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Megumi isn’t sure how much more of this he can handle.
It’s not that he hates his current circumstances—quite the opposite, in fact. But it’s suffocating to have Itadori pressed up against one side of him and Kugisaki sprawled across their laps, because Megumi hasn’t had anyone touch him so kindly since Tsumiki was cursed. Even Gojo started to stray away from touch by the time Megumi was ten, though he’s fairly certain that has more to do with Gojo’s own issues than his.
Regardless, it’s been over a year, and Megumi has grown used to isolation. He was never interested in being close with anyone apart from Tsumiki anyway, so the occasional fist bump or high five that the second years goaded him into was plenty of physical affection for him.
But now, somehow, in a matter of only a few months, he’s grown comfortable enough around his classmates that they can drape themselves over him and his first instinct is not to push them away.
(That kicks in after about five minutes, but— Baby steps, or whatever.)
They’re watching a movie together, because Kugisaki insisted. Some new Netflix original that she’s apparently been dying to see ever since the first trailer dropped. Megumi didn’t bother paying too much attention to her spiel, because he knew he wouldn’t have a choice. No one can sway Kugisaki once she has her mind set on something. Sometimes, her stubbornness is admirable.
Mostly, it’s annoying.
Megumi was successful in paying attention for the first fifteen minutes of the movie, even though it’s not at all to his tastes. But around the fifteen minute mark, Itadori leaned his head on Megumi’s shoulder, and Kugisaki took that as her cue to throw herself on top of them both, so now…
Megumi’s focus has been drawn elsewhere.
Itadori has since wrapped his arms around one of Megumi’s, though his gaze is still fixed on the screen like he hasn’t even realized what he’s doing. And Kugisaki is idly tracing her finger on Itadori’s leg as she watches. It’s all so intimate and domestic that Megumi is seized with the unshakable need to run away. As fast as possible.
Something like this could never last.
Megumi is not an idiot. He knows how the life of a sorcerer goes. He’s already suffered unimaginable loss, and he’s fighting every day to be strong enough to figure out a way to break Tsumiki’s curse. But the more time drags on, the less likely that seems. He can’t let himself care about Kugsaki and Itadori like he cares for Tsumiki—it will tear him apart when he inevitably loses them too.
Only the strongest can survive, and Megumi has been training half his life for full time sorcery.
Not to mention, as Sukuna’s vessel, there’s only one fate Itadori could ever face.
He meant to put distance between himself and his classmates—to be respectful acquaintances at best, to shrug off any invitations towards deeper friendship. He was mostly successful in doing that with the second years, so he didn’t expect any trouble with Kugisaki and Itadori. He has plenty of experience making himself unlikable. It is, perhaps, his greatest survival skill.
But he underestimated both Itadori and Kugisaki, and their ability to strip away all his resolve, giving him no choice but to fall headfirst for both of them.
Like he said—Kugisaki’s stubbornness is partially admirable, but mostly annoying. And highly detrimental to Megumi’s mental and emotional wellbeing. Itadori folds to her whims far easier than Megumi does, but he has his own brand of stubbornness too, refusing to let Megumi distance himself, drawing him in without even trying. And when the two of them work together—
Megumi never stood a chance.
So here he is. Trying and failing to pay attention to the movie because he’s too busy having a crisis over being shown physical affection. Because he hates that Itadori and Kugisaki are touching him so casually, and the logical part of his brain is screaming at him to put a stop to it, but the part of his mind that has always craved soft things is winning out for now, so he remains frozen in place. Soaking up the kindness for whatever brief time he’s allowed to have it.
And this is, of course, how Gojo finds them when he bursts into the common room.
He slams the door open, and Itadori shrieks, jolting so hard that Kugisaki nearly falls onto the floor. It’s only because Megumi manages to grab her by the arm that she doesn’t go tumbling down.
“Oh good, you’re all here!” Gojo claps his hands together. “I h— Wait.”
Kugisaki grumbles as she sits upright, rubbing the side of her head where Itadori’s knee bumped her. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Gojo doesn’t answer. Which is an immediate red flag. Megumi has known the guy for half his life, and even if he rarely offers straightforward answers, he loves talking more than just about anything else in the world. So when he silently stalks towards them, dread starts pricking at Megumi’s skin. He can’t recall doing anything wrong, but Itadori and Kugisaki do dumb shit all the time, so maybe they’re the ones about to get scolded.
Or maybe it’s something worse. Like the rest of Sukuna’s fingers have suddenly all been located and brought to campus, and the higher ups are expecting Itadori to eat them in one go then die before the night ends.
“Umm… Sensei?” Itadori asks weakly. “Is everything okay?”
Gojo’s frown deepens. He comes to a stop directly across from Megumi, then bends over so they’re eye-to-eye. As if to drive some unknown point home, Gojo lowers his sunglasses so Megumi is forced to actually look at his eyes.
Most everyone else would turn away under such direct scrutiny.
Megumi just stares back, bored.
Gojo asks, “Are the three of you on a date?”
Megumi chokes on his spit.
“WHAT?!” Kugisaki demands. She points an accusing finger at him. “Where the hell did you get that idea?!”
Gojo straightens himself up, pushing his glasses back into place. “You were cuddling when I got here,” he points out.
“That’s—” Itadori stammers. “Friends can cuddle!”
