#okkotsu yuuta fluff | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

just-jordie-things · 10 months

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you know you got me in your pocket - okkotsu yuuta

word count: 13k warnings: light swearing. reader has a cursed technique that has to do with healing but i don’t explain it bc i’m lazy. summary: the path from friends to lovers may take time but it is a simple, true love they share more info: ultimate friends to lovers fic this IS the template a/n: loosely based on this fanart i found on pinterest and also the song always forever by cults bcuz i love that song its so friends to lovers coded ___

[ you and me, always, forever ]

Unlike most cases of friends who harbor crushes for each other but never seemed to figure it out, (y/n) had taken a liking to Yuuta the day they met. She’d known right away that there was something about him that drew her to him like a magnet, something adorably mysterious, strangely alluring, and completely thrilling.

Seeing him on campus wasn’t a surprise. Gojo had told her about his recruitment, and upon giving her further detail she’d lovingly told him it was more of a kidnapping. He’d laughed. And since then nothing had really changed. She continued her studies with Shoko in the infirmary, only occasionally seeing the Six Eyes when he needed a new audience to bother, and in fact, she’d almost forgotten the news of a new student her age.

It’s not like there were many instances where she could be reminded. She didn’t see the other students at Jujutsu Tech often, since they spent their time training to be sorcerers, while her cursed technique was more equipped for the behind the scenes of jujutsu society.

So when she feels a heavy presence of cursed energy looming through the front gates, the hair on the back of her neck stands up, and she’s unusually drawn out of her studies to scan the area for the source of the prickle traveling down her spine.

If she didn’t know better, she might have just assumed it was just Gojo. But it only takes a split second for her to identify this as someone else entirely. She’s not sure if her shiver is due to fear or intrigue, but either way she just has to learn more, doesn’t she?

And so you could imagine her surprise when she finally catches the sight of the sorcerer carrying all of this cursed energy, dragging along the main path on his way to the main building. She can’t recall his name right away, but she assumes he’s the new kid that Gojo had told her about a week or so prior.

She’s far enough away that she doesn’t get a good look at him, but she can see enough from where she sits amongst the trees. He’s not at all what she had been expecting.

He didn’t look like the piece of shit egotistical douchebag that she had assumed he’d be when Gojo had told her about him.

And if she couldn’t feel the cursed energy radiating off of him even from this far away, she might’ve thought he was a non-sorcerer altogether.

His shoulders sagged like gravity was heavier on him than most people. He moved slowly. His sneakers scraped along the pavement. His hands were fiddling with each other anxiously, fingers catching and pulling and twisting over and over.

Perhaps she was letting her curiosity make her naive, but any fear she might have felt when he first entered the courtyard dissipated as she tracked his awkward movements towards the school. Awkward. It was the perfect way to describe her first impression of him.

He hadn’t seemed to notice her during her assessment of him. And this was proven when their paths did properly cross.

It had happened late one evening, shortly after Yuuta’s initial admittance to Jujutsu Tech. It only took one text from Shoko for her to be out of bed, in her uniform, and on her way to the infirmary. Apparently, Yuuta was also racing around campus, for whatever reason, and that’s how he (almost literally) ran into her.

“Oh!”

His greeting was just as awkward as her first impression of him. She can’t help but laugh a little bit. He’s clearly flustered, his eyes wide and his mouth not making any proper words, and the large knife in his hand looks severely out of place.

But he must see her look straight at it while he’s trying to figure out how to politely ask who the hell she was because he’s never seen her before- because suddenly he remembers how to speak.

“This isn’t mine!”

He doesn’t mean to shriek, but he feels like he should explain why he’s running around at night with a knife. It doesn’t dawn on him at all that she’s used to people casually carrying weapons around, and this little knife isn’t even close to being a concern for her.

Nonetheless, she goes along with it. She should be rushing to the infirmary, but something keeps her put before him.

“Oh?” She tries not to laugh as she takes in his heavy wince. “While I find your courage outstanding, I’m not sure this is the place you want to go stealing people’s knives,” She’s only teasing, but it does nothing to relieve the panic on his face. “You know, cause people around here don’t need knives to kill you,”

Yuuta swallows, and (y/n) finally gives him a break and shakes her head as she laughs to herself.

He expresses his anxiousness in small shuffles of his feet, and he tries to laugh along but the sound is strained and nervous. If she knew him better and understood him, she likes to think she’d tell him to lighten up, but that feels like a bold step, so she tries to ease his anxiety with more subtlety.

“You didn’t spook me with that knife,” She clarifies. “I’d be more scared of all that cursed energy you’ve got, if anything”

“O-oh”

“But I’m not,” She tells him, matter-of-factly.

He gives her a look like he’s not sure if he should believe her. With the way the other students had reacted when they first met, he’s surprised she doesn’t have him in a chokehold right now. Instead, she stands before him without a defensive stance, and she gives him a small smile.

“But… what are you doing out this late?” She can’t help but have curiosity about what he was doing there in the first place. “Aren’t you all going out on an assignment first thing in the morning?”

Normally, she didn’t listen much when Gojo rambled on about his teachings. However yesterday’s lessons with Shoko had been few and far between, so when her old friend stopped by for entertainment, she boredly listened along while he bragged about taking his class on a group outing. She supposed that little piece of information became useful for small talk now.

“Yeah, well,” Yuuta sighed, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. “I was supposed to return this earlier, but I forgot, and now I…”

His words trail off, along with his eyes as he turns to stare at the floor out of embarrassment.

“I got lost”

“It’s Maki’s, isn’t it?” She asks knowingly, even though she’s not familiar with this knife.

Yuuta nods.

“I’ll show you the way” She says, gesturing for him to follow her, and walking off before he could really comprehend what she was offering. His sneakers squeak on the linoleum floor as he rushes after her a few seconds delayed.

He takes a minute or two before he finds the courage to say something.

“Thank you,” He settles, peeking over at her from the corner of his eye. “I’m Yuuta, by the way”

She turns to give him a beam as she replies, “I know,”

It has a lump forming in his throat, his chest filling with something warm and akin to bashfulness. He’d never seen her before, and he was certain he would have remembered if they’d met, especially since she was so pretty, but she appeared to be his age too, and he wondered why she hadn’t been around for any classes, or training sessions.

“I’m (y/n)” She introduces herself after a beat passes. Yuuta wants to say something more, but he doesn’t know what to say, so he doesn’t say anything at all.

He fidgets with the knife as he follows her through the corridors. It’s a large building, and the longer they walk, the more he’s grateful he hadn’t gotten more lost than he had. It takes a few minutes until she finally stops at a door, and slides it open. Yuuta recognized it as soon as it’s contents were revealed.

Every inch of the walls were filled with weapons. Racks with blades and staffs of all shapes and sizes, shelves of an assortment of more alternative weapons, he’d been in here when Gojo had given him a speedy tour on his first day. Although now that he’s not being rushed from room to room, his gaze travels around the small space, taking in every deadly tool here.

“You’ll get used to it” (y/n) speaks, and he’s drawn out of his reverie when she plucks the knife from his hands to put it back in it’s proper place.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to any of this” He mumbles back, eyes caught on a rather daunting gun propped up among other things.

Nunchucks and knives were one thing. He was pretty sure that was an AK-47. He’d only ever seen those in movies.

(y/n) chuckles softly, amused by how out of place he seemed. For a guy with more cursed energy than he knew what to do with, she found it interesting how juvenile he came across.

Not that it was a bad thing. It was sort of… refreshing, if she thought about it.

“You will,” She assured him kindly. “It’ll feel weird for a while, but, yaknow. Eventually everyone settles in, right?”

He tears his eyes away from the machine gun to see that she’s giving him a small smile, and he doesn’t know her very well, or at all, but he can tell that she’s being genuine.

“I guess”

He doesn’t know what else to say.

“Well, I have to get going to a lesson,” She explains, jerking her thumb back towards the door. “You good to get back to your dorm? I probably wouldn’t get in trouble if I explained I was just helping the new kid”

Yuuta nods, the movement awkward, and shaky.

“Yeah, I’m good, I think” He doesn’t sound so sure, but (y/n) assumes the best way for him to learn his way around is to get lost just a little.

“Alright, I’ll see ya around then,” She gives him a wave as she ducks out of the small armory. “Good luck with your assignment tomorrow!”

Her voice carries as she jogs through the corridors to quickly get to where Shoko was waiting, leaving Yuuta to linger, a bit dumbfounded and bewildered by the whole interaction.

He supposed he’d gotten her name, but he still had no clue who she was. He’d have to make a better effort to reach out next time their paths crossed. She was the first person here to give him a semi-warm welcome, after all.

When (y/n) arrived at the infirmary with a brighter-than-usual smile and the remnants of a blush on her cheeks, Shoko eyed her curiously, but didn’t outwardly call her out on the strange demeanor.

[ say you’ll stay, never be severed ]

The next time Yuuta does see (y/n), he’s sitting alone at a picnic table in the courtyard with only the company of his lunch bag. He sees her walking out of the building with a bag on her shoulder. She’s clearly on a mission, but he finds himself calling out to her and waving his hand anyways.

He assumes she’ll give him a polite nod and keep heading on her way, but she stops in her tracks to turn his way, waving back, before she’s actually walking over to him.

It’s embarrassing to admit, but Yuuta panics a bit. He had yet to form any solid enough friendships with the other students in his year, hence the lunching alone out here, and he had a worry that soon she would also see him as a loner and an outsider, and she’d avoid him too.

But as she approaches the wooden table, she gives him a smile so friendly he could never believe it was forced.

“Hey,” Even her voice sounds kind. “You eating alone?”

“Uh-” Yuuta glances around as if looking for an excuse, but the bento box in front of him and lack of any other person around is evidence enough. “Yeah” He replies sheepishly.

Here it comes, Yuuta braces himself, the beginning of her thinking he’s a loner. He shouldn’t have even held onto that scrap of hope when she’d walked this way, but here he was, holding his breath.

“Want company?”

His head turns back to her, assessing if she really meant it, and seeing that small smile still curled on her lips, he gives her a short nod.

“Yeah,” He answers. “Yeah, that’d be… nice”

Her small smile turns into a grin as she sits on the bench across from him, setting her bag on the table.

“How are you settling in?” She asks him kindly, and he gives a weak shrug of his shoulders.

“I guess… as well as I can,” He says honestly, and she nods back in understanding. He pushes past the urge to sit in silence where he knows he can’t say the wrong thing, and continue talking to her. She’s nice, he tells himself. She’s nice, and I want to make friends here. I want to be happy here. “I think everyone’s a little afraid of me, to be honest,” He admits. “Or they’re annoyed with how behind all of them that I am”

“Maki can be a little stand-offish,” (y/n) thinks aloud. “And Inumaki is hard to get to know at first. But he’s a really nice guy once you do get to know him. Just don’t be nervous when he’s silent. He’s a goofball,”

Yuuta takes her advice to heart, hoping that she could give him all the keys to friendship he’d been lacking. He nods earnestly.

“And so is Panda,” She continued. “But it’s been awhile since there’s been someone new around here. That doesn’t really happen for us”

“Really?” He asks, and she nods.

“Yeah. Most of these people have known each other since they were young. Or at least are aware of each other’s clan politics”

“I see” Yuuta mumbles, feeling yet again like an outsider. (y/n) can tell this information doesn’t sit well with him.

“I think it’s nice,” She says boldly, and truthfully. He stares at her like she just said something ridiculous. “When the only people you get to see every day are people you’ve known your whole life, it can be sorta lonely,” She admits with a small chuckle. “It’ll be nice to get to know someone new,”

She leans over the table a bit, setting her elbows down so she can rest her head in her hands.

“If that’s not too forward” She says with a bashful smile.

Yuuta blinks once, twice, before shaking his head with certainty.

“It’s not” He says, fast.

“Good,” (y/n’s) beam brightens. “Want to have lunch with me again tomorrow?”

He nods again, his nerves starting to melt away, letting him smile back at her.

