Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

23:22

I sit on the edge of the bed, my knees tucked in, my chin resting on my knees. The dark room was illuminated by the soft glow of the TV. The show I was watching earlier fades away, leaving me alone in the dark. Looking outside the window, the sky was nothing but a thick, dark blanket of grey clouds, and the dark silhouettes of trees dance amongst the wind.

Where is he? I wonder as I look up at the clock: 23:22 . Yuta told me he had a mission, but he reassured me earlier that he’d be home before bed. I understand that his line of work can be unpredictable, and along with that acknowledgment, comes the lingering fear that there is always the possibility that he would never come back home to me.

He was my home. I couldn’t afford to lose him.

Sighing, I opt to make myself a warm drink to flush away the dreary thoughts. So sliding out of bed, I pad along out of my bedroom barefooted, grabbing Yuta’s robe off my office chair and wrapping myself in it. I inhale the mild perfume, reminding myself of his gentle touch, his gentle eyes and smile, the way he laughs, the way he would lightly tease me and then immediately apologise after, despite me not taking his teasing to heart.

Such a gentle soul with a brutal job.

And I say that as if I’m not in a similar job to him.

There would be times where our roles were reversed, and Yuta would be frantically pacing around in our moderately sized flat, waiting for me to return back to him safely. The poor boy would be scared out of his mind if I didn’t return by the time I said I would.

Guess our love goes both ways.

I take out a pan and pour some milk and throw some milk chocolate in it, turning on the hotplate. Small, fiery tongues lick at the pan, before calming down and slowly dancing beneath it, radiating a prickly warmth that brought me solace as well as caution.

Thats when I hear the door click open, and I feel the familiar cursed energy of the person I loved.

Yuta walks into the living room looking slightly worse for wear, dropping his katana onto the floor, his worn out features melting into a beautiful smile.

“You’re back.” I murmur as I start to walk over to him. He meets me halfway and closes the gap between us, wrapping his hands around my waist, resting his head on my shoulder.

“Sorry, it took longer than I thought it would.” His voice was muffled in my shoulder, and he takes a deep breath, slumping his shoulders.

I chuckle as I cup his face in my hands and kiss his nose. “Don’t worry about it.”

He beams at me, nodding eagerly before looking over my shoulder, his tired eyes lighting up.

“Hot chocolate?” He then raises an eyebrow and muses at me, pulling me closer to him by my waist. “This late at night?”

I shrug, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Want some? I think I’m making too much for one person anyways.”

He nods, before finally pulling away from me, the cold settling in on me from the absence of his warmth. “I’ll be back after I shower.”

And just like that, he was gone again.

I would never be able to get used to his speed. In the beginning, it really creeped me out, but then I encountered a curse myself, and decided that unusual speed was nothing compared to that .

Five minutes passed, and the chocolate had now melted entirely, so grabbing a spoon, I slowly stir the melted chocolate and milk together, allowing the sickly sweet smell to clog up my nostrils.

My eyelids grow heavy, my neck starts to ache, and my grip on the spoon weakens as I stir slower and slower. My breathing gets heavy, and my eyes droop, the spoon starting to slip out of my hand.

Right when my eyes were about to shut, I feel a warm pressure on my waist and a hand snake up my back.

My heart leaps in my chest as I flinch, nearly dropping the spoon. The hand that was going up my back rests on my shoulder, and I look over that shoulder to see a fresh looking Yuta in a baggy black shirt trying not to laugh.

“Jesus, you scared me Yuta.” I exhale loudly, forcing my eyes open.

Yuta just laughs. “Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. You see, I was looking for my robe, and I remembered seeing you wear it when I came back home- oh!” He quickly leans over and reaches to the knob for the hob and turns off the gas plate, since the the hot chocolate was just about to boil over.

I turn my head back around to see the hot chocolate simmer down, and I let out a “oops!” before tittering, and Yuta shakes his head before letting his hand slip down from my shoulder to wrap it around my waist. He plants a kiss on my shoulder, before murmuring. “Maybe you in the kitchen late at night is a bad idea.”

“As if you in the kitchen late at night is any better.” I deadpan.

Yuta chuckles before grabbing my hips and twisting my body around so I was facing him now. His gaze lingers on my eyes for a few seconds before it drops to my lips for a split second before going back to my eyes.

A laugh bubbles out of me as a cheeky smile spreads across Yuta’s face, and I place my hands on his chest. “Are you tired?”

He blinks at me, tilting his head.

“Uh, sort of, why?”

“Because you’re taking forever to kiss me.” I manage to wink at him, despite how I could probably fall asleep standing right now.

Yuta’s eyes widen, and his cheeks turn slightly pink at my comment, but acts on it regardless.

He leans in, gently pressing his lips onto mine, humming into the kiss. It was slow, fast, tender, everything. My heart races and my stomach does somersaults as if it was our first kiss, despite me having lost count of the amount of times we have shared this gesture. He smelt of fresh lemon and eucalyptus from his shower gel, and I happily breathe into that scent, wanting it to plague my lungs. I pull him closer by his shirt, kissing him harder. Yuta’s hands slither back up my arms, cupping my face, holding me close to him, pressing his lips harder.

