A/N: Even if it seems like it at first, this chapter is NOT a filler chapter! There are no filler chapters, every chapter has some kinds of progress, every chapter is important to the plot ^^

WARNING: Brief mentions of (implied) child abuse.

(Writing the Itafushi dynamics in this chapter was so much fun hehe!)

Enjoy!

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Megumi's head was empty. Almost actually.

He had reached the door and turned around to give Gojo a final and absolute statement.

"This was the last time."

—----

"That little shit." Megumi grumbled as he inspected his neck in front of a mirror. It was plastered with several, dark-red hickeys. Gojo had actually worked his mouth and teeth on Megumi's skin last night.

Megumi sighed deeply.

He had been the first one to come back to their dorm room after the freshman party. Even though it had taken some time for him to reach the dormitory bulding after staying at Gojo's for a while, Yuuji had come back later than him—Megumi had already been asleep by then.

It was a mystery to him how Yuuji had managed to go back to his room, being as intoxicated as he had been. Someone must have probably helped him.

Thanks God, Megumi had found a turtleneck in his wardrobe—the only one he owned. It was better, if Yuuji didn't know about those hickeys. His prying questions were the last thing Megumi needed right now. It was already bad enough that Yuuji knew about Megumi's homosexuality. He still remembered how Yuuji had treated his sexuality yesterday at that party.

Calling him a virgin... Assuming that he was a bottom for no actual reason... Trying to hook him up with some else who was into guys, too...

Megumi detested thinking back to that.

That freshman party... it was an abhorrent memory. He was hoping for forgetting about it soon enough. Something he'd never think back to.

But what had happened after... the night he had spent with Gojo. A second time. Yeah... that was a pleasant memory. It had felt good. But at the same time it was over. He wouldn't experience the same thing again. Not with Gojo anyway. Didn't need to. He wanted to focus on this part of his life now, 'this part' being his studies in med school.

A pained groan in the background snapped him back to reality.

His life with med school and... unfortunately with that guy Yuuji.

Megumi heard a muffled sound, so he hurriedly adjusted his turtleneck, covering everything neatly. The bathroom door was opened.

Since the communal bathrooms were on the far other side of the dormitory building, Megumi's and Yuuji's dorm room was one of the few equipped with an own bathroom.

Yuuji came out of it, slouching and staggering.

"Did you throw up?" Megumi asked with a sneer, knowing very well that the other was suffering from a huge hangover right now. "You better have cleaned everything up in the bathroom."

Yuuji moaned absentmindedly, throwing himself onto his bed, his feet almost touching the floor. He spoke in choppy sentences. "Nothing happened... I threw up... hours ago... Three times... Hehe."

Megumi rolled his eyes. It was Saturday, and Yuuji would probably need the whole day to sober up. Megumi wasn't anticipating the day at all, having Yuuji in the room as well.

"Drink water. It'll help." he added casually, sitting down at his desk.

Yuuji acknowledged Megumi's advice with a hum and was back to sleep right after.

Megumi opened his anatomy notes and worked on summarizing lecture slides. The information input of that was ample, so he actually sat on his study notes for hours.

Once finished, he yawned and stretched his back. He turned in his chair, checking out the scene on the other half of the room. Yuuji was still in the same position he'd fallen asleep in. Megumi rolled his eyes again.

He took something out from the drawer of his nightstand and grabbed Yuuji's water bottle.

"Yuuji." he called, looking down at the figure that was no different from a passed out one. He nudged Yuuji's face with the bottle. "Wake up. Yuuji."

"Mnghh." Yuuji groaned, stirring. The nudging went on. "Wha... what? Mmnh..." It felt like a couple of minutes had to pass first before Yuuji could open his eyes, blinking fast, face strained and distorted as his headache throbbed against his skull.

"Drink water. It'll help." Megumi shoved the bottle into Yuuji's face, preventing the other from falling asleep again.

"Hm? Mnh, water... Thank—..."

When Yuuji took the bottle, Megumi held out something else. "Here. Painkillers."

Yuuji took that as well and swallowed one, adding big gulps of water. Every of his motions happened slowly. He then sighed heavily. "Thank you... You're a saint... Megumi!"

