Archive of Our Own ^beta

I. MAKI

The kitchen is empty when Maki goes to make breakfast, her hair still hanging loose and wet from her shower. She doesn’t always wake up earlier than the others, but the mornings she does are nice. She turns on the coffee machine, remembering that Gojo had said something weirdly cryptic about his plans for them today and knowing caffeine will help with the headache that Gojo brings with him more often than not.

She doesn’t particularly feel like making anything fancy or complicated this morning, so she opts for cereal - the only cereal they have that isn’t just pure sugar, because Gojo, Inumaki, and Panda like to start their sugar highs as early as possible apparently.

The only reason they have even one healthy cereal is because Geto eats it too.

Maki empties the rest of the box into her bowl. Geto probably already ate this morning - he’s always waking up earlier than any human ever should. And if not, hopefully he wasn’t set on cereal for breakfast today.

Unfortunately for Maki, her nice, peaceful, breakfast lasts approximately two minutes before someone else comes parading into the kitchen. Speak of the devil.

He’s humming under his breath in a strikingly Gojo-like manner, which tells Maki that their two teachers have once again been spending way too much time around each other.

“Good morning.” Geto waves as he passes Maki. He strides over to the cereal cupboard and Maki grimaces internally, staring down at their food so they won’t make accidental eye contact with him. They hear the cupboard door open.

There are a few very, very, long moments of silence before Maki risks a glance up at Geto to find him glaring directly towards them.

“Can I help you?”

“Did you eat the last of the good cereal?”

“No,” Maki tells him like they don’t have a bowl directly in front of them and the box isn’t sticking out of the trash can.

Geto narrows his eyes.

“Tell Gojo to get more cereal that doesn’t make me feel like I’m shoveling spoonfuls of sugar into my mouth.”

Geto scoffs, which very clearly means You think he would listen? Which, fair.

“I made coffee.” Maki gestures to the coffee machine. “You can have the rest if you want.”

Geto doesn’t respond verbally, but he does slink over to the coffee machine and pour himself a cup. Maki rolls her eyes and goes back to eating, doing her best to ignore Geto as he fumbles around the kitchen, searching for something else to eat.

The room is entirely empty apart from Maki and Geto, but of course, Maki already noted that Geto is always spending too much time around Gojo. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise when Geto sits down right across from Maki.

Maki glances up just long enough to give him an unimpressed look.

“I wanted to talk to you, actually,” Geto tells her.

Maki does not respond. She just keeps eating her cereal. If Geto wants to talk that badly, he’ll do what Gojo does and just start talking at her regardless of whether she acknowledges him or not.

“...Okay. Well, given Satoru’s plan to start sending you, Toge, and Panda off on missions without either one of us standing on the sidelines, I wanted to let you know that regardless of what he says, you’re definitely the one in charge out there.”

Maki raises an eyebrow.

“Not that Toge and Panda can’t handle themselves. They’re both very capable sorcerers. But you three remind me a little too much of Satoru, Shoko, and I, and Shoko was always the voice of reason when it came down to the wire. Maybe it has something to do with being the girl of the group—”

Maki winces, though Geto apparently doesn’t notice, because he keeps talking.

“—or maybe it has to do with the fact that you and Shoko can figure out solutions without relying on cursed techniques, but from what I’ve seen so far, I’d say you’re better at keeping your head on straight than the other two are. They’ll feed off each other’s chaotic energy. Don’t be afraid to remind them to focus on the mission.”

“That’s nice,” Maki acknowledges, “but I’m not.”

Geto frowns. “...Not what?”

Maki looks up at him. “The girl of the group,” they answer simply. Of course there was no way for Geto to know that - Maki hasn’t told anyone here, and none of their family members would even think about acknowledging Maki’s not being a woman.

Geto blinks. “You’re not?”

“Nope.” Maki takes another bite of cereal, amused as Geto’s face flickers through several different expressions as he tries to figure out how to respond. He opens his mouth, then closes it again. Maki would laugh at him if it weren’t also sort of heartwarming that he’s searching for the right thing to say.

(If he weren’t the only one who’d ever bothered to think through their response to Maki coming out to them.)

“Okay,” he says slowly, “but my point about you being able to retain your brain cells better than Toge and Panda still stands.”

Maki lets out a laugh.

“What?”

“Nothing. Your response is just the only positive one I’ve ever had after coming out, and you still just sort of brushed it off.”

Geto’s eyes widen. “You didn’t make a big deal about it, so I figured you wouldn’t want me to make a big deal out of it—”

“I wasn’t insulting you,” Maki interrupts. They pause to think for a moment. “Okay, maybe I was. But I do appreciate your response. Like I said,” she pushes her empty bowl out of the way, “it’s the best response I’ve gotten.”

“I feel like the bar was pretty low.”

Maki shrugs.

“Do the others know, or do you want this to just stay between us?” Geto asks, which is definitely the nicest response Maki has gotten to coming out.

(Not that Geto had much competition - the runner up is Mai’s “For your own sake, please don’t tell anyone else.”)

“I haven’t told them, but only because it hasn’t come up. I don’t care if they know.” Maki wasn’t going to sit down with Toge and Panda and give them some grand coming out speech. The only person important enough to do that with was Mai. Beyond that, Maki just drops it whenever it comes up, and leaves the person she’s talking to to do what they will with that information.

Generally, they disregard it. They’ll either tell her she’s wrong or it’s a phase or she should stop trying to be special.

So…it’s also weird now being around people who don’t just ignore Maki when she drops information like that. Which is another reason she hasn’t told Toge or Panda yet - the support makes her a little uncomfortable because she doesn’t know how to deal with it.

If Geto tells the others, that honestly makes things easier for Maki. But she sort of gets the feeling he won’t do that unless it happens to come up when he’s talking to them. Maybe he’ll tell Gojo, but even then, the look he’s giving Maki now is making her think that would also be an only if it’s relevant thing.

“Coming out is your thing,” he says. “I don’t want to take that away from you.”

“It’s less trouble for me if I don’t have to tell them,” Maki counters.

Geto raises an eyebrow.

Maki groans and rolls her eyes. “Just…if it comes up, don’t feel bad about outing me. I don’t care that much. None of their reactions are going to be worse than my own family members’.”

“If you’re sure.” Geto still seems hesitant. It’s annoying, but Maki knows it’s also born out of kindness. Because while she does want to strangle both of her teachers more often than not, they’re both good people. Maki knows they both want the best for their students, even if she thinks they don’t always know how best to go about achieving that.

“Seriously, it’s not that big of a deal to me,” Maki assures him. “I know it’s a really big thing for a lot of people, but I just…don’t care anymore. I knew a long time ago that I’d never get a nice coming out story where I told my parents and they told me they’d love me no matter what, and I knew that I could say just about anything to the rest of the clan, and they’d add it to their ever-growing list of reasons to hate me. So I told some of them, word got out, they all hated me even more for it, and we moved on.” They shrug. “Coming out doesn’t feel like anything at all after your entire family talks about how you think you’re going to marry a woman and you think you aren’t a woman behind your back.”

Geto just stares at Maki for a very long moment, and Maki shifts uncomfortably under his gaze. Maybe they said a little too much.

But, in their defense, Geto already knows that the entire Zen’in Clan hates Maki, so none of it should come as a surprise.

Finally, he says, “Can I ask you something?”

“Um. Yes?”

Geto folds his hands together on the table. “If you could have had a happy coming out story, how would you have wanted your parents to react?”

“I—” Maki tilts her head. “I never thought about it, I guess. They didn’t really care for me anyways. My wildest dream was for them to say something like We still hate you because you’re a disappointment and a failure, but know that your sexuality and gender have nothing to do with that.”

“That is. Such a low expectation.”

“Yeah.”

Geto shakes his head. “Dream bigger. If they’d cared about you like they should have, how would you have wanted them to react? What would you have wanted them to do or say?”

Dream bigger. Maki can dream pretty big - that’s the reason she’s even here, training to be a sorcerer - but some things are too impossible to consider. Maki’s parents are never going to love her. Her biggest dream is to earn their respect by forcefully taking it, but she knows full well that is different than love. Maki has known for a very, very, long time that the love of her family is an impossibility, and she gave up hoping for a change because she knew clinging to nothing would only hurt worse in the long run.