By the time we finally broke apart, we were both panting, flustered, breathless. His hands still remained on my face as he looks down at me, lovingly smiling at me. “Do you want me to pour the drink into the mugs? You can go settle down in bed.”

“Ok.” I say, still trying to catch my breath. He nods before tearing away from me and grabbing two mugs.

I, on the other hand, still felt a bit giddy from the kiss, and was no longer tired. In fact, I feel like I am having the most energy that I have had so far today. So I skip off to our bedroom, refusing to take off his robe, and I nestle under the covers, sitting upright.

Yuta comes in not even five minutes after me, holding two steaming mugs in his hand.

“One for my lady…” he says, his voice filled with concentration as he carefully passes a mug over to me, which I gracefully accept, placing it down on my bedside table. “And one for me!” He says happily, placing his down on his bedside table, before sliding into the sheets, sitting up and leaning against the wall. I shuffle closer to him, and he wraps an arm around me, and I lean my head on his chest.

We sit in a moment of silence before making light conversation.

“You look better in that robe than I do.” Yuta pouts in jest. “And that robe was Gojo-sensei’s.”

Gojo-sensei’s.

Our teacher’s old clothes. Of course Yuta would. He and Gojo-sensei had a father and son connection that no distance nor time could break. We all had the fright of our lives when he nearly died during the fight with Sukuna, but luckily Ieiri-san and I managed to stitch him up and heal him before it was too late.

But still. This was Gojo-Sensei’s robe. I don’t love him as much as Yuta does, and should he ever find out that I was wearing something that was once his, he’d never let me live it down.

“What?! It was?!” I jerk up, faffing around to get the stupid robe off, and Yuta chortles.

“I’m joking! Haha… I was interested to see how you would react, sorry.” Yuta giggles as I stare at him with my jaw hanging open.

“Okkostu Yuta. Are you teasing me?!” I gasp. “I’m so proud!” I then hug him. Usually I was the joker, and I would be the one teasing the poor boy until he was flustered and ready to explode from overheating.

“I don’t think that it’s something to be proud about.” Yuta replies, and I wave a hand in dismissal.

“When it comes to you, yes it is.” I quip, and he light-heartedly rolls his eyes, before extending his arms out towards me, inviting me in for a cuddle. I accept it, hugging him by the waist and Yuta starts to tell me about his mission. I sit there, huddled with him, staring up at him wide eyed like a little child, as he talked about the curse and how he had to fight it. It was like a little storytelling session.

“Oh! I even brought you a little gift!” Yuta lightly gasps, his eyes twinkling in the dim light of the warm lamp.

I smile wholeheartedly at him. “You didn’t have to, you know.”

“But I wanted to.” He says as he gets out of bed, and I shudder and wince at being smacked by the cold, so I reach over to my mug and cradle it in my hands, taking quick small sips at the still-steaming hot chocolate.

Sweet and warm. I grin to myself. Guess I have a type.

And my said type walks back into the room with a little brown bag, no bigger than his hands. He gently sits back down on the bed, and I put my mug away, turning to fave a very eager looking boy. He energetically holds the little package out with his two hands, and I giggle before taking it off him, cupping one side of his face and leaning over to kiss him on the cheek before turning my attention to the package.

It was very lightweight and soft, which piqued my interest even further. I look up at Yuta, raising an eyebrow. “Wanna give me a hint on what it might be?” I drawl, and in return, he shakes his head.

“Sorry, but you can open it and see.”

Oh well. I tried.

So Yuta sips on his hot chocolate while I carefully open the package, and my hands tremble when I finally see what it is.

“Wow…” I goggle. “It’s pretty!”

In my hand, there rested green handmade woven bracelet which had small jade beads delicately embedded.

Yuta scratches the back of his neck. “So, uh, do you like it?”

“I don’t like it, I love it! Thank you Yuta, it’s amazing!” I wrap my arms around him, colliding into him with so much force that he lets out a little fell yelp as he backwards, and lands with his back on the mattress with me, his arms instinctively secured around my waist.

We both lightly giggle, before I roll off him, snuggling up next to him, slipping the bracelet on my wrist, holding out my arm to show him.

“It looks good on you.” He compliments me, smiling softly, and then toys with my hair. “Brown hair also looks good on you. You dyed it today, right?”

“Yeah. But you know what?” I smirk, and this causes Yuta to lightly blush.

“Uh, what?”

I gentle grab his chin, brushing my lips against his, before pulling away and looking at his proper flushed face, making my smirk grow wider. “Black hair also suits me.” I wink, toying with his black hair.

Yuta pauses, and I can practically see the cogs turning in his brain as he processes what I just said, before bursting out with a hearty laugh, before grabbing me and tackling me down into the sheets, and I squeal and fight back, and we continue laughing and shrieking, our tiredness and hot chocolate all but forgotten.

Chapter Text

Yuuta remembers as clear as day when the two of you first met. It was on the first day of training with Maki. Maki had no willpower to teach Yuuta how to fight, so she was ruthless against him, fighting him as if he was some special grade curse.

He felt like one at the time.