“Will you be in class tomorrow?” He asks hopefully. Maybe now he’ll finally have someone he can sit with, even if he’s still too shy to strike up a conversation, at least he won’t feel so alone all the time.

“Oh,” (y/n’s) lips quickly fall to a frown. “I’m actually not one of Gojo’s students,” She tells him, and it makes her sad to see him deflate so fast. “I’m training in the infirmary, with Shoko. Have you met her?”

Yuuta shakes his head.

“I don’t think so”

“Well I’ll introduce you sometime,” She tells him. “But I don’t have a decent enough cursed technique to be a sorcerer, so I’m studying under her in order to go more into the… background things” She explains.

“I see,” Yuuta tries not to let his disappointment show, so as not to make her feel bad. He focuses instead on getting to know her better. “So you’re working in, like, the medical field then?”

(y/n) nods her head from side to side.

“Something like that,” She chuckles. “It’s mostly watching Shoko use her technique to heal injuries after rougher assignments. I don’t get to use mine too much, but I’m starting to learn how to heal myself, so that’s a start, I suppose”

“That’s cool!”

(y/n’s) eyes blink wide in surprise.

“You can heal yourself?”

“I mean, I healed a papercut once” She laughs bashfully. In comparison to Shoko’s reverse cursed technique, doing a shoddy job at patching up a small slice on her finger seemed like a joke. But Yuuta grins like he’s never heard anything more interesting.

“You’re lucky,” He tells her, and she raises a brow at him, wondering if this was all some elaborate prank where he’d wind up laughing in her face at how weak she was compared to everyone else, compared to him. “That’s a really useful ability. That’s not background at all. It’s helpful”

As she processes the kind words, (y/n) wonders if this is why she’d felt drawn to him when they met a few nights ago. Underneath the shy exterior Yuuta displayed was nothing but kindness, and warmth. She could feel it in her cheeks, and in her chest. Her heart even stuttered a little.

“I mean, I barely have a handle on it,” She admits. “I don’t think I’ve been all that helpful to anyone”

“But you’re learning, right?” Yuuta shrugs a shoulder in understanding. “I guess that’s sorta how I feel, too,” He realized, dropping his gaze to his forgotten lunch as he thought about it. “I just want to be…”

He trails off, but (y/n) waits with eager anticipation for him to continue his thought.

“Useful”

His voice is quiet, and his expression is unsure as he looks back up at her. Suddenly feeling like that was far too pathetic of a thing to say to someone that he’d like to become friends with. But before he can backtrack and supply a better word, like strong or courageous, she’s grinning.

Her face nearly splits in two as her beam stretches from ear to ear, all teeth and twinkling eyes to match. A small laugh escapes her before she starts to nod passionately.

“That’s exactly how it feels,” She agrees, filling him with relief so strong it’s visible in the way his shoulders relax. (y/n) notices, but doesn’t say anything. Something warm and fuzzy nestles in her chest, and she has a good feeling about this new friendship blossoming.

Truth was, (y/n) got along fine with the other students here, but they’d only cross paths on occasion and she couldn’t say that she was necessarily close to any of them, simply on good terms enough to catch up in brief passing with one another. The disconnect between her studies and the rest of the sorcerers-in-training around here was a trench of a gap, and if she was honest with herself, it could prove to be a little lonely.

Shoko was a great teacher, she was kind and involved, but she was still a teacher. Gojo was… about the same, with just a bit more peskiness to him when it came to involving himself. But it was all in good nature, he knew that she was a bit isolated here.

But then Yuuta came along. And even just this short interaction had her glowing with excitement at finally forming a connection with someone. He probably thought she was just being pleasant since he was the new kid and he’d been eating lunch alone, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. She had a genuine interest in him that had started innocently enough, but she had a feeling it would only blossom into something more.

“I think that we’re going to be-”

She’s about to voice this thought, about to tell him that she knows in her heart that they’ll make excellent friends, but her timing was just a tad too slow, and she was interrupted by her phone ringing.

With the intention of silencing it and ignoring the call for now, she gives him an apologetic look before pulling it out of her pocket, only to huff when she realizes it’s not a call she can just silence.

“Sorry,” She frowns. “It’s Shoko, I should take this, she’s probably got something for me back at the lab”

“It’s alright,” Yuuta smiles as he shakes his head in understanding. “I get it”

“Thanks,” (y/n) grabs her bag as she jumps up from the table, disappointed to cut their time short, but excited to see what Shoko would have in store for her today. Before she can race off, she pauses, one hand gripping the strap of her bag and the other occupied with the phone that’s still ringing. “Lunch tomorrow though, right?” She double checks.

The pink that dusts Yuuta’s cheeks is undeniable, and it makes a smile bloom on her face, too.

“Right” He says with a shy nod while he rubs his clammy hands over his knees.

“Alright,” (y/n) nods back, and she’d like to think she’s smooth, but she’s blushing just the same. “I’ll see you tomorrow then, Okkotsu”

She takes off before she can see his face turn from pink to red, his enthusiasm for having plans with a friend- a cute friend- shining in the heat of his cheeks.

He spends the rest of his lunch period trying to think of things to talk to her about tomorrow, questions to ask, stories to share. He racked his brain for fifteen minutes before going to class, where he then gets a little lost in space as he wonders about it some more.

[ you know you got me in your pocket, you don’t just have to wait around ]

When (y/n) feels that lingering fuzziness in her chest turn into something more, it was shortly after she’d spent the better half of an hour telling Shoko that her friendship with Okkotsu Yuuta was just that. Friendship.

“If you say so,” The woman shrugged a shoulder as she pulled the gloves off of her hands, getting ready to wrap up the day. “Just sayin’. You talk about him a lot”

(y/n) gave her a look, blindly tossing her own latex gloves into the trash.

“He’s my friend, I like talking about him,” She explains with nonchalance, even though her heart stuttered in her chest a little bit, as it did every time she mentioned him. “And I’m also a boring person. There’s not much to talk about”

“That’s not true, but whatever” Shoko brushes off the lame excuse, and (y/n) rejoices inwardly that the topic can be dropped before Yuuta actually shows up in a few minutes.

Like most days, they had plans to meet up for lunch, except today they’ll be spending it with the rest of the first years. After a couple of months, Yuuta finally felt like he belonged here, and had made decent friendships with his peers. This morning he had texted her to ask if it was alright if they joined them.

[yuuta] : panda offered us seats at the lunch table with inumaki and maki too. do you want to have lunch with them?

[yuuta] : ok if not!! just wanted to extend the invitation !!

It had made (y/n) smile when that second text popped up so quickly on her phone after she’d opened the first right away. She could practically see him back pedaling just in case she wasn’t comfortable with a larger group for lunch. Of course she was, she’d typed back an agreement with a little smiley face within a few seconds of reading the texts, but it was sweet that he’d stick to their usual plan of just the two of them.

Don’t get her wrong, (y/n) had grown to really cherish the time the two of them spent together. She got to know Yuuta very well during their lunch breaks, and during a few hangouts after lessons and training, too. She was happy to see how much he opened up once you got to know him, and she loved learning more about him every day. He was kind, and funny in that nervous sort of way, and he picked up on things quickly.

The couple of times (y/n) had spent her breaks from the infirmary on the bleachers to watch him train with the other first years, she’d seen a drastic change in his abilities with each session. It wasn’t often that she was able to slip away long enough to get all the way to the bleachers, watch for a bit while having a snack or catching up on some reading, and then get back to the infirmary before Shoko called her out on trying to ditch her lessons. Still, she was always impressed with how fast of a learner Yuuta was. Whether it was with cursed energy or with a bamboo staff to practice wielding a proper katana, he seemed to be comfortable with learning how to fight.

In fact the last time she’d watched him, he looked so natural she could have assumed he’d grown up in jujutsu society just like the rest of them.

When he does make an appearance at the infirmary, Shoko notices him outside the door first. With a smirk, she nods her head to get (y/n’s) attention.

“Your friend is here,” She says with a teasing lilt in her voice, despite her face remaining as stoic as usual.

(y/n) gives her a look before turning around to see him waiting politely outside. When their eyes catch, she gives him a smile and waves at him to come in.

“Picking you up for lunch, hm?” Shoko hums. “What a little gentleman”

(y/n) shoots her another look, this time as if to say be nice when Yuuta walks in. He’s still wearing his sheath, but the awkward smile and nervous fiddling of his hands makes a sword on his back look out of place. For some reason, (y/n) has always found his simple juxtapositions adorable.

Despite having met Shoko before, a few times, actually, Yuuta always gets anxious around her. It was probably her quietly peculiar aura, something (y/n) had grown used to after so much time spent with her, but in comparison to Yuuta’s teacher who’d never learned to revel in peaceful silence, it could be intimidating.

He gave her a small wave and nod in greeting. Shoko smirked back at him before turning to (y/n).

“You two get back before too long, alright? No funny business”

Yuuta visibly paled, his mouth opening to make an explanation that wasn’t coming to mind and left him standing there gaping. (y/n) rolled her eyes as she grabbed her bag, hoisting the strap over her shoulder as she waved Shoko off.

“Bye Shoko” She said with a half-playful glare, before grabbing Yuuta by the sleeve and dragging him right back out the door before he even got the chance to say hello.

It’s not until they’re out in the hall that he finds his voice.

He tugs at his collar to relieve some of the heat from his neck.

“How were lessons today?” He settles for the safe topic of conversation. Predictably, (y/n) lets out a small laugh. She always seemed amused when he was uncomfortable. He had yet to understand why.

“Good,” She’s kind to him today, not teasing him for his flustering. At least not beyond that little smirk that makes her eyes glint when she looks at him. “You?”

He nods his head from side to side.

“Maki kicked my ass,�� He said sheepishly. “But I did get a hit today” He said in a quieter voice, but there was still a hint of pride in his voice. (y/n) beamed at him. She understood this was a meaningful accomplishment.

“That’s awesome!” She cheered for him. “You’ll knock her down next time for sure,”

He thinks she could be messing with him, but when he looks over at her, her beam is nothing but genuine. He laughs quietly, not as sure as she was, but appreciative of the sentiment nonetheless.

“Just make sure to invite me next time you spar,” (y/n) continues. “I want to be there for the big day”

Sometimes, she has a way of speaking that makes Yuuta wonder why she doesn’t really hang out with anyone but him. She wasn’t exactly a soft person, he supposed it was this line of work they shared, but there was something inherently friendly about her. He’d noticed it the first time they’d met, of course, and ever since he couldn’t ignore it if he tried. For whatever reason, she seemed not only to care about him, but she actually believed in him, too. More and more, Yuuta began to wonder why.

Inumaki, Panda, and Maki are already at a table with their lunches before them when Yuuta and (y/n) arrive. Panda notices them first, grinning and waving a paw for them to join.

“(y/n)! Long time no see!” His voice holds pure joy upon her arrival, “How’s the infirmary?”

“Oh, you know,” (y/n) smiles as she shrugs her shoulders. “Blood. Bones. Repeat. I can’t complain”

Panda and Toge are sitting on one side of the table, Maki on the other, and (y/n) happily sits beside her. Yuuta follows shortly.

“Yuuta told me next time, he’s going to knock your ass out,” She says boldly. Maki raises a brow, her chopsticks stilling over her dish. “You’ll let me come watch, yeah?”

Maki’s eyes shift to Yuuta, a glare behind them that has him straightening in his seat. Maki smirks at his discomfort, and when she turns back to (y/n), she grins ear to ear.

“I do love an audience,” She agrees, her smirk stretching into a grin at the idea. She looks back to Yuuta, who’s focused intently on his rice. “You two have been gettin’ real chummy, huh?”

(y/n) simpered at the comment. Yuuta tucked his chin against his collar in hopes that they wouldn’t notice the way his face bloomed with heat.

“Tuna, tuna” Inuamki giggles as his elbow bumps into Panda’s arm, and he too begins to chuckle as they watch the pair’s reactions to Maki’s simple observation.