“Maybe…” Maki looks down at the table. If they could pick anything in the world to hear their parents say after they came out, what would they pick? “When I was little, after it was discovered that I couldn’t see cursed spirits, I just wished that my parents would tell me they were proud of me. …So I guess that.”

Maki glances back up at Geto, who has a strange expression etched across his face. “I am proud of you,” he tells her. “And not just because that’s what you said you wanted to hear. I can’t imagine how hard it was for you to choose to walk away from your family, regardless of how they treated you, and I’m proud you had the courage to do so. You’re already incredible at fighting with cursed weapons and you’re only going to get better. And I’m proud of you for being brave enough to be who you are, even in the face of people who hated you for it.”

Maki hears a bitter laugh escape their mouth. It isn’t a conscious decision, but they don’t know how else to respond except by brushing off Geto’s words. He has to be over exaggerating, right? Special grade sorcerer Geto Suguru, widely known as one of The Strongest, being proud of Maki?

On one hand, they wish their family were here to hear that.

On the other, they know he’s just being nice because they accidentally trauma dumped a little too much over breakfast.

“I’m serious,” Geto tells her, and he actually sounds like he’s telling the truth. But Maki’s been belittled for too long to fall for the act. “If your family understood how powerful you were, they never would have let you come here. Four years of solid training and you’ll have them all shaking in fear.”

“Right,” Maki says, “but no one really believes that. Sometimes, I don’t even believe it, and I’m the one who keeps perpetuating that lie.”

“It’s not a lie. I do believe it.”

“Sure.”

“Maki.”

Maki crosses their arms and raises an eyebrow. It would be a lot easier for both of them if Geto just dropped it. Maki knows their place; they’ve always known their place. And they truly believe they won’t stay at the bottom forever, but realistically, climbing to the top would take a miracle.

“Just take the compliment.”

Maki huffs. But Geto looks so earnest, and he’s mimicking Gojo’s puppy dog eyes, and Maki wants to believe that he’s telling the truth. She really, really, does.

“Fine,” she relents. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Geto sits back. “You’re just as bad as Shoko,” he mutters. “Never believing me when I try to say nice things.”

Maki blinks. For some reason, that comment gets to her most out of anything Geto’s said so far. Maybe because it wasn’t said to try to get her to feel better and she knows it wasn’t out of pity or anything like that. Geto actually thinks Maki reminds him of Ieiri - Ieiri, who Maki knows is one of he and Satoru’s closest and oldest friends.

Ieiri, who doesn’t fight, but heals. Ieiri, who fixes what’s broken.

Ieiri, who apparently also doesn’t believe people could actually have nice things to say about her.

A smile crosses Maki’s face. She’ll take a comparison to Ieiri as a compliment, and maybe she’ll let that sway her into believing that Geto wasn’t entirely speaking out of pity.

“Can I ask you something?” Maki asks.

“Go for it.”

“When you look at me now, do you see me as a girl who you’re going to start using gender neutral language to refer to, or do you see someone who genuinely isn’t a girl?”

Geto purses his lips. He leans forward, like he’s trying to get a better look at Maki in order to answer the question. Once he’s found whatever he must have been looking for, he sits back and says, “I don’t know. Right now, I think I just see you as Maki, and I know that you will always have a better understanding of who that is than I do.”

Maki nods. It’s a good answer because it’s an honest answer, and that makes everything else he’s said more believable.

It means that maybe Geto really is proud of Maki.

It’s a nice thought.

It’s a really nice thought.

And maybe - maybe - Maki will allow herself to believe it. It’d be nice to have someone who is truly proud of her.

(Someone who acknowledged that leaving was the hardest thing Maki has had to do, someone who responded to Maki’s coming out with support, someone who wanted to make Maki’s coming out experience a good one.)

“Thank you,” she says, and she means it this time. “Sorry for eating the last of the good cereal.”

“Oh, it’s fine. Thanks for letting me drink the rest of the coffee you made.”

“You’re welcome.” Maki stands up, picking up her bowl and spoon so she can go wash them before heading back to her room to get changed into her uniform.

“And Maki?” Geto calls after her.

Maki glances back over their shoulder. “Yeah?”

“Thanks for trusting me enough to be open with me.”

“Yeah, whatever.” It’s not a big deal, not really. Not to Maki, not anymore.

But…talking with Geto was nice. Unlike Gojo, he actually has the ability to be serious and understand when it’s time to turn off Annoying Sensei Mode. And he was trying to react in the way he thought Maki would want him to react rather than going with his first instinct.

It wasn’t an easy decision to leave her family behind, but Maki knows it was the right one, and she’s grateful she’s able to be around people like Geto now - people who actually care.

II. YUUTA

The ring glints in the sunlight, and if Yuuta angles it right, he can shine the glint directly in someone’s eyes.

Usually his own.

Not that he enjoys blinding himself with the way the sunlight reflects off the ring, but it reminds him that he’s still alive. He’s still living and breathing and he gets to feel the sun warming his skin and he gets to experience the weaknesses of the human body. He’s alive and he’s allowed to be.

Yuuta has memorized every millimeter of the ring with how often he’s rolled it over in his hands, slipped it on and off his fingers, stared at it for hours on end like it will offer him answers that no one has. It looks different in sunlight than in shadow, as most things do. He likes it better in the sun. It seems happier. It seems…

“How are you feeling?”

Yuuta looks up. He shoves the ring back on his finger before he can accidentally point the glint right into Geto’s eyes. “I’m okay,” he says on instinct more than anything. Yuuta knows that Geto (and Gojo, too) care about all of the students, but that doesn’t usually manifest itself in straight up asking if they’re okay.

Which means either Geto is trying something new or Yuuta just looks like he’s doing really bad.

…It’s probably the latter, isn’t it?

Geto sits down next to him, looking out at the field where Maki and Panda are sparring while Toge switches between who he’s cheering for. Yuuta twists the ring on his finger, wanting to know why Geto is so concerned for him all of a sudden but also not wanting to actually ask.

“You get lost in your head when you look at that ring for too long,” Geto tells him. “I’d like to prevent you from spiraling if possible.”

“Oh,” Yuuta whispers. He supposes studying the ring for long periods on end does tend to lead to a downward spiral into all of the dark thoughts that reside in Yuuta’s mind. Looking at the ring leads to thinking about Rika leads to thinking about everything that happened before he came to Jujutsu High leads to guilt leads to questions he doesn’t know the answers to leads to—

“I thought I said I sat down here to prevent you from spiraling?”

Yuuta blinks, Geto’s voice pulling him out of his thoughts. “Sorry,” he mumbles. He glances up to see Geto smiling like he’s just told a joke that he thinks Yuuta should find funny.

Usually, Gojo is the only one who shares Geto’s sense of humor.

Yuuta lets his gaze drift back over to his friends. He’s not allowed to spar today because of a leg injury from his last mission. He didn’t think it was that big of a deal, but Ieiri had been very particular about not doing anything that might reinjure it for the next few days, so he’s stuck on the sidelines. He would much rather be training with the others, but he knows better than to disregard Ieiri’s orders.

Besides, Geto and Gojo would never let him. They’ve said time and time again that Ieiri is one of the smartest people they know, and you shouldn’t go against her medical advice.

“How’s your leg feeling?”

Yuuta stretches it out, just to be sure he isn’t lying when he says, “Fine.”

Geto nods. “That’s good. You should be good to go back to training tomorrow, so long as you’re careful about it.”

That’s nice to hear. Yuuta hates being unable to do anything. He’s spent too long being incapable of fixing problems he created, so now that he’s learning how to actually help, he wants to continue being able to help.

He needs to continue being able to help. He owes it to all of the people he hurt in the past.

“Tell me about your day.”

Yuuta looks back over at Geto. “Huh?”

“Clearly it isn’t good for you to sit here alone and watch the others train. You’re thinking too much. So tell me about your day.”

Yuuta shrugs. “I woke up. I ate breakfast. We had class with Gojo and learned nothing. Now I’m watching the others train.”

“You’re not very good at this.”

“Sorry.”

Geto sighs. “Okay, new question: What are you thinking about that’s got you so in your head?”

