Chapter Text
Yuuji slumps onto his bed almost immediately after stepping into his room. He doesn’t remember the last time he slept in his own room, seeing that he’s just been sleeping over in the room next door ever since… well, everything.
When he got back with Nobara after that late night ice cream, Gojo had informed them that Shoko had done some tests on Megumi— they had all come back clear. Thank God. It was just that it looked like it was going to be a couple days before Megumi woke up.
Yuuji was tired. He was tired from the fight, he was tired from the commute back here. Mostly, he was tired from being worried sick about Megumi.
Megumi rarely ever got himself into situations where he was deemed unconscious by the end of it. Heck, it was mostly Yuuji who would end up in those situations. Yuuji knows that Megumi was strong— both physically and mentally— but to think of the possibility of him never waking up?
Yuuji shuts down his thoughts, knowing it would turn into another problem if he let them get too far. Plus, Shoko already said that he’d be waking up. Who is he to not believe in her?
He summons the strength to change into something cleaner before tucking himself into bed, convincing himself that he would be disgusted in the morning if he didn’t.
Yuuji finds himself tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep despite him being extra tired and just begging to be able to go to sleep. All these past nights, he would have Megumi to hold throughout the night, and he would have a place for him to nuzzle his nose into. Now, though, he was forced to spend the night with the absence of the heat he always found comfort in— something that has become foreign to him.
He ends up falling asleep anyway.
₊˚⊹ ᰔ
Yuuji wakes up in a cold sweat. He tries to slow down his breathing, taking deep breaths and holding them before exhaling again. His brain finally registers that he had a nightmare.
He hasn’t had a nightmare in god knows how long. His best bet would be to say that he hasn’t been getting any nightmares since he had Megumi keep him company throughout the long hours of the night.
Clearly, Yuuji misses Megumi’s presence more than he has let on.
Yuuji is grateful that he doesn’t remember any part of his nightmare; just the dreadful horror that came with it. He goes to wash his face in the bathroom and decides to change into another t-shirt since the one he’d been wearing was sticky with sweat.
He lies down in bed again, trying to shut off his brain but he finds that he just… can’t.
So, Yuuji gets up and digs through his drawers for the spare key to Megumi’s room that Megumi gave him one night— in case of emergencies. Well, this was an emergency. An Itadori Yuuji’s heart emergency.
He finally finds it lodged in between his socks.
He enters Megumi’s room and finds one of Megumi’s hoodies hanging from a chair. He brings it with him to Megumi’s bed, where he flops down and holds it tightly to his chest.
Yuuji didn’t know what time it was, but the sky outside was still dark and littered with stars, so he only hoped that he was able to get a good amount of sleep in.
He’s willing to bet that he’d be able to do just that with Megumi’s hoodie in his arms. It wasn’t everything, but it was enough.
₊˚⊹ ᰔ
The rest of the week passes gloomily— all dark clouds and heavy rain every evening. The sun is rarely ever out for too long anymore.
Yuuji had gone to visit Megumi regularly at the infirmary where Shoko had been holding him. Megumi still hasn’t woken up, though there have been times where Yuuji manages to catch Megumi’s fingers tightening around his when Yuuji spends almost half his day by Megumi’s side.
At least there was that.
Yuuji and Nobara aren’t assigned on any missions for the time being, so Yuuji spends his time rewatching his favourite movies in Megumi’s room; never not mourning the others' absence.
Yuuji mourns the faint scent of Megumi threatening to leave Megumi’s sheets, his hoodies— everything just starts to smell like Yuuji instead. He takes his showers in Megumi’s bathroom, lathering himself in the other’s body wash. He regrets never asking what brand or what scent it was. It really is almost finished now.
Hopefully he’ll remember to ask Megumi when he wakes up again.
July makes itself known in Jujutsu High, making everything hot and humid.
Yuuji is once again in Megumi’s room, his eyes adjusting to the light after a long nap. What time was it?
Knockknockknock.
“Itadori! Open up!”
Yuuji’s eyes fluttered open at the voice from the other side of the door. He presses the heel of his palms into his eyes, groaning at the bright sunlight shining into his eyes.
He pushes off the blanket, and swings his feet onto the ground before getting up to open the door. He is greeted with Nobara, dressed in an outfit that practically screams we’re going out and having fun.