No, I'm not.

Megumi went back to his desk.

Yuuji had spent the whole of Saturday to get rid of his hangover. Megumi had changed study locations and been in the library for most of the afternoon and evening. He then bought something to eat at a café nearby and studied there a bit more before going back. The clear night sky sprawled above him like a big tent. He did feel the exhaustion now, the constant engagement with hundreds of pages and hours of revision and memorizing had sucked that little bit of liveliness out of his body for today.

When he was back in his room, Yuuji wasn't sleeping anymore. Instead he heard the shower running. He didn't give much thought to that, stripped himself off his bag and shoes, changed his clothes and went under his bed covers. Tonight wasn't too warm nor too cold. The perfect temperature to fall asleep nicely and easily. He registered the shower being turned off.

Megumi was lying on his back, eyes closed. He heard the bathroom door open and Yuuji walking into the room silently.

Not much later, Yuuji turned on the light of the small lamp on Megumi's nightstand.

Megumi huffed out a single breath as he covered his neck with one end of his blanket. He still had his eyes closed, but the light that was projected onto the inside of his eyelids in the darkness made him sense the brightness as much as with opened eyes.

He shielded the upper part of his face with an elbow.

"Meg?"

Not once had Megumi attempted on convincing Yuuji to not call him by some nicknames... because he knew it would be pointless.

Pretending to be asleep sounded like such a nice idea right now. "Yeah?"

Yuuji didn't go on right away. Megumi sighed, lowered his arm and looked up into Yuuji's face. Freshly out of the shower, his hair was still damp and he wore a towel around his neck, holding both ends of it.

Yuuji's expression held a frame of what seemed to be guilt. Or distress. His odd, silent treatment irritated Megumi, though. Which was why Megumi had more irritation than worry left for him.

"What happened?" Megumi coaxed him to carry on—fast if possible.

One corner of Yuuji's mouth twitched upwards insecurely. "I think you know better than me what happened."

What the heck does that even mean?! Megumi couldn't hold back a glare. "Just say what you want to tell me." His voice held a certain level of gruffness.

Yuuji let a few more seconds elapse, gripping the ends of the towel more firmly. "I wasn't exactly sober most of today, but the memories of yesterday finally came back. The alcohol has worn off. Almost all of it. I think, no, I know that I was insensitive yesterday. At that party, I mean..."

Megumi's glare loosened almost instantly.

Yuuji went on, biting his lips whenever he tried to find the right words. "I said insensitive things to you. And I seemed to be pushy yesterday at that party, trying to suggest you things and stuff to do... probably." Yuuji scratched his head. "No, not 'probably'. I know I was like that. I'm sorry about it. About all of it. I feel bad now and I need you to know that I'm sorry. Like... truly sorry. I feel bad, I can't even hold my apology back..." Yuuji finished off, his whole being enveloped by a veil of remorse.

Megumi's eyes hadn't left Yuuji's once as soon as the other had started to apologize... Megumi had sat up in his bed, still making sure to hide his hickeys, and looked at him with uncertainty and ambivalence.

It was actually insane.

Yuuji had gone to that freshman party and felt bad after that.

Megumi had gone to that freshman party and had sex with Yuuji's adoptive father after that.

Megumi looked at Yuuji's nervous face—looked fiercely into Yuuji's worried eyes.

Yeah...

Yuuji was never allowed to find out.

He was never allowed to know what had happened after that freshman party.

Yuuji was feeling guilty about what he'd done. But Megumi wasn't feeling guilty about what he had done; it didn't matter if these two things were totally different in nature.

Yuuji was waiting. And Megumi composed himself to a neutral stance.

"It's okay." Megumi mustered up the biggest tone of reassurance he could right now, while being tired and taken aback at the same time.

"Really?" Yuuji's face lit up, but remains of doubt were still resistant. "Are you for real or are you just saying that to get rid of me and this conversation?" he questioned with a pout.

In those few weeks of Megumi being his roommate, Yuuji had already learnt a lot about his character and demeanor.