Yuuta shrugs again. A better question would be what isn’t he thinking about. His mind is so jumbled that each thread leads to everything else. Each passing thought tangles up with every mistake he’s made and every question he’ll never ask. Thoughts of Rika lead to thoughts of Toge lead to a question that’s been eating away at him ever since he realized that it was he who cursed Rika instead of the other way around.

“How do you know if you were really in love with someone, or if you just thought you were?”

Apparently, that was not what Geto expected from Yuuta. Which is fair, considering that isn’t what Yuuta expected from Yuuta. But it’s too late to take it back now, so he has to sit and watch Geto think through an answer Yuuta isn’t sure he even wants to hear.

(The answer to a question that might be better remaining a mystery.)

“I’m not sure,” Geto finally says. “I think it can be different for everyone. I think different people have different definitions of what it means to be in love with someone.”

It’s not a helpful answer in the slightest, but Yuuta might prefer it that way. If he can create his own definition of being in love, then he can decide whether or not he actually was.

Then again, maybe that’s too much pressure. Is it easier to say he was in love because that’s what everyone else wants to answer to be, or is it easier to diminish everything that happened by saying it wasn’t really love?

“Are you thinking about Rika?”

“I just…” Yuuta twists the ring. “We were kids, you know? I was nine. …How in love could I have really been?”

Geto tilts his head. “Maybe you weren’t in love, then.”

“But what else could have been strong enough to curse Rika like that?” Yuuta groans and buries his head in his hands. “I just don’t get it.”

“There are different types of love. Maybe you weren’t in love with her, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t love her in some other way.”

“And that would have been strong enough to cause what happened?” Yuuta questions, his voice muffled by his hands.

“Romantic love isn’t always the strongest type of love. Platonic love can be just as strong - stronger, even. And the two can be tricky to differentiate.”

Yuuta frowns.

“I think, in the end, only you can decide what label you want to give to the love you feel.”

“And what if I never feel love that I think I can label as romantic? What if…what if I’m too scared, or— or I can’t physically let it get that far anymore?”

“That’s fine, too,” Geto assures him. “You don’t have to experience romance, and you don’t have to want romance either. There’s nothing wrong with that. You’re allowed to seek out the types of love you want, but you’re also allowed to be unsure what type of love that is.”

“I…” Yuuta trails off, not entirely sure what he wants to say. There’s something, some almost-revelation, some truth that he can’t quite make out. “I don’t think I’ve ever experienced love the same way other people do. Not relationship-type love, at least. And I don’t think it started with Rika - I think I was always like this.”

Geto nods slowly. He opens his mouth, then seems to think twice and closes it again without saying anything. After a moment of silence, he says, “You aren’t alone in that.”

Yuuta raises an eyebrow - a silent I’m not sure I believe you that Geto may not even be able to read.

“I know several people besides you who have said similar things.”

Yuuta waits for more - maybe a name he knows or further explanation of what these mysterious other people have said, but it quickly becomes clear that Geto has said his piece. The lack of expansion prevents it from being as reassuring as Geto was probably intending it to be.

“So how did they figure out what sort of love they wanted?”

“Trial and error. Jumping in headfirst with the only person they knew they couldn’t live without. Or just dwelling on it until the answer clicked. It’s different for different people, and it’s okay to be frustrated that the answers aren’t easy.”

Yuuta looks back to his friends. Maki and Panda are fighting, and Toge is looking at him. When Yuuta meets his gaze, Toge waves. Yuuta can’t see his mouth beneath the scarf, but he can tell Toge is smiling too.

Yuuta smiles back.

Toge raises an eyebrow. Are you okay, or do you need me to rescue you from Geto?

Yuuta bites back a laugh. He gives Toge a thumbs up - a silent I’m okay, thanks though! - and Toge returns the gesture before he focuses back on the Maki vs. Panda fight.

Before he came to Jujutsu High, his apathy towards relationships was just another thing that singled him out and separated him from his peers. He blamed it on Rika’s death - said he wasn’t interested in love if the end could only be that someone has to die first. And then, he told himself it was because he was afraid of accidentally hurting everyone he grew close to.

But there was something beyond those excuses. Not that they didn’t hold truths in them, because they did, but there was always something else under the surface.

Because now, he knows that love - in whatever form he finds it - is worth the risks attached. His love for his friends is worth all of the joy it brings him despite how risky affection of any sort is when you’re a sorcerer. And he isn’t so terrified of accidentally hurting the people around him anymore. Rika is no longer an uncontrollable force looking to protect Yuuta by any means necessary. There’s still the underlying fear - the What if I accidentally hurt someone else? - but it isn’t a fear that’s rotting Yuuta from the inside out every moment he continues breathing.

He has apprehension towards romance because of everything that happened with Rika, but it’s entwined with an inability to experience something. That was settling in Yuuta’s chest before Rika, and it will always stay.

And Yuuta thinks he’s content with both of those things.

Like Geto said, he doesn’t need romance. He has Toge and Maki and Panda, and none of them seem like the kind of people Yuuta knew at his old schools who were obsessed with being in a relationship. Yuuta has friends, and he thinks that friendship is probably the most important type of love to have.

“Thanks, Geto-sensei. That actually…I feel better now, I think.”

“I’m glad. If you ever have any questions, I’ll do my best to answer them.”

Yuuta nods. “Thank you. Again. You’re a really good teacher.”

Geto’s expression drops into a wide-eyed frown - something akin to surprise - for only a moment before he smiles warmly at Yuuta. “I’m glad you think so. I try to do what I can to help you guys.”

“I know,” Yuuta assures him, because he does. And sometimes Geto and Gojo do things that Yuuta thinks aren’t helping as much as they assume, but they’re always trying. They’re always doing what they think is best for the students. “And I think you’re doing a really good job. You and Gojo-sensei are definitely the best teachers I’ve ever met.”

Geto laughs. “I’ll pass along the message.”

Yuuta opens his mouth to respond, but he’s interrupted by Maki shouting, “Yuuta! Geto! We need you to help judge! I don’t trust Panda judging on his own.”

“Salmon,” Toge agrees.

“Coming!” Yuuta calls back. He stands to his feet, then looks back at Geto. “Thanks for helping me think through things. I really, really, appreciate it.”

Geto nods. “I’m here whenever you need me.” He glances at the others. “We should probably head over there before they get in another non-training-related fight.”

“Yeah,” Yuuta agrees with an easy smile. “Probably.”

III. NOBARA

It’s pretty easy for Nobara to determine that Geto-sensei is the best person to go to for help.

Itadori would have good intentions, but he just doesn’t know Maki well enough to give any good advice. Same with the twins. Panda’s a hit-or-miss on whether or not you can trust him. Inumaki is, quite frankly, too hard to understand, and he’s also a hit-or-miss on whether or not he’s trustworthy. Fushiguro knows Maki, but he’s hopeless when it comes to feelings and romantic gestures. Same with Okkotsu. And out of everyone, Nobara trusts Gojo the least.

So Geto it is.

Nobara wants to make this perfect. She knows Maki likes her back (okay - she’s, like, 95% sure) so all she needs to do is make the first move, since the general consensus from everyone Nobara has talked to is that Maki will not make the first move.

(Everybody being Fushiguro and Itadori. But still. Nobara trusts them.)

(Mostly.)

Anyway. She doubts Maki would make the first move even if Nobara told them to, so she’ll just have to be the one to do it. And Nobara has been waiting her entire life for an excuse to create some grand romantic gesture!

She just…doesn’t know what to do now that the time has come.

Which is where Geto comes in.

(It’s desperate; Nobara knows that. But who else can she ask?)

Gojo’s out on some “business trip” to God knows where, which is perfect, because that means Nobara won’t have to worry about separating him and Geto in order to talk to Geto alone. The only thing she has to worry about is catching Geto at a time when the twins aren’t hanging around him. Nanako and Mimiko are great, but Nobara doesn’t trust them to keep her secret long enough for her to actually ask Maki before one of them lets it slip.

And the best time to do that, from what Nobara knows, is early in the morning.

According to the twins, Geto tends to wake up pretty early, even on days when he doesn’t have to be up. So Nobara sets her alarm earlier than she ever would normally in the hopes that she can find Geto and talk to him before the twins wake up.

