Love you

The Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College was usually a place of grim training, blood-stained uniforms, and the heavy weight of responsibility. But today, the air felt different. There was a frantic energy buzzing through the boys' dormitory, led by a surprisingly focused Yuta Okkotsu.

"Maki said the tea sets are in the storage room behind the kitchen," Yuta said, checking a list he had scribbled on a piece of parchment. "Panda, did you get the streamers? The pink and gold ones?"

"Got 'em," Panda replied, balancing a stack of delicate porcelain cups on one paw and a bag of glittery decorations in the other. "Though I still think I’d look better in a tutu for the theme."

"Please don't," Megumi Fushiguro sighed, though he was busy meticulously hanging a silk banner that read *Happy 20th Birthday, Princess Yumi*. He moved with his usual stoic precision, but there was a softness in his eyes. Everyone loved Yumi. She was the light of the school—a tiny, cheerful presence with long, ink-black hair and a laugh that could make even the grumpiest sorcerer crack a smile.

Yuta paused, looking at the room. He had known Yumi since they were children, and he remembered the way she used to talk about the birthday parties she never had. Her family had been strict, traditional, and eventually, the tragedy of curses had taken away any semblance of a normal childhood. For her twentieth birthday, the bridge into adulthood, Yuta wanted to give her the one thing she had mourned: the chance to be a princess.

"Inumaki-kun, how are the flowers?" Yuta asked.

Toge Inumaki gave a thumbs up, pointing to a sprawling arrangement of white lilies and pink peonies. "Salmon," he chirped, though he looked particularly focused on making sure the petals were perfectly fluffed.

"Okay," Yuta breathed, his heart racing. "Nobara just texted. They’re leaving the mall. Everyone, positions!"

***

"I’m just saying, Nobara, I don't need another pair of boots," Yumi laughed, her small frame nearly buried under the shopping bags Nobara Kugisaki was forcing her to carry. "And why did we have to spend four hours at the MAC counter? My face feels like a canvas."

Nobara flipped her hair, her eyes gleaming with a secret. "Because, Yumi, you’re twenty now. That’s a big deal. No boys, no curses, just us girls and the pursuit of aesthetic perfection. Now, stop complaining and follow me. I left my phone in the common room earlier."

"You’re so disorganized today," Yumi teased, her long black hair swaying behind her as she hurried to keep up with Nobara’s brisk pace.

When they reached the dorms, the hallway was suspiciously dark. Yumi frowned, stepping inside. "Is there a power out—"

"SURPRISE!"

The lights flared on. Yumi gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. The common area had been transformed. It wasn't just a party; it was a fairytale. Golden lanterns floated near the ceiling (likely thanks to some delicate cursed energy manipulation), and the table was laden with every sweet imaginable.

But the center of it all was a mannequin standing next to Yuta. On it hung a gown of shimmering midnight blue and silver, with layers of tulle that looked like a cloud. Resting on a velvet cushion next to it was a delicate, sparkling tiara.

Yuta stepped forward, his usual shy demeanor replaced by a warm, adoring gaze. "Happy birthday, Yumi. You told me once you never got your princess party. I thought... maybe we could change that tonight."

Yumi’s eyes welled with tears. "Yuta... you did all this?"

"We all did," Yuji Itadori shouted, grinning from ear to ear while wearing a ridiculous paper crown.

"Go on," Nobara nudged her. "Go put it on. I didn't spend three hours teaching you how to contour for you to wear that oversized hoodie."

***

Thirty minutes later, the door reopened.

A hush fell over the room. Yumi stepped out, and for a moment, the world seemed to stop. The dress hugged her petite frame perfectly before flaring out into a majestic skirt. Her long black hair had been styled into soft, elegant waves that cascaded down her back, and the silver crown nestled in her dark locks like it belonged there. Nobara had finished her makeup with a touch of shimmer that made Yumi’s eyes sparkle.

Yuta felt the air leave his lungs. He had always thought Yumi was beautiful—it was a fact of his life, like the sun rising—but tonight, she was ethereal. She looked like a dream he didn't want to wake up from.

"Wow," Yuji breathed, his jaw dropping. "Yumi-chan, you look... incredible! Like, seriously, you’re the prettiest person I’ve ever seen!"