Megumi observed that this was a crucial issue for Yuuji. "I'm actually serious."

The unleashed relief was a genuine display on Yuuji's face this time. "I'm glad. So glad, really. You're not indifferent to me, Megumi."

"Wouldn't mind it, if I was." Megumi said, and really meant it. Yuuji gave a chuckle to that. "Let me sleep." Megumi added to end this conversation.

Yuuji was about to go to his bed, when he remembered something. "Oh! You should know that too, in case you're wondering about it..."

Whatever it is, I'm most likely not wondering about it. Megumi was back to giving Yuuji a look of defiance.

"I don't mind you being gay. At all. I know there are guys who are weirded out by their male friends being gay, especially when they're roommates. But I don't mind it. You don't have to worry about that." Yuuji smiled warmly at his roommate.

Megumi laid back down and turned to face the wall. "Okay." he retorted. He pulled his blanket up to his chin. "Turn off the light."

Yuuji did so and settled on his bed, throwing his towel onto the floor. "By the way, thank you for taking care of me in the morning. You gave me those painkillers." Yuuji was ready to fall asleep as well. "Thanks for that."

Megumi hummed lowly as a reply.

Yuuji was never to know what had happened between Megumi and Gojo.

***

The next day, on Sunday, there were time spans of baseless paranoia keeping Megumi preoccupied. His hickeys were still visible of course and he had to make sure over and over again that Yuuji would never be able to spot them.

Right now was again one of those moments where he stood in front of the mirror, fiddling with his turtleneck and making sure that nothing was visible, if he moved around or subconsciously craned his neck in an inattentive moment. He didn't even register Yuuji coming back into the room from his morning run. His whole attention was on the reflection of his neck in the mirror.

Those hickeys mustn't be visible. Yuuji should never know that Megumi had had sex last night—even if the name of the one he'd done it with (Gojo) wouldn't be disclosed. Megumi would never tell Yuuji that anyway.

Megumi had no problem keeping that secret to himself. His conscience was like that. Yuuji wasn't someone important or dear to him whom Megumi felt the need to be entirely honest or open to. He and Yuuji were roommates – perhaps even on some beginner stage of friendship when taking Yuuji's view into consideration; Megumi wouldn't exactly accept it just like that, though.

Gojo had told him that he wouldn't say anything. Everything was fine like that.

Some time later, Yuuji's voice sounded off from behind Megumi.

"By the way. I forgot some paper notes at my dad's from when we were there last time. Going to grab them today. Wanna go with me?"

Megumi watched his own reflection. He couldn't believe his own ears. You noticed that only now? It had been over a week since they had last been at Gojo's. When does he look at his own notes? Does he even do something like that? Megumi had never seen Yuuji study seriously so far.

Should Megumi go with him?

Last time he'd been there with Yuuji, it had been a mental war for him. But now that everything was settled...

Megumi was done picking at his turtleneck.

"Sure."

When he turned around, he was slightly bewildered by how close Yuuji had actually been to Megumi, not sure if he'd been that close the whole time or if he'd alleviated the distance between them later. Barely a handful of feet was keeping them apart. Yuuji had his gaze fixated on a specific part of Megumi's upper body, eagerness about a certain thing surrounding him. Was Yuuji staring at... Megumi's covered neck?!

Megumi got involuntarily defensive, almost making it worse as his hands twitched, about to wander up to his neck reflexively.

"What's up with you? You're playing with your turtleneck a lot, it seems. As if religiously checking it out." Yuuji noticed—unfortunately. His voice held earnest interest. "You going on a date?"

"It's new." Megumi said casually, lying. Wary that Yuuji might make the deductions Megumi didn't want him to make, he added right after, "You don't like it?"

"It's sick, actually. Can I borrow it one day?"

"No."

***

Both of them were at Gojo's less than two hours later. Yuuji had showered after his morning run and Megumi had taken care of getting breakfast for both. Yuuji had suggested that they wouldn't need to stay at his father's for long. He just wanted to get his notes back. And they didn't know if Gojo was home in the first place.

However that last question was answered soon after entering Yuuji's childhood home. Gojo's head popped up from the living room, radiating a big smile upon seeing them.