That changed after he first saw you.

Gojo-sensei took him to Ieiri-san’s office, but Ieiri-san had her hands tied at the hospital, who asked her to do a shift in place of a specialist doctor. So her apprentice, you , went to fix him up. He remembers the way you lightly chuckled as you saw his beaten form, as you happily spoke to him saying “First day, huh? Always rough, I get it. Don’t worry! I’m here to fix you!” He remembers Gojo-sensei introducing you to him, and the way you enthusiastically waved at him. You treated him like he was just another guy. You didn’t attack him the way the others did when they first met you, and it felt… refreshing. He remembers your gentle touch, the way you brushed your fingers gently on the skin above his eyebrow, and his jaw. The way it hovered over his split lip. He remembers it oh so vividly. And he remembered the the sound of your light chatter, asking him about where was he from, his favourite colour, etc.

He thought you were very chatty.

He wasn’t complaining.

The second time he came to visit you was after the mission with Inumaki. Inumaki came along as well, since both of them were quite bruised and worse for wear. You were more experienced that time, having a fast learning pace. He was a bit envious about how fast you had advanced, and how he was still weak. He might have even let it slip while talking to you. It was hard not to. You were the type of person that anyone can go to you and talk about absolutely anything. You stepped away from him, and he starts to sweat, thinking that he might have offended you.

But you laughed. And you told him that he should just trust in himself, since you trusted him.

And that’s when a feeling unbeknownst to him struck him: he couldn’t place a finger on it, but he felt a bit giddy, and he felt like his heart had skipped a beat. He suddenly found himself wanting to hear you laugh again, and again, and again.

What was this feeling? He thought to himself, but he discards the thought at the sound of Rika’s growling.

The third time he sees you was after Geto Suguru was defeated. Yuuta couldn’t believe that he went up against another, more experienced special grade sorcerer, and won. It felt like a hellish dream. He sees you once more, but she tended to Maki and Inumaki more than him, since their injuries were worse. Yuuta watches you calm Maki down as she starts to criticise herself on how powerless she was against Geto.

“Don’t worry on it too much, Maki. Once I fix you up, you can learn from that experience and grow even stronger than before.” You reassure her as you use your reversed cursed energy to heal her. Maki only grumbles in response while Inumaki mumbles something to you, but Maki catches Yuuta staring at you for a beat too long. He looks away, staring at the floor instead, clenching his katana. He really didn’t know what was happening with him.

Yuuta remembers the first time he really saw how powerful you were against curses. One time you had come knocking on his dorm’s door, asking if he could accompany you to the shops, since you needed some supplies ASAP. And of course he happily agreed. You were his friend. He would do it for anyone, in fact. So the both of you went walking to the shops, huddled together, in the freezing silent night. Yuuta looks over to you. You were wearing a wooly hat with a fluffy pom pom on top, which complemented your rosy cheeks bitten from the cold. He feels a heat rush up his neck as he abruptly looks away.

“Is there something wrong, Yuuta-san?” You ask, since the boy had stepped away from you, and you must admit, you were a bit disappointed, craving for more of his warmth. Not like you were going to tell him any of that. But Yuuta just states that everything was fine, and you nod, not asking any further.

But then, a strong curse drops down from the tree, right in between you and Yuuta. The both of you went flying back in different directions, and Yuuta panics. He couldn’t see you, and he didn’t know if you were alright. He reaches out for his katana-

All of a sudden, the curse’s veins bulge out in an abnormal manner, and the curse, squeals before bursting.

What? How? Yuuta remembers thinking as he saw a curse exorcised so quickly right in front of him.

But then he sees you, standing where the curse had just been before it exploded, your arm outstretched, before seeing him and rushing over to him. “Yuuta-san! You aren’t hurt, are you?!” You crouch down next to him, brushing his hair out of his face.

His breath hitches at how close you were to him. He felt overwhelmed by the intensity of your gentle, worried gaze. “Yeah. I’m sorry I wasn’t quick enough to handle it myself.” He apologises.

You laugh, sitting down next to him. “That’s your first thought? Yuuta-san, it wasn’t your fault. Neither of us saw it coming.”

“But I’m a special grade sorcerer. I should have.”

You facepalm, groaning. “Gojo-sensei shouldn’t have told you that so quickly.” You take Yuuta’s hand in yours, looking at him. “Forget about the title. Don’t think about it when you fight. After all, it’s between life and death when fighting curses. The titles don’t matter if you’re dead.”

Yuuta looks over to the spot where you had exorcised the curse. “How did you do that?”

“With my cursed reversal technique!” You beam at him, holding up a finger. “If you put a flow of positive cursed energy into a curse and to their brain, it’s instant death for them!”

“Oh. I’ll learn that.” Yuuta scrunches his nose in determination, standing up and extending a hand to you. You giggle, as you take it and he pulls you up. You trip over your feet and crash right into his chest, and he slightly stumbles back, holding you by your waist to stabilise the both of you.

Your skin tingles beneath his fingers, and you look up at Yuuta, who was looking at you with concern. “Are you alright?”

You swallow down the lump in your throat, your heart dropping.