“(y/n’s)- uh- she’s-”

“Yuuta’s a great friend” (y/n) speaks before Yuuta’s stammering can be laughed at any further.

“Must be, to make you finally come hang out with us” Panda says as he tries to quell his amused chuckling.

“Ikura” Toge mutters.

“Yeah,” Panda nods in agreement with the cursed speech user. “We didn’t think you liked us anymore”

Yuuta peeks over at (y/n) in his peripheral vision, but she plasters on a smile and shakes her head to disagree.

“Been busy” She says simply. There is no follow up, no explanation or excuse. She pops a grape into her mouth and leaves it at that.

Their lunch continues on as expected. Catching up, teasing, swapping food. Thirty minutes seem to pass faster than ever. And despite enjoying himself amongst his friends, Yuuta can’t help but hyperfixate on that small, odd interaction.

It appeared as though (y/n) and the other first years had gotten along just fine. Even mirroring old friends. But he couldn’t help but feel like something was off, that things hadn’t always been this way, that there was a rift he hadn’t been present for. He knows better than to question it straight away, so he matches energy and remains friendly the rest of the break.

But after telling his classmates he’ll meet up with them shortly, he lingers at the table while (y/n) packs up her things.

“That was nice” His voice feels stiff. He clears his throat.

(y/n) looks up at him as she pulls the strap of her bag over her shoulder, a soft smile curling on her lips.

“It was” She affirms.

Yuuta shifts his weight from foot to foot as he tries to find the right thing to say next. (y/n) watches this, and waits, patiently, for him to continue.

“I mean I… I like having lunch just… us,” He says, slowly, afraid of sounding too forward and insinuating something that could be off putting to her. “But I’m glad you wanted to hang out with…”

He struggled to find the right thing to say. (y/n) tilted her head at him curiously, before providing the words for him.

“Your friends?” She suggests with a small smile.

Yuuta blinks, color spreading over his cheeks before his smile mirrors hers, and then he nods.

“Yeah,” He concurred.

It must have been a rush of courage that compelled him to say what he did next, because as soon as he said it out loud, blood rushed up his neck and into his cheeks.

“You’re a great friend, too, by the way. I’m glad you were here. Or, well, are here”

She laughs, not because what he was was funny, but because she was overcome by delight by his words that she simply couldn’t contain it. Her fingers curl tightly around her bag, her heart flutters with something sickeningly sweet in her chest.

This was that something more. This wasn’t just silly eagerness towards a new friend. This much more. It was heavy. It filled her heart until it burst and flooded her body with warmth, traveling down her spine in ticklish sparks, and ending in the tips of her fingers and toes. It almost felt like cursed energy, the way it buzzed through her excitedly, on it’s own accord, but she knew better.

This was infatuation. She was infatuated with Yuuta. She had feelings for Yuuta.

“I’m glad you’re here, too, Yuuta,” She speaks with every genuine bone in her body, now reinforced with that tingling feeling that has her soft smile turning into a full blown grin. “Really glad” She repeats softly.

He should feel embarrassed because he knows he’s blushing and he’s having a hard time holding eye contact with her, but for some reason, he doesn’t feel embarrassed at all. Instead he smiles, bright and beautiful.

“I- I have to-”

“You have class,” (y/n) laughs bashfully, turning away in an attempt to calm her warm cheeks and dopey grin. “You should go before you’re late- I- I should go before I’m late” She stammers over her words, which is unlike her and more like him.

“Right, yeah,” He nods in a jerky motion as he starts to turn to leave, realizing he was going to have to run now if he wanted to make it on time. “But I’ll- I’ll see you after? Maybe? Or do you have plans already we can just wait till tomor-”

“After lessons works” (y/n) agrees.

“Okay- okay, yeah,” He’s still beaming, giddy with excitement now. “After lessons” He repeats.

(y/n) giggles as she begins to make her way back towards the infirmary, in the opposite direction as him. She gives him a small wave as she takes off, and Yuuta’s stunned in place for a moment before realizing that his tardiness was going to get him into trouble.

When (y/n) bursts through the infirmary doors with a string of excuses and pink cheeks, Shoko doesn’t say a word. Not that she has to, her face says it all.

Yuuta is not spared in the same way. When Gojo asks where he’s been, Panda is happy to supply what- or who- had kept him occupied. He was teased relentlessly for the following fifteen minutes, but it didn’t bother him too much. Sure, he was a little awkward at handling it and brushing off their assumptions. He just hoped his classmates wouldn’t meddle and tell her about it later.

[ just come here and we can settle down ]

If Yuuta ever underestimated anything in his life, it was Gojo Satoru’s joy in meddling.

It’s a few weeks after the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons. Jujutsu High is still under reconstruction, but it’s getting somewhere. The gardens are being replanted, the courtyard isn’t just a pile of rubbish anymore, and slowly but surely, everyone is healing.

Especially thanks to (y/n), who had mastered her cursed technique. Just in time too, as there were a lot of people that needed help.

Maki was finally recovering after pushing herself through physical therapy at a rate faster than (y/n) had ever seen in anyone before. She was more amazed than surprised. She would never underestimate that young woman’s abilities.

Toge was just starting to use his voice again, despite all of his friends telling him to just keep his mouth shut even if he was speaking in onigiri ingredients. His sore throat still made his words sound choked and raspy, but he communicated with his friends nonetheless.

There were many other sorcerers that had gotten hurt that night, but just as her friends had, they were recovering, physically and mentally, from that horrible night.

Today the sun was shining. It was still a chilly January day, but something about the clear skies drew (y/n) to linger on the steps of the main building. She studied them beneath her boots. Now that they were clear of snow, it looked as though a different color of stone was selected for their redesign. Not too different, it was still a light brown, almost like sand, but different enough that the longer she stared at them, the more she could pick out the other differences between these and the old ones.

“Ditching lessons?”

Her eyes drag slowly away from the stone steps to see Gojo Satoru scaling them towards her. His long legs had him next to her in a matter of seconds. Truthfully, Shoko had said she needed a longer smoke break than usual today- which was only unusual because ever since christmas, she’d been taking longer smoke breaks, she’d only just mentioned it today.

“Not really. Maybe” (y/n) replied indecisively.

“I’m still a teacher you know,” Gojo laughs at her honesty. “I could get you in trouble~”

The grin on his face tells her that there was absolutely no bite to his bark. He just liked to pretend to be an adult sometimes. (y/n) gives him a half hearted smile in amusement. His grin weakens at the way hers drops as soon as she stares down at the stairs again.

He already knows what’s on her mind. He was a better teacher than even he gave himself credit for.

“So he told you about Africa, huh?”

Her head shoots back up, brows furrowed in a sad expression as she frowns at him.

Yeah, he told me about Africa, she thinks, bitterly, even the thought making her mouth go sour. She gnaws at the inside of her cheek roughly.

“I know you’re close. I’m sorry that it’s happening,” Gojo sighs. He stuffs his hands into his pockets. “Kid’s got real potential. He might even be stronger than me,”

Just like his grin, his smirk speaks volumes. (y/n’s) not sure if he really believes that, but she can tell he believes in Yuuta.

“Special Grade Sorcerers aren’t what they used to be, huh?” He asks, and she’s not sure if it’s rhetorical, so she just shrugs her shoulders, and directs her gaze downwards again.

Her throat burns. Was that tears?

“It won’t just be Africa,” Gojo says, slowly, like he’s trying to be careful. She’s never known him to tread lightly. He must really worry about her feelings. She wonders why. “Once he’s mastered his techniques, the geezers are gonna throw him at every curse they can sniff out”

“I know”

Her voice is small, but it holds enough certainty for Gojo to understand that she doesn’t need to be told what Yuuta’s future has in store.

“So,” Gojo takes a different tone as he kicks the toe of his shoe into a step. “You’re not bothered that he’s a young widow, hm?”

(y/n’s) face contorts into something strange and confused as she looks at him again. She could almost laugh, if she wasn’t so disturbed by her teacher prying into her personal life. She could tell him to buzz off, but it’d make no difference. He’d probably just pester Shoko for the details and that would be even more embarrassing.

“I don’t even know what to-”

“He cares about you a lot too,” Gojo says before she can finish. (y/n’s) features relax as her eyes widen a little. He looks out into the courtyard as if something interesting was happening over there. “But Africa will be good for him. And he’ll be back soon enough. I’ll try ‘n pull some strings to have him visit, or something”

Her impulse to say something snarky and get him to move on from the topic disappears. Instead, she gives him a small nod, before tucking her cold fingers into the pockets of her coat.

“That would be nice,” She tells him, quietly, but surely. “Thank you”

Gojo grins from ear to ear as he turns back to his. She has a feeling that under the white bandages, he’s winking dramatically.

He leaves without another word, leaving (y/n) a little bewildered by the sudden exit. But then she sees another figure ascending the steps, and suddenly the cold isn’t the only thing making her cheeks pink.

Yuuta gives her the same smile he always does when he crosses her path. Whether in passing or when he’s meeting up with her to hang out, his lips curl into the warmest smile she’s ever seen. Even as clouds creep across the sky and snow begins to fall, she starts to feel toasty in her hat and coat.

She lies and tells him she has a few minutes to spare even though she’s been gone from the infirmary for a good twenty minutes now. As they take a short walk around campus, her mood lightens up.

They don’t talk about Africa. Only good things. A funny meme she’d seen, how Toge will be by the infirmary later because he refuses to keep his mouth shut to heal properly. Maybe that wasn’t so much of a good thing, but Yuuta is laughing as he tells her about the pile of bloodied tissues accumulated at Toge’s desk. Despite the twinge of guilt for laughing at their friend’s discomfort, she can’t help it. Yuuta’s happiness is infectious.

This must be what swooning feels like, she thinks as she stares up at him while he tells her about his day. It’s a silly story, maybe even kind of boring, but she hangs onto every word with eager anticipation at what he would share next. He could read her the goddamn newspaper and she’d sit there with her head in her hands and give him her undivided attention. Yeah, this is probably swooning.

“When do you have to be back?” Yuuta cuts off his rambling about training when he realizes they’ve been walking for some time now.

“Oh,” (y/n) shrugs sheepishly. “Probably ten minutes ago”

His eyes widen and he stops in his tracks, and before he even speaks she knows he’s about to apologize for taking up her time, so with a small laugh she shakes her head at him before he says a thing.

“Don’t worry about it,” She says, urging him to keep walking with her. “Shoko needed some extra time today. I don’t mind if I’m a little late”

“You’re sure?” He double checks, because he doesn’t like being responsible for getting her behind schedule. Nonetheless, he catches up to her as she keeps walking along the path.

Little does he know, if he asked her to ditch the rest of the day with him, she would take him by the hand and sprint off campus.

“Positive” (y/n) replies.

They continue to walk in the snow and talk about anything but Africa. An unspoken agreement that it could wait.

[ oh darling, it’s alarming, to think of us apart ]

Eventually, they have to talk about Africa.

It comes up the morning Yuuta leaves.

It’s early enough in the morning that it’s still dark. Panda had helped him load his bags into Ijichi’s car, before giving him a quick goodbye so he could go back to bed. Maki and Toge lingered a little longer, even in their pajamas. But at some point Maki cursed about how early it was, gave her new friend a friendly- but not light- punch to the shoulder, and returned inside.

Toge and (y/n) were equally quiet, although for their different reasons. Eventually Yuuta couldn’t fill the silence anymore, and they were out of time to stall.

To his surprise, Toge gave him a quick hug. Just enough to give him a kind pat on the back and an eager ‘salmon!’ certainly wishing him luck on his big assignment. Yuuta thanked him with a grin, proud to understand what he really meant.

Then he turned to (y/n), who’d barely moved an inch since sleepily walking out here. He’d insisted to everyone last night that they could say their goodbyes then, but she’d stood her ground that she’d see him off today. The others agreed.

Her arms were wrapped firmly around herself, and the smile on her face was sad when his eyes met hers. Even when she tried to brighten up, to properly display her pride in him, she just couldn’t quite do it.