"My Yuuji is visiting again so soon after last time?" he announced, embodying serenity, and added benignly, "Hi, Megumi."

"Hi." Megumi greeted back in a simple way. Unlike last time, his mind and body were totally at ease. He could act like a proper visitor without having to dread losing his composure.

Yuuji diverted all of his father's attention to himself. "Dad, I forgot some of my handwritten notes here last time. Did you see them anywhere?"

Gojo had reached the entrance hall now while Yuuji was talking to him. "Oh. Yes, I did. They're on the dining table. Have been there ever since you left them there."

Yuuji threw his hands in the air, whining, "Then why didn't you tell me?? You could've sent me a message or so." He made his way to said dining room.

Gojo shook a finger with a smile as his son passed him. "Yuuji, you're at the beginning stage of adult life. I'm not going to take care of every little thing for you anymore. Bring order to your life, especially to your studies."

Yuuji glared at his dad, entering the dining room, Megumi following close behind him, and Gojo coming in last. Yuuji took the sheets, folded them messily and put them in his pockets.

Seeing how neither of the two made efforts to sit down, Gojo's eyebrows rose as a pout formed on his lips. "Wait, you want to leave? Already?"

Yuuji shrugged his shoulders, his face in the affirmative. Megumi literally did not care about whether to stay or leave.

But Gojo was eager on protesting. "Don't go yet! You two can stay a little while longer of course. I have pudding leftovers!" he persuaded them with a mellow voice, beaming at them.

So, Yuuji and Megumi ended up staying a little while longer. They were all sat around the dining table, Megumi and Gojo next to each other on one side, Yuuji opposite of Gojo on the other side of the table. Each of them had already finished their share of pudding and were wrapped up in a conversation about things Yuuji and Gojo had done together when Yuuji used to be a little child. Occasionally, Yuuji would search for pictures on the internet on his phone to show Megumi the stuff he'd played with together with his adoptive father. Megumi would throw in his own comments whenever it was appropriate, not being so bored about listening because there were actually many backstories of Yuuji that had ended in either disasters or losses.

"This one!" Yuuji showed Megumi a picture about an automatic toy car that was equipped with a controller. "This is the one that I used to use for races with my dad. Both of us always tried to find ways to tune up our own cars to make them go faster."

Gojo remembered that, too. "Right! And it was always my car who'd won in the end."

Yuuji pursed his lips at that memory. "So unfair. You knew more stuff about that than me."

"I was as clueless as you. I was just better at coming up with ideas for the tuning." Gojo crossed his arms proudly. Suddenly, he was quick to give a further comment, as though this topic had become a perfect opportunity for something. "I want to show Megumi how I did it. Go and grab my toy car for me. The blue one with the silver-colored stickers."

Yuuji's face fell in protest. "Why me? It's your car."

"Go and bring me that car."

"It's inside the garden shed." Yuuji whined.

"Go and bring me that car."

"The shed is all the way back in the backyard." Yuuji continued whining.

"Go and bring me that car." Gojo's initial easy tone hadn't faltered once.

By now, Megumi understood Gojo's intentions.

"Oh, come on, dad. I don't wanna."

"Go and bring me that car."

Yuuji growled heavily, rolling his eyes hard. He stood up reluctantly and trudged out of the dining room with shuffling feet.

Gojo shifted his attention to Megumi, smiling smugly as he pointed a thumb to the general direction of the backyard behind them. "The garden shed isn't only all the way back in the backyard, the car is all the way back inside the shed. Yuuji is gonna be busy for a while." Gojo winked. "If you want your kid to do something for you that they don't want to do, tell them repeatedly without changing the tone of your voice until they do it. That's the parental advice I go by."

Megumi looked at Gojo with indifference. "Groundbreaking." he said monotonously.

"I know, right?" Gojo hesitated. His lips twitched, keeping the next words unspoken for a short while. "You're much more at ease this time. You used to fidget and flinch whenever I so much as stared at you or asked you a simple question last time when you were here with Yuuji."

Megumi's expression darkened. "Of course I felt on the edge with you being there. Not knowing what you would do or say. I had every reason to fidget and flinch."

