, Yuuta’s training in close-range combat with Itadori. While the first year might be gifted with superhuman physical prowess, he’s no match for Yuuta, a veteran in curse-slaying. Yuuta’s gaze is firm as he ducks Itadori’s punches in one smooth motion, flipping the first year with ease.
Especially the New Yuuta, all height and lean muscle and devastating attractiveness, an unhelpful little voice in Toge’s head supplies.
Shut up, Toge thinks with such resolve that his hands unconsciously mirror his thoughts.
“Who are you telling to shut up?” Maki gives him an odd look, “Love sure does do strange things to men .” Nothing, nothing, Toge signs frantically. Don’t say that out loud, he might see us-
Too late.
“Toge, Maki!” Yuuta notices them and raises a hand in greeting. Something in Toge’s chest twists at how his friend’s smile is as kind and hopeful as always, despite his obvious avoidance of the older boy.
“Go on, wave back to boyfriend dearest,” Maki’s smile is unbelievably smug as Toge musters something like a smile and wiggles his fingers at Yuuta, who’s abruptly pulled back in a headlock by Itadori.
“Shake, shake, ” Toge turns away from the arena, refusing to meet Maki’s knowing gaze. He’s busy, not a good time to talk. Toge can practically hear Maki roll her eyes as she follows him to the punching bag area. To her credit, though, Maki’s a reasonable, loyal friend who doesn’t push any further as Toge builds his upper-body strength. (Read: pictures every punching bag as his useless, desperate Sim self)
“Say,” Maki drones as Toge finally runs out of stamina and flops onto the (filthy, but Toge doesn’t care) training mat face-down. “Did you notice he’s wearing the headband you gave him?”
Toge did, in fact, notice.
The bear face wash headband had been his gift to Yuuta at the latter’s surprise farewell party. Initially, Toge had worried about the gift, which bore little usefulness compared to Panda’s brass knuckles or Maki’s cursed Katana sheath. But Yuuta had been delighted by the silly little keepsake all the same.
He vividly remembers the way Yuuta’s face had lit up when he opened the gift- hastily wrapped with a piece of patterned fabric. “Thanks, Toge! I’ll always think of you when I use it.” Toge had laughed back then, not realising that his friend would actually use the dorky gift for practise purposes, as proven by countless blurry selfies.
I don’t want to ruin our friendship, Toge wants to sign before realising he’s still wearing boxing gloves. He settles for a distressed Okaka instead.
“You’re afraid of ruining your friendship?” Maki mutters several choice words under her breath. “Have you seen the way he looks at you? If anything, he’s the one who’s terrified of change.”
Toge stays silent. He knows Yuuta looks at everyone with the same trusting, vulnerable gaze. Another reason not to delve into the accumulating mass of feelings he has for his best friend.
Maki inhales, as if about to give Toge a piece of her mind, but evidently thinks better of it and sighs instead, “Wanna spar and have me whoop some sense into your scrawny ass?”
“Okaka .”
Toge knew Maki was just being nice, but the thought of doing more exercise made him want to spend the next 30 hours in bed.
Gojo-sensei, Toge’s unlikely saviour of the day, chooses that exact second to materialise. “I hate to disrupt a good brawl,” Their lanky teacher laments as Toge and Maki scramble to stand, “But I’ll need to steal Inumaki-kun for a second. May I?”
Through his stupid tiny sunglasses, Gojo-sensei’s gaze is piercing, leaving no room for Maki to disagree. Toge happily takes his leave with a nod, flashing a peace sign at Maki as he follows Gojo-sensei to the main arena.
Yuuta is still training, damn him, looking unfairly hot as he twirls his katana around in some fancy slashing move.
“Ahem,” Gojo-sensei makes a show of clearing his throat, straightening his non-existent tie and all. Toge stares at him, wanting but not so rude to sign what do you want?
“You’re assigned on this mission tomorrow afternoon- the case details have been emailed to you. It’s just a few lower grade curses, with a grade 2 in there somewhere, so you should be fine.”
“Shake ,” Toge nods. Maybe a mission would be a good chance for him to clear his head. Anyone else coming along? He signs.
“To be frank, I have no idea.” Gojo-sensei grins as if this was some kind of good news. (It was not.) “My dear Inumaki-kun, you are most certainly strong enough to handle these measly curses. But you know the higher-ups, they’ve gotten more paranoid recently, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they pair you with someone else in the hope that a freak accident occurs and you die together!”
Toge responds to the notion of his death with a thumbs up.
“Splendid,” Gojo- sensei claps his hands together, “Should be fine as long as you try to stay alive!” Ah, good ol’ Gojo, reassuring as always.