Toge watched as they stared at each other for a moment, neither one of them finding anything to say. For a minute he thought it might be awkward, and he figured he should probably leave now.

It only took Yuuta one step forward, his arms barely outstretched, before (y/n’s) finding the energy to leap towards him, crashing into him. Her arms are thrown around his neck as she hugs him tightly. As she tucks her chin against his shoulder she’s willing herself not to cry, because she knows it would make him feel bad, and that wouldn’t be fair. Yuuta’s surprise has him hesitating for a second before he’s hugging her back, hoping to hold on just as securely as she’d latched onto him.

“Text a lot,” When she’s certain her voice won’t crack, (y/n) finally speaks. “And call, too”

Yuuta chuckles. His eyes close as he rests his cheek against her head. She’s never hugged him before, but he’s decided from this one that she’s the best hugger in the world.

“The time difference is-”

“I don’t care” She mutters, and it’s punctuated with her arms squeezing around him a little tighter.

He returns the affection.

“Okay” He murmurs.

When they have to part, she lets out a shaky breath, and plasters on the widest smile she can. She hopes he can see the tears in her eyes. He does.

He gives her and Toge a wave before finally opening the door to the backseat. He doesn’t say goodbye. Instead he settles for, “See you later”

(y/n) manages a little wave back. It’s not until the car pulls away and is out of sight before a tear falls. She’s quick to wipe it away.

Her and the cursed speech user walk back towards the main building together. He gives her a sympathetic look. She gives him a weak smile.

“Yeah, I know,” She sighs, drying her eyes once more and taking a deep breath in the hopes of not crying again.

He smiles back, but unlike hers, it’s bright, and cheeky. He draws a heart in the air with his fingers. She wants to roll her eyes, but she lets out a watery laugh at the action, and she knows her face is heating up with evidence of the truth.

“Something like that” She mumbles. They don’t say anything else before parting ways to go back to their rooms.

By the time she collapses back in bed, she’s too awake to think about sleeping a little longer before her lesson with Shoko. Pulling out her phone for a source of entertainment, she finds she already has a notification at this ungodly hour.

[yuuta] : try not to miss me too much :) i’ll be back before you know it

Tucking the blankets up to her chin, (y/n) settles into bed with a small smile. Yuuta wasn’t often cheeky. And when he was, it was always followed by a nervous laugh and bright pink cheeks. Behind the shield of his phone he clearly has a leap in confidence. She even laughs a little as she types back her response.

[ you and me, always, forever ]

Yuuta had some mixed feelings about going to Africa.

On the one hand, he was ecstatic. He had finally climbed the ranks in this new life that he thinks could make everything make sense. He felt a new sense of responsibility along with his new sense of self, and he knows that this debut of his in Africa was the next big step forwards. He’d prove himself, he’d push himself, and he’d come home stronger than before. He’d make his friends, and his teachers, proud of taking a chance on him.

On the other hand, his new purpose, this new sense of self that he was still discovering, felt so much more worth exploring when she was there too. Yuuta wasn’t as naive as some may make him out to be. He knew what love felt like. He recognized that the ticklish feeling in his chest when she laughed, he was familiar with the buzz in his fingertips when she walked too close and her hand brushed over his. He knows when he’s lying awake at night and she’s the one who crosses his mind that it’s no coincidence.

Yuuta knows that his heart holds much more than platonic regards for one (y/n) (y/l/n). He knows that he adores her. He knows that his heart longs for her in a way that couldn’t possibly be platonic. The fact that they’ll have to be apart for some time makes him sad. It makes him lonely.

Even now, after seeing her twenty minutes ago when they said their goodbyes, he already missed her. He couldn’t help but text her right away, the desperation for keeping in contact pumping through him like ice, making him feel wide awake even at five in the morning. The thought of losing touch over the next few months of him being away makes him sweat.

He’d have to make sure to keep in touch, he makes a mental plan to always text her first thing in the morning, and last thing before he goes to sleep. That way, even if he got busy throughout his day, he’d always have the time for her. He wanted her to know that he’d always make the time for her.

Yuuta’s heart is racing, the adrenaline a toxic mix of excitement and anxiety. Had he eaten a proper meal this morning he might’ve thrown up.

Just as he’s contemplating rolling down the window for some fresh air, his phone pings.

[(y/n/n)]: i take it you miss me already, yuuta?

It’s a silly little emoji, but he swears she’s sent him her heart in digital form and it leaps right from the screen and into his open palms. He's smiling at the screen and responding with a reaction image he’d snagged from Toge just a few days ago.

[ you and me, always, forever ]

Gojo follows through on his promise. Yuuta comes back to Jujutsu Tech for a small break after two months in Africa.

He gets to campus earlier than expected, surprising his classmates in the middle of a lesson. Luckily today the lesson was rating the different flavors of kikufuku from a new shop Gojo had found, so he hadn’t interrupted anything too pressing.

It’s shortly after his early arrival that he asks the question that his friends think they should have placed money on him asking. Maki mutters something to Toge about how she would’ve won had they done so.

“Where’s (y/n)?”

While he stares at them with a dumbfounded expression, his friends laugh. Loud cackling that’s intended to make him feel embarrassed, but he’s more confused than anything. Even Gojo joins in once he’s not distracted by his leftover treats and Panda merrily tells their teacher that Yuuta’s already sick of them.

“That’s not it!” The poor boy puts his hands up in mock defense as he jumps to explain himself. “I just want to tell her I’m back-”

“She’s in the infirmary, genius” Maki crosses her arms, but her displeased attitude crumbles when a smirk tugs on her lips. Yuuta forces a smile, but it’s awkward. His nervous energy begins to shine through his excitement about returning home.

It’s not long after this that he’s delivering a string of excuses before darting out of the classroom and running to the infirmary. Was it a little embarrassing to race towards her like this? Yeah, but there was barely anyone on campus right now anyways, so no one had to know just how eager he was to see her again.

Even though every bone in his body was practically vibrating by the time he made it there.

He peers through the small windows on the heavy doors outside the hospital classroom, making sure it was safe to enter before he barged in. As soon as he looks inside he sees Shoko leaning against the cabinets. (y/n) was standing in front of her, her back to the door, but she was easily recognizable to him. Before he can knock to make himself known, Shoko catches him in her line of sight, and gives him an uncharacteristically wide grin.

In fact it’s so unusual on her face, that (y/n) perks up in the midst of whatever conversation they were having, curious to see what could've caught her interest so much.

Okkotsu Yuuta was not at all what she might have expected.

He gets to watch her light up in real time. He hears her excitedly squealing from the other side of the door. And somehow, even though it’s been a whole two months since he’s seen her, the ten seconds it takes for her to fly through the doors and into his arms seems to take too long.

She crashes into him so hard he stumbles to balance his footing. She’s laughing and bouncing and rambling on, ‘I’m so happy you’re here! You’re early! I would’ve helped you with your things! Have you settled in? Have you eaten? Should we go get some food? I’ll order food! And we can stay in!’ She’s talking so fast that he catches about half of what she’s saying. He only chuckles, not having the heart to tell her he can barely understand her.

Her arms squeeze tight around his neck before she finally lets him go. With twinkling eyes and a smile so wide it must be sore on her cheeks, Yuuta’s slowly melting heart completely dissolves.

“Your hair’s different” She tilts her head at him while she admires the way his slightly longer hair is styled around his face. She lets her curiosity get the best of her, reaching a hand out to gently push a strand away from his forehead.

Yuuta hadn’t really given any thought to his hair. He can’t remember when exactly it had gotten too long, when he’d parted it differently so it wasn’t a hindrance, but now he’s second guessing the change in style as if that change had been a conscious choice.

“Bad different?”

There’s a small giggle in the back of her throat that she can’t help when his brows furrow at her. He’s so cute, she thinks her heart could melt right here.

She shakes her head at him in a small motion.

“No,” She assured him. “Good different”

A small smile tugs at the corners of his lips, a proud little smile, like he’d gotten her to admit her deepest, most well kept secret.

“Good different?” He repeats, his voice dripping with mirth.

She rolls her eyes and crinkles her nose, but there’s no hiding the warmth in her cheeks and the way her dimples show when she smiles, even when she ducks her head from him.

“Shut up, Yuuta,” She pushes his shoulder but just as quickly grabs him by the elbow. “Now come on! The day��s almost over already and we have so much we need to catch up on!”

She forgets her bag in the infirmary as they wander campus together for a while, making pitstops to get him unpacked for his short visit and to snack up before they make their simple plans for the evening. Conversation never ceases, even when she’s trying to place a takeout order over the phone, she finds herself remembering various little stories and jokes that she’d tucked away in her memory to share with him.

There’s been a change in him. It wasn’t just the training that treated him well with lean muscle, it wasn’t just the haircut, or the way he’d learned to wield his katana like it was an extension of him. It was confidence. It was happiness. He didn’t stutter over his words nearly as often. When he spoke he was sure of the things he said. He would still blush when she got close enough or whispered something exceptionally sweet to him, but he was better at holding eye contact, and grew quite comfortable with reciprocating the small affections. Maybe that was just it, he was finally comfortable here, and with himself.

Time flies faster than it had when they were apart. The afternoon turns to evening which turns to the middle of the night. They’re still sitting on the common room couch, side by side, lost in their own little world as a forgotten movie plays in the background. Some of it had been watched when they’d eaten, but the takeout boxes on the coffee table are empty now. Yuuta’s yawning and (y/n’s) eyelids are heavy as she tries to keep her attention on him while he tells a story, his voice getting lower and his words coming out slower the later it gets. It’s not until he’s slumping into the uncomfortable cushions of the old couch that they even think to check the time.

When they do decide they’ve been up for too long, they make their way sneakily back to their rooms, hoping to remain as silent as possible. But anyone who was up at this hour would hear their hushed laughter and aggressive shushing. Yuuta bids her goodnight with the promise of taking everyone out for breakfast in the morning, but before he drops her off at her door, they share one more embrace.

She means to keep it quick, she really does. She knows he’s tired, and maybe a little annoyed with all of the affection today, but she was so happy to have him back that she couldn’t help but want to keep him close forever.

Yuuta doesn’t seem annoyed in the slightest. He hugs her back tightly, and makes no move to let her go anytime soon, so she doesn’t, either. They stand that way at her door for an unknown amount of time, each waiting for the other to pull away first.

It takes some time, but eventually she shuffles out of his hold and gives him a bashful little smile followed by, “I’m really glad you’re home, Yuuta”

The tension lays itself on thick, making sure to smother Yuuta until the back of his neck feels hot and his heart beats so hard in his chest he’s certain she’s going to notice and tease him for it.

“Me too” He manages to murmur back.

He’s lucky he’s able to return her sweet ‘goodnight!’ too, because his throat is tightening on itself and he thinks he could start choking just standing there.

When he drags himself back to his own room and his heart calms down- just a little bit- Yuuta decides he’s going to have to do something about that tension before it kills him.

[ you and me, always, forever ]

“This is getting ridiculous,” Maki declares before kicking open the classroom door. Her two friends follow in behind her. “It’s actually going to make me sick. I think we should just say something already”

“Don’t kick doors down Maki” Panda sighs, but his warning goes ignored.

“Salmon,” Toge shrugs his shoulders, raising his hands to be palms up, as though indicating what else is there to do?

“Well for starters, we get the idiots to talk to each other,” Maki states, picking up the notebook off her usual desk.

It was the whole reason they came back to class so late in the day, seeing as this particular notebook had the notes from their lesson earlier. It was important she made the trip back for it before they started their study session. She did take the better notes of the three of them.

“Apparently all their time together isn’t getting anywhere,” She huffs. “I swear, all he does is talk about her. He’s bound to have something good enough to confess already, right?”

Toge giggles into his collar.

“Ease up a bit, they’ll come around to it when they’re ready, won’t they?” Panda tries to be the voice of reason.

There’s a pause for silence. And then Toge and Maki are cackling so hard they have to hold their stomachs to relieve the twisting knots of their muscles.