“Yeah.” You smile. Yuuta nods with a smile matching yours, and he then flinches with realisation. His hands spring away from your waist, and he holds them up.

“Oh! I’m sorry!” A pinkish hue of red settles on his cheeks.

“It’s alright.” you say timidly. “I think I’m…” You step up to him, wrapping your arms around his neck and resting your head on his shoulder. “Going to need a minute.”

Yuuta lets out a squeak of surprise, but hugs you back, and you two stand there in the cold moonlight, wrapped in a warm embrace.

That was the first time you hugged him.

Yuuta had visited you again and again, and he would tell you about his missions, as he let you practice you cursed reversal technique on the small scratches he got. Over a short period of time, he had mastered it himself, but wanted an excuse to hang out with you. He always laughed at the way you would pump your chest and declare “Don’t worry! I’m here to fix you.” In a heroic manner.

He then found himself falling for you. No, he was already in love with you, for how long, he couldn’t pinpoint. But he didn’t want this gentle friendship between you two to change. He thought it would be safer for his timid heart to love you from the shadows. But your easy and lind manner only did more damage to him, as he bottles up his feelings for you.

Sukuna had killed Gojo Satoru. That fact had stirred a deep and unsettling emotion in everyone, scarring everyone. Yuuta, however, was the only one who actually shedded tears for his teacher. You, on the other hand, was upset, but wasn’t as close to Gojo as Yuuta was. Yuuta clutches his katana- the one Gojo gave him- and starts to gently sob. He then feels someones body press against his back, and before he could register was was happening, you wrap you arms around him, nestling your face in the nook of his neck.

“Cry. Get it out of your system.” You whisper. “I’ll be here to wipe your tears so you can move on.”

“Yeah.” Maki adds in involuntarily. “She’ll fix you up.”

Maki had seen the chemistry between you two blossom over the span of months, and she was beyond shocked that you two meatheads haven’t realised that you were in love with each other. Well, she had a sneaking suspicion that Yuuta had realised his love for you, but you seemed just as dense as ever. But even your actions and gestures towards him had seemed more intimate for the past month or two.

Yuuta sniffs, resting his head on yours. “Thanks.” He whispers weakly.

You raise your head slightly, and his heart leaps when he notices the very subtle ways your eyes flickered to his lips as you smiled at his gratitude.

Inumaki and Panda glance at each other, both shaking their heads and chuckling.

You had nearly sobbed when you saw Yuuta laying on the surgery bed, hanging onto his dear life. He had fallen victim to Sukuna’s technique, and now it was time for you and Ieiri to transplant his brain into Gojo’s. You brush your lips against his bloody brow, whispering. “Don’t worry Yuuta. I’ll fix you up.” Except this time, you were anxious and worried. There was so many risks to this plan, so many possibilities that Yuuta would die. You wanted him to be with you forever. You wanted him.

That’s when you realised that you have practically loved him ever since the two of you met, except you had mistakened love for curiosity.

Will this mistake haunt you?

You and Ieiri manage to successfully transplant Yuuta’s brain back into his body, relieving so much stress. You really thought that you’d lose him, and you were so glad that you were proven wrong. There was so much to because of the battle’s aftermath, ans you were busy cleaning up and healing the people affected. You hadn’t seen Yuuta in a while, and it starts to worry you again.

Yuuta remembers the way you gave him a hurried kiss on his brow, while he was dying. It fuelled him up and forced him to hang on to life. You were the one that saved him. You always have been. Ever since Sukuna had been defeated, he had time to think clearly. He had been bombarded with missions one after the other, that he couldn’t make time to see you. But today was different. Today he’ll confess. He had told the group about this, and Maki had held up her hands as if she was worshiping god, which was funny since she didn’t believe in god. “Thank whatever stupid entity is out there for knocking some senses into you. Go get her Okkotsu.”

Inumaki claps encouragingly, and Panda crosses his arms. “About time!”

He makes his way to you, and stops short at the sight of you.

Have you always been this beautiful? He thought. Maybe he must have shut some of his feelings off at some point during the showdown. But they all came rushing back at once, and his chest actually hurt. He clutches his chest as he walks towards you, and you turn around, having sensed his presence. Your face lights up like a light bulb. “Yuuta!” And you run straight into his arms, hugging him tightly.

This. This is all Yuuta wanted in life. Just him and you.

You inhale deeply, taking in his scent, wanting to wrap yourself in his scent. You pull away, tilting your head to the side. “Is something wrong?” You step away, checking him out. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

Yuuta nearly melts at the sight of your face clouded with worry about him. Maybe he was just overthinking the whole confession. Maybe you did reciprocate his feelings.

He runs a hand through his hair. “I am… in a way.”

You pause, looking at him. “What? Did you break something? Hurt someone?”

“Yeah.” He says without thinking. He mentally kicks himself at the way you looked even more worried.

“Yuuta. Tell me what I need to do to help you. Do I need to fix something?”

He looks outside the window to his left, and sees the moon. The moonlight shimmers in through the planes of glass, and he sighs. “Yes. Fix me .”

You smile, looking somewhat triumphant. “So there is something wrong! You could have just told me that.”

