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“I need your help.”
Megumi doesn’t even look up from the book he’s reading. “No.”
“Uh, yes.” Maki marches over to him and plucks the book from his hands, tossing it onto the table before he can argue. His fault for reading in the common room, honestly. If he didn’t want to be bothered, he should’ve stayed in his dorm. “I need to pick out the perfect Christmas gift for Nobara. You’re her friend, so you’re going to help me.”
Megumi looks at his book in despair. “You couldn’t have let me mark my page?”
“This is serious!”
“I don’t know what you should get Kugisaki.” He reaches for the book, but Maki is faster, smacking it across the table so it slides onto the floor. He groans. “She’s your girlfriend. Figure it out yourself.”
Maki huffs. Megumi is astoundingly difficult to get along with—it’s surprising he actually is friends with Nobara. But she refuses to give up so easily, and Yuuta, Toge, and Panda are all busy anyway. Which means Megumi is her only option. And she has to get this done today, because it’s the only day she has free before Christmas Eve.
“You don’t actually have a choice in this,” she informs Megumi. “I know you have a free day too, and you’re clearly not spending it with your classmates, so you can spend it with me. Doing something useful.”
“I was going to study.”
“Why bother? We all know they’ll just give us diplomas regardless of test scores if we manage to survive ‘til graduation.”
Megumi frowns at that, but he doesn’t argue. So Maki takes the opportunity to grab his arm and drag him up from his seat. “Come on, let’s go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get back and you can keep being the most boring person on campus.”
Megumi rolls his eyes. “You sound like Todo.”
“Never say that to me again.”
Maki drags him all the way back to his dorm, then shoves him through the door with explicit instructions to get dressed within the next five minutes, or else she’ll barge into the room and make him go shopping in his pajamas. Unsurprisingly, Megumi obliges, appearing back in the hallway at exactly the five minute mark. He knows Maki isn’t afraid to follow through on her threats.
She looks him up and down, silently judging his clear lack of effort—the hoodie and sweatpants combo really isn’t much different from his previous hoodie and pajama pants. But she supposes she can’t judge too harshly; she’s always been one to prioritize comfort and function over style.
“Alright.” She claps her hands together. “Let’s go!”
Megumi groans again.
—
Look, it’s not like Megumi hates Maki or anything. She can be a bit much at times, but out of all of the family members he estranged himself from, she actually seems like the most enjoyable to be around. Unfortunately for her, Megumi is not a fan of being around other people in general—especially when he’d planned and prepared himself for a nice day of peace and quiet. Alone.
But Maki does not take no for an answer when she has her mind set on something, so here Megumi is, riding the train to Shibuya instead of studying in his dorm, mourning the disruption of his perfect schedule. Which included: not being in crowded places, not interacting with other people, and not—
“You spend a lot of time around Nobara,” Maki says casually, “so you must know what sort of clothes she likes best, right?”
—not whatever this is.
Megumi rolls his eyes. “It’s not my job to stay up-to-date on her latest fashion trends. Once again, you’re her girlfriend.”
“Well, yeah, but—” Maki groans. “It all looks the same to me! And her fashion opinions change, like, every other week. How am I supposed to know if the cute shirt that she adored last week is totally uncool now?”
“Ask?”
“I can’t do that if I’m getting her a present!”
“Then get her a gift card,” Megumi suggests.
Maki scoffs. “That’s such a cop out. It’s no wonder you can’t get a boyfriend, geez.”
Megumi’s face heats. “I’m not—”
“Don’t even try with me,” Maki interrupts.
Megumi relents, slumping his shoulders. “Okay, okay. Whatever. Don’t get her clothes, then. She likes other stuff, too.” He racks his mind, trying to come up with the things Kugisaki has been talking about recently. “Makeup, jewelry, uhhh… Hello Kitty?” Briefly, Megumi is struck with a vision of Kugisaki receiving one of those kiddy makeup palettes themed after cartoon characters. She’d throw it back in he or Itadori’s faces, but from Maki, she’d accept it like it was blessed by a god.
“I don’t think it matters too much what you get for her,” Megumi notes. “She’ll like it because it’s from you.”