“Yes,” Gojo agrees, “but—” he points at Megumi. “You hate people touching you.”
Megumi’s face heats. He looks away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He knows he can’t lie to Gojo about this, but if he can keep up pretenses in front of Itadori and Kugisaki, they might be inclined to believe him over Gojo. “I don’t like you touching me.”
“Oh, and now you’re lying—!”
“Did you come here just to accuse us of dating each other?” Kugisaki interrupts. “Which we’re not. Obviously.” She lifts a hand to her hair, twirling a strand around her finger. She’s not exactly looking at Gojo either. “We’re just having a movie night. Like friends do. And it’s not like this couch is that big, especially with how freakishly tall these two are,” she gestures harshly towards Megumi and Itadori.
“HEY!” Itadori complains. “I’m normal height for my age!”
Megumi elbows him. “That’s your issue right now?”
Itadori pouts. Megumi has to avert his gaze. Which is not a point in his favor, but maybe Gojo won’t notice. Or maybe he’ll take mercy on Megumi and grill him about this later, in private, not in front of Itadori and Kugisaki, so he can continue pretending he doesn’t feel anything at all for either of them.
“Gojo-sensei,” Itadori says weakly, “we’re not dating. I don’t even know how that would work. There’s three of us.”
“You’ve never heard of polyamory?” Gojo asks. “I can explain—”
“Please don’t,” Megumi interrupts. He stands up. “In fact, if you didn’t come here for anything important, can you leave?”
“I—”
Megumi doesn’t wait for an answer. He hooks his arm around Gojo’s, because he’s found that’s the most efficient way to get ahold of him when he has Infinity up—which is always. There’s a layer of space between their arms, but Megumi has the element of surprise on his side, so he manages to wrest Gojo towards the door with enough force that he stumbles.
“I did have something to say!” Gojo cries as Megumi drags him out of the room. “You three have a mission tomorrow! Be ready to leave by eight!”
“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Kugisaki shouts, just as Megumi and Gojo make it into the hall. Megumi slams the door shut behind them, leaving Itadori to deal with Kugisaki’s wrath on his own.
“Megumiii,” Gojo whines.
“What the hell is your problem.”
“My problem?” Gojo questions. “You so rudely dragged me out of the room when I was just trying to support you and your partners!”
“They’re not my partners!”
“But you want them to be.”
Megumi goes quiet. He can lie to Itadori and Kugisaki all he wants, but it’s useless to try that against Gojo. They know each other too well.
Gojo sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Listen, kid. I know you’d rather die than express a single molecule of emotion, but if you like them, you gotta tell them.”
“I’m not—” Megumi clenches his fists. “It’s not even worth it. I didn’t come to this school to make friends, and Itadori is…”
He doesn’t need to finish the sentence. He’s not sure he could either way.
Gojo places a hand on Megumi’s shoulder, startling Megumi into looking up at him. Because if Gojo is actually touching him, that means Infinity is down. And Megumi has grown accustomed to a lack of physical affection, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t times when he misses the days when he and Tsumiki were young—when Gojo would carry them and ruffle their hair and touch them freely.
“Even if it can’t last forever, I promise it’s worth it,” he says sincerely. From anyone else, Megumi would laugh the sentiment off, because no one else would actually understand what they’re saying.
But Gojo speaks from personal experience.
Megumi’s shoulders slump. “Whatever. I’ll think about it.”
Gojo claps his hands together. “That’s better than what I thought you’d say!” He turns Megumi around, so he’s facing the door. “Now go back in there and have fun! But don’t stay up too late, ‘cause I was serious about the mission tomorrow. If you’re not all ready on time, I will be breaking into your dorms and dragging you to the car in your pajamas. Byeee!”
With that, Gojo teleports away.
Megumi sighs deeply.
He gives himself a moment, then heads back into the common room, where Kugisaki is still ranting about how Gojo lied to them about having a free day tomorrow. The movie has been paused and Itadori is patiently listening, but when his gaze lands on Megumi, his eyes light up and he calls out, “Fuhsiguro! You’re back!”
Megumi hums in response. “Sorry about him. He just says things sometimes.”
Kugisaki scoffs. “Was he being serious about the mission, though?”
“Oh.” Megumi sits down, putting Itadori between him and Kugisaki. “Yes. That’s what he actually came here for.”
Kugisaki groans, throwing her head back. Itadori reaches over, patting her shoulder consolingly.
Megumi clears his throat. “Anyway. We can keep watching the movie now.” He’d prefer Itadori and Kugsaki just forget about Gojo’s accusation of them dating altogether, because even if he did tell Gojo he’d think about confessing, he certainly has no plans to do that right now. And now that he’s back in the others’ presence, the thought of submitting to the mortifying ordeal of being known seems worse than being brutally torn apart by a cursed spirit.
“Oh, right!” Itadori exclaims. He grabs the remote and hits play, then sits back and makes himself comfortable against Megumi once again.
Megumi’s breath catches in his throat.
He glances over, but Itadori has already refocused on the TV screen. On Itadori’s other side, Kugisaki makes eye contact with Megumi. She looks away just as fast, then proceeds to lean against Itadori, cheeks tinted pink.
Megumi wants both of them, with a fierceness that burns.
But for right now, he’s content to simply have them like this.