Luck must be on her side this morning, because after scoping out the kitchen and common areas, she heads outside and is instantly hit with the scent of cigarette smoke.

Her first thought is Ieiri, but she looks around and doesn’t see her anywhere. She’s trying to figure out if maybe she just missed whoever was smoking when a voice calls out, “I’m up here.”

Nobara looks up.

Geto waves down to her from the roof.

Okay. Nobara can work with that.

“I’m coming up,” she says. “I want to talk to you.”

Geto just nods and sticks his cigarette back into his mouth.

As soon as Nobara makes it up to the roof, she tells Geto, “I need your help.”

Geto raises an eyebrow as he puts out his cigarette before dropping it. Nobara glances down to see that that is not the only cigarette butt lying on the roof. She should tell Yaga - that would be funny.

But that is not her goal right now, and Nobara has no idea how much time she has before they’re interrupted, so she needs to just cut to the chase.

“I want to ask Maki-san out, and I need help figuring out how, exactly, I should go about it.”

Geto just blinks at her, a blank expression on his face.

Was she not clear enough? She didn’t think her statement left much room for questioning. What else could have needed elaborated on? Unless—

“Oh.” She snaps her fingers. “You didn’t know I’m gay. Well. Surprise! I’m a lesbian. Now can you help me?”

“That’s— That’s not what was most shocking about what you just said.”

Nobara crosses her arms. “It’s not?”

“You came to me at, what, six-thirty in the morning? To ask me for advice about…asking Maki out? Were you looking for me specifically, or did I just happen to be here?”

“I wanted to talk to you,” Nobara assures him. “You think I’m up this early by choice? I just needed to make sure I could talk to you alone.”

Geto blinks again, like he’s still not quite getting it. And, okay, Nobara knows it’s early in the morning. But isn’t Geto usually up this early? Shouldn’t he have a functioning brain at this time? He’s probably been up longer than Nobara has, and Nobara is comprehending everything he says just fine.

“Me?” Geto points to himself.

“Yes. I already said that.”

“...Why?”

Nobara sighs. “Itadori, Nanako, and Mimiko don’t know Maki well enough. Fushiguro and Okkotsu are the last people anyone should be going to for relationship advice. Panda and Inumaki might lie to me because they want to see me humiliate myself in front of the person I like. And why would I talk to Gojo about something like this? You were the answer by process of elimination.”

“Oh!” Geto pinches the bridge of his nose. “Yeah, okay. That makes sense.”

Well now Nobara’s curiosity is piqued. “Why did you think I would come to you?”

Geto rolls his eyes. “I thought Shoko was playing some sort of cruel joke on me and sent you here.”

That’s definitely not the truth, but Nobara supposes she can pester him about the truth after she has a good, solid, plan for asking Maki out. “Sure. So…any ideas?”

“Think about what Maki would like?” Geto suggests. “My guess is they wouldn’t want some huge gesture that lets everyone on campus know you asked them out. So…something smaller.” He shrugs. “You could always just walk up to her and say, Hey I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me sometime?”

Nobara purses her lips as her eyes widen. “You suck at this.”

Geto narrows his eyes.

Nobara shrugs. “I’m just saying. What kind of person asks someone out so casually? That’s embarrassing. You have to make them feel loved and appreciated and special!”

Geto opens his mouth, and then promptly snaps it shut again.

“What?”

He shakes his head. “You’re right. You want Maki to feel special. Okay, so…let’s see…” he taps his chin. “Flowers? Shoko gets—” he cuts himself off abruptly.

Nobara raises an eyebrow. “Ieiri gets flowers for someone? Or does she get flowers from someone?”

“I didn’t say anything. You heard nothing.”

“Sure,” Nobara says. She files that away in her ever-growing collection of things to pester Geto about later. And if he won’t break, then maybe the twins will. “Anyway, flowers are boring. That’s a basic move. If I want Maki to know I think she’s special, I have to do something special.”

Geto huffs. “Get her food? A favorite snack? I don’t know.”

“Did you court your high school crush by buying them stuff from the vending machines?!”

Geto’s eyes widen, and oh. Nobara has accidentally struck gold. “Oh my God!” She laughs, full and loud, head thrown back. “You’re hopeless!”

“I’m your teacher; you can’t say things like that to me,” he tells her, though there’s no real fire behind it. Mostly just annoyance.

(Annoyance at the fact that Nobara is right. Apparently she should have gone to Ieiri for advice instead.)

“You didn’t have to come to me for advice, you know. I’m sure whatever you’d come up with on your own would be better than anything I could come up with.”

Nobara frowns. He isn’t wrong. She didn’t really need to get help from anyone, because honestly, no one on campus would live up to her expectations apart from Maki herself.

But…Nobara doesn’t want to do this alone. Even if she talks herself in circles until she reaches a solution while Geto just sits by and listens. She wants to run ideas by someone to make sure whatever she decides to go with isn’t stupid.

She wants someone to reassure her.

Because Nobara isn’t generally a self-conscious person. She doesn’t need approval from others - she has her own stamp of approval and she knows that’s the most important thing.

But that doesn’t mean some reassurance isn’t nice.

However, she’ll never admit all that to Geto. So instead, she says, “You’re right. I don’t need your help.”

She doesn’t leave, though. She looks out over campus like it might offer her the perfect idea and waits to see if Geto is going to offer any retribution for her being mean again.

Geto takes a deep breath. “Okay. You want my honest I’m older than you so I have more life experience, so I’ll tell you about what I’ve learned advice?”

“Sure,” Nobara says, still not looking at him, trying to make it sound like it’s no big deal whether he shares or not. Trying to not let him know that even if his advice is worthless, she absolutely appreciates the fact that he’s trying.

“Be explicit with what you want. Don’t leave them wondering whether or not you’re going on a date date or just a friend date. And the confession isn’t really as important as you’re probably making it out to be. What matters most is everything that comes after. The confession is the most nerve-wracking part, but it’s far from the most important. If Maki likes you already, whatever you say or do when you ask them out isn’t going to deter them. If it does deter them, then it wasn’t going to work out between you anyways.”

“That’s…” Nobara tilts her head. “That’s pretty sound advice, actually. Thanks.” She glances over at him. “So who did you ask out and leave it ambiguous whether it was an actual date or not?”

Geto shakes his head. “I did not do the asking out. I did the internal battle trying to figure out whether they meant it as platonic or romantic for weeks.”

Nobara giggles. “Okay, well I’ll be sure I don’t leave Maki wondering.”

“I’m sure she’ll appreciate that.”

“So…should I go with flowers?”

“What?”

“I mean— If my goal is to be direct, then flowers would help with that. And even if it is basic, I think if Maki got me flowers, the cliché-ness would be the last thing on my mind. So do you think I should get her flowers?”

“I think you should do whatever feels right to you. I think Maki would appreciate flowers, but I’m sure she would appreciate anything you do.”

Nobara groans. “You’re not very helpful.”

“This is your decision to make; not mine.”

“You’re making it sound like this is life or death when literally thirty seconds ago you said the actual confession part isn’t even that important.”

Geto shrugs.

Nobara rolls her eyes. “Fine, then.” She turns to walk away, but stops herself. If she’s going to get Maki flowers, she still doesn’t exactly know where to begin. “Do you know any good flower shops nearby?”

Geto hums. “There’s a place called Mura’s Flowers that isn’t too far away. It’s owned by a really nice woman, but her niece is usually working too, and she always looks like she’s trying to figure out the best way to kill you.”

Nobara nods. Mura’s Flowers. Perfect.

“Thanks!” She calls behind her as she all but skips away. She doubts the shop will be open this early, but as soon as it is, she’ll go get flowers and then put her master plan into action.

And hopefully, by the end of the day, she’ll have a date with Maki.

“No problem,” Geto responds. “Not that I think you need it, but good luck.”

Nobara glances back long enough to flash a smile at him, and then she’s disappearing down the stairs and pulling her phone from her pocket so she can look up the flower shop’s business hours.

IV. TOGE

Toge likes Kugisaki. Really, he does! He has nothing against any of the first years, actually. They all seem like nice kids.