Maki pouts. “That doesn’t mean I don’t want to get her something good. You’re seriously no help at all.”
“Then why did you drag me along?”
“Because maybe an idea will magically surface in that dumb brain of yours once you get over today’s I-don’t-want-to-talk-to-anyone-ever complex.”
Megumi bristles. “I don’t—”
Maki cuts him off with a rather blunt, “Talking to you is like hugging a cactus. You’re lucky I’m stubborn.”
I’m really not, Megumi thinks. But he’s reached his limit for arguing with Maki today, so he just pulls his phone out and starts scrolling through Instagram, ignoring when she starts berating him for not taking this seriously. She needs to get over her my-issues-are-the-only-thing-that-matters complex before Megumi will entertain putting on a nice face.
—
The first five stores they go in are all absolute busts.
Maki searches through oceans of clothing and fails to understand about a hundred different makeup products, and she winds up no closer to the perfect gift than she was when they started. By the third store, Megumi was at least a little more enthusiastic in his input, but there were still way too many silent shrugs and ‘I dunno’s.
Boys are so useless sometimes.
Unfortunately, Maki is also useless herself when it comes to this sort of thing. She would’ve had better luck calling up the third years and asking for their input—even if the price was agreeing to participate in a fight in Hakari’s ring. She could totally kick ass there, honestly.
But she made her decision, and it’s too late to back out now.
After the fifth store, they stop for lunch.
“Do you seriously not have any other ideas?” Maki laments, pushing her food around her plate. “She’s, like, one of your only two friends!”
Megumi shrugs. “Do you seriously not have any other ideas?” he parrots. “She’s, like, your girlfriend.”
Maki throws a chopstick at him, hitting him smack dab in the middle of the forehead.
“Ow!” he exclaims, showing the most emotion he has all day. He rubs the spot where it hit, glaring at her. “What the fuck was that for?”
“You’re being a dick.”
“I didn’t want to come here!”
“You could at least try to get along with other people, you know!” Maki doesn’t know why she bothers with him sometimes.
Well, no, that’s not true.
She bothers because, apart from Mai, he’s the only member of her entire extended family who she has even a modicum of respect for. Because they understand each other, to some extent. Because when Tsumiki was first cursed, Maki was the only one in the entire world who could get through to him, because she has a sister too.
And she bothers because Gojo asked her to. He might be the most annoying person on the planet, but he vouched for Maki when she first arrived at Tokyo Jujutsu High, so she figures she sort of owes it to him to look out for his…ward, or whatever.
“And you could have asked me to join you instead of demanding it.”
Maki scoffs. “Would you have agreed?”
Megumi snaps his mouth shut.
“That’s what I thought.” She moves to take another bite of her food before remembering that she now only has one chopstick. She debates using her hand, because getting up to get a new pair of chopsticks would be admitting defeat. Instead, she just stabs a piece of chicken with the one she has left and eats it that way.
Megumi raises an eyebrow in what is clearly silent judgment.
“You know,” Maki says after she swallows the bite, “I could have just gone shopping on my own—”
“So why didn’t you?”
“—but,” she continues pointedly, “I do actually think you could have some good insight on gifts for Nobara. If you can get your head out of your ass for two seconds.”
Megumi rolls his eyes.
“And I figured it would be good for you,” Maki finishes. Which is more genuine than she typically allows herself to be, but if she plays this card right, maybe she can get Megumi to actually cooperate and help her out. “You said Nobara and Itadori were both busy with a mission today, and the other second years are busy too, so. I figured it would work out well to bring you with me. So you don’t spend the entire day rotting in your dorm room studying for bullshit tests that only have a thirty percent chance of even happening. And don’t argue—I know Gojo’s teaching style.”
Megumi looks down at the table. “Okay. Whatever. I guess I can try to help.” He glances up. “But for the record, I’m expecting to be left completely alone for at least an hour once we get back to campus. I need the time to recharge.”
“Deal!”
Megumi offers her the smallest of smiles, which in his language is as good as a bear hug and a kiss on the cheek.