“Kugisaki… how did you know I was here?” Yuuji asks, his voice still groggy.
“Well, your idiot self forgot to lock your door, and when I peeked in, you weren’t there. Just guessed that you’d be in Fushiguro's room instead.”
“Right,” Yuuji chuckles. “What are you doing here, anyway?”
“We’re going out! And we’re going to have some fun.”
Bingo.
Yuuji lets out a deep sigh. “Kugisaki, I’m a little tired to have fun right now.”
“You’ve been tired for the past week. Clearly, you need some fresh air.”
Yuuji stares at Nobara.
“Please? For me?”
“Fine.”
Nobara squeals in excitement, walking into Megumi’s room. “Okay, go and freshen up first. You stink.”
“Hey!”
“What? It’s true!”
Yuuji stops and takes a whiff of his shirt. Ok, he did stink a little bit. He blames it on the weather.
It was one of the days where the sun was shining exceptionally bright and everyone on the streets was forced to wear sunglasses and bring umbrellas with them to shield themselves from the light. It’s been raining too heavily for the past week, and today’s weather seemed like it was giving a chance for Yuuji to brighten up after being gloomy for far too long.
Yuuji isn’t surprised if by tomorrow everything changes and goes back to being cold and dark again, though.
Nobara drags Yuuji to the Shitamachi Tanabata Matsuri all the way in Asakusa where the streets are decorated with crazy colours and a bunch of handmade ornaments that hang from bamboo branches. The number of food stalls are more than Yuuji can count on his own fingers, and Nobara is already holding more than enough street food for the both of them in her hands when they haven’t even been here for more than twenty minutes.
Yuuji notes the street performances that make the overall energy even more energetic and lively— the street jugglers, the group of Taiko drummers, the dancers who are performing dances Yuuji could never coordinate himself enough to perform.
As they reach towards the end of a particular street, right before Nobara pulls Yuuji’s wrist to head down to the next alley, Yuuji spots an old man manning a stall with an array of tanzaku behind him.
Yuuji sees the sign that reads ‘Make A Wish! ¥100’ and tugs on Nobara’s wrist; a little too harshly, apparently.
“Itadori, ow!”
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to pull that hard,” Yuuji muttered. “Anyway, uh, can we- go to that stall over there? The one with the old man?” Yuuji is pointing over to the colourful stall.
“The make a wish stall?”
“Yes.”
Nobara rolls her eyes, “Fine. But only cause you’ve been following me around all day.”
“Thanks, Kugisaki. You’re the best.”
Yuuji has a warm conversation with the old man in charge of the stall. He finds himself telling the man about the details of his wish— for Megumi to be alright again, amongst other things.
The old man helps Yuuji pick out a light shade of yellow for his tanzaku, along with a dark blue ribbon to hang it on a bamboo branch later on. Yuuji writes his wish down in his ever improving kanji. This time around, the strokes are a little neater and easier to read; even his handwriting took Megumi Matters very seriously.
Yuuji then loops his ribbon through the hole that was punched into his tanzaku before hanging it onto a bamboo branch that was attached to a pillar nearby.
He thanks the old man for his help, paying him an extra 100 yen before leaving. Nobara had gotten distracted by a stall selling charms nearby when Yuuji was writing his wish down, so he went on his way to stop Nobara from spending too much.
“Made your wish?” Nobara asked as the two of them started walking to the next alley where more wonders awaited them.
“Mhm.”
“What’d ya wish for?”
“You know what I wished for.” Yuuji takes a bite of the mochi he got earlier. He can’t help but feel his words coming back up his throat, threatening to spill over into tears.
Nobara stops in her tracks. “Itadori?”
Yuuji stops too. “Yeah?” Yuuji’s voice is muffled from him stuffing the rest of the mochi into his mouth.
“He’s going to wake up, you know. It’s literally Fushiguro.”
Yuuji laughs at that. For the first time in two weeks, Yuuji lets out a real, genuine laugh. Not a wavering laugh that was forced out because Gojo was trying to cheer him up, not a crooked laugh that came from a slightly funny scene in a movie. It was a laugh that filled his heart with warmth— with hope— because yes, this was literally Megumi they were talking about.
“Yeah. Yeah, I know.”
₊˚⊹ ᰔ
Yuuji and Nobara savor the sunny weather, staying out until the first signs of rain come. They run towards the train station when it suddenly starts raining heavily and they realise that neither of them had an umbrella. They stepped foot into the station just before lightning struck the air behind them.