But Kugisaki was a whole lot nicer when she wasn’t clinging to Maki every spare moment like her life depended on it.

Toge is happy for them, of course. He’s happy that Maki even opened herself up enough to consider a relationship. Maki is one of his best friends and anything that makes them happy makes Toge happy.

But it’s getting a little ridiculous.

Toge just wants some nice, quiet, peaceful, alone time tending to the garden. This is his place. No one else bothers watering the plants, and the only person who ever interrupts him is Yuuta. And that’s not really interruption, because Yuuta will just sit and watch Toge in silence unless Toge specifically indicates that he wants Yuuta to either help or talk to him.

But today, Yuuta is out on a mission, and Kugisaki and Maki have decided that it’s a great day for a picnic.

(It’s not. It’s way too hot to be eating outside. But apparently Maki and Kugisaki don’t care.)

They kept a respectful distance between their picnic and Toge, but with no one else around, Toge can still hear every word they’re saying to each other. And each sentence is even more sickly sweet than the last.

It would be cuter if Toge wasn’t forcibly subjected to the entire date.

But the plants need watered and he always takes care of the garden at this time, so he’ll forget if he saves it for later. Which means he just has to grit his teeth and do his best to block out the sappiness oozing from the direction of Maki and Kugisaki.

Eventually, the heat gets to him and he decides to take a break. He’s not done yanking out the weeds that have sprung up yet, but he’s going to collapse from heat exhaustion if he keeps going. So despite the fact that he wants to finish as quickly as possible in order to get away from the Kugisaki/Maki date, he also knows he shouldn’t push himself to the point of passing out.

He unhooks his mask from one ear and takes a drink from his water bottle, which turns to downing half of it in one go. Maybe Yuuta was right about him needing to be more aware about the lack of water he drinks while working outside.

He doesn’t bother putting his mask back on as he flops down into the grass, lying on his back. He needs the air against his face anyways. It is way too hot out.

Kugisaki laughs loudly, and Toge lifts his head just enough to shoot a glare at her and Maki, though he knows neither one of them will see it. They’re too caught up in their own little world to remember Toge is even nearby - especially since he isn’t making any noise to remind them of his presence.

Maybe he should. Maybe he should annoy them back, and then they’ll leave, and Toge can have his peace and quiet while working in the garden again.

He couldn’t do that to Maki, though.

He sighs and stares up at the clouds drifting across the summer sky. The sun is low enough in the sky that it isn’t blinding him to look upwards, but of course, that isn’t helping one bit with the heat. He’s honestly wondering how Kugisaki and Maki can stand it. Did they just pack a bunch of cold foods? Or does love give you immunity to the heat? Because if it’s the latter, then Toge has a bone to pick with the universe. It already gave him cursed speech; the least it could do is give him the opportunity for a higher tolerance of hot weather than what he has.

A shadow falls over Toge, and for a moment, he thinks Maki saw him lying down and came over to make sure he was okay.

Then the person casting the shadow comes into view, and Toge internally chides himself for considering Maki has eyes for anything besides the girl next to her at the moment. When they say Love makes you blind, they really mean it.

(Or…wait. Is the saying actually Love is blind? Eh, whatever.)

“Are you alright?” Geto asks.

“Salmon.”

Geto nods. “Good. It’s pretty hot out, so I wanted to check in on you.”

Toge assumes that’s going to be the end of the conversation, but then Geto carefully sits down next to him. And Toge has nothing against Geto - he’s a good teacher, and he has a better track record for thinking things through than Gojo - but he hadn’t expected Geto to actually be interested in talking for longer than making sure Toge wasn’t suffering heatstroke.

He wants to ask Geto if there’s something he needs from Toge (please don’t be a mission, please), but he also doesn’t feel like opening his mouth.

Wait—

Speaking of his mouth, his mask is still off. Not that accidentally imbuing his words with cursed energy would affect Geto, but he still likes to be safe rather than sorry.

He pushes himself back up into a sitting position, takes one more drink of water, and then hooks his mask back around his ears.

Laughter erupts from Maki and Kugisaki again, and on instinct, Toge shoots a glare towards them. He sort of feels like a terrible person for being irritated by laughter, but also, as long as they don’t know he’s annoyed by it, he doesn’t really care.

Unfortunately for him, Geto is not so oblivious.

“Ah,” he says, his gaze drifting over to the date as well. “So you’re getting annoyed by them too?”

Toge tilts his head and lifts his eyebrows. Too? Is Geto also annoyed by them, or has he just been talking to someone else who is?

“Nanako keeps complaining about them to me,” Geto explains. “I think she’s probably just jealous, but when I so much as implied that, she got mad and stormed off.” He shrugs. “I get it. When we were students, Shoko would talk about her dates, and I kind of wanted to let a curse loose on her because I wanted to be the one going on dates with the person I liked.”

Toge doesn’t really know how to respond to that. Although, Nanako’s recent mood swings do make a lot more sense now. As does the fact that she outright refused to go on a mission with Kugisaki last week, meaning Toge had to go in her place.

Geto leans back, looking up at the sky. “If that’s why you’re upset too, I feel like I should say something about how You’ll find your perfect person when the time is right.”

Toge makes a face and shakes his head. Then, realizing Geto isn’t looking at him, he adds, “Bonito flakes.”

Geto’s gaze shifts until it lands on Toge. “Oh. Wait…so you’re not…” He furrows his eyebrows, studying Toge. He and Gojo both like to do this thing where they just look at you. And Geto’s look is less intimidating because it isn’t done through a blindfold, but still, Toge feels like his teacher is picking apart every aspect of him, sifting through Toge’s thoughts for the answer to a question Geto never bothered to ask.

Toge fights to avoid shivering under Geto’s stare.

Finally, he says, “Satoru seems to think you might be…” he hesitates, “...how do I put this? Pining for someone.”

Toge points at himself and raises his eyebrows in disbelief. If anyone is pining for someone else, it’s clearly Megumi. Toge can’t remember the last time he was in a room with both Megumi and Itadori where Megumi wasn’t watching Itadori the entire time. And, of course, Itadori is pining in return, but he at least has the decency to be less obvious about it.

(Or maybe he’s just better at hiding it. Megumi’s never been good at feelings, so maybe he just doesn’t know how to be less obvious.)

But Toge pining?

He shakes his head. “Bonito flakes.” Absolutely not. But also…now he’s curious. Geto can’t just say that and expect Toge to brush it off. “Mustard leaf?”

“Huh?” Geto blinks. “Oh. You’re asking who Satoru thinks you’re pining for.”

Toge nods.

“Yuuta.”

Toge’s mouth drops open, though it’s covered by the fact that he’s wearing a mask.

“So I thought you might be sulking over here because Yuuta’s a little…not great with the whole romance thing. For good reason, of course. I don’t think anyone can blame him. That’s truly why I came over to talk to you, though. But if there aren’t actually any feelings there, then I suppose I can save my speech for Yuuji and Megumi.”

Toge barely registers any of the words Geto says after Yuuta’s name drops out of his mouth. Him and Yuuta? Pining for each other? It would be laughable if Geto didn’t sound so serious about it. Because—

Well, because, like Geto said: Yuuta’s not too keen on the idea of romance, after everything that happened with Rika. And of all the students on campus, the only other one who shares Yuuta’s hesitancy towards romance is the one Geto just accused of pining.

Actually, okay, it is still funny, and Toge can’t suppress the laugh that bubbles up once he’s gotten over the shock of it. It’s funny because Yuuta and Toge already talked about this - the fact that both of them seem to view romance differently than most of their peers. The fact that Yuuta isn’t sure he’ll ever be able to let himself fall in love and the fact that Toge isn’t sure he’s even capable of falling in love and the fact that it’s different for each of them, but it’s also very similar.

“Why are you laughing?” Geto questions.

“Tuna,” Toge manages between giggles. “Tuna mayo.”

Geto narrows his eyes. But he doesn’t respond verbally, meaning he doesn’t actually know what Toge just told him; all he knows is he doesn’t like Toge’s tone.

(Which, admittedly, makes the whole thing even funnier to Toge. But he should probably limit how much he laughs in Geto’s face because Geto can be scary when he wants to be, and Toge has been on the receiving end of that before.)