“But it’s complicated.” Yuuta says, avoiding your gaze.

“Nothing I can’t fix!”

“My heart.” Yuuta blurts out, his face reddening.

Why did I say that?! Stupid stupid stupid-

Yuuta’s train of thoughts was cut off by your laughter.

He snaps his head around to look at you trying to contain yourself, but miserably failing.

You sigh, wrapping your arms around his neck, pulling him close. “For how long?”

And as if it was by instinct, Yuuta’s hands rest on your waist. “Since we, uh, met?”

You hum in acknowledgment. “I think I can fix that.”

You lean in, pressing your lips against his.

Fireworks explode in Yuuta’s mind.

Oh my god. This is happening. Is this really happening?! It is!

He chuckles as he kisses back, and you two stand there, in the cold moonlight, wrapped in a warm embrace.

Gojo looks down on the two of you, cheering with Geto rubbing his ear in pain next to him. 
“You do realise they can’t hear you, right?” Geto tells Gojo.

Gojo ignores him. ”That’s my boy! Although I can’t believe he managed to bag a girl before me.”

”You’re dead, Satoru.” 

“So? I’m talking about when I was alive!”

”Sure you were. But anyways, good for Okkotsu.” Geto nods.

Gojo’s smile becomes softer, and prouder. After all, he’s watched their love bloom with his very eyes (while he was still alive, obviously.) 

“Yes. Good for you, Okkotsu Yuuta.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Yuta hasn’t seen you in three months.

That was a quarter of a year.

It felt like a lifetime to him.

He had to go to New York for Jujutsu business, and you, being a sorcerer just like him, stayed behind in Japan, since there weren’t enough professional Sorcerers out in the field. The time difference was crazy, where one of you is awake, the other would be sleeping, unless you stayed at night to call him.

You had nothing in particular to do today, and you didn’t feel like being in the house. It was too empty, too barren, and cold. It was a house meant for two, not one. As the days stretched by, you felt like you were merely a tired soul floating from one day into the next. That is, until you had a mission to exorcise a curse. That got your blood pumping. But you had no mission today, so you swing by at Kugisaki’s place, where the two of you had brunch in her luxury apartment in the heart of the city.

She had prepared an assortment of dishes, bless her. At least you brought along wine to make up for the lack of assistance with making the meal.

“Nobara- this is delicious.” You hum in bliss as you chew on the sushi she had made.

“Thanks girl! It’s actually a new recipe! I think Gojo-sensei might have sent Fushiguro this recipe, but have you ever seen him near raw fish or meat?”

“I don’t think I ever will.” You roll your eyes, and both of you both break out in a fit of giggles as you gossip about your other ex-classmates. Well, now colleagues.

Nobara lays down her chopsticks, swirling a glass of red wine in her hand as she rests her face on the other hand, staring at you with curiosity. “So… how’s it going with you and Okkotsu?”

You pause, not daring to breath as if you heart would tear apart any second.

“He- um… he’s doing good.” You poke at the salad on your plate with chopsticks. “He’s had missions back to back so we haven’t been able to call.”

Nobara gives you a knowing glare. “I meant you two, not just him.”

You stare back at her. “Use your brain. What do you think?”

“Do you know when he’s coming back at least?”

“No. Neither of us does.”

“Damnnnnittt.” Nobara groans as she takes a sip of wine. “I need to see you two together again.”

You finally stop attacking your salad, looking up at her with a raised brow. “Oh yeah?” you murmur.

“Yes! You used to be like  Moaning Myrtle whenever you guys didn’t see each other for one day, and so was Okkotsu. The rest of us have to practically hold you two back if someone insults the other one of you because you’ll rip them apart with your bare hands. You two are so sickeningly in love that it hurts to see you two apart. I don’t even know how you’ve been coping.” Nobara then looks to the side guiltily. “Also I ran out of Romance shows to watch and the closest thing to that is seeing you and Okkotsu together so yeah. He needs to come back.”

“Well, all in good time, right?” You force a cheerful laugh, but it felt so foreign.

Yuta sits in a café, nearly falling asleep, despite the sun in full bloom. He had to pull an all nighter for a mission, and he sits by a window, where the reception was best so that he could call you. He knew it wasn’t fair, and you would be sleeping, but he wanted to see you.

No. He needed to see you.

It’s been too long without your physical presence. Your real laughter. Your touch. The way your eyes crinkle when you smile. The way your hair felt when he would tie it up for you when your hands were too busy chopping up food or cooking. The way you roll your eyes sarcastically. Your hugs. The way you always had to have some sort of physical contact with him regardless of where you guys were.

Just… everything about you.

And with no surprise, you pick up his face call, and his breath hitches when he sees you, the only source of light being the dim glow of your phone screen.

You were snuggled up under the sheets in your bed- his bed. Your hair was tussled into a beautiful mess, and you were wearing his old clothes but you, you wore it better. The way your sleepy eyes crinkled slowly as a smile slips out of you- this was something that Yuta longed to see again but in person- he wanted to be there. He was supposed to be there, right next to you, both in a vulnerable state only meant for each other to see.