—
After their unsuccessful morning, Megumi and Maki both agree they’ll just let Nobara buy clothes and makeup for herself. So their first stop after lunch is a big department store—mostly to search for inspiration, so if they find a good idea, they’ll know what sort of specialty stores to look through.
It’s going fine, until Megumi hears an all-too-familiar laugh.
He perks up instantly, looking around in an attempt to locate the source of the noise. It wasn’t loud, which means if it’s who he thought it was, they must not be too close. But it certainly sounded like Itadori. And Itadori is supposed to be on a mission with Kugisaki, which means if he’s here…
Megumi catches a glimpse of pink. It’s followed by another laugh, louder this time, and— Yeah. That’s definitely Itadori.
Shit.
He glances towards Maki, who is still carefully examining pairs of earrings, oblivious to the dilemma they’ve found themselves in. He’d like to keep it that way, honestly. If he can just—
“Megumi? Is everything alright?”
“Yes!” he answers too quickly. “I’m just—” he makes an aborted gesture. “Bathroom.”
“Oh.” Maki squints at him, then apparently decides she doesn’t care, because she shrugs and resumes looking at the jewelry. “Don’t drown.”
Megumi takes his opportunity and runs.
Once he’s out of Maki’s sight, he melts into the shadows so he can figure out what Itadori is doing here without being spotted. It’s not exactly what he’s supposed to be using his cursed technique for, but who’s going to find out? And who would chastise him for it apart from the stuffy old higher ups? If Gojo found out, he would just laugh and compliment the improvement of his skills.
Sure enough, Itadori is here with Kugisaki. Megumi doesn’t bother with any sneaky investigating beyond that; he just waits until Kugisaki has her back turned, and then grabs Itadori by the arm and yanks him into the shadows as well.
It’s not exactly comfortable with the extra weight, but it only takes a few seconds before Megumi releases them both several meters away, near the entrance to the bathrooms.
“What the fuck!!” Itadori says, tumbling to the ground.
“What are you doing here?” Megumi hisses. “I thought you and Kugisaki had a mission!”
Itadori puts a hand to his forehead, like he’s dizzy. “You…” He blinks up at Megumi, confused. “I thought you were going to stay on campus?”
“Maki-san dragged me out here.” Megumi’s patience is wearing thin. “What the hell are you two doing?! Don’t tell me the curse you were sent to exorcise is here.”
“Ah— it’s…not…” Itadori looks away, cheeks tinted pink, smiling sheepishly. He scratches the back of his neck. “We might have gotten Gojo to lie for us… Well, it was Kugisaki’s idea! I just went along with it, because,” he shrugs, “what else can you do with Kugisaki?”
Megumi raises an eyebrow.
Itadori slumps. “Kugisaki needs to find a Christmas present for Maki-san. She wanted me to help, and she said she ‘doesn’t trust your judgment’ but didn’t want to hurt your feelings by not inviting you, so…she asked Gojo to give us a fake mission. And since Gojo loves messing with you, he agreed.”
Megumi rolls his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I don’t even have the energy to be offended by that right now,” he grumbles. “I’m here with Maki-san because she is looking for a present for Kugisaki.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
For a moment, Megumi and Itadori simply look at one another in silence.
Then, Itadori hisses, “Wait. Why are we here instead of watching them to make sure they don’t run into each other?!” He jumps to his feet, only to stumble immediately, apparently still not having fully recovered from Megumi dragging him through the shadows. Megumi reaches a hand out to steady him.
“Because I needed to figure out why you’re even here,” he answers. “And to make sure you know we need to keep them away from each other.”
“You could have just made eye contact with me and gestured or something!”
“If I tried that, you would have called out my name loud enough for the whole store to hear, and then both Maki-san and Kugisaki would definitely know the other is here,” Megumi points out.
Itadori deflates. “Okay, okay. Fine. So, what’s the plan?”
“I don’t have one.”
“Then what—?!”
“Just—” Megumi huffs. “Just don’t let Kugsaki see either me or Maki-san. And I’ll make sure Maki-san doesn’t see either of you two. Figure out the specifics yourself.”