“Tuna Tuna,” Toge waves his hand dismissively. He points at Maki and Kugisaki, then points back at himself and shakes his head.

“Oh.” Geto’s eyes widen. “Oh! You…aren’t interested in dating anyone?”

“Salmon.” Toge gives him a thumbs up.

Geto nods. “That explains why you’re so annoyed by those two, then.” He jabs his thumb in the direction of the picnic date.

Toge shrugs. It’s not that he’s annoyed by romance in general, it’s just that he feels stuck somewhere in between labels, and being forced to deal with one of his friends’ relationships isn’t helping his ongoing identity crisis.

Because he isn’t interested in dating anyone, really, but…mostly because he doesn’t think the sort of love he’s capable of experiencing is the same sort of love that gets people into relationships. He’s not completely against the idea, he supposes, but if he were to date someone, it would have to be someone he trusted and someone who already knew his feelings for them would never quite be the romantic sort.

(Someone like Yuuta.)

Oh.

Gojo’s hunch makes a little more sense now.

“I can’t exactly speak from my own experience, but I’ve heard that it’s hard existing in a world that’s so focused on romance when that isn’t necessarily something you see happening for yourself,” Geto tells him. “And I know you care about Maki and want them to be happy, but I don’t think you’re a bad person for being frustrated by their honeymoon phase.”

Toge frowns, rolling Geto’s words over in his mind. Half of him hopes Geto is right and this is just a honeymoon phase, and soon, Maki will be back to exactly how she was before she and Kugisaki started dating.

But Toge isn’t stupid. Even if the honeymoon phase wears off, things are still going to be different, because Kugisaki is now Maki’s top priority by default. That’s how romance works, right? Maki would never leave Toge and the others completely behind, but she’s also now expected to put Kugisaki first.

Maybe that’s what Toge yearns for most. Not romance, but someone who always puts him first. He’s never really been anyone’s top priority, and it sounds nice.

“I told Yuuta this last year, and I’ll tell you now: There’s nothing wrong with not wanting to date anyone, and there’s nothing wrong with being unsure what you want in life when it comes to romance. And there’s also nothing wrong with disliking the fact that you don’t have all the answers about your own desires.”

Toge sighs. “Mentaiko.” It would be a hell of a lot easier if Toge just knew - if the questions had easy answers and Toge didn’t resort to petty jealousy of Maki and Kugisaki for being able to figure out their feelings and put nice, neat, labels on them.

Geto laughs. “Yeah. I agree. Unfortunately, life isn’t simple.”

“Bonito flakes.” Toge knows Geto can’t provide the answers, but the fact that he isn’t twisting Toge’s words and feelings around to interpret them how he wants and trying to convince Toge that he is just pining for Yuuta is nice. Far better than his parents asking again and again when he’ll get a girlfriend and if that nice Zen’in girl in your year is still single?

(Toge doesn’t think his parents know anything about Maki besides their last name. Possibly, they think Maki’s sister is the one in Toge’s class because she’s the one out of the two of them with a cursed technique.)

“You’re also, what, sixteen?” Geto asks.

“Salmon.”

“Yeah. No one has everything figured out at seventeen, even if they look like they do. When I was your age, I was about half a step away from going completely off the rails.”

Toge blinks. “...Tuna?”

“Yeah. Not a great time for me.” He laughs again, though Toge isn’t exactly sure that’s something to be laughing about. “My point is that you’ve got lots of time left to figure things out. Don’t think that who you are and what you feel now is necessarily where you’re stuck forever. Some feelings last, and some don’t, and that’s just life.”

Toge tenses, ready for Geto to switch over to Just give it time - you’ll fall in love when you’re older.

“Like, the fact that you don’t want to date is a feeling that will probably last. But your uncertainty may be temporary. Even if it feels everlasting.”

Oh.

That’s…not what Toge was expecting.

His shoulders relax and he smiles beneath his mask. He nods.

“You’re a good kid, Toge. You’re smart and you’re strong, and I hope you end up finding whatever answers you’re looking for.”

Toge hums.

“And remember that you don’t need romance to live a fulfilling life. Anyone who says otherwise is just repeating the happiness script they’ve been force fed and tricked into believing.”

Toge hesitates, then nods. “Salmon.”

“Need any help with the garden?”

Toge raises an eyebrow. When has Geto ever been interested in yardwork? That’s the whole reason Toge takes care of the garden in the first place - Geto and Gojo were both neglecting it.

“I have curses that could help.”

Ah.

“Oh!” Geto stands up. “Here, let me at least give you some shade.” He summons his manta ray curse - the one Toge always sees him riding around on like it’s a magic carpet - and has it float above them, blocking out the sun.

Maybe it’s Toge’s imagination, but it does feel cooler.

“Mustard leaf.” Toge gives him a thumbs up and hopes that his Thank you gets across.

“Sure, no problem. I’m gonna go bother Maki and Nobara since Gojo isn’t here to do it. Have fun with the garden!”

“Salmon.”

“And remember I’m always here to listen if you need me.”

“Salmon.” Toge flashes another thumbs up, and Geto returns the gesture with a thumbs up of his own before strolling over to crash Maki and Nobara’s date.

Toge watches him go with a smile on his face. He knows Maki has about a hundred complaints they could file against Geto, but Toge likes him.

(He knows that deep down, Maki does too.)

Because Geto isn’t a perfect teacher, sure, and Toge doesn’t always agree with him. But he’s a good person, and Toge thinks that’s probably the most important quality for a teacher to have.

V. YUUJI

Yuuji doesn’t know how long he’s been sitting here, but he knows that this is all his fault.

If he’d been half a second faster, Fushiguro never would have gotten hurt so badly. Instead of Yuuji waiting for Fushiguro to wake up, the two of them would be eating dinner and maybe telling the second years about the mission. Well - Yuuji would talk about the mission, and Fushiguro would nod along until he felt the need to interrupt by correcting Yuuji’s mistakes in the story.

But instead, Yuuji’s been sitting at Fushiguro’s bedside since Ieiri let him into the room and his legs have grown stiff and it’s all his fault.

(And it’s all so eerily familiar - fruitlessly sitting in a hospital for hours on end.)

The door opens behind Yuuji and he dries his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket. He’s expecting it to be Ieiri back to check up on Fushiguro again, but instead, he turns to see Geto-sensei.

“Hi,” Yuuji mumbles before looking back at his friend, assuring himself that he can still see Fushiguro’s chest rising and falling.

“Nobara is worried about you,” Geto tells him. He pulls a chair over next to Yuuji and sits down.

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Geto laughs. “Because despite what she wants you to think, she actually does care about you.”

“No, I mean—” Yuuji glances up at Geto. “I’m not the one who’s unconscious and injured. She should save her worries for Fushiguro.”

“She’s worried for him too,” Geto assures him. “But Megumi won’t hear if I tell him that right now. She’s worried for you because you haven’t left his side since you got back. She told me to tell you that you should at least eat and shower.”

“‘m not hungry.”

“Okay,” Geto concedes. “But you’re still wearing your bloodstained uniform and you have dried blood on your face.”

“Do I?” Yuuji reaches up to his face. Sure enough, he can feel the dried blood flaking off as he runs his fingers over it. He doesn’t really remember what the extent of his own injuries was - just that he insisted Ieiri heal Fushiguro first and that Kugisaki made him wash his hands, which were sticky with Fushiguro’s blood after carrying him to Ijichi’s car and doing what he could to stop the bleeding on the ride back to campus.

It makes sense that his uniform would have gotten bloody too. But he’d had bigger things to worry about.

“Megumi will be okay. The best thing you can do for him is take care of yourself.”

Yuuji shakes his head even though he knows that objectively, Geto is right - staying here can’t help Fushiguro. Yuuji doesn’t have magical healing powers and if prayer will do anything to help, it’ll be just as effective outside of this room as it would be inside it.

Still, he’s not sure he can bring himself to leave.

It’s his fault. So he should be the one to watch over Fushiguro. And if something were to happen after he left—

“Yuuji,” Geto says softly.

Yuuji looks at him. Tears have started to well up in his eyes again, but he blinks them back. He doesn’t need to cry in front of his teacher. “I just…” he clenches his hands. “I can’t lose him. I can’t.”