Toge’s about to excuse himself when Gojo- sensei makes a big show of leaning in close to his ear, speaking in a conspiratorial whisper, ”By the way, about the Yuuta group chat…”
Shit.
In the whirlwind week of gay panic, Toge had clean forgot that he had kicked Gojo-sensei out of their old and admittedly dead group chat. Men (and curses) had died for lesser crimes under the hands of The Strongest Sorcerer.
To make matters worse, a flushed Yuuta was staring at them mere meters away, towelling his hair while chattering absentmindedly to an animated Itadori.
Think, Toge, think!
“Shhh…” Toge presses a finger to his mouth before signing quickly: surprise, can’t spill, Maki would kill me.
“Ahh,” Gojo-sensei ’s eyebrows shoot up in understanding, “Would this matter involve a certain dashing special grade sorcerer?”
What the fuck.
Toge resists the urge to scream. He had known that Gojo-sensei was powerful beyond any sorcerer’s imagination, but he would’ve never guessed that his teacher paid so much attention to students. At this point, lying would be fruitless.
“Sh-shake. ” Toge mutters as nonchalantly as possible. He really should’ve stayed in bed.
“Aha!” Gojo-sensei lets out a gleeful hyena laugh, sticking his tongue out and doing a little dance that looks ridiculous on his lanky limbs. Toge can’t help but judge- for a world-class sorcerer, Gojo-sensei appeared just a little too emotionally involved in student gossip.
“I’ll look forward to my surprise birthday party, then!” Gojo-sensei smirks, pressing a finger to his lips as he saunters away, humming a tune.
Normally, Toge would take several minutes to formulate his thoughts after similar harrowing exchanges. But with a looming threat (read: a sweaty, smiley Yuuta) not far away, he skedaddles.
His feelings and Gojo-sensei’s non-existent surprise birthday celebration could wait.
-
Group: Yuuta’s Surprise Farewell Party 🥳😭
16:04 Panda: @Inumaki Toge Why are you running? Why are you running?
16:05 Inumaki Toge: AAAAHHHHHHHHHH
16:15 Z**** Maki: u need help
-
“You look tired,” Nitta-san comments once Toge ducks into her car the next day, decked out and ready for the mission. Didn’t sleep well, he signs, noting dark circles under his eyes from his reflection in the rearview mirror.
“Bummer,” Nitta-san clicks her tongue in a sympathetic manner, launching into a tirade about her sleeping patterns as a budding sorcerer- Toge catches nearly none of it. He doesn’t mean to be rude when Nitta-san ’s making an effort to connect, but he’d rather conserve his limited energy for curse-slaying.
Why aren’t we moving? Toge signs when the car remains immobile even after Nitta-san finishes her story about a nightmare-inducing curse. “Oh, we’re waiting for Yuuta-kun! He’s coming along too, didn’t Gojo tell you?”
Toge feels like bolting and leaving the jujutsu world entirely. Maybe he could be a turnip farmer in the countryside-
“Hey,” Yuuta ducks into the compartment, giving Nitta- san an apologetic smile, ”Sorry I’m late.” His freshly dried hair looks uncharacteristically fluffy, and Toge wants to run his fingers through it so bad. He tightens his grip on his throat medicine instead. “Don’t worry about it,” Nitta-san laughs cheerily, revving the engine once Yuuta buckles up. “If anything, thank Inumaki- kun for waiting for you- poor kid’s eye bags could rival Panda’s.”
“Toge?” Yuuta’s eyes are warm, and Toge’s heart skips a beat at the use of his first name. The boy had started addressing him by his first name long ago, claiming that it felt more natural being on a first-name basis with all the second years, what with Maki hating her family and Panda, well, being Panda. Toge had absolutely no reason to act so nervous around his best friend.
“Shake, shake,” Toge confirms. It’s okay.
Didn’t sleep well, that’s all.
“Ah,” Yuuta raises his eyebrows in understanding, “Let’s finish this quickly then- dark circles are supposed to be my thing.” Trying to get rid of me ASAP? Toge can’t resist teasing, relishing in the way Yuuta scratches his neck, stammering. His friend might’ve gained extra height and cursed energy, but he’s still the same dorky kid that Toge can’t help but feel protective of.
His selfish feelings could wait, Toge thinks as he nudges Yuuta and signs a hurried yet sincere apology.
(“Don’t you dare be a stranger again,” Yuuta tells him, brows knitted in genuine concern as they pull up to an abandoned mall. They shake on it, and not even the squirming curses with bulging eyes are gross enough to make Toge’s smile waver.)