He wish he could have stayed. And now, the only thing that kept the two of you apart was several thousand miles, running like a mad dog.

Yuta’s heart melts at your smile, and he smiles back. “Hi, sorry, did I wake you?”

You hum softly before exhaling. “Mmm… I don’t mind though. I was worried that I didn’t hear from you.”

“Ah, sorry. I’ve been having to deal with back to back missions with no break.” He scratches his head guiltily.

You eyes cloud with worry. “Have you not eaten or slept?”

“Well, I’m at a café now, and I can’t really sleep during the day.”

“Yuta…” you say in a concerned tone.

“I know, I’m sorry. I’ll try to.” He sighs. “Don’t worry about me, how have you been?”

You shift around to your other side, the moonlight illuminating your face jealously, knowing fully well that Yuta gazed at you with more fondness than the moon. “Well, same as usual: missions, hanging out with Nobara and Maki…” Your voice trails off into a whisper. “Missing you…”

“I miss you too.” Yuta whispers, his heart shattering into smithereens. All he wanted to do was cup your face through the phone and rest his forehead against yours, but all he could do was watch you from afar.

He then remembers that your birthday was coming up in three days. “Are you planning to do anything special on your birthday?”

“No. Well, the others will probably drag me out to go for a karaoke night, but yeah. Though I tried looking for tickets to come visit you, but I couldn’t find any, they were all sold out.”

That’s when an idea sprung into Yuta’s head.

Exorcising curses could wait.

He’s leaving.

Sure, he’s gonna fly over to you but pay double for the tickets than he usually would, and his line of work isn’t so merciful, but he didn’t care.

This job has no meaning if it means he can’t see you.

He’s coming home.

But it’ll have to wait. A waitress walks over, placing his order in front of him, and he thanks her, before turning his attention back to you. You smile at at him. “Eat, love. We can speak later.”

“Alright,” Yuta’s heart sinks. “Sleep well, I love you.”

“Love you too.”

That was a decent sleep, compared to your previous nights. But you still woke up as the mere ghost of yourself. You slipped back into your routine: eat breakfast. Go to the café. Order a coffee. Meet Maki for some sparring. Go to mission. Eat with the girls. Sleep. Repeat. A few days slip by, and before you know it, your birthday approaches. The girls and boys all dragged you to a Karaoke bar. You must admit, it was a bit funny watching Itadori and Nobara sing a duet with terrible tunes while Maki cringed and Inumaki was filming them and panda cackling. Megumi was actually trying to hold in his laughter, so he buried his face in his collar the entire time.

After all of you ate, you all were practically in food comas, so everyone opted to go outside and walk around under the starry night sky. Everyone would point at random places and start reminiscing funny and stupid memories while you drift off into thinking about what Yuta would be doing on the other side of the world.

You wish he was here with you, holding your hand and occasionally whispering his input on other people’s conversations to you. Even before the two of you became romantically involved, the two of you would listen into other people’s arguments and both have a friendly debate over your opinions. Yuta was kind with his, whereas you were the more judgmental one.

“Hey…” Nobara grabs your hand and stops you. “Isn’t this place familiar?”

You look around.

“Duh, of course it would be.” Maki rolls her eyes.

This is where you and Yuta first met.

“I agree with Maki. This place is hard to forget.”

Maki looks over her shoulder, a smile playing on her lips. “And it’s going to be even harder to forget.”

You follow her gaze until your  eyes fall on a familiar silhouette.

One that you had laughed with.

One that you had embraced for countless nights.

One that you had shared many precious moments with.

The one you had met in this very place.

You blink twice, making sure that you weren’t hallucinating.

You weren’t.

Yuta stood there, a few feet away, with his sword slung over his shoulders. He was wearing his uniform, and his eyes were tired but his smile became brighter than the stars as you locked eyes with him.

In a blink of an eye, Yuta’s arms wrap around your waist and your upper back as he pulls you in for a hug, and you instinctively wrap your arms around his neck. Breathing him in. Not daring to let him go.

“You’re here.” You breathe. “You’re really here.”

Yuta hums, “I’m here.” and you both stand there.

Itadori laughs. “Finally, the lovers reunite!”

“Yeah, now I’m back to feeling painfully single.” Nobara adds with a grin.

Fushiguro looks at Maki. “You suggested that we take her here. You knew, didn’t you?”

Maki rolls her eyes, scoffing. “He’s my best friend, idiot. Of course I did.”

You wake up in the morning after the most blissful sleep you have had in ages, with one pillow warm and another pillow cold. You lay your hand on the spot where you swore Yuta laid next to you during the night. After all, you remember holding him tight, not daring to let him slip through your fingers. You sit up straight, hearing something sizzle in the kitchen and light humming. You smile giddily, slipping out of bed and stepping into you en-suite bathroom.

Yuta pours some pancake batter onto the pan, sniffing the delightful smell, replaying the moment he set eyes on you yesterday again, and again, and again. He is still not over it. Once the two of you got home yesterday, you both collapsed in bed, too tired but as close together as possible, in a tangled mess.

And now, he looks up to see an energetic you bouncing over to him with an ecstatic smile on your face.