“It’s been months!” Maki hollers through her mania.

“Salmon!”

“I mean, how much more of this can you guys take?” She doesn’t give them the time to answer her question. “I can’t stand listening to him ramble on and on about her. Did you know the one phone call I got, he talked about her the whole time?”

“You’ve mentioned” Panda mumbles, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head.

“Tuna tuna” Toge agreed, before making a crude motion with his hands that had Maki bursting into laughter again.

Maki rolls her eyes, before grabbing her missing notebook from her desk and stuffing it into her backpack. She’d been holding back on intervening on these two for months now. At first, she didn’t care enough. If (y/n) and Yuuta wanted to dance around each other like children with crushes then that was their business. But now the romantic tension was so thick it choked her up to be in a room with them. The lingering stares, the flirty giggles, the blushing- gah- she couldn’t stand it.

Don’t get her wrong, she didn’t hate love, and she didn’t hate either of them for being in love. She hated wimps. And these two were being the wimpiest people she’s ever seen for not fessing up already.

Also, wasn’t she just being a good friend for getting two dumbasses in love to admit they’re in love with each other? She did want them to be together after all, they were good for each other.

“I think it’s sweet that he loves her so much!” Panda argues. “I don’t mind listening to it. (y/n’s) really nice. They deserve each other”

“Oh, yeah, they deserve each other,” Maki agrees but her tone drips with something hostile. “No shit, do you not see how much she stares at him?”

Toge’s snickering gets louder. It wasn’t often there was gossip among the small group, there wasn’t exactly time for it. But this was rather entertaining, and watching two of his friends trip over themselves with how hard they’d been crushing on each other had been the cherry on top.

“Well, yeah,” Panda finally lets out a small laugh. “Actually, the other day I was talking to her, and I don’t think she heard a word I said,” He chuckles as he recalls the way her eyes glazed over and a dopey little smile took over her face. “I don’t know how he hasn’t noticed it”

“Salmon” Toge scoffs.

“Yeah, he’s more oblivious than she is” Maki agrees.

“But I don’t think we should do anything about it” Panda tries to reason.

“They’re never going to make a move if we don’t say something,” Maki huffs. “Can’t they just get it over with already? How hard is a confession anyways?”

“Like you’ve ever confessed to anyone” Panda throws back at her with a proud grin.

Toge makes a sound of delight to see the gossiping turning into something much more interesting.

Maki glares at the both of them before snarling.

“That’s it!” She declares, throwing her bag over her shoulder. “I’m going to go tell them right now. Whoever I find first is going to hear great news today!”

“Maki don’t!” Panda hollers, marching after her out the door. “It’s not our place! That’s an invasion of privacy!”

Toge’s enthusiastic babbling of rice ball ingredients follows them out into the hall, eager to see where this was going to go.

The classroom door slides shut behind him, and the sounds of their heavy, quick footsteps drones on until they’re too far to be heard. It’s not until the room is completely silent that a small exhale of relief is heard, under the large desk that Gojo pretended to use during his lessons.

“I think we’re in the clear” Yuuta whispers, once he’s absolutely certain that no one is left in the room.

He drops his hand from over (y/n’s) mouth, where she’s been gnawing on her bottom lip for the last six minutes in fear that their classmates were going to notice them hiding under there.

“Really?” She asks in a teasing tone of voice. “Because it sounds like they’re looking for us”

Yuuta huffs in defeat, a look on his face that completely contrasts her own. (y/n’s) brightened, grinning from ear to ear and giggling under her breath.

They’re squished into the small space so when she giggles he can feel her breath fanning over his neck, and even though he wants to grab her by the shoulders and make her come back to reality- which is that their friends are on a rampage right now to get them to confess to each other, something they’d just done minutes before they’d stormed into this very classroom- but he can’t. He takes one look at her, with her starry eyes and cute smile and he accepts whatever fate has in store for him.

(y/n) had surprised him here, happily announcing she wrapped up her lessons early so that they could spend the afternoon together. He only had a few days left until he’d be shipped off to Africa again, so she’d worked diligently today to be sure she could give him every spare minute of her free time. Somehow they’d wound up in the classroom alone.

One minute Yuuta’s going on about how excited he was to hang out with her and the next thing he knows he’s accidentally letting it slip that he’d like to have her all to himself all the time. He realized instantly that he’d said something a little too romantically charged because suddenly she’s staring up at him with those damn wide eyes and a smile full of secrets.

He must’ve said something right though, because one thing led to another and she had an iron grip on his collar while her strawberry gloss smeared all over his mouth.

(y/n) smirks now as she reaches her thumb up to his lips now, wiping away a subtle speck of pink glitter that had been left behind there. Her face heats up as she recalls how carried away she’d gotten just minutes ago. Until their friends showed up and nearly caught them in the act.

Had Maki kicked down that door just a minute earlier, they surely would’ve been caught in their scrambling. More specifically, they would’ve caught the awkward way Yuuta had lifted (y/n) off the desk he’d just set her on, only to hustle them both under the desk, the only half-decent hiding place in this whole room.

“You’re kidding,” She’d mumbled when he drew his knees to his chest and beckoned her to duck under with him. She crowds into the space, but not without scolding him. “They’re definitely going to-” He covers her mouth with his large palm, effectively quieting her, just as the door slams open.

Now she knows they should be scrambling out of here, before they were eventually caught- again- but she stays put in the tiny space where their legs are sore and cramped together.

“So you talk about me to all your friends, hm?” She muses, leaning in impossibly closer to give him her best shit eating grin. It easily has Yuuta blushing from his neck to his ears as he turns his head to relieve himself from the heavy eye contact.

“Yeah yeah,” He mumbles, tugging at his collar in an attempt to soothe the heat. Just as the embarrassment settles in, he whips his head back to meet her stare with a wild look in his eye that actually catches her off guard. “But you’ve been staring at me!” He says.

She opens her mouth to defend herself, but the proof had been hollering in this very room just moments ago during Maki’s fit. Panda had happily supplied the damn evidence.

So she shuts her mouth, and now Yuuta’s beaming at her with victorious pride.

“So it’s true!?” He asks excitedly.

“You already know that, jerk,” She rolls her eyes at him, but it’s filled with affection. “You’re the one who’s in love with me!” She says with a jab to his chest.

Yuuta catches her hand with his before she can pull it away, making her pleased little grin fall to something softer. He’s able to watch in real time as her eyelashes flutter when her glance darts down to his lips, and when she looks up at him again, it’s with color in her cheeks and a sweetness in her gaze that has him turning to putty.

What was meant to be a half-hearted jest based on something Panda had said that she wasn’t exactly meant to hear now hangs in the air between them so heavy it feels like gravity grows in strength. Her heart is pounding in her chest. Her hand feels hot in his. And now she sits with baited breath and wide eyes as she waits for him to say something.

Yuuta’s smiling, his free hand coming up to the nape of her neck, sweeping her hair away before pulling her closer. She tilts her head towards him, but he stops just before their lips could graze over one another.

“You love me too?” He whispers.

He phrases it like a question, but he already knows it to be true. He just wants to hear her say it.

Her lips quirk into a sweet smile as her eyes flicker between his, lashes heavy, pupils blown wide in her irises. She’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen, and the thought of getting to love her and be loved by her has his heart racing so fast he’s almost forgetting that he’s asked her a question because all he wants is to kiss her.

“Of course I do,” She murmurs, her soft lips ghosting over his, eager to feel them against hers again. “Think I’ve always loved you, Yuuta,” She adds in a quieter voice. A carefully protected deep adoration in her heart, now bestowed upon his. “Think it’s always been you and me” She hums softly, taken away by the warmth in her chest and the butterflies in her tummy.

She could sit here and whisper sweet things to him for hours, maybe even forever.

His thumb strokes under her jaw in a gentle motion, caressing the junction at her jawline and neck. He looks radiant, smiling down at her like nothing’s ever made him so happy. This spurs her into wanting to say more sweet things, but before she gets the chance, he’s slanting his lips over hers.

She melts into him in every sense of the word. Her free hand reaches for his shoulder, before sliding around his neck so she could lean into him further. The small space they’re still hiding in only shrinks as she tries to get closer to him. Both pairs of their legs are too long to keep bent under the desk, so she sticks one leg out, accidentally kicking the chair in front of them but she pays it no mind. She just focuses on getting closer to him, hooking her other leg underneath herself to give her better leverage and a tiny bit more space to scoot closer.

Her hands are on his collar again as soon as he grabs her by the hips. He gives them a gentle squeeze and she giggles softly into his mouth, breaking their kiss for only a moment. They share wide smiles and lovesick eyes before leaning into each other again and sealing their lips in a heated and much more passionate kiss.

They don’t think at all about the noise of the chair clattering across the floor or the distinct sound of their giggling as they get swept away with one another. In fact they completely forget that they’re only in this position because they’d been trying to keep hidden. Both too consumed with memorizing the feeling of each other’s lips.

It’s a sweet moment, really, the first time young lovers get to explore the way the other kisses. Gently, with timid, inexperienced brushes. Or hungrily, with eager, heated desire. Taking their time was a luxury they’d thought they could finally afford.

But this time when the door opens it’s with stealth. It slides in silence, and the steps that creep in are also with slow precision, so as not to make even a creak in the floorboards.

All that can be seen by the three intruders are the three legs jutting out from under the desk. A familiar pair of Converse and one familiar Mary Jane with a heart shaped buckle kicking gently about on the floorboards, rocking with delight.

The hushed sound of lips smacking only ceased when there was a giggle, one of them or both of them, murmuring between kisses and giggles like a pair of school children.

There’s a few things that are audible, murmurs of ‘I love you so much’ or ‘you’re so pretty’ repeated between them like mantras. This continues for a minute until one of the three takes a heavier step than he means to with his paw, and the room goes completely silent- save for the lewd ‘smack!’ of a pair of lips seizing upon hearing the tell-tale sign of a lurker.

Maki and Toge glare back at Panda, who sheepishly grins and shrugs his shoulders.

(y/n) and Yuuta stare at each other in horrified shock. They don’t get the chance to come up with a plan of attack before someone is on top of the desk with a squeak of sneakers. And then Toge is bending over the surface, staring wide eyes at the two in a rather compromising position- (y/n’s) leg is thrown over Yuuta’s lap and being kept there by a firm hand, her hands are still balled up in his unbuttoned collar, their lips are thoroughly swollen she’s effectively transferred most of her lip gloss onto his mouth, and chin and neck- there’s nothing innocent about them. Toge stares between them both before he lets out a whistle, giggling as he hops off the desk again.

Yuuta winces as he quickly releases his grip on (y/n’s) leg so they can both scramble out from under the desk and up to their feet. It’s ungraceful, uncoordinated as they awkwardly untangle to clamber upwards. Yuuta hits his head on the hard oak loud enough that they both wince, (y/n) quickly inspecting the instant bump that forms at the occiput of his skull.

“No way!” Maki breaks the tension first, her jaw hanging open as she grins in amusement at having caught the two of them here. “You were hiding out in here the whole time!?”

“Tuna!” Toge shoves his finger in their direction in accusation.

“Kissing!” Panda gasps, his paws over his face.

“Why didn’t you just say something,” Maki huffed. “Walked around for ten minutes for no reason. Waste of my time” She grumbles as she crosses her arms.

“Uh, sorry” (y/n) said sheepishly.

“Yeah, sorry,” Yuuta pipes up. “It was just… uh… awkward”

“You’re awkward!” Maki barks back with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Jeez, glad you got it over with finally” She bids them her blessing with rough words before spinning around and leaving the room without saying anything else.

Panda gives them a bright smile and nod of his head, his own friendly way of telling them he was happy for them.

“Hope you’re happy” He tells them out of the kindness of his soul before excusing himself as well.

“Salmon!” Toge agrees with a grin and friendly wave before also leaving.

All the lurking around they’d done, only to give them space as soon as they caught what they needed to.