"No, you had not. I told you to not start med school with any troubles, so why should I seriously trouble you? We happened to meet again and you know my adopted son. So what? Things happen! Why should I give you advice and then be the malefactor of it? You really thought I would be as sly as that, hm? I wouldn't ruin things for you, Megumi."

Hearing this, conflicted Megumi's mind as he remembered all the instances of the last two weeks where he had found himself exactly that way... troubled.

Megumi didn't say anything to that. Gojo's face brightened up mischievously as he pulled down the fabric of Megumi's turtleneck around his neck with one finger.

Megumi slapped his hand away. "Stop grinning! It's going to take days until these are gone."

"You don't want Yuuji to see this? Really? It's not like I gave you these with my name added to them."

Megumi had an unsettling feeling, not sure what Gojo was thinking.

"You promised me!" He felt the urge to give Gojo a stern reminder.

"Don't worry! I'm not gonna say anything." Gojo reassured. He shifted in his seat, fully facing Megumi now. "I wouldn't have said anything, even if you hadn't told me not to do so."

Megumi forced himself to not roll his eyes. His jaw tightened instead. Then why didn't you tell me that since the beginning?! More than half of his worries wouldn't have had existed, if Gojo had told him that from the start. Megumi had to face it. Gojo loved fooling around. And Megumi had been his last prey—up until two days ago.

Gojo went on placidly. "And what are you doing? Lying to my precious son?"

Megumi intervened quickly. "Adopted son. I'm not lying to him about us. I don't let it go as far as me having to tell him any lies about that."

Gojo's lips formed a small circle. "Ohhhh. That's why you're wearing that turtleneck, hm?" Gojo gave another glance to said clothing piece and then cocked his head, an intrigued smile cast at Megumi. "The question, though, is whether you can handle it. The things we did. You're going to have your friend around almost every day, even if it's just sleeping in the same room."

Megumi frowned lightly at the other. "I can deal with it. I don't feel as guilty as you think. We're just roommates."

Gojo expressed genuine surprise. "Only roommates? Yuuji told me you're one of his friends."

"He calls everyone his friend."

Gojo was still in slight disbelief. "Just roommates?"

"Yes." No matter how Yuuji viewed him, Yuuji would always be only a roommate to Megumi. "Roommates who share one class together."

"What are you doing here then?" Gojo asked, with sassiness.

Megumi responded with the same amount of sass. "I can leave right away. Wouldn't mind it at all, to be honest."

Gojo was amused by that. "Just joking. Of course you can stay."

The tranquility settling between them was a comfortable one. Now that he could finally be around Gojo without feeling like suffocating, Megumi could consider engaging himself in ordinary and random conversations with Gojo. He did so.

"How comes that you adopted Yuuji?" Megumi asked casually, but was actually faintly intrigued.

Gojo didn't answer right away, his face growing a little grave. He turned back to his original seating position, slowly tracing the length of his nose with a finger as he recounted, "Yuuji lost his parents at a very young age. That was when he became an orphan. After having practiced as a doctor in third world countries, tending to many malnourished and weak children amongst other patients, I came back wanting to give a young orphan a home. I was twenty-eight back then. Yuuji caught my eyes right away because he had those two injuries under his eyes."

Megumi remembered how he'd instantly noticed Yuuji's two V-shaped scars as well when looking at him for the first time.

Gojo continued, somberly, "The people at the orphanage didn't tell me what had happened and Yuuji said he didn't remember when I asked him, which was weird because those wounds had been merely a few days old. It must have been some sort of trauma response to suppress the incident, that's probably why he couldn't retell. I took him with me right there and then, and dealt with the paperwork afterwards. I even let him keep his surname instead of changing it to mine, so that he wouldn't lose all of his roots." Gojo shrugged at last, going back to being smiley and jolly. "That was ten years ago."

Megumi had watched Gojo with sincerity and was now back to facing the table.

Without looking at him, Megumi registered Gojo's tender words. "You were serious, right? It was the last time?"