“Okay!” Itadori grins, flashing him a blinding grin and a double thumbs up. “You can count on me!”
“Great. Now get back to Kugisaki.” Megumi half-steps back into the shadows, only to be interrupted by Itadori grabbing his sleeve.
“Wait, don’t I get to shadow travel back too?”
Megumi raises an eyebrow. “And have you fall on your ass when I let you go? No. Walk back yourself.”
He doesn’t wait around to hear Itadori’s complaints.
—
So, keeping Maki and Kugisaki from seeing each other is definitely easier said than done.
By the time Megumi returns to Maki, she’s finished looking at the jewelry, so Megumi suggests they look on the next floor up, at the home accessories, because maybe Kugisaki would like something for her dorm. Maki agrees easily, and they head for the escalators, and Megumi thinks he’s home free for at least a little while.
Until he gets a text from Itadori saying, RED ALERT 🚨.
Instantly, Megumi looks around. He finds Itadori standing several meters away, half-hidden by a shelf.
Megumi responds: What the fuck are you doing up here?!
You told me to keep them apart!!!! IM TRYING MY BEST!!!!!
Megumi bites back a groan. He shoves his phone into his pocket. When Maki looks up, he grabs her arm and yanks her around into the next aisle so they’re hidden from view.
“What’s the matter with you?” She demands, ripping her arm from his grasp. “I thought we came to an understanding!”
“I’m fine,” Megumi replies. He frowns, realizing after the fact that Maki isn’t going to let him get away with no explanation. “I just—I thought I saw Gojo for a second. But he should be on campus, so, uh…maybe it was just some other tall guy with a shitty bleach dye job.”
Maki raises an eyebrow. She steps around him, carefully peering out around the rack at the end of the aisle. Megumi pushes himself up onto his toes, peering over her, relieved to find Itadori no longer standing anywhere in direct sight.
“I don’t see anyone who looks even remotely like Satoru,” Maki grumbles.
“He was headed into an aisle,” Megumi lies. “Maybe we should go to a different store, though. Just in case. …Kugisaki loves the mall; we could head there?”
“Isn’t that mostly clothing stores, though?”
Megumi shakes his head. “They’ve got, like…jewelry stores. And toy stores. And…” he racks his brain for the other places she’s dragged him and Itadori to. “A book store?”
Maki regards him with skepticism for only a moment longer before shrugging. “Okay. Sure, whatever. Most of this stuff doesn’t seem up to Nobara’s standards anyway.”
Megumi breathes out a sigh of relief.
They head back down to the ground floor and arrive at the exit without issue. Megumi is reaching for his phone, ready to tell Itadori the good news and order him to keep Kugisaki away from the mall at ALL COSTS when he sees, through the crowd on the sidewalk in front of them—
Megumi chokes on his spit.
Maki turns to him, concerned, so he amps it up and throws himself into the best fake coughing fit he can manage, letting her clumsily guide him out of the flowing crowd so he can lean against the side of the store they were just in.
“You’re not allowed to die on me,” she reminds him, thumping his back hard enough he’s worried it may bruise. “Satoru will have my head. If your classmates don’t kill me first.”
Megumi hacks for a few moments longer, then heaves as he says, “I’m not dying.”
“Good. Then let’s go.”
Megumi hums, straightening himself back up. He lets Maki lead the way, trailing a couple steps behind her so he can send another message to Itadori:
Where are you guys going.
It isn’t until they’ve nearly arrived at their destination that he gets a response:
The mall …why?
Megumi very nearly slams his head against the nearest wall. What is there in terms of gifts for Maki in the mall?! Well, apart from the store with the pricey athleisure wear that is about the only thing she ever splurges on when spending her student stipend. So…hopefully Itadori and Kugisaki will stay there and Megumi can make sure Maki goes elsewhere. That store is on the second floor, so if they stay on the ground floor, they should be able to avoid contact between groups.
“Let’s go there,” Megumi picks out a store at random—one with various trinkets and accessories on display in the windows, with pastel walls and shelves and lights so bright Megumi can already feel it giving him a headache.