Mere minutes after getting a seat on the train, Yuuji looks to his right to see that Nobara had already passed out on his shoulder, so he pulls out his phone to keep him entertained for the rest of the journey.
That’s when he sees it.
*1 new message*
Gojo: Megumi’s up.
Yuuji wants to jump for joy and let the whole world know about his happiness when he realises that Nobara would probably kill him if he moved his shoulder even an inch. Yuuji types back a response quickly; he’s sure his joy could be conveyed through the screen.
He spends the rest of the train ride looking out at the city, letting the colours of it blur from the water droplets having a race on the outside of the windows. He thinks about the first thing he’d say to Megumi when he sees him again. What does he even say?
There were too many words running through his brain, all with an insatiable appetite to make its mark in his upcoming conversation with Megumi. Yuuji wants to tell Megumi about the sleepless nights he spent in Megumi’s room, and how his own room has been left abandoned ever since he figured out he wasn’t able to sleep unless there was a piece of the other with him.
He wants to tell Megumi about the movies he’s been rewatching, and how he gets heartsick when he turns to comment on a character’s actions and realises too late that he’s alone, and has been alone for far too long. Sure, it’s only been almost two weeks, but that’s almost two weeks far too long for Yuuji to be without Megumi.
Yuuji wants to tell Megumi that he’s sorry about using up all his body wash, and tell him that he’ll go and get bottles upon bottles of it just so he doesn’t get the chance to forget how Megumi smells like every time Yuuji breathes him in like it is the only thing he needs to survive this Earth.
Then… then Yuuji thinks about his foolproof plan he was in the midst of conjuring before they went on that mission all those nights ago. The plan of asking Megumi to become his boyfriend, for real this time. And how if he was ever going to carry out this plan, it would have to be now. Because two weeks ago, Yuuji kept putting it off, and well, look how that turned out. Yuuji never wants to regret doing anything too late anymore.
The train announces that they’re one stop away from their destination, and Yuuji’s got it all sorted out. Well, kinda. He won’t be surprised if his already fragile plan flies directly out the window the second he sees Megumi again.
When the train halts at their stop, Yuuji lightly nudges his shoulder, waking Nobara up. He lets her regain her bearings before delivering the news.
“What’d I tell you, Itadori?” Nobara smirks, proud of being right once again.
The two of them travel back to Jujutsu High, both giddy to see their best friend again. Awake and well, this time. As Yuuji and Nobara arrive at the doors of the infirmary, they exchange knowing glances. “Do you wanna have a moment with him first?” Nobara asks, her eyes soft.
“Nah, it’s fine. We can go in together.”
Yuuji locks eyes with Megumi the second the door opens. Gojo and Shoko are in the room too, the two of them flashing a smile towards Yuuji and Nobara. “Hey, guys. Where’ve you been?” Gojo asks.
“I dragged Itadori down to Asakusa with me,” Nobara started. “Seemed like he needed the distraction.”
“Yeah, thanks, Kugisaki,” Yuuji smiles. “Gojo-sensei, we got you some snacks.”
“I’ll be taking those from your hands then. Thanks, Yuuji!” Gojo exclaims as he grabs the plastic bag from Yuuji before walking out of the infirmary.
Shoko follows behind Gojo seconds after. “I’ll give you guys a moment with Fushiguro. No loud noises, m’kay? Kid’s still a little woozy.”
Yuuji and Nobara bow in gratitude, uttering thanks to Shoko. Thanks for keeping Megumi alive.
The pair rush to the bed Megumi had been sitting up in, each of them taking a side. “Hey, Fushiguro. You look awful,” Nobara teases.
“Well, hello to you too, Kugisaki.” Megumi is rolling his eyes, though he doesn’t try hiding the smile appearing on his face. He turns to Yuuji, and Yuuji can see his eyes soften in real time in front of him. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Yuuji replies softly, as if he was still in disbelief that he was finally talking to Megumi again. “How’ve you been?”
“Mm, a little woozy— like Shoko said— but… I’m good. Better, now that you’re here.”
Yuuji feels heat creeping up the back of his neck.
“Um, hello?” Nobara interrupts. “I’m here too, dude.”