Megumi took his time to answer, recollecting the memories of their second night together. Not even fourty-eight hours had passed since then. "Yes." he said, unyielding. He gave Gojo a small, daring smile. "I have to focus on med school now."

A flicker of delight flitted across Gojo's ice-blue hues. Gojo smiled back, blinking slowly once. "Priorities set straight. I wish Yuuji would say stuff like that."

"I heard my name. What were you two talking about?" Yuuji asked shortly after. He'd come back noiselessly, carrying the blue toy car in his hand.

Gojo was quick to answer, no signs of uneasiness. He joked, "I was telling Megumi about the embarrassing things you did when you were younger."

Yuuji knew Gojo's sense of humour very well. "That's a lie. Because I've never done anything embarrassing in the past." He giggled to himself after hearing his own joke.

Yuuji placed the car on the table and Gojo explained the 'wonders' he'd done to it.

Megumi listened, thinking how surreal it was that he and Gojo had talked about something totally different a few minutes ago.

***

And like that, Megumi's life as a med student wound back to normal. The more serious part of his life – the new chapter he'd started at the beginning of his first semester – was finally rolling smoothly.

Focus on your major.

Don't get distracted by people who are constantly trying to divert your attention to something that wasn't your major.

If you're on good terms with other people, don't spend too much time with them.

Long-lasting friendships, meaningful relationships or things like that kind are irrelevant.

Focus. on. your. major.

After some 'detours', Megumi had eventually been able to get rid of his trouble. Everything with Gojo was settled and things with Yuuji would most likely always stay on grounds that would bloom surprises once in a while.

Gojo wasn't going to tell Yuuji and even less would Megumi tell Yuuji anything. Yuuji would probably always stay a nuisance (to some degree), whenever he involved Megumi in his plans and activities, but it was bearable, if Megumi handled it the right way.

Megumi was simply enduring him. Tolerating his existence.

Megumi had no clue how it was with his other classes, but Yuuji would always be present for the joint class they shared and sit next to Megumi, including him in all kinds of conversation. Just like how friends would do. Megumi accepted that. Rather with slight disgruntlement, but it was alright. Not every university student was going to finish their major, some of them would drop out sooner or later. Megumi considered even that when it came to Yuuji. Perhaps he wouldn't even have to deal with him for years that were still to come.

Yuuji was bearable. However, there would be times where he was less bearable.

Just like now, in the late afternoon on Monday, when Megumi was working on a problem sheet for biochemistry.

"Aren't you already taking anatomy classes?"

Megumi closed his eyes. He could already tell that nothing good would come out of this.

"Yeah... why?"

"Why don't we have a skeleton model in our room then?"

Here we go, Megumi thought. Talkative Yuuji. He won't shut up so easily now.

"Med students actually use such a thing to memorize the human bones they need to know for their anatomy class, right? All 220 bones."

"206." Megumi corrected him, as if on auto mode.

"We should have one too! Aren't there skeletons customized for med students? You need one, Meg."

"No, I don't." Megumi sighed.

"If we had one, that would be so cool. I already know what we could name him."

Once again, Megumi was amazed by Yuuji's sheer ability to communicate with him so freely and easily, even when he wasn't making it easy for Yuuji to do so. Yuuji truly was one socially adaptable personality.

"I need to concentrate." he argued dryly.

Yuuji rambled on. "There's a fantasy short story I read a while ago and there was a villain who would bring calamity to anyone or anything he touched. He had a really awesome name."

"Yuuji..."

"We're gonna call our skeleton..."

Megumi didn't even feel the need to know.

"... Sukuna."

Megumi grabbed his head, exasperated. "You don't need to voice out your thoughts. Just go and purchase that thing, if you're so desperate about owning one."

Yuuji pulled out his phone, whistling as he searched for a suitable online shop. "On it."

***

Despite not being a fan of it at all, once in a while, Megumi would tag along with Yuuji to places he was going to.

He happened to agree to that solely because Megumi could pretty much tell that Yuuji would be much more obnoxious, if Megumi tried to decline—many weeks after having become roommates and interacted with each other.

Yuuji would always view him more of a friend than Megumi would view Yuuji. However, Yuuji didn't mind that at all. He was most likely well aware of it and not bothered by it.