“…Really?”
“It looks like the sort of place Kugisaki would like.”
Maki hums. “Yeah. You’re right. Okay.”
They start walking, and almost immediately, Megumi’s phone vibrates in his pocket. He pulls it out to find yet another text from Itadori:
Don’t go in Jasmine Dragon.
Megumi looks up, dread filling his veins.
Jasmine Dragon is exactly the store they’re headed towards.
“Wait, wait, I have a better idea!” Megumi circles around Maki, placing himself between her and the store. “What if we go up to the second level first, and then come back down here later? Then we won’t have to worry about coming back down to this floor and retracing our steps to get out.”
Maki squints at him. She tries to look around him, but Megumi moves to keep blocking her view. He tries again, “There’s a jewelry store Kugisaki really likes on the second floor, too. I just remembered it.”
“Oh!” Maki visibly relaxes. “Yeah, sure. Why didn’t you just say that to begin with?” She scoffs, turning away from him and heading towards the escalator. “You don’t need to be embarrassed about knowing what your friends like, you know,” she teases.
Megumi’s face heats. “That’s not it,” he protests weakly.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Maki slings an arm around his shoulders. He tries to shove her off, but given how much stronger she is than him, it proves futile. So he has no choice but to just take it as she ruffles his hair and says, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell your friends how much you secretly care about them. I’ll let you keep doing your little tsundere act.”
Megumi rolls his eyes as Maki laughs at her own joke.
—
The jewelry store proves to be a good choice, in the end. They successfully avoid Kugisaki and Itadori, and Maki finds a pair of earrings for Kugisaki. She also ends up getting a silver snake ring for Inumaki, which Megumi has to admit looks really cool. If he were more into jewelry, he’d be tempted to get something like it for himself.
And then their good luck runs out as soon as they leave the store. Because Megumi sees Itadori and Kugisaki coming out of the store directly across from them.
He makes eye contact with Itadori, who heroically drags Kugisaki into the next store over before either she or Maki can realize what’s going on. Her loud scolding rings through the air, and Megumi does his best to cover it up by asking Maki, in a voice significantly louder than usual, “Where did you want to go next? Or is that enough?”
“Hmm…” Maki looks in the bag. “I think I’d still like to get her at least a little something else to go with this. And if I can find gifts for Yuuta and Panda while I’m out today, that would be nice…”
Megumi bites back a groan.
This shopping trip is turning out to be the worst one he’s ever been on. And Kugisaki once made him carry so many bags his arms hurt for a week afterwards.
—
The rest of the afternoon passes much in the same manner, with Megumi and Itadori doing everything in their power to prevent Maki and Kugisaki from seeing one another. Which means dragging them into stores, making up excuses that are flimsy at best, and texting each other frequent location updates.
Somehow, at the end of it, Maki has a full gift for Yuuta, Panda, Inumaki, and the earrings for Kugisaki without having caught on to the fact that Kugisaki and Itadori have also been in the mall the entire time.
It’s nothing short of a miracle, in Megumi’s opinion.
But if he wasted all the luck left in his life on this, he’s going to be pretty pissed off at the universe for not just causing a small disaster now and avoiding certain doom later.
The final store they stop in is the one Megumi originally pointed at first. By this point, he’s exhausted, and Itadori said he and Kugisaki were at the food court, so he lets himself dial down to low-alert and just mindlessly follow Maki around the store. It’s not to his tastes at all, for the most part, but there are quite a few things he thinks Kugisaki would like.
Maki picks up a sparkly Hello Kitty phone charm, looking it over. Then, she holds it up for Megumi to look at. “What do you think?”
“I think she’d like it more in theory than practice,” he answers honestly. She got some other phone charm a month ago, and only kept it on her phone for about three days before deciding it got in her way and she couldn’t deal with it.
“Hm. Good point.” Maki puts the charm back. “Maybe if they have it in a keychain? Or…” her voice trails off, eyes widening at something behind Megumi.