The remaining pair turned to each other, gaping mouths turning into shy smiles as they slowly burst into laughter together. What was supposed to be a slow introduction of new feelings to explore had now been on display to pretty much everyone they knew. Shyness began to wash away as there was no more use for it. Yuuta reaches for his hand and (y/n’s) fingers intertwined with his as though they’d familiarized themselves there before. She smiles as he uses her hand to pull her closer to him, until the toes of her shoes barely bump into his.

They don’t say anything, they don’t need to. (y/n) knows what he means when he cradles her face in his palm and smiles down at her. He knows what she means when her nose crinkles and her free hand reaches to hold onto his collar once more. Their ‘i love yous’ had almost always been silent, and they would forever understand it in its unspoken form.

this is for @staygoldsquatchling02 for being excited about my rotting brain full of yuuta fluff a/n: y’all i got soo carried away with this-

xoxo ~ jordie

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yuuuhiii · 2 months

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♯ birthday boy ྀི

includes : 2.2k words, smut! , fluff , established relationship, not proof read MINORS DNI!!!

note : it’s Yuuta’s day! Hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did:)!

Your boyfriend’s birthday would always be your favorite thing to celebrate. Even way before you were dating you loved to do small things for him.

Baking a small cake, getting him a little gift, or even just being in his presence. He’d always tell you that it was okay to not do anything, he couldn’t stress it enough. However you’d assure him it was something you loved doing for him.

Knowing how you were though, planning the perfect day for him was always stressful. Especially since you hadn’t seen him for a month. He was sent abroad and got the green light to come home for his birthday from the higher ups.

Just this once.

So you were even a little nervous, the surprise party you were throwing for him wasn’t big but it was definitely meaningful. All of the people that were dear to him would be here so you knew he’d love it.

“Ouch! Okay! Uh Maki can you grab me that plate please?” You yell signaling to her as you pulled out Yuuta’s freshly baked cake.

You had invited everyone over a couple hours earlier before Yuuta’s arrival, they all brought their own food and desserts. All of them pitched in and even helped you set up the party.

“Here you go.” She sets it on the counter, helping you pull out the cake and she snorts at your state. Your hair disheveled, in nothing but one of Yuuta’s shirts and an apron.

“You should go freshen up, me and Inumaki can take care of this.” She smirks but you shake your head.

“It’s fine! I still have time left.” You smile waving her off, she mutters an okay, walking back to Fushiguro and Inumaki.

You happily spin the cake around, plastering frosting all over it. Decorating simple yet pretty, just like your boyfriend. As you’re adding one last strawberry, Itadori’s voice catches your attention.

“Uh I think he’s here.” You whip your head around, checking the time.

“That can’t be true we still have an hour left!” You wash your hands, drying them and rushing to your window. You gasp upon seeing your boyfriend walk up the stairs to your apartment.

“What’s he doing here so early!” You whisper shout, frantically turning around to see if everything was set in place.

It was indeed not.

Decorations were half done, the snack table weren’t even organized and the food hadn’t even come! And besides all of that you weren’t even ready.

You bite your lip, ushering everyone to hide. You tried your best to plant more strawberries and hurriedly stuff candles on his cake until your heard the door unlock.

“Baby! I’m home.” You can hear him say, the sound of his katana and bag being set on the floor.

“Surprise!”

Everyone yells and the lights turn on, confetti being shot and party blowers being blown. Your boyfriend’s eyes scan the room, smiling upon seeing all of his friends. He freezes once his eyes land on you.

You have a sheepish smile on your face, holding his cake in your hands. A strawberry slowly falls over, sinking into the frosting. His eyes soften almost immediately.

You all begin to see my happy birthday to him. As you all sing he slowly walks over to you, standing in front of you, helping you hold the cake.

He stares down at you, all his love pouring out of his eyes with just one stare. Once you all finished you whisper to him.

“Make a wish.”

He smiles widely, looking at you and at his candles he blows. Everyone cheers and you feed him a strawberry, making him giggle.

After he greets everyone, you make your way back to the counter, setting down his cake. His arms wrap around your waist, his nose rubbing into the nape of your neck.

“Yuu!” You turn around and he traps you against the counter.

“You look so cute.” He smiles and you pout.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t have enough time to finish. I didn’t know you were coming back early.” You rub his cheek and he leans into your palm.

“Well I wanted to come as soon as possible. Although I did think I was just coming home to you.” He laughs and you purse your lips. He leans in close, swiping his thumb along your cheek and popping it in his mouth.

“You had frosting on your cheek honey.” He moves to kiss you, planting a sweet peck on your lips. However he grows more angsty, littering kisses along your neck.

“Missed you so much.” He whispers against your neck and you gulp.

“Baby we have guests over.” He sighs against your neck, stopping himself from sucking a mark on your pretty skin.

“Then let’s go in the restroom real quick.” He whines, pulling at your (his) shirt.

“No! I have another surprise for you, but that’s just for us two.” You blush and he perks up. “

Just for us hm?” He laughs, pecking the top of your head.

“I’ll behave till then, thank you for all this pretty.” He caresses your cheek and with that he’s joining Inumaki in beer pong against Maki and Yuuji.

Throughout the rest of the party you’re going in and out of your shared bedroom. Yuuta watches you the whole time, no matter who’s talking to him, he’ll always focus on you.

And as it gets later he’s surprised when you turn in for the night, even more surprised when you’re now dolled up.

Your hair is done, little bit of makeup on your face, and god you smell so good.

You give him a sly look, closing the door in front of you. Your stare resembled a siren, the way it was hypnotizing and luring him in.

He quickly lets everyone know that he was done for the night. Gojo and Inumaki teasing him for being an old fart. He lets them spew their unharmful comments, taking it all with a smile and a wave of goodbye.

Once the door is closed and lock, his cold stare is locked with the bedroom door. He’s stalks over there with purpose, his cock somewhat hardening in his pants.

He just missed you so much, the only thing he could think about his plane ride home was getting back to you and fucking you, filling you up with all of his love.

He jiggles the door knob and it’s locked. He pouts, lightly knocking on the door.

“Honey? You alright?” He asks, pressing his ear against the door, trying to listen to what you’re doing.

“Is everyone gone?” He can hear your sweet voice and he can feel his heart flutter and clench.

“Yea baby they’re gone. Can you let me in please?”

Maybe it’s a little dramatic but he’s getting a little annoyed that this stupid door was separating you both when he’d rather have you in his arms. He hears the door click, signaling it’s unlocked and he steps back. You slowly pry open the door, his eyes widening.

Your body adorned a baby pink lingerie set, one that Yuuta had sent you a picture from where he was, saying you’d look stunning in it.

The bedroom smells cozy, candles littering the room, rose petals as well. He’s at a loss for words yet despite everything he can’t tear his eyes from you.

He watches you pull your lips between your teeth, a feeble attempt to hide your nervous fidgeting. His mouth has gone dry and it’s gaping.

“Oh baby.” He says breathlessly, his hands finding comfort on your waist. You gulp, your hands lightly resting on his shoulders.

“Surprise?” You laugh and he smiles widely, only a smile that you could pull from him.

“Jesus Christ Angel , you’re gonna kill me.” He sighs, his grip on your waist tightening, a way to try and ground himself.

“Happy birthday Yuu.” You kiss him, making him sigh into it, pulling you impossibly closer. You pull away, a shy smile on your lips.

“I’m your birthday gift.” You smile and he laughs.

“Yea? Best gift I could ever receive.” He picks you up so easily, making you squeal, wrapping your legs and arms around him.

“Wait! I’m not finished!” You exclaim, as he places you down on the bed.

“What is it?” He asks, playing with your hair.

“You can do anything you want with me.” You smile and he melts.

“Anything?” He raises his brows and you nod.

“Thank you pretty, I just wanna make love to you so fucking bad right now.” He rasps, tearing off his shirt.

He’s on you in an instant and it makes you giggle. His hands are everywhere, feeling up all of your body.

“You’re making me go crazy, dressed like this for me.” He whispers against your lips, pulling your bottom lip between his teeth.

“Just for you Yuuta.” You moan in his mouth and he growls. He kicks his pants off, his hands ghosting the straps of your top.

“Debating if I should fuck you in this or not.” He gasps out and you sit up.

“Whatever you wanna do baby.” You say, your hand rubbing over his clothed cock.

He hisses, grabbing your wrist. He lays you against the sheets once again. There wasn’t any part of your body that wasn’t covered with his kisses and marks.

So giving that, he’d decided to undress you, leaving you both bare and basking in each other’s warmth. You’re breathless under him, squirming and a moaning mess. He found it all to cute, you were so perfect.

Putting in this much effort just because it was his birthday, letting him have you like this just because you loved him. After paying your body a little too much attention, he’s straining against his boxers, no longer having the patience.

“How you feeling pretty?” He asks, pulling down his boxers, his cock slapping against his stomach.

“Empty, need you Yuu.” You pout and sighs from your words.

“Gonna fill my pretty girl up yea?” You nod as he guides his cock to your gaping hole.

You both share a loud moan as he sinks in, gripping his shoulders to the point, crescents formed on his skin from your nails.

“So big.” You whine and he twitches.

He almost pulls out, before he’s sheathing himself inside you once again. His hands find yours, trapping them with his big hands. He panting above you, already pussy drunk from your wet heat.

“F-Fuck baby, m’not gonna last. Been so long since I’ve been inside her.” He whimpers, shoving his face in your neck.

“S’ok just want you to feel good. Let me take care of you.” You say out of breath.

Even in your fucked out state, you push him, now straddling his lap. You quickly sink down on him and a guttural moan leaves his throat.

“Ngh—so tight pretty, shit.” His head hits the pillow as his mind goes mush because of the way you work your hips down on him.

He watches you in bliss as your face contorts in pleasure, the way he’s the one that can only elicit such pretty sounds from your mouth.

“I-I love you, love you so much you don’t understand.” He babbles, thrusting into you. You clench around him and he stutters, letting your hips roll down on him.

“Love you too Yuu.”

He pulls you in a messy kiss, saliva exchanged, tongues fighting for dominance.

“ ‘m gonna fucking cum.” He grunts against your lips, brows pulled together.

“Cum with me baby please, please.” He begs, one of his hands moving to rub at your clit. You gasp, and clench around him.

He leans up and kisses you as you both finish. You’re both breathless against each other, your hips are still rolling against him, milking him dry. He whimpers under you.

“Such a good girl.” He rasps, staring up at you and rubbing your thighs comfortingly. You pull off of him, falling on top of his chest.

He smiles down at you with all the love in the world. He combs his hands through your hair as you draw shapes on his chest.

“I would offer a nice warm bath but you really did a number on me.” He laughs and your heart swarms at the sound.

“It’s okay love, this is nice.” You cuddle up more against him, draping a leg over him, your arms enclosing around him.

“I miss you a lot Yuu.” You mumble against his chest, suddenly feeling sad. The look on your face pains him, it makes him want to cry.

“I do too, you’re such a strong girl, waiting for me like this, you deserve so much better.” He sighs. Your head snaps up, your eyes blinking rapidly.

“Are you breaking up with me?” Your voice wavers and your hurt expression makes Yuuta’s heart stop.

“N-No! I would never! Well I mean, only if you wanted to but you know I can’t.” He caresses your cheek.

“I’d never leave you, you’re the only one I want.”

And he means those words with everything that he is.

He hopes that the promise ring in his bag was enough to prove that as well.

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just-jordie-things · 8 months

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spin the bottle! - okkotsu yuuta

word count: 5.2k warnings: a lot of smooching, mentions of drinking summary: spin the bottle is an immature game for immature people... but yuuta's crossing his fingers that it lands on you just once. more info: aged up characters! a/n: y'all i bullied into writing this after my truth or dare megumi fic... but i ain't complaining teehee enjoy <3 ___

Spin the bottle was a game for insecure teenagers to use as a lame excuse for getting some. It was immature, outdated, not to mention a bit boring….

And yet, here she was, sidling up between Maki and Yuuji, cheering along with the rest of the group as they chanted for the game to commence.