And it wasn't like being around Yuuji had a dreading outcome awaiting Megumi anymore.

So, a few days later, Megumi went to lunch with Yuuji, thus meeting the others as well. Megumi had conveniently forgotten that there was a friends group he could interact with now, and Yuuji would conveniently remind him.

Nobara, Maki and Toge were already occupying a table at the cafeteria when Yuuji and Megumi joined them. Despite Megumi's lack of conversation or social interaction with them, everyone seemed to be fine with accepting him as part of the group.

While they were lunching together, Megumi would listen to their conversations sometimes and drift off to medicine-related problems in his mind at other times.

Right now, they were talking about how the remaining person of the second-year group – Yuuta – would be back soon from abroad. Then, they switched over to talking about classes they had and what kind of stuff they had to do for them.

At some point, Nobara got curious. Her teasing manner was activated. "Hey, Yuuji. What about you? Can you even name all of the classes you have this semester?" she asked with a petty smile.

"Of course I can!" Yuuji answered boisterously. His eyes cast upwards for a moment. "Pharmaceutics, pharm biochem, something-something law and... uh, wait, I actually forgot... Oh! And that class I share with Megumi! Ethics of medical and pharmaceutical something, whatever it's called."

"What about you, Megumi?" Maki asked. "How are your med classes going?"

Megumi, silently taking a bite of his lunch, not really interested in conversations at the moment and not bothering to establish eye contact, replied lowly, "I'm maintaining."

Maki seemed to be content with that short reply.

"Meg, is gonna ace med school!" Yuuji announced like a proud relative.

Nobara had something else to add to that. "Once you're a doc, you'll treat me for free. Right, Megumi?" To top it off, she gave a cute pout and put a strand of hair behind her ears.

Megumi took another bite, not responding. Not even this counted as bad etiquette to any of them. Because Nobara and Maki indulged themselves in a new topic right after, as though nothing had happened.

It was crazy how Yuuji had been able to do this, but...

He had successfully managed to insert Megumi into a friends group that accepted him and his quirks or antisocialness just like that. Same as with Yuuji, Megumi didn't accept it gratefully, he was tolerating it.

When Megumi came back to his dorm room after all of his classes had ended that day, he noticed something that hadn't been there up until now. In one corner, hanging on a metal bar, was a skeleton.

Yuuji had actually bought one.

Megumi blinked at that thing, even though he shouldn't have been as surprised as he was; knowing how impulsive Yuuji could be sometimes. He scanned the skeleton model up and down with a frown.

A tag was adorning the ribcage. The same one doctors and nurses would wear at work. Megumi approached the skeleton and viewed the tag. It read...

'Sukuna.'

He rolled his eyes, letting go of it.

Megumi sat down at his desk, taking out his laptop and tablet to work on his assignments.

He didn't know when exactly, but some time later Yuuji was back as well. Once he saw Megumi, his excitement rose and he presented his most recent purchase proudly with both arms stretched towards it.

"What do you think?" he asked for Megumi's opinion eagerly, amused by his own idea of purchasing that skeleton.

"Amazing." Megumi said emotionlessly, not even looking up.

Yuuji giggled to himself. "Feel free to use him for your anatomy revisions whenever you need to."

"Mhm." The same tone of emotionlessness.

And with that, luckily, silence started to waft between them. Yuuji asked his classmates for finished assignments and busied himself with copying them for the next few hours while Megumi had proceeded to finalize some handwritten notes.

Having finished with that, he sat down on his bed, cross-legged and started going over said notes—memorizing as much as was possible for tonight.

When Yuuji finished with his copied assignments, he couldn't hold himself back being intrigued about something. And that something had to do with Megumi.

"Tell me, tell me, Megumiiiii." Yuuji chanted as he gleefully hopped onto his roommate's bed.

Annoyed, Megumi closed his eyes, covering his face behind his notes. He released a low groan, almost inaudible.

He didn't even want to ask. "What is it?" He drew his attention to his notes, barely willing to listen to Yuuji.

