Archive of Our Own ^beta

Yuji was a great cook. His meatball recipe was a favorite of practically everyone in Jujutsu Tech. But he couldn’t bake to save his life. He’d managed to burn box brownies. He once tried to make a batch of cookies and forgot to put the flour in and had ended up with a cookie puddle, which Gojo had tried to display on his wall above his bed. The tray fell on his face while he was asleep.

But anyway, that’s why when Nobara and Megumi came up with the brilliant idea to bake a cake, he immediately agreed. It would be such a good opportunity for him to learn how to bake! He’d be the best baker ever, he’d make sure of it.

Nobara and Megumi couldn’t cook either, but it was the best idea they had. They’d been extremely busy and may or may not have forgotten to buy presents for their teacher’s birthday. A cake and a card was their best option. At least, they decided it was.

“Uh- Kugisaki?” Yuji asked as the three of them rummaged through the kitchen to find baking supplies. “You got the cake mix, right?” 

Nobara rolled her eyes. “Don’t ask me, Fushiguro was supposed to get it.” She said, pulling several large bowls out from the cabinet.

Megumi paused, turning towards her. “I thought Itadori was getting it.”

The horror that struck the three teenagers was like nothing they’d ever experienced before. They fought curses and faced death every day, but the prospect of making a cake from scratch was the most terrifying thing any of them could think of.

“It’s okay! We can make a cake from scratch. I’ll look up a recipe.” Yuji said quickly, pulling his phone from his pocket. “And I got some cream cheese frosting, so at least that’ll be good.” He said, sliding the two cans of frosting he got across the counter.

Megumi picked up the tubs, narrowing his eyes at them. “Itadori, this is just straight up cream cheese.”

“...There’s a difference?”

Within their first ten minutes of baking Yuji had broken two bowls and was now forbidden from touching anything breakable, Megumi had misread the recipe and added three cups of sugar instead of one and a half, and Nobara had miserably failed to separate the egg whites and egg yolks, so she just gave up after removing all the eggshell she dropped in the bowl.

“So, this is going disastrously.” Megumi said, watching Sukuna’s mouth pop up on Yuji’s hand and drink up the vanilla extract he was trying to add. This resulted in Yuji smacking his own hand, Sukuna laughing and then coughing in disgust about what he just ate, and disappearing indignantly. 

Yuji sighed as he mixed together their cake batter, which was some kind of culinary abomination to say the least. “Well, frosting should be easier, right?” He asked hopefully.

Nobara scoffed, rubbing her head. “We’re better off smearing the actual cream cheese on this thing than whatever the hell we’re gonna make.” She sighed, dusting flour off her skirt. 

Megumi tapped his foot on the ground as he watched Yuji finally manage to put their ‘cake’ in the oven. “...We should just order a cake.” He said finally.

“What!? No!” Yuji said quickly. “We were supposed to make this cake as a present for him!” He said, looking around. “We can’t just get him a store bought cake and a card! He does so much for our birthdays!”

Nobara sighed, rubbing her head. “Yeah but…I dunno, man.” She paused, pulling out her phone. “I’m gonna ask Nitta to drive me to the mall. I’ll find some kind of present for him from the three of us and if I have time I’ll grab a cake.” She said, texting Nitta and awaiting a reply.

Megumi nodded, turning back to the cake and frosting recipes on his phone. “Okay, I guess me and Yuji will…try to make frosting.”

The frosting attempt was going just about as well as their cake. Sukuna refused to stop eating everything Yuji touched and now he had to wear oven mitts, which seriously restricted how well he could hold things. Though, the two of them were much more careful in making sure they weren’t being idiots about the measurements this time, they could at least make part of the cake not a disgrace.

By the time they finished failing to spread the buttercream on their crumbling cake, Nobara and Nitta had entered the kitchen again. Nitta set a circular blue cake with sprinkles on it down on the counter and quickly ran off down the hall. “Tell Gojo-san I say happy birthday!” She called, running back out of the school and towards her car.

“So what did you get him?” Megumi asked, looking at the large bag Nobara had in her hands. Yuji walked over to her hopefully, tossing the oven mitts -now covered in bite marks- off his hands.

Nobara set the bag down on the counter and pulled out the absolute biggest pure white cat plushie either of them had ever seen. 

“It’s perfect. Doesn’t matter if the cake sucks now, he’s gonna love it.” Megumi said, letting out a long breath of relief. At least Gojo’s birthday wouldn’t be a complete failure now.

Yuji grinned and ran forward, wrapping his arms around Nobara. “You’re a lifesaver! You’re the best, Kugisaki!” 

“I know, now put me down!”