What was a silly game among friends? It wasn’t like it had to mean anything. They were just a little drunk after celebrating a weeknight where they could all hang out together, and it wasn’t a true party without party games, right?

So despite the swell of embarrassment in her stomach, (y/n) put on a brave face in the form of a drunken smile, and leaned into Maki’s shoulder with a few cheesy pickup lines muttered in her ear.

“First of all, the bottle has to land on me first,” Maki shrugged her friend off semi-gently before turning to her with a small smirk. “And I know it’s not me you wanna be kissing, anyways”

(y/n) stuck her tongue out defiantly, before bursting into a fit of giggles as she leaned away from her sassy friend. Apparently alcohol only made Maki more quick-witted than usual.

She leaned back on the palms of her hands, her laughter finally ceasing as Nobara explained the simple rules of the game. She hadn’t meant to tune her out, but it’s not like spin the bottle had a difficult set of rules to follow, and anyways, her attention was pulled away by something else.

Or, someone else.

Yuuta also didn’t seem to pay any mind to Nobara’s strict explanations on the rules. Whatever he was talking about with Toge seemed much more important. So much so his hands were moving as he rushed through muttered words, panicked eyes shifting from the bottle on the floor to his mostly-mute friend. (y/n) couldn’t help but find it a little cute.

Was he nervous about the game? Or was this about something unrelated?

He’d seemed fine the rest of the night. She’d only got to hang out with him a little bit, Toge and Maki had a knack for pulling him away for something. Toge needed a partner in beer pong. Maki wanted to arm wrestle. Yuuta either followed or was dragged along, giving her a quiet apology with a nervous laugh. (y/n) knew it wasn’t personal, everyone was just excited to get to hang out together, but she couldn’t help but feel a little deflated every time they were interrupted.

“Okay everyone got it? Great!” Nobara clapped her hands as she plopped down in her spot on the other side of Yuuji, already reaching forward to grab hold of the bottle. “Ladies first, of course” She grins as she gives it a solid spin.

Maki and (y/n) share a look, but don’t voice their complaint out loud. If she wanted the first turn of the most embarrassing game ever created, they’d let her have it.

And to Nobara’s dismay, the empty bottle stopped spinning and landed on the boy at her side, and her eager expression fell as she turned to her pink haired friend. Yuuji bore a giant grin, not out of excitement for kissing one of his closest friends, but simply because he knew that he was the last person she wanted it to land on. If only it had stopped a few inches to his left… maybe she would’ve had her chance with the girl she’d really wanted it to land on.

“Oh, come on!” Nobara whines dramatically.

“You’re the one that wanted to play!” Yuuji argued.

“Yeah, rules are rules!” (y/n) chimed in from next to him.

With a roll of her eyes, Nobara leans forward and gives him the fastest peck of a kiss ever done. The group is howling with laughter and excitement, and even though this wasn’t (y/n’s) first choice of entertainment, she finds herself giggling and cheering along, and urging Yuuji to take his turn next.

His spin is rougher than Nobara’s, the bottle is flying around and he’s chastised for dragging his turn out. But the anticipation is worth it when it lands on Megumi, and Yuuji takes it upon himself to crawl on all fours to get to his best friend. Megumi’s face is so red it looks hot to the touch, and he tries to swat at Yuuji when he practically crawls onto him, but everyone can see that when he finally plants his lips on his, it’s more of a kiss than Nobara’s turn had been. Probably because it was reciprocated, just a little bit, until Megumi remembers they’re crowded by all of their peers, and he’s pushing Itadori by the shoulders with a laugh that borders between nervous and flirtatious.

“Okay okay! (y/n) take your damn turn already!” Megumi directs, and she puts her hands up in mock surrender at the order.

“Aye aye, captain” She hums, leaning forward to reach for the bottle.

Before she gives it a flick of her wrist, her eyes catch Yuuta’s. He’s sitting directly across from her, making him the most perfect victim of her spin. A tiny smile tugs at the corners of her lips as she spins the bottle, her eyes lingering on his a few moments longer before falling to watch her fate write itself.

Her spin is quicker than Yuuji’s, slowing down after just a few rotations, and lagging along the rug as it slowly passes the other players…

… and coming to a stop right to her left, where Maki was sitting.

The dark haired woman scoffs, giving (y/n) a raised brow and knowing smirk. (y/n) masks her disappointment with amusement, throwing her head back in a short bark of a laugh before giving her kissing partner a wink.

“I told you, hot stuff,” She teases, leaning back into her place to cozy up closer to Maki, who rolls her eyes at the display. “How do you feel about tongue?”

“Oh just can it and kiss me, (y/l/n)” Maki snaps.

(y/n) giggles, before leaning in and giving her a swift peck on the lips. It’s not nearly as fleeting as Nobara and Yuuji’s turn, but it at least lacked the element of disgust.

Maki took her turn almost wordlessly, eyes focused on the bottle as it spun and landed on Megumi once more. The pair burst into laughter, and Maki jokingly settled on kissing the crown of his head. Everyone agreed that was for the best, as no one wanted to see the cousins share a real kiss.

Next to Maki was Toge, who eagerly let out a string of rice ball ingredients as he spun the bottle and took his turn.

When it slowed and landed on (y/n) her eyes lit up in surprise, as though she’d forgotten she was even a player after her turn had been over. The cursed speech user shyly looked over at her, and he must not have moved quick enough to finish his turn, because she slid forward in front of Maki, a grin splitting her lips as she neared him. He’d already left his collar open in preparation for the game, but she grabbed the zipper anyways, tugging him forward, earning an echo of oohs from the more dramatic players in the circle.

Yuuji and Nobara, of course.

Toge’s eyes were unreasonably wide as (y/n) leaned in the rest of the way and planted her lips on his.

It wasn’t necessarily a steamy kiss, but it was longer than the kiss she’d given Maki, and it was noticeable.

Yuuta’s hand curled into the rough carpeting of the rug beneath him. He hoped his face was neutral, even though his body language certainly wasn’t. He knew it was just a game, and the pair pulled away in a matter of seconds. But he couldn’t deny the pang of disappointment settling in his chest. He’d agreed to play this dumb game on one silly little hope that he’d get to kiss the girl he’d been crushing on for over a year now, and it was strangely unsettling to see his best friend beat him to the chase.

Not that it was Toge’s fault. Yuuta knew it wasn’t fair to feel any ounce of jealousy. It was just a game. It’s not like it meant anything to either of them. And when it was over and Toge sent Yuuta an apologetic look as he nodded his head for him to take his turn, Yuuta tried to just forget it completely.

Besides, it’s his turn now, and with (y/n) sitting perfectly across from him on her knees with her hands tucked in her lap, he figured he had a pretty good chance of rigging it anyways. How hard could it be to spin a bottle, anyways?

After his turn was over and his kiss was wasted on Yuuji, Yuuta’s hopes began to plummet. The group got a good laugh out of the obnoxiously loud smooch Yuuji had given him, but even though the vibe of the circle was one of laughter and joy, Yuuta felt like curling in on himself and pouting the rest of the night.

He barely paid any attention while Megumi took his turn, the last of the group to get to spin. But at this point Yuuta had mentally checked out of the whole ordeal. The carpet he was picking at seemed more appealing than a dumb kissing game anyways.

Why had he even agreed to this? As soon as the thought crossed his mind he felt like an idiot. Hoping to kiss one girl in a group of seven seemed like a preposterous idea now. He should have worked up the courage ages ago, yet here he was, hoping to use this immature party game as an excuse. How was he supposed to talk himself up to doing it on his own now? After this failure of a night, Yuuta thinks maybe he was better off in the friendzone anyways.

It’s not until Maki is shoving at (y/n) and loudly declaring, “Again!?” That Yuuta snaps back into the present, and his head is whirling between the bottle Megumi had just spun, the neck pointing all-too perfectly at (y/n), and a shy amusement on both of their faces.

There’s a bubbly giggle that comes from her as she turns to Yuuji with a playful smirk.

“Try not to get jealous” She teases as she moves across the open space to meet Megumi in the middle of the circle.

With Yuuta being seated right next to the younger sorcerer, he has a front row seat to the way (y/n) gives him a sweet smile before her eyes flicker down to his mouth. Yuuta really doesn’t want to watch her have her third kiss of the night, but he can’t tear his eyes away from the scene.

It’s just a game. It’s not like it means anything.

But on the surface it looks like it could mean something. He wonders, as her eyes raise to meet Megumi’s again before she shuts them and leans in to plant her lips on his, if this is how she always kissed. Was it always so premeditated? Did her eyes always sweep over the close up features of her lover before finally indulging?

Yuuta fights the urge to shake his head when he finally tears his gaze away from the display. He’s back to studying the scratchy grains of carpet when Megumi and (y/n) part, the former red in the face once more, the latter taking her spot between Maki and Yuuji again.

“That spot is cursed!” Nobara shouts what Yuuta had just been beginning to wonder about himself.

(y/n) chuckles, shrugging her shoulders.

“Oh really?” (y/n) muses, giving her a wiggle of her eyebrows as she narrowed her gaze on her thoughtfully. “Or are you just saying that cause you’re getting jealous?”

“Oh shut up and just move spots already” Nobara hissed back. (y/n) grinned wide at her before clicking her tongue and eyeing the rest of the group.

“Fine,” She hums as she taps her chin. “Who wants the good spot then?”

“Salmon!”

Before anyone could fight for her good-kissing-luck space, Toge is darting forward and practically yanking her from the spot to claim it for himself. She laughs as she’s sent forward, almost directly into Yuuta, who’s hands shoot out to catch her if she really is thrown into the ground. To her luck she catches herself on the ground, not without a wobble as she catches her balance.

In the back of his mind, where his hope still lingers, Yuuta thinks that this change in position could be good for him. Now there had to be a chance for them to share a turn, right? Theoretically, if sitting across from each other wasn’t the right spacing, then sitting side by side had to be better. All he had to do was essentially make the bottle come back to him, right?

“What’re you thinkin’ about?”

The whisper in his ear makes him startle, his eyes wide as he swivels his head to see (y/n) cozied up in the space next to him. Her knees drawn to her chest, elbow propped atop them to keep her chin in her hand as she gazed at him. She looked amused by the way he’d jumped at the sound of her voice, but thankfully she didn’t tease him for it.

“You look like you’re in your head,” She clarifies. “You don’t like the game?”

He opens his mouth to tell her exactly how much he doesn’t like this game, but then the bottle spinning in front of them rolls to a stop, and (y/n’s) pulled away from what little and one-sided conversation she’d been having with Yuuta- for the umpteenth time tonight- and the group is in shambles from where it landed.

(y/n) can barely react as she looks down at the bottle perfectly pointed at her, yet again.

Half the group is whooping with their entertainment, amazed that for the fourth time (y/n) has been the lucky kisser. The other half is groaning out of boredom of this repetitive game. With only seven people playing it’s not like the odds were that random. The game was bound to have some repeats soon.

And then there was Yuuta, who, if he was a cartoon character, would have a little storm cloud scribbled over his head.

(y/n) giggles as Nobara crawls forward, muttering under her breath about how unfair it was that (y/n) already had twice as many kisses as she did. Once she’s close enough, (y/n) tilts forward, both of her hands cupping Nobara’s cheeks affectionately.

“Just close your eyes and pretend I’m her” She whispers quietly. Nobara’s cheeks are pink, but before she can say anything, (y/n) shuts her eyes and completes the turn with a quick but sweet peck on her lips.

Yuuta watches as once again her eyes wander over Nobara’s face before she gives her the kiss she’s owed. His stomach churns and he bites down on his cheek to keep from frowning. He can’t make his annoyance obvious, not while everyone else is grinning and laughing. So he gnaws on his cheek and keeps his sights set on his pinching fingers tugging and pulling at the carpet.

(y/n) bumps her shoulder into his when she settles back into her spot beside him again. He glances over to see her giving him a sheepish little smile. He could almost be convinced that she’s thinking the same thing he is- that it’s strange she’s gotten to kiss almost everyone in this room except for him.