“And thanks to you too, Kugisaki,” Megumi taunts.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever, I’m going back to my room and taking a shower. Have fun you lovebirds!” Nobara exclaims as she walks towards the very doors she entered a couple minutes ago. She doesn’t forget to flash a shit-eating grin towards Yuuji and Megumi as she closes the door behind her.
Now, with it only being the two of them in here, the room suddenly feels small; all the walls seem to be closing in on them. Yuuji doesn’t remember a single thing he planned to say to Megumi while he was on the train. Yuuji and Megumi stare at each other for a little bit, the unfamiliar awkwardness finding space in between them. Almost as if they’re both terrified of saying the wrong thing.
“I—”
“Are—”
Yuuji brings up a hand to the back of his neck, rubbing at it nervously as he lets out a nervous chuckle. Megumi smiles at Yuuji and Yuuji forgets they haven’t spoken in almost two weeks.
“Are you okay?” Yuuji asks, his hand coming down to Megumi’s forearm. His fingers start tracing lines on it absentmindedly and he realises that he’s missed this— touching Megumi— a lot more than he thought he did.
Megumi’s hand finds Yuuji’s, his fingers grabbing hold of Yuuji’s fingers to play with them. “Yes. Yeah, I am.”
They fall into that silence again, though this time, a little less unfamiliar and a little more comfortable instead. “I missed you,” Yuuji mumbles. “I slept in your room the entire time you were gone, I hope you don’t mind.” Yuuji looks down at their fingers— now interlaced with each other— like he’s too shy to admit how much he missed Megumi. “And— and, I used your body wash. It’s almost finished now, sorry about that, I’ll get you a new one. And—”
Yuuji had no time to process anything before he felt hands cupping his jaw, and a pair of soft lips on his. His hands scramble to wrap around Megumi, pulling him flush to his chest. The kiss is broken far too soon when Megumi pulls away to look up at Yuuji.
“Can you please stop apologising for stuff you don’t have to be sorry about?” Megumi scolded, though there wasn’t any real bite behind his words.
Yuuji simply smiles back, his hands now rubbing slow circles on Megumi’s back. “Okay,” he whispers before kissing Megumi again. He feels Megumi smiling against his lips, and he can’t help but smile back. As Yuuji pulls away this time, he slides onto the bed, tucking himself into what space is left beside Megumi.
Once Yuuji is settled in, he wraps his arms around Megumi, and Megumi rests his head onto Yuuji’s shoulder. They sit in silence like that for a bit, before Megumi starts up, “I missed you too, Yuuji. I kept having dreams about— about that night. And even though I was the one who ended up here, my mind kept showing me a version of the night where it was you who ended up unconscious instead.”
There’s a pause, and Yuuji wants to butt in, but he knew to let Megumi get everything off of his chest first.
“And I just— I could never wake up. It was like I was stuck in a loop. A horrible one. But then, one time, I could somehow feel your hands, and I don’t know if you ever noticed, but I tried to hold it- your hands. I’m not sure if I ever succeeded, but whenever that happened, the dreams stopped. Thank God.” Megumi looks up at Yuuji, one of his hands coming up to Yuuji’s face, his thumb caressing Yuuji’s jaw. “Thank you. For visiting and- and staying really long sometimes. I know I wasn’t awake, but a part of me knew when you were here, and I just— thank you.”
Yuuji pushes a strand of hair away from Megumi’s eyes. His hair never did know how to stay in one place. “I’m always gonna be here, Megumi. Forever and always. I mean it.” Yuuji places a kiss onto Megumi’s temple in hopes that a kiss would be enough to seal his promise.
They exchange another kiss after that— one with a little more passion— but stop when Yuuji gets worried about hurting Megumi in any way. Megumi pouts, but settles after minutes of bickering: I’m literally fine, Yuuji, No- I mean, yes you are but you have to rest, You owe me, Fine. I promise when you’re all back on your feet, we can kiss all you want, hmm?, Fine.
“You know I made a wish?” Yuuji asks, his fingers carding through Megumi’s hair.
“A wish? A wish about what?”
“A wish about you.”
“About… me?”
“Yes, Megumi. A wish about you,” Yuuji chuckles. “At the Shitamachi Tanabata Matsuri Kugisaki brought me to. There was this stall where we could write down little wishes and I made one about you getting better. I didn’t think it would come true within a day.”