Geto offers him a sympathetic smile, and Yuuji thinks Geto has probably seen straight through him. Because it’s not just about the fact that this is Yuuji’s fault and he doesn’t want to lose a friend. There’s something else there - something that’s been growing since Yuuji first met Fushiguro, and it’s only been getting stronger. A feeling Yuuji has been afraid to put a name to.

It’s not a shock to Yuuji that he likes both boys and girls. It’s just that he didn’t think even he would be stupid enough to fall for someone when he has a death sentence looming over his head.

(And he doesn’t think Fushiguro would be stupid enough to reciprocate.)

“You like him,” Geto says. The words sound juvenile but his tone holds the weight of the truth and consequences of that statement.

Yuuji sighs, his gaze falling on Fushiguro’s face. “Yeah,” he admits. It tastes bitter, but it feels right. He glances back over to Geto, but Geto is staring down at Fushiguro and Yuuji can’t read his expression anymore.

“I want to tell you that there’s hope, but even Satoru and I are limited by the higher ups. We could take them all out without a problem, but it’s what comes after that’s tricky. I won’t make empty promises because I am firmly against giving people false hope, but I will tell you that love - in any form - is what makes us human, and you are not a bad person for craving that even knowing it can only be temporary.”

Yuuji squeezes his eyes shut. “It’s not fair, you know?” He opens his eyes and looks down at his hands, flexing his fingers to distract himself from the tears threatening to fall. “I never really had any close friends before coming here. But the thing that got me friends is also the thing that sentenced me to death. And now—” He takes a shaky breath. “My grandpa told me that love isn’t easy, but I…I don’t really think anything like this was what he had in mind.”

“Probably not.”

“I’m glad I got to be part of this, but I feel…bad.”

“How so?”

Yuuji shrugs. “I want to have people watching over me when I die, but I’m beginning to realize that the more friends I have, the more people I hurt when the end comes.” He leans forward and brushes a strand of hair out of Fushiguro’s eyes. “I want to help people; not hurt them.”

“If you’re always focused on helping out others, you’re never going to have time for yourself. You’re allowed to be a little selfish.” Geto sighs. “And trust me when I say you can’t control Megumi’s feelings on the matter. If he’s going to reciprocate, you can’t stop him.”

“I don’t want to hurt him.” It’s one of the few things Yuuji is absolutely sure about, and he’s already failed enough.

“I’m not sure that decision is yours to make.”

Yuuji purses his lips. He supposes Geto has a point. Yuuji can’t decide who Fushiguro is and isn’t close to. He can’t force Fushiguro to prepare for the inevitability of the execution by distancing himself from Yuuji either.

“Why don’t you go clean yourself up?” Geto suggests. “I’ll watch him for you while you’re gone.”

Yuuji sniffs. He doesn’t want to leave Fushiguro’s side, but he knows he needs a shower and a change of clothes. He knows Fushiguro wouldn’t want to wake up and find that he’s still covered in dried blood because he refused to take care of himself.

“Okay,” Yuuji whispers. “Yeah. Okay.” He pushes himself to his feet, eyes still glued to Fushiguro. His legs are shaky and he’s not sure if it’s because he’s been sitting so long or because his nerves are shot. “I’ll— I’ll be back. If he wakes up, tell him I’ll be back.”

Geto nods. “Of course. Take care of yourself. I’m sure Megumi won’t mind waiting for you.”

“Thanks. I—” Yuuji swallows thickly. “Yeah. Thanks.”

Sympathy is etched across Geto’s face, and Yuuji thinks maybe his teacher understands what he’s going through a little better than he’s letting on.

(And Yuuji knows Geto said he didn’t want to offer false hope, but Yuuji wants to believe that there is a chance that this story won’t end in tragedy. He can see clear as day that Geto doesn’t want to watch Yuuji and Fushiguro fall to nothing, and he sincerely hopes that’s enough.)

+ I. SUGURU

Suguru did not expect to be a teacher.

Truthfully, there was a time when he didn’t expect to live past eighteen.

But he survived, and he let Satoru convince him that the best course of action would be to train the next generation of sorcerers. It’s not a bad deal, Suguru supposes. Less missions, and he gets to work with Satoru.

He could have followed in Yuki’s footsteps - going off and doing whatever he wanted on a salary that can’t be taken away since he’s a special grade. But he would have had to leave Satoru behind, on his own with the Fushiguro kids, and bumming around abroad wouldn’t have been as freeing when Suguru would have had to take the twins with him.

So Satoru had won the “Which special grade should Suguru be more like?” argument, though Suguru doubts Yuki was all that surprised about it. Whenever she drops by the school, she tells Suguru he made the wrong decision, and then she laughs and says fatherhood suits him well.

Suguru rolls his eyes, Satoru threatens to use Hollow Purple on her, and Yuki laughs in his face.

It’s a happiness Suguru never thought he would find - their little found family. He and Satoru. Nanako and Mimiko. Megumi and Tsumiki.

However, it’s a happiness that is not common knowledge in the jujutsu world. Everyone knows Satoru saved Megumi from being sold to the Zen’in Clan. Everyone knows Suguru showed up back at Jujutsu High after a mission in his third year with two young sorcerers who were bloody and bruised. Everyone knows Satoru and Suguru graduated and both went on to become teachers.

Most people do not know they live together and have been dating since they were seventeen. Their kids know, of course. Shoko knows. Yaga knows. Yuki knows. Nanami knows.

The rest of the students do not know. The higher ups do not know. Satoru’s family does not know. Suguru’s parents are vaguely aware he’s living with Satoru in Tokyo, but they do not know about the kids or the dating.

It’s better that way. Suguru likes their private happiness. It’s nice.

(It’s also a miracle neither Satoru nor either of the twins have let it slip to the students who don’t know yet.)

(Of course, Suguru should have known it was only a matter of time.)

— —

Satoru’s idea of team bonding night includes forcing all of the students to watch a movie that came out forty years ago, a movie which he swears up and down is an absolute classic.

(It’s not. Suguru has seen it. Several times. It’s mediocre at best.)

(But, he sort of wants to see how the kids react to it, so he stays silent while Satoru waxes poetic about how good it is until Maki snaps and says Oh my God no one cares, we already know we don’t actually have a choice in which movie we watch.)

So now they’re thirty minutes into this two-hour-long drag of a movie, and half of the students are falling asleep. Mimiko is already sleeping, and Nanako looks like she might be next with the way her eyelids keep fluttering shut. Megumi doesn’t look like he’s much more awake than Nanako, and Suguru is sure that the only reason he’s even still here is because Yuuji has his head in Megumi’s lap. Yuuji looks semi-interested in the movie, at least.

Nobara and Maki are slumped against each other, quietly whispering and definitely not paying attention to the movie at all. Yuuta and Toge are sitting side-by-side with their phones out - probably texting each other and also absolutely not watching the movie. Panda is passed out on the floor, under the table holding all the snacks. Tsumiki, while technically not a student, was dragged along to movie night by Satoru, and is also currently asleep next to Megumi.

Satoru is sitting across the room from Suguru, sprawled across a beanbag chair, and his eyes are glued to the screen.

Suguru is trying his best to pay attention, but truthfully, he’s seen this movie enough that he just doesn’t care. He’ll watch it with Satoru when they’re alone, because at least then, he can occupy himself by being a nuisance and trying to distract him. But he can’t do that in front of the kids.

(Which is why he tactfully sat down next to Nanako and Mimiko instead of sharing the beanbag chair with Satoru.)

“Oh,” Nobara says suddenly. “Wait, who’s she? She’s pretty.”

“She’s the love interest I’m pretty sure,” Yuuji says. “I’m kinda lost with what’s happening.”

(The character on screen that Nobara pointed out is definitely not the love interest.)

“No, she’s Miyata’s cousin,” Satoru corrects. “Miyata is the love interest.”

“Ohhhhhh, that makes a lot more sense,” Yuuji muses. “I think Miyata is hotter anyway.”

“What?!” Nobara demands, sitting up straight and turning back to look at Yuuji. “Are you blind?”

“No! I’m right! Fushiguro, tell her I’m right!”

Fushiguro blinks, very slowly, and then asks, “Right about what?”

Yuuji groans.