Key word being almost. There was still one other person in the circle who hadn’t been gifted one of her precious kisses.

“I don’t really care for the game either” She resumes their previous topic in a quiet voice. Yuuta can’t help but chuckle.

“Oh really? It appears you’re winning” He replies in a low voice. Despite the twist of jealousy in his chest, there’s no malice in his words. Only amusement. (y/n) shrugs her shoulders, as if she could care less about the predicament she’d found herself in, which everyone else seemed to find hilarious.

“You don’t really win at spin the bottle, do you?” She muses, laying her arms atop her knees and resting her chin against them. Her eyes never leave his, too allured by the deep blues that surround his dilated pupils. An expression that Yuuta can’t really decipher flickers across her face. “Unless of course you’re aiming to kiss somebody” She finishes the thought in an even softer volume.

Yuuta has to fight the urge to tug at the collar of his crewneck, suddenly feeling hot. It must have been the drinking, and all the bodies piled into one room. Surely it couldn’t have been the effect of one perfectly on the nose comment made by her, or the way she was looking at him now like she was waiting for him to confirm her thoughts.

He swallows the lump in his throat, Adam's apple bobbing as the dry swallow goes down roughly. A small cough comes of this, and (y/n’s) laughing to herself and finally sparing him of her heavy eye contact.

Yuuji takes his turn with great excitement, spinning the bottle in front of him with more gentleness than his last turn. This time it spins a normal amount before it starts to slow down. When it drags along the carpet past Toge, and slows down even more as it passes Maki, the group begins to laugh before it even stops in front of (y/n), again.

Yuuta’s wide eyes hold a lethal amount of venom as they follow the path of the open end of the bottle. Slowly but surely, it comes to a stop in front of (y/n). Maki’s laughter is the loudest, sharp and almost cruel as she points at the girl, making sure she’s perfectly in the spotlight.

Yuuji almost looks apologetic as he meets her gaze, but a game is a game, and (y/n) drops her legs to fold them criss cross so that he can lean over the open circle to kiss her.

Yuuta can’t fight off his frown this time as he watches (y/n) kiss the last person that hadn’t gotten a turn with her yet. His features fall into a state of utter heartbreak when her lashes flutter as her eyes sweep over Yuuji’s smiley face before she shuts her eyes and lets him plant a quick kiss on her lips.

Surprisingly, Yuuji kisses her extremely fast. Faster than he’d kissed both Megumi and Yuuta. Even (y/n) seems surprised, her lips still slightly pursed when he’s already pulling away and going back to his spot in the circle. Heer confusion is quickly washed away, replaced with what Yuuta hopes is relief.

“I think we’ve played this for long enough,” Yuuji rubs the back of his neck as he chuckles. “No offense (y/n)”

She smiles brightly, shaking her head back at him.

“None taken, I’ve had my fair share. No complaints here”

The circle slowly disbands, Maki and Toge head for the kitchen to make more drinks, and shortly after Maki leaves the room Nobara is following behind.

Yuuji says something to Megumi that Yuuta barely catches which dives them both into conversation, sliding closer to one another on the floor in order to continue talking comfortably.

And that leaves (y/n) and Yuuta, both still seated on the rug that was starting to feel scratchy and uncomfortable after having sat there for so long.

“I’m getting warm,” (y/n) fills the silence first, standing and stretching her legs before nodding her head towards the door. “I’m gonna step out for a bit, want to get some fresh air with me?”

Yuuta thinks about it for a minute, even though his immediate answer is a resounding yes. He pauses before standing and following her out of the room.

“Did you want to let Maki know you’re leaving?” He asks a little too late, once they’re already winding through the corridors on the way towards the doors.

“Nah,” (y/n) shakes her head. “She’s about to be quite distracted by Nobara anyways,” She tells him quietly, her eyes meeting his with a devious glint in them. “If anything, I’m doing them a favor. They both owe me, anyways”

He chuckles at that, having no clue what she meant by it at all.

“Are you making deals with all of our friends?” He asks, half curious, half teasing.

“Let’s just say they’re both jealous, jealous girls,” (y/n) smirks.

They reach the doors, and she turns around to walk backwards through it, using her elbows to push the heavy oak open for them to pass through.

“So a little game of spin the bottle was just what they needed. Either they were going to finally get their chance, or I was gonna have to pucker up and spark a little romance myself”

Yuuta laughs, and he can’t help but feel a little relieved to hear her admit at least some of those kisses were far from meaningful. To her, anyways.

“I think you’re a little too good of a friend” He tells her, to which she laughs, eyes crinkling at their corners as she looks at him.

They stay put at the front doors, the cool night breeze easing the leftover heat and nerves that they’d been trying to escape from.

“I’m a woman of few talents,” She teases. “But kissing is one of them, so I may as well put it to good use, yeah?”

Yuuta snorts, and before he can stop himself, he bluntly replies with, “Like I would know”

He regrets the sarcastic remark as soon as it comes out of his mouth, and (y/n) watches him do so. His eyes go wide and his mouth snaps shut, and she can practically see the apology forming in his mind.

She giggles, her smile stretching wide across her face as she gazes up at him.

“You’re right, touchy subject,” She muses. “That’s not very fair, hm?”

Yuuta laughs. His cheeks flush with a rosy pink tint as he turns his head away, not taking her comment remotely serious. His shoulders shake a bit as he continues to chuckle. He thinks she must be messing with him, teasing him just like the others would have. He’s so clouded by embarrassment- and obliviousness- that he misses the way she tilts her head at him. She waits patiently for his nerves to settle, a curious smile on her face as she studies him.

Yuuta had always been interesting to her, in every sense of the word. His status as a Special Grade Sorcerer was alluring enough, but she found his demeanor to be rather sheepish, and around her often anxious. Sure, there were moments that he’d warm up and get comfortable around her, but (y/n) had grown used to his stuttering and nervous mannerisms. In fact, it was something she’d come to find so cute about him.

They’d known each other for quite some time now, over a year. And while they both would easily call the other a friend, Yuuta’s behavior hardly changed around her. It was off at first, because she’d seen the way he’d gotten comfortable around their peers, no longer fearing Maki, or struggling to communicate with Toge. Yet, whenever she approached him, he looked taken aback even by a simple hello.

Tonight had been a turning point for her, though. Tonight she’d come up with a little theory as to why he was such a nervous wreck around her. It only took a pair of crossed fingers behind her back to work up the courage to call him out on it.

Sure, compared to him she was the confident one, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t worried about embarrassing herself in front of him right now.

“Yuuta,”

His attention is brought right back to her, his laughing ceased instantly upon hearing the soft and sweet way his name sounded when spoken by her so quietly. Her lips tilt into a knowing smile, admiring how mesmerized he looked when his expression relaxes and his eyes are set on hers so steadily she could have mistaken him for being in a trance.

She’d wanted to say something, something flirty and light hearted about how she’d been hoping on their turns the bottle would’ve landed on each other just once, but despite the overpowering thought being what led the two of them out here, suddenly her mind is blank, thoughts replaced by the stronger, more overwhelming urge to just kiss him.

So she follows the instinct, and she shuffles forward.

Yuuta’s eyes grow wider with every inch of space she closes when she steps towards him. His breath hitches and his throat bobs as her hands rest against his chest. Her touch is light, barely there, but he swears her palms burn right through to his skin, igniting his entire body.

Her eyes shift slowly from his, mentally tracing down the slope of his nose, lashes fluttering with the slow movement of her gaze. He’s holding his breath, recognizing the way she glances over every feature, every dip curve and pigment in his face. Being on the receiving end of this telltale sign of hers has the hair on the back of his neck standing up, and his heart is racing in his chest.

“Your heart is beating really fast,”

If she’s teasing him, she certainly doesn’t sound like it. Her smile brightens, eyes twinkling as they travel away from his sealed lips to his panicked eyes. She presses her right hand a little harder against his chest, feeling his heart beat against it rapidly. A tiny giggle escapes her, her cheeks warming up the longer she stares at him.

“I’d really like to kiss you,” She whispers, and his face goes from pink to red in a matter of seconds. “If that’s alright?”

Yuuta nods.

“Mhm, yeah- yeah that’s f-fine by me” He stammers back, and her little smile widens to a grin at his adorable response.

“Okay,” She hums, pushing onto the tips of her toes. One of her hands, the one that isn’t counting the beats of his heart, slides over his collarbone, and around the side of his neck. She can feel his pulse there, too. “Close your eyes, Yuu” She giggles again at how intently he’s staring at her, mapping her every action. He complies with the deman, his eyelashes fluttering as he shuts his eyes right away.

(y/n) only hesitates for a moment longer, unable to help herself from admiring how much more handsome he is up close. Such a thing shouldn’t have been possible, but this was Okkotsu Yuuta we’re talking about. Her fingers push into the hair hanging over the nape of his neck, gently pulling him towards her as her own eyes fall shut.

Yuuta’s frozen for a moment when their lips finally do meet, his nerves crawling up his spine and seizing his heart for just a second. Her lips were so soft he was dying to know if everyone else tonight felt the same spark of warmth that he felt right now.

At that thought, he came back down to earth and realized he needed to seize this moment while he had the chance. The others had gotten meaningless kisses, and he couldn’t accept that this would be the same.

His hands cradle her jaw as he pulls her in closer to deepen their kiss. Yuuta hasn’t kissed a lot of people- he’s kissed one person actually, and he was eleven- but when her velvety lips mold into his and she reciprocates his eagerness, he thinks she might be the greatest kisser of all time, gifted with the world’s most perfect pair of pretty and sweet lips.

(y/n) curls her fingers more securely in his hair when she thinks he’s going to pull away. He acknowledges the silent instruction, taking in a sharp inhale through his nose to accommodate his aching chest. She might have been part of the blame for that ache, but he wouldn’t dare hold her accountable for it. Oxygen be damned.

He tilts his head to have better access to the plush of her bottom lip, and his heart is racing again when he feels her smile against him.

No one else got this out of that stupid game, he thinks to himself as he feels a soft pant hit his hot mouth. His thumb traces along her jaw, pausing at the junction where it meets her throat. She tilts her head further towards him in a small movement, pushing impossibly closer. Although her own heart rate is starting to skyrocket, dangerously close to meeting the pace of his, their kisses remain gentle. Soft and slow, meaning in each one.

Yuuta’s head is spinning, and eventually the quick breaths of air through his nose isn’t enough, and he has to pull away, just enough to catch his breath in fast but deep pants. He keeps his gentle hold on her face, and they’re still so close that their noses are touching, and the small space between them is their shared air. His eyes are focused on her as soon as he parts from their kiss, with heavy lids and blown pupils, he’s memorizing every pretty feature. From parted lips curling into a shy smile, to the deepening color in her cheeks, he takes it all in as though he’d lose his sense of sight tomorrow.

(y/n’s) slower to open her eyes, still lost in the moment, ten feet off the ground and not ready to float back down yet. When Yuuta chuckles, she feels the deep vibration from his chest resonate against her palms. He feels warmer, the kind of warmth she’d only felt from a comforting fireplace after a long brutal winter day. The kind of warmth that comes in sun kissed cheeks and soft, hot sand under bare feet that hardly remembered just how good the sensation could be. Her heart flutters in her chest before she finally opens her eyes to meet his. She’d felt his stare before she’d actually seen it. It was what brought the color to her cheeks.

The pad of Yuuta’s index finger grazes over her pulse point, and a tiny smile forms on his face.

“Your heart’s beating really fast” He says, and when she lets out a breathless laugh, his smile turns into a full on beam, proud of himself for repeating her words back to her. “Yeah, well,” She huffs out, still taking shallow breaths and not quite filling her lungs properly with air. But it was hard when he was looking at her like that. She pauses before confirming his own thoughts. “I was waiting for that kiss all night” ___

tags of ppl who pressured me into writing this: @bai-kage @sugasquatchwrites