Once Yuji had set Nobara back down, the two of them ran off to find art supplies to make a card for Gojo, leaving Megumi to clean the mess the three had made of the kitchen. Megumi glared at the pile of dishes waiting to be washed, cursing himself as he started cleaning.

It only took about ten minutes for Yuji to come bounding back into the kitchen, waving a paper card and markers in Megumi’s face excitedly. “Sign the card, Fushiguro!” He said.

“I didn’t get to finish my signature!” Nobara shouted at Yuji, bonking the boy on the back of the head.

Megumi reached over and pulled the card out of Yuji’s grip, repressing a snort of laughter as he looked at the front. A crudely drawn Gojo surrounded by cakes, gifts, confetti, and way too many smiley faces looked back at him. Definitely drawn by Yuji.

The inside was covered in rainbows and money -probably Nobara’s handywork- and two hand-written paragraphs from Yuji and Nobara. Yuji’s switched colors every other word randomly, and Nobara’s was written in rainbow order, every sentence a new color.

Gojo-Sensei! AAAAAA HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Ur the coolest guy ever and ur super fun and u need a birthday just as awesome as you! We’ve got suprises surprises planned all day and its really hard not to tell u them but Kugisaki and Fushiguro said I can’t >:( anyway I hope ur whole birthday is absoloutely absolutely awesome! Ur like a dad to us three but like the coolest dad who ever cooled! :D :D :D
-Yuji Itadori >:)

Happy birthday you big dingus. You’re really annoying and you drive me insane but you don’t suck. Thanks for letting me use your credit card and helping me and Maki get together -you were insufferable during that period tho- and as much as I hate to say it, you’re a cool dude. And I’m glad you’re my sensei and if you show this to anyone I’ll hunt you down. Have fun today dork.
-Nobara Kugisaki <3

Megumi sighed, looking at the paragraphs. “This is really gonna inflate his ego, huh?” He said as he leaned over the card, grabbing a black marker. 

You’re the bane of my existence. You’re stupid and obnoxious and I wanna punch you. But just for today you’re allowed to be that way. Thanks for being in my life. Happy Birthday.
-Megumi Fushiguro

Nobara rolled her eyes, reading over Megumi’s shoulder. “Cmon, at least add some kind of little drawing on the back.” She said, pointing at the blank back. 

Megumi said nothing, folding up the card and dropping it into the bag. “It’s already drowned in enough color as is.” He told her, and Yuji gasped in offense. “How could you say such a thing!?” The pink haired boy shouted, horrified. Megumi ignored him and began walking down the hallway, but he was met with a tall, lanky man with white hair and the widest grin known to man.

“Hello my lovely little stu-” Gojo stopped in the middle of his usual greeting. His mouth was slightly ajar, and he was fully silent as he looked into the kitchen. He pulled off his blindfold slowly, stuffing the black cloth into his pocket. He made his way over to the counter, looking at the large gift bag and two cakes. “Is- is this all for me?” He asked softly.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Yuji and Nobara both shouted at him, Yuji giving him a bear hug so great that the man was lifted off his feet. 

Megumi was dumbfounded. He’d never seen Gojo look so…touched. The expression on his face wasn’t the usual mischievous grin, ready to make chaos. It was a small smile, genuine and thankful.

The last time Satoru had celebrated his birthday was when he’d turned seventeen. Suguru and Shoko had thrown him a small party in an empty classroom. They’d covered the room in streamers, gotten party poppers, bought a cake, and Satoru got to decide what they did that day after their mission. Every year he thought about that birthday. They all went around Tokyo, eating sweets and playing games all day. 

Every year after that he hated his birthday. All that happened was Yaga texted him a polite happy birthday. Nanami usually gave him a new pair of sunglasses as a gift. Maki, Toge, and Panda got together to give him some kind of gift. If Utahime was around for it, she’d do her best to refrain from screaming at him for the day.

Shoko always invited him out for drinks. Every year. He declined. Every year. He couldn’t imagine celebrating with her without Suguru. He’d often imagine Shoko on those nights, alone at a bar. He felt guilty about blowing her off, but he knew if he went they’d both be thinking about the person missing from their trio. 

Satoru stopped celebrating birthdays after seventeen. He barely kept track of them anymore. There was no reason to. He hadn’t expected his 29th to be any different. Just one more year passing by, dragging him closer to his inevitable death from old age. Just one more year without Suguru.

But as his three students sang him happy birthday -Nobara and Yuji forced Megumi into it- and explained their failed attempt to make him a cake, shoved a huge gift bag into his lap, promised to do that ‘family game night’ he’d been talking about, said he could pick the movie, said they’d hang out with him all night, and told him he was allowed to hug them as much as he wanted today, Gojo couldn’t remember having a better birthday in his life.