Fear seizes him, and he spins around, hoping Itadori and Kugisaki didn’t manage to sneak up on them somehow. He’s fully expecting to have to do damage control when Itadori inevitably tries a lie that falls completely flat under Kugisaki and Maki’s scrutiny, even going so far as to prepare a greeting before Itadori can say a word.
But no one is there. It’s just a shelf of plushies.
Megumi looks back to Maki. “What?”
She brushes past him, reaching up to grab one of the plushies—a rather large My Melody holding a strawberry. “This is it,” she says decisively. “This is the perfect present.”
Megumi considers the plushie. His first instinct is to ask, Really? but the more he thinks about it…
The more sure he is Kugisaki will love it.
She’s not the type to collect plushies or anything, but she does regularly steal Itadori’s extra pillows to hold during movie nights, and she’s been regaling the two of them with random details about Sanrio characters basically since the beginning of the school year. She said it was something she was borderline-obsessed with as a child, decided to stop liking in middle school because she wasn’t like other girls, and is now realizing that was a dumb complex to have and she should be allowed to like the things she likes without worrying how others will perceive her for it.
“Yeah,” Megumi agrees. “You’re right. It’s perfect.”
—
Despite Megumi’s reassurances that Nobara will like the gifts Maki picked out for her, she still finds herself jittery with nerves when she arrives outside of Nobara’s dorm room, gift bag in hand. They have plans to go out to dinner a bit later, but they’d agreed to exchange gifts before then because Nobara was very excited.
And of course, Maki agreed with a fond laugh and a kiss to Nobara’s cheek.
She looks down at the bag, suddenly acutely aware of just how big it is. God, she hopes Nobara doesn’t think it’s too much. Maybe Maki can just say she found a good deal on both items? Or is two items not even enough? Should she have gotten some other small thing to go with it—?
The door swings open, and Nobara greets her with a bright smile and a hug.
“Maki-san!!” she exclaims. “Come in, come in. Don’t mind the mess; the boys were over to exchange gifts earlier, and they like messing around with my things and then not putting them back.” She nudges a book aside with her foot as she guides Maki into the room.
“I don’t mind,” Maki replies honestly, shutting the door behind them. There’s a purple gift bag at the foot of Nobara’s bed, just a bit bigger than the one Maki brought, which eases her nerves about the whole is it too much thing.
“Okay!” Nobara claps her hands together. “Sit, sit, I wanna give you your present!”
Maki laughs. She sets her gift for Nobara on the ground, and then obediently perches on the edge of the bed. Nobara all but shoves the purple bag into her arms. “Open it!”
“I don’t know…” Maki teases. “Maybe I should make you open yours first?”
Nobara pouts.
Even if Maki hadn’t been joking, she certainly wouldn’t be able to follow through with it now. It’s almost comical how easily Nobara can get her to agree to things, with just a single pleading look, but she hasn’t used that power for evil.
Yet.
Maki nudges the tissue paper out of the way, and the first thing she pulls out is a sports bra—navy blue, and long with thick straps so it fits more like a cropped tank top. And there’s the little silver logo printed near the hem that marks it as coming from the one semi-expensive clothing store Maki actually forks out the money for.
“I know you have trouble finding good clothes to work out and train in, since you don’t like how most of them fit, so I got a gift receipt in case you need to exchange it, but Itadori said you wear that style and brand a lot, so—”
“It looks really nice,” Maki interrupts. She turns it over in her hands, appreciating the softness of the fabric. She’s picky when it comes to things like this, but unsurprisingly, Nobara seems to have hit the nail on the head with this one.
“Really?”
Maki nods. “I’ll try it on later, but it looks like it’ll fit.”
Nobara grins.
Maki folds the bra and sets it aside before reaching back into the bag and pulling out—
She blinks.
“If you totally hate it, don’t feel bad, but I thought it was so cute, and—”
“No!” Maki interrupts quickly. “No, no, it’s not that at all!”
Because she’s holding a Kuromi plushie with a strawberry in its hands. The one that matches exactly with what she bought for Nobara. And she can’t stifle her laughter, which she knows isn’t making Nobara believe she really does like the gift, so she just grabs Nobara’s present and instructs her to open it.