Yuuji was laying on his side, head propped up by an arm. He raised an eyebrow suggestively, and with a suggestive smile he asked, "What is it like kissing a guy?"

Megumi rolled his eyes demonstratively, this time an actual groan roaring up his throat. How could he cease this bothersome topic as fast as possible? He thought about a way. "Ever kissed a girl?"

"Yes!"

"It's the same." Megumi said with bluntness and deemed that talk finished.

Yuuji, however, thought otherwise. He released an unsatisfied groan. "I don't believe you." He sat up, most of his weight transferred to his knees. "Don't be shy. What is it like kissing a guy? I'm curious."

Megumi ignored his verbal inquiries, reading the lines of his notes.

Yuuji came closer, on all fours now. "Tell me, tell me. What is it like kissing a guy?"

Megumi gritted his teeth behind a closed mouth. He turned to face Yuuji, trying to shut Yuuji up by showing him the annoyance the other was causing him.

Their faces were on the same level, Yuuji scooting closer, his eyes sparkling with gleaming curiosity. "What is it like?" Yuuji came even closer.

Megumi's facial expression wavered. The proximity of Yuuji's face caught him off guard.

Yuuji's curiosity took on... braveness?

Megumi was unable to move. Or react. Too suddenly did this happen... this.

Yuuji was a little bit surprised by himself when he looked into Megumi's eyes first and then gave a quick look at Megumi's lips. "What is it like..." he murmured, stopping midway... then slowly decreasing the remaining distance, staring at Megumi's eyes again before closing his own ones. "... kissing a guy?" His lips met Megumi's.

Megumi's eyes were wide apart, lips unmoving and his whole body frozen due to the shock.

He didn't react to the kiss. After letting a few seconds pass in which their lips were merely pressed together, Yuuji moved his and changed the peck to an actual kiss. He kissed Megumi the same way a couple would kiss.

Greatly stunned, Megumi had no way to command his own mind or body to do something. Goosebumps overwhelmed him and his blood dashed through his heart as though participating in a competing race.

Yuuji broke off the sudden but actual kiss after like half a minute. His face backed away slowly. A coy smile was grazing his lips. "Oh... I see." he whispered, pleased. He'd gotten his answer in an unexpected but at the same time in the most genuine way.

Megumi stunned, blinking repeatedly. He was able to free himself from his stiffness only gradually. Yuuji laid back on Megumi's bed, taking the same lying position as earlier. He smirked lightly.

Megumi's hands twitched and that was when he remembered that he was holding his handwritten notes. He looked down at them, searching for words. "T–That..." he tried meekly, "That wasn't very straight of you."

Yuuji shrugged his shoulders as he ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not very strict about that, I guess. I was probably influenced by my dad without realizing it. He isn't very hung up on one gender, you know?"

Megumi pressed his lips together, discreetly turning his head away. His eyes landed on skeleton Sukuna. Sukuna who wasn't a living being. Sukuna who couldn't judge Megumi for the things he'd done. No disgusted look he could throw at Megumi.

I know. I know that, Yuuji.

Yuuji remained silent after that last statement of his, looking at Megumi with a smugness. But he wasn't heartless. "Did you mind it?"

"Don't talk about it." Megumi was back to reviewing his notes. There wasn't even embarrassment inside him or between them. He just wasn't putting any more thoughts into that kiss than someone else would. Hopefully, Yuuji wasn't either. Going by his attitude, he had most likely just wanted to satisfy that little curiosity of his.

Megumi didn't know at that very moment that the kiss was just the beginning.

As he went over his study notes, Yuuji walking back to his own bed, all Megumi could think about was the fact that neither him nor Gojo would tell Yuuji what had happened between them. He could live with that secret. Yuuji was nothing more than a roommate to him. He was no one important to Megumi. To Yuuji, he was his friend... Megumi could live with that. The most important thing was...

Megumi had nothing to fear...

... right?

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A/N: Itafushi first kiss! (*whispers* fucking finally some real Itafushi lmao)

What do you think about that! What do you think is going to happen next?

I'll tell you this much: I'm already excited about updating the next chapter c:

Next update will be next week!

Comments are appreciated!