“Good morning!” He says cheerfully.

“Morning!” You sing back to him.

Yuta swears his heart explodes, and he chastises himself for not seeing you sooner. When you go up to him and hug him, squeezing him tight, he had the urge to pepper your face with kisses and wrestle you onto the couch and keep you there in his arms.

But then the pancakes would burn.

So when you gingerly cup his face in your hands and slowly drown him in a deep kiss, every muscle inside Yuta screams as he pulls away just by an inch, shivering, to whisper “not now, the pancakes will burn.”

You pout. “You’re no fun.”

You silently curse yourself for the flicker of hurt in Yuta’s eyes.

You chuckle, before pressing a quick kiss to the corner of his lip. “I was kidding, my love. The pancakes smell amazing so it would be a shame if they burn.”

Yuta sighs in relief, “you had me there for a second” and pulls you to his side before resting his hand on your waist, using his other hand to flip the pancakes over with the cockery.

Yuta ached for another kiss from you, it was silly how much he missed your presence beside him.

You manoeuvre yourself in front of Yuta, hugging him, and he laughs, looping an arm around your waist as he leans over your shoulder to handle the pancakes. You litter feathery kisses up his neck and along his jawline, and the alternation between light and hard kisses causes Yuta to fumble a bit when flipping over the pancakes. You smile knowingly, then press your lips against his once more, but stop halfway, not kissing him like usual.

Yuta rips his eyes away from the pancakes, settling them on your beautiful eyes.

He knows what you’re doing.

He knows that you’re teasing him with half-assed kisses, making his lips ache for more. And it was especially torturous because you were pressed up against him with your arms wrapped around him like this.

You then giggle at him huffing and pouting, trailing your hands down his arms before walking away, brushing your fingers against his elbows as you parted.

Lord, give him strength.

Yuta pours more batter onto the pans, his eyes tracking your every movement.

You walk to the kettle, filling it up with water and turning it on. Tossing your hair over your shoulder, you ask Yuta “Do you want any coffee?”

Yuta couldn’t help but snort. “You know I don’t like coffee.”

“Yeah but you look like you need one. Look at your eyes.” You say softly.

Confused, Yuta picks up a shiny spoon and peers through the reflection. Dark circles have taken their place around his eyes, and he had slight eye bags. He looks up to see that you had snuck right up to him, taking the pancakes off the pan and setting the stack of pancakes on the other side of the kitchen island.

“Wow, I look quite dreary.” He frowns. Yes, he was tired. It was probably due to the jet-lag from the different timezone. But he woke up early because he wanted to treat you.

You giggle, skipping over to the fridge. “Don’t worry, I think your dark circles are hot.”

Yuta shakes his head, smiling. Even in the times when he felt inhumane, you reminded him that he was just as human as everyone else.

And he loved you for it.

You made him feel alive.

As the two of you sat down next to each other to eat, you couldn’t help but admire how fluffy and delicate the pancakes were. “Only you make them this good.” You groan in bliss as you take the first forkful of pancakes drenched in maple syrup. You had quickly fried bacon on the side, so there was a bowl of thin crispy bacon in front of the two of you.

Yuta smiles proudly. “I’m glad you like it! I haven’t made them in a while, now I think about it…”

You look over at Yuta’s plate, scrunching your nose at how he put blueberry jam and bacon and soured cream on his pancake. “What the hell are you doing?” You ask incredulously.

Yuta laughs, burying his face in your shoulder. “It’s a good combination, trust me.”

You raise an eyebrow. “You sure?”

Yuta nods, cutting a square out of his pancake and putting blueberry jam, soured cream, and a thin slice of bacon on top, waving the fork of food towards you, hovering his hand beneath it so the food doesn’t drop on the floor. “Try some.”

You narrow you eyes, but comply anyways. Yuta feeds you, and he watches you expectantly as you chew.

You brows shoot to your forehead. “This is actually a banger combination.” You look at your lover with wide eyes.

“Told you so.” He murmurs, his eyes full of something warm and gentle.

You both gossip about your friends for a bit until your plates were empty, before you finally have the courage to ask him. “So, how long are you staying for?”

Yuta’s face falls slightly. “Two nights.”

Two nights.

Yuta’s heart breaks as he watches your face momentarily crumple, before you sigh with a smile, playing with his hair. “Then let’s not waste any time then.”

“Yes, I agree!” He says as he grabs you scoops you up into his arms as if you weighed as light as a feather, and you squeal as you cling on to him, shrieking his name as he spins you around, before gently throwing you onto the couch. As you try to get up, he softly yet firmly grabs you by the waist and pins you down, now kneeling on top of you, watching you with a love-drunk expression on your face as you try to calm down from your hysterical fit of giggles.

Oh, how much Yuta missed that sound.

And oh, how much you missed how alive you are around Yuta. He always drew the best out in you.

You then manage to shuffle a bit inside the couch so Yuta could lay next to you, and you snuggle up against him, one arm around his neck and a hand in his hair, while Yuta hugs you by the waist, tangling your legs with his.

You missed this. Forgetting about the whole world and just staying close to Yuta. You would do it for a lifetime if you could.