-
Three hours later, they’re lazing around comfortably in Toge’s room, having completed the mission sooner than expected. As Yuuta pokes around, commenting on the trinkets and keepsakes Toge has added to his collection during his overseas stay, Toge silently marvels at how this feels just right, as if they’ve never fallen out of sync.
“Where did you get this?” Yuuta holds up a lava lamp, mesmerized by the multicoloured bubbles gurgling inside. Disney Sea, Toge signs, giggling at Yuuta’s pout. “You went? Without me?” Yuuta whines, far too adorable for a sorcerer who took out a horde of centipede curses with a single hand motion.
Whining at your big age? Toge jokes, overcome with fondness as Yuuta flushes pink. We can go again someday if you want- Panda makes a convincing Mickey Mouse mascot.
“Yeah, that would be nice,” Yuuta hums wishfully, crushing Djungelskog as he inches closer to Toge, “I wish we could hang out more, y’know, outside classes and curse exorcising.” “ Shake .” Me Too.
“When I was in Africa, I saw all these crazy gorgeous sights, but they felt empty somehow without you there,” Yuuta says, sounding unusually sombre. Toge pats his shoulder hesitantly- once, twice.
“Shake,” I missed you too.
Yuuta laughs, a throaty, heartfelt sound that gets Toge’s lips to twitch as well.
“I like you so much.”
What.
Questioning all five of his senses simultaneously, Toge stares at Yuuta, who claps a hand over his mouth as if he’s spilled someone else’s biggest secret. “Fuck, I meant to say I missed you- I mean, I do like you so much, but that’s beyond the point-”
You like me? Toge signs slowly, still in shock. In like, a bro way?
“In a bro way too!” Yuuta says firmly, covering his face in embarrassment (now completely scarlet) as one of Toge’s Haikyuu!! figurines fall face-first from the impact of his voice. “...but in a romantic way too? If you’d like to?”
Toge feels like he’s floating. Yuuta likes him. Yuuta wants to romance him, even.
“Y-Yuuta,” Toge tries out the name on his tongue, reaching out to remove the boy’s hands from his face. “ Shake .”
I like you too.
Of course, Yuuta understands- understands his onigiri speech, understands him- as a wide, downright blinding grin spreads across his cheeks. “You like me,” He repeats, eyes searching Toge’s face in ecstatic disbelief. “You like me?”
Toge resists the urge to roll his eyes, but he, too, is smiling so hard his face hurts. I like you, he mouths, watching in wonder as imaginary fireworks go off behind Yuuta’s eyes.
Or are the fireworks in Toge’s own eyes, reflected in Yuuta’s? Either way, he doesn’t really care.
TOGE. Yuuta mouths, cheeks a sparkly rose. Can I kiss you?
Toge doesn’t need to be told twice- he’s already leaning in.
(They end up on Toge’s bed, tangled in blankets and each other. Yuuta looks perfect with his forehead knocked against Toge’s, and he can’t resist booping his boyfriend’s nose with a finger, screaming internally at the way Yuuta scrunches his nose like a kitten.
Sorry I ignored you after we played the Sims, Toge signs as an afterthought. I got embarrassed, from the, you know-
“The what?” Yuuta looks confused for a second, but his subsequent confusion is clearly feigned, a teasing grin barely hanging off the corners of his (very kissable) mouth. “I suppose I don’t recall- mind refreshing my memory? I’m a hands-on learner btw.”
You did not just spell btw out loud, Toge signs with fond exasperation, leaning into Yuuta’s embrace. Toge never pictured himself a romantic, but he figures he’d like to bottle the feeling and get drunk on it every night.
-
They end up picking up the Sims again, going as far as moving their Simselves into a swanky mansion and making the other students to accompany Sim Toge and Sim Yuuta. Busy woohooing? Panda teases once he finds out they play. Toge has to drag his confused boyfriend away before he’s corrupted any further.
Yuuta discovers yet another talent in Sim-making- his Maki and Kugisaki look so lifelike that Toge thinks they might start yelling at him any second. Customised by painting either side of a bald man’s head black, Toge deems Sim Panda passable given the Sims 4’s human-centric settings.
Sim Fushiguro and Sim Itadori, however, look nothing like their real-life counterparts.
Why did you give Fushiguro a fish mouth and Itadori those thick ass grandad brows? Toge signs once he gets over his initial disgust at the slander of his beloved cute kouhai. Have you ever seen a boy in your life?
“You’re the only boy I ever look at,” Yuuta says, 100% earnest with the reddest ears ever, and Toge has no choice but to shut him up (read: kiss him)