Nobara gives her a confused look, but does as she was told. She throws the tissue paper aside, then peers into the bag, squinting. She reaches in, and—
“Oh my God,” she giggles as soon as she realizes what she’s holding. She hugs the plushie tightly, beaming at Maki over it. “Thank you!! Have I ever mentioned that you’re the best girlfriend in the world? Because you are the best girlfriend in the world!”
Maki grins. “There’s something else in the bag, too.”
Nobara’s eyes widen.
She sets the My Melody plushie on the bed next to Kuromi, then reaches back into her gift bag to retrieve the box with the earrings. Her smile grows when she opens it. “These are so cute!” she exclaims.
She closes the box, sets it on her bedside table, and then throws herself into Maki’s arms, drawing out a startled laugh. It’s only thanks to Maki’s strength that she doesn’t fall backwards onto the bed with the force of Nobara crashing into her.
Instantly, Nobara is cupping Maki’s face in her hands and sealing their lips together. She tastes like strawberry lip gloss, and maybe it’s still a bit early to make the call, but—
Maki is pretty sure she’s in love.
“Thank you,” Nobara mumbles. “Seriously. I mean it when I say you’re the best.”
Maki hums. “I don’t think that’s possible. I’m pretty sure you’re the best.”
Nobara flushes before promptly burying her head in Maki’s shoulder. Maki laughs again, running her fingers through Nobara’s hair. “I did have some help,” she admits. “Surprisingly, Megumi can actually give decent advice when he wants to.”
“Really?”
Maki nods. “I promised I wouldn’t tell, but he does care for you—you and Itadori both, really—quite a lot. He just puts on an indifferent face ‘cause he thinks it’ll hurt less in the long run.”
Nobara sighs, pulling back. “Yeah. I figured that out a while ago. He’s an idiot if he thinks I couldn’t tell.”
“Well…he is an idiot. Sometimes.”
“Fair point,” Nobara cedes. “Anyway, enough about him. We still have thirty minutes before we need to leave, and I can think of a pretty good way to spend it.”
“Oh?” Maki raises an eyebrow, teasing. “And what’s that?”
Nobara doesn’t answer verbally. She simply presses her lips back to Maki’s.
But honestly, that’s all the answer Maki needed.
—
“You really don’t think they figured it out?” Itadori asks through a mouthful of food. Megumi glares at him, and he swallows before continuing. “I mean—I’m sure neither of us were being the most subtle. That’s not exactly my specialty, at least.”
“If they figured it out, we would know,” Megumi assures him.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes,” he insists. “And even if they did figure it out, what does it matter now?”
“Hmm…” Itadori seems to consider this for a moment, then shrugs. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He grabs another cookie, then clambers over the back of the couch so he can sit beside Megumi. He breaks the cookie in half, offering one piece to Megumi, who accepts it. “Oh, hey, I got you something that day too! I forgot to add it to my present for you earlier, though, ‘cause I already had everything else for you by that point.”
Megumi frowns. Before he can question Itadori any further, he shoves the entire half-cookie into his mouth and darts out of the room.
He returns a few moments later, presenting Megumi with—
“It was from the same store they got their matching plushies from,” he explains. “It reminded me of you.”
It’s a small plush keychain—the black bird Sanrio character that Megumi can’t remember the name of.
He glares at Itadori. “It reminded you of me?”
“Yeah!” Itadori holds up the keychain next to Megumi’s face. “It’s, like, a spitting image. And look, he has a little frog! You like frogs!”
“I do like frogs,” Megumi admits begrudgingly. He takes the keychain, and when he looks closer at it, he supposes he can kind of see where Itadori was coming from. Not that he’ll admit it out loud. “Thanks. I guess.”
Itadori grins. He throws himself back onto the couch. “I knew you’d like it.”
“I never said—”
“You didn’t have to. I can tell.” He leans his head on Megumi’s shoulder. “Anyway, what movie did you want to watch? Die Hard is a Christmas classic—”
“Die Hard is not a Christmas movie—”
“—but I knew you were going to say that! So what about Elf instead?”
Megumi groans.
They watch Die Hard.