“Can we just stay like this for a bit before going outside?” Yuta asks in a hushed voice.

He could feel your lips stretch into a smile against his neck, and you mumble. “I thought you would never ask” sarcastically.

This. This is all Yuta could ask for right now.

His mind lingers to a small ring box on his bedside table back at New York, next to a flight ticket back to you in a weeks time, with no return ticket. He hasn’t told you yet, but after two more missions, he’s coming home, and is staying right next to you.

And maybe-no, most likely, you will soon be adorning a silver ring with a small diamond in the shape of the moon on your finger, full of promises to last a lifetime.

Chapter Text

Sometimes, you wonder why he pays more attention to you. There so many other girls out there better than you.

Sometimes, you wonder why he smiles at you in the way your stomach explodes with butterflies, every. Single. Time. He doesn’t do it to anyone else. That smile seemed purely reserved for you.

Sometimes, you wonder if you two were more than friends. And as much as you wanted Yuuta to be yours, you sometimes doubted that he reciprocated those feelings.

And sometimes, in situations where you are alone with him, like now, your mind starts to wander into the blissful fantasy of the two of you against the world.

“What are you thinking?” Yuuta’s voice pulls you out of your foolish daydream. Gojo had asked the two of you to pick up his shirt from the dry cleaners.

“I…” you trail off, your mind drawing a blank at the way Yuuta raises a brow, amused.

It’s definitely the smile.

“I could ask you the same thing!” You chuckle, trying to brush it off, but you knew Yuuta was more perceptive than that, but he was too shy and too respectful to prod.

He hums in thought, eyeing the dry cleaners a few shops down, but then his eyes drift to the ice cream shop that the two of you had to walk past to get to the dry cleaners.

Sometimes, you can see the cogs turning in his head, like you can now.

His eyes lighten up as he looks at you again with his adorable smile, and you curse your stomach for doing a dozen backflips. “You like ice cream, right? Would you like to get some before we pick up Gojo-sensei’s shirt?” He then catches himself as your eyes widen, and you can see him flushing slightly. “Uhm- I mean- only if you want to, we don’t-”

“Sounds good!” You giggle, and Yuuta pauses, sharply inhaling at the sound of your voice.

Sometimes Yuuta wonders whether it’s obvious that he’s whipped for you or not. Hell, he doesn’t really know if you like him back or if you’re just being so polite like you always are with everyone.

But sometimes, he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care because in the end of the day, you’re his friend. And he wouldn’t ever dream of sabotaging it.

Even if it means that he wouldn’t confess his feelings for time.

“Now you look like you’re thinking.” You tease, testing the waters and taking his hand in yours.

Yuuta’s breath hitches, but he naturally closes his fingers around yours, fingers intertwining.

Sometimes, in moments like these, he just really wants to tell you how he feels.

Maybe later on, away from the prying eyes of the public.

“I’m just thinking about what flavour I should get.” He lies, tugging you gently along as the two of you started walking again.

“But you like the cookie dough one the most, dont you?” You ask genuinely.

Sometimes, Yuuta feels like you pay a lot more attention to him than everyone else, which gets him wondering that maybe you do reciprocate his feelings.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot!” He smiles sheepishly.

The two of you stand outside the ice cream shop, inspecting the colourful poster of the variety of flavours there was.

You groan quietly. “I don’t want to waste money, but I cannot decide between mint-choc chip, cookie-dough, or oreo…”

Sometimes- no, Yuuta always finds your indecisiveness quite endearing.

“Maybe we could get a tub of all three flavours, and try them all out? We haven’t been here before, nor have the others. We can share the tub if it’s the money you’re worried about. I can pay!” He suggests kindly.

You glare at Yuuta. “No. You aren’t paying. I am.”

Yuuta sighs. “Please let me pay.”

“No.” You say, sticking your nose up at him, pouting.

Yuuta smiles at it, leaning a bit closer to your face. “Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

You realise that his face getting close to yours, (despite you being the one bringing your face closer to his) and to stop yourself from becoming a blushing mess, you pull away slightly.

“What is this? A date?”

That’s when Yuuta’s face turns beetroot red, and you swear your heart was about to jump out of your mouth.

“W-wait! I didn’t mean it like that-Isaidthatbecauseyoukeptinsistingonpayinglikeyouwereona- date!” You jabber, sirens going off in your head like ‘NEENAW NEENAW YOU MESSED UP-‘

“I mean, do you want it to be?” Yuuta squeaks.

Sometimes, Yuuta seriously reconsiders life decisions when he blurts out things like this to you. But he couldn’t help it. His mind and thoughts become so muddled around you that his mind can’t keep up with his mouth.

You pause, averting your eyes to the poster, smiling shyly, pink dusted on your cheeks.

“You know what? I wouldn’t mind it.” You murmur, and taking a leap of faith, you tiptoe and press a kiss to his cheek. “It’s a date!”

Sometimes- no, you realised that always- it’s actually been obvious that he liked you back, but you were such a dumb idiot for not seeing it sooner.

As for Yuuta…

Oh, he’s definitely confessing today.