Megumi punches Yuuji’s shoulder. “Ow! What was that for?!”
“Just be grateful I’m awake, idiot.”
“I— of course I’m grateful!”
Yuuji practically feels Megumi rolling his eyes. “Thanks for the wish, I guess.”
“Mhm, no problem, sweetheart,” Yuuji teases, planting a kiss in Megumi’s hair.
₊˚⊹ ᰔ
Yuuji wakes up to Megumi unconsciously tugging onto his hoodie that had somehow ridden up, leaving his torso open and exposed to the cold air of the infirmary. He looks down to see Megumi snuggled against his chest, and he looks… ethereal. Megumi’s hair was more over the place than usual, strands threatening to poke Yuuji’s eyes, but he still looked like heaven on Earth.
Yuuji shifts around, trying to see if there was a clock that could tell him the time literally anywhere in the room. Alas, there wasn’t a clock in sight. So, he looks out the window through the small gap from the curtains and sees that the sky has turned dark, multiple shades of blue and purple painting it. In Yuuji’s pursuit in telling the time, he seemed to have woken Megumi up, who was now nuzzling his nose against Yuuji’s chest even more.
Yuuji cards his fingers through Megumi’s hair, whispering, “Hey, Megumi. Wake up.”
“Mm, don’t wanna,” Megumi mumbles.
Oh god. Yuuji could die from cuteness aggression right now.
“Megumi.” Yuuji is still whispering against Megumi’s hair. “Megumi, baby—”
“No, no wanna,” Megumi babbles, tucking himself into Yuuji’s embrace even more now.
Yuuji sighs, admitting defeat. Guess it’s not a bad thing to be here a little longer.
Yuuji is still playing with Megumi’s hair when the door to the infirmary creaks open, and Shoko enters. “Hey, kid.”
“Hi. Sorry, we uh- fell asleep.”
Shoko laughs softly, “Don’t worry about it. I was just coming in to pack up for the day.”
“Um, can– can Megumi go back to sleeping in his room tonight? Or does he have to stay here a little longer?”
“Sure, Fushiguro can go back to sleeping in his room. I don’t see any reason why he shouldn’t.”
“Okay, thanks, Shoko-san.”
“No problem,” Shoko smiles. “Good night, Itadori. Take care of him, hmm?”
“Yes. Yes, of course,” Yuuji nods profusely.
The rest of the night consisted of Yuuji hauling a very sleepy Megumi on his shoulders to Megumi’s room. He had half a mind to call Nobara up and ask her for help, but Yuuji decided against it after seeing the time and decided he didn’t want to sit through her nagging.
When they finally reached Megumi’s room, Yuuji quickly set Megumi down onto his bed, and tucked him into the blanket. Yuuji plants a chaste kiss on Megumi’s forehead before leaving him be to deal with everything else.
Yuuji goes over to his room to change into some comfier, cleaner clothes before heading back to Megumi’s. In Megumi’s room, he brushes his teeth and washes his face before boiling some water to make tea later on. He wets a face towel with warm water to wipe down Megumi’s face— just to keep him feeling a little fresher overnight.
Once the kettle whistles, Yuuji pours the steaming water into a bottle with an oolong tea bag already waiting in it. He sets the bottle on Megumi’s desk, just in case Megumi needed a drink in the middle of the night. Though, considering the time, he might just be drinking it when he wakes up in a couple hours.
Yuuji turns off the lights, leaving the small yellow light by the door on before tucking himself into bed with Megumi. As if Megumi was just waiting for Yuuji to be done with everything, Megumi immediately wraps his arms around Yuuji, holding him tight. Yuuji places another kiss onto Megumi’s temple, muttering, “Good night, Megumi. Sleep tight.”
Yuuji is about to shut his eyes, before—
“Love you.” Megumi’s voice rumbles against Yuuji’s chest.
What? Did he just—?
Yuuji looks back down to where Megumi was. He was still dead asleep, eyes shut, eyelashes casting delicate shadows across his cheek in the dim light.
Huh. Maybe he heard wrong.
It was already god knows what time, and yes, Yuuji was definitely hearing things. Yuuji decides to ignore the fluttering in his chest, and shuts his eyes for real now. Although, he can't seem to get rid of the tiny voice that is practically screaming at him to please ask Megumi to actually be your boyfriend now.
Okay, okay. Soon. No more waiting.