“Which character are you more attracted to: Miyata or the other girl?”

“Uhhh…” Megumi stares at the screen and Suguru works very hard to make sure he doesn’t laugh. He is absolutely certain that Megumi is not going to have a preference. “I guess, uh. Yeah, whatever you said, Itadori. I agree with you.”

Nobara facepalms.

“Babe, why would you ask Megumi to back you up?” Maki questions, running a hand through her girlfriend’s hair. “That was stupid.”

“I know,” Nobara mumbles, resting her head on Maki’s shoulder. “You agree with me though, right?”

Maki hums. “Yeah, sure.”

“That’s not very reassuring.”

Suguru’s gaze finds Satoru, who is already looking at him. Satoru raises an eyebrow, and Suguru shrugs.

“Bonito flakes,” Toge pipes up.

“Don’t get involved,” Yuuta tells him.

“Only get involved if you’re going to agree with me,” Nobara corrects.

Toge shakes his head. He points at the TV screen. “Salmon.”

Miyata and the love interest are both gone, replaced by the main guy.

“Him?” Maki asks. “Toge, you have terrible taste.”

“Salmon cod roe.” He flips Maki off, and he’s only saved from their wrath by Nobara grabbing onto Maki, preventing them from attacking Toge.

“Guys,” Satoru whines. “The point of this movie is not fighting over which actor is most attractive! You’re supposed to enjoy it for the plot!”

“What plot?” Maki asks. “I really thought you picked this because you thought one of the actresses was hot.”

Suguru does laugh at that. He can’t help it. Because anyone else watching this movie probably would be watching it for the actors in it, but Satoru actually watches it for the story. Satoru has never once watched a movie because he thought one of the actors was attractive, because that all goes right over his head.

It goes over Suguru’s too, but he can hide it by enjoying movies that actually tell a good story.

“What?!” Maki demands.

All of the students who are still awake are looking at Suguru now. And Satoru is also looking at him. He’s got his sunglasses on, but Suguru knows he’s glaring.

“Nothing.” Suguru mimics zipping his lips.

The students all swivel their heads to look at Satoru, who continues to glare at Suguru.

“Oh, I don’t go for the whole finding actors attractive thing,” Satoru tells them after several moments of silence. “I only have eyes for one man.”

“Oh my God.” Megumi drops his head into his hands.

“Also, I’m ace, so you know,” Satoru waves his hand vaguely and sits back in his chair.

“You’re useless,” Nobara decides. “Come on, there has to be someone here besides Maki and Yuuji who actually has an opinion. Yuuta?”

“Um. I— I don’t really know. I guess I’ll agree with you. They both look nice.”

Nobara groans. “Geto-sensei?” She looks at him. “Come on, you said you’ve watched this movie before. You have to have a preference.”

Suguru shrugs. “I feel the same as Satoru on this. Sorry.”

“Do any of you people even know what type of people you’re attracted to?”

“No,” Megumi and Yuuta chorus.

“Bonito flakes.”

Nobara looks at Suguru, one eyebrow raised.

And Suguru, because he’s an idiot, looks straight at Satoru.

He doesn’t know his type - doesn’t know if he ever had one. It never mattered much, because Satoru was always the one and only person he could ever see himself being with. So, he supposes, the answer to Nobara’s question is yes, Suguru knows his type.

His type is Satoru Gojo.

Suguru looks at Satoru. Satoru looks at Suguru.

(Suguru thinks about how, eleven years ago, Yuki asked him what sort of woman was his type, and Suguru had simply looked over at Satoru.)

(That was all it had taken for her to figure them out.)

“Oh my God,” Maki says. “No way.”

“Don’t tell me you honestly didn’t know.” Megumi rolls his eyes. “They’re so obvious about it.”

“What?!” Yuuji demands, sitting up. He grabs Megumi’s shoulders and shakes him. “How are they obvious? And you knew?!”

“Megumi!” Maki shouts at the same time that Nobara says, “Fushiguro!”

“You can blame my father for trying to sell me to the Zen’in Clan, because that is the only reason Gojo took Tsumiki and I in, and that is why I knew.”

“Yeah,” Suguru agrees. “Blame Toji Fushiguro. He was the worst.”

“Yeah!” Satoru chimes in. “Wait, Megumi, what do you mean we were obvious?”

Megumi rolls his eyes. “Let’s see. The fact that you know more about Nanako and Mimiko than anyone who doesn’t live with them would. The fact that you two are always together. You know each other’s favorite snacks and drinks, and buy them for each other regularly. I definitely saw you kissing in an empty classroom once or twice. The amount of times you two have stumbled over not calling the other some stupid pet name is embarassing. And you two have never tried to hide the fact that you’ve each individually been in a relationship, though the only relationship either of you have had is the one you’re in right now. With each other. Want me to go on?”

“No,” Satoru mumbles.

Tsumiki - who apparently woke up sometime in the middle of all the commotion - leans over and flicks her brother’s forehead. “Don’t be so mean to them.”

Megumi huffs. “You’re lucky you don’t have to deal with them being your teachers.”

She flicks him again. “That’s still mean.”

“So you…” Yuuji’s voice trails off. He looks at Satoru, and then at Suguru. “You two are. Together. Like for real?”

Suguru sighs. “Yeah. Yeah, we are.”

“Wow. I thought Inumaki was crazy.”

Toge yelps. “Bonito flakes!” He hides his face in Yuuta’s shoulder.

Yuuta looks at Suguru with wide eyes. So apparently Inumaki told him too.

Maki scoffs. “Why’d Toge share his theory with you and not me?” She asks Yuuji.

Toge mumbles something. Yuuta winces. “He says because you would have stopped at nothing to figure out whether he was right or not…”

“...Yeah, okay, fair.”

“...And also you and Kugisaki were being annoying.”

Maki lunges towards Yuuta and Toge, but this time, they’re stopped by Satoru stepping in the way. “Okay!” he announces. “Movie night is over. Everyone needs to be out of this room in the next sixty seconds or we have impromptu training time.” He takes his glasses off and raises his hand, his index and middle fingers halfway to being crossed.

The kids all start moving. Yuuji grabs Megumi’s arm, and pulls him away, despite Megumi’s protests. Tsumiki laughs at him. Maki and Nobara aren’t far behind, followed by Yuuta and Toge after they wake Panda and drag him out of the room.

“Wow,” Nanako says, breaking the sudden silence. “Movie night was a terrible idea.”

(And Mimiko, of course, is still asleep.)

Satoru claps his hands together. “Okay, you three. You’re on cleaning duty. And I am going to finish watching this movie in peace.” He puts his glasses back on and plops down on the beanbag chair once more.

“Can I break the TV screen?” Nanako whispers.

“Let him watch,” Suguru says. “I’ll clean.”

By which he means he’ll summon curses to clean up so the kids don’t have to. Truthfully, it’s one of the most convenient parts of Suguru’s technique.

He brings out a couple of curses before picking up Mimiko and setting her down on the couch. Nanako follows, sitting next to her sister and curling up, pulling her phone from her pocket. Tsumiki sits on the other end of the couch with her legs crossed and watches the curses clean up.

Suguru sits down next to Satoru, wrapping his arms around him and kissing his cheek.

“This movie is better when it’s just us,” Satoru comments.

“This movie is not all that great no matter when you watch or who you’re watching with,” Suguru corrects. “But I suppose I agree. …Sorry your movie night got ruined.”

“Eh, it’s okay. I’m just happy I wasn’t the one who gave us away.”

“Shut up.” Suguru elbows him. “I didn’t even say anything.”

“But you looked at me. So it’s your fault!”

Suguru sighs, but he can’t really argue. He doesn’t think he really minds, though. He knew it was inevitable that the students would find out eventually, and he’s sure none of them are going to be interested in letting it slip to the higher ups. The students don’t really talk to anyone besides each other.

And even if the higher ups do find out, it’s not like they can do anything. Suguru has a thousand curses at his beck and call, and Satoru has a the equivalent of a bomb at his fingertips.

They’re the strongest.

(...And they were outsmarted by teenagers who were just joking around.)

Satoru must be right - this new generation of sorcerers is going to be leagues stronger than any before them. And Suguru is excited to watch them grow.