"Tuna mayo," Inumaki whispered, but then he shook his head. He lowered his collar, exposing the seals around his mouth. He took a deep breath, fighting the restriction of his cursed speech to say something genuine. "Beautiful. Truly beautiful, Yumi."

The effort it took for him to speak plain words made Yumi’s heart melt. "Thank you, Toge-kun."

Megumi didn't say anything, but he didn't look away either. His gaze remained fixed on her, his expression uncharacteristically intense. He followed her movements as she crossed the room, his eyes tracing the line of her neck and the way she smiled.

Yuta felt a sharp, cold prickle of possessiveness flare in his chest. He knew his friends cared for her, but seeing the way Megumi’s eyes lingered and the way Yuji was practically vibrating with admiration made Yuta’s protective instincts surge. He stepped forward quickly, closing the distance and placing a firm, territorial hand on the small of Yumi’s back.

"You look stunning, Yumi," Yuta said, his voice dropping an octave, loud enough for the others to hear the shift in his tone. "I can't take my eyes off you."

Yumi blushed, leaning into him. "Thank you, Yuta. This is the best birthday I’ve ever had."

The party was a whirlwind of laughter and joy. They ate cake, played ridiculous games, and for a few hours, the horror of being a sorcerer was a world away. Yuji kept trying to get Yumi to dance, and while Yuta allowed it, he stayed close, his shadow looming slightly larger than usual. He watched every interaction, his eyes narrowing slightly whenever Megumi leaned in a little too close to hear Yumi speak.

"Relax, Yuta," Panda whispered, leaning down. "She’s only got eyes for you. But can you blame them? She’s a vision."

"I know," Yuta muttered, his hand tightening slightly on his glass. "That’s the problem."

***

As the night wound down and the others began to clear out, Yuta leaned into Yumi’s ear. "Come with me? I have one more gift for you. A quiet one."

Yumi nodded, her head resting tiredly but happily against his shoulder. They walked back to the boys' dormitory, specifically to Yuta’s room. The moment the door clicked shut, the atmosphere changed. The festive noise of the common room was replaced by the heavy, thrumming silence of the night.

Yuta didn't turn on the main light, leaving the room bathed in the soft glow of the moonlight filtering through the window. He turned Yumi around to face him, his hands cupping her face.

"Did you have a good time?" he asked softly.

"It was perfect," she whispered, reaching up to touch the silver crown still perched on her head. "I really felt like a princess."

"You are a princess," Yuta said, his voice thick with emotion. "My princess."

He leaned down, his lips meeting hers in a kiss that started sweet but quickly deepened into something more desperate, more hungry. He had spent all night watching other men admire her, and now that they were alone, he wanted to reclaim every inch of her.

His hands moved to the back of her dress, his fingers fumbling slightly with the delicate hidden zipper. "This dress is beautiful," he murmured against her lips, "but I’ve been wanting to take it off you since the moment I saw you in it."

Yumi shivered, her hands clutching his shoulders as the silk slid down her arms. The dress pooled at her feet in a cloud of blue and silver, leaving her in her delicate undergarments, the crown still shining in her hair. Yuta pulled back for a moment, his eyes roaming over her with an intensity that made her breath hitch.

"Yumi," he said, his voice serious now. He took her hands in his, pulling her toward his bed where they sat down together. "I don't like it."

"Don't like what?" she asked, blinking.

"The dorms. Seeing you have to walk back to your own wing every night. Knowing that there’s a wall between us." He squeezed her hands. "You’re twenty now. You’re an adult. And I... I can't stand the thought of being away from you for even a second more than I have to."

Yumi’s heart hammered against her ribs. "What are you saying, Yuta?"

"Move in with me," he said, the words rushing out. "Not just in this room. Let’s get a place. Outside the school, or a private faculty apartment if Gojo-sensei will allow it. Stop living in the student dorms. Live with me. Wake up with me every morning."

Yumi looked at him, seeing the vulnerability behind the strength of the world’s most powerful special-grade sorcerer. He was offering her a future, a home, a sanctuary in a world that was often cold and cruel.

"You want us to live together?" she whispered.

"I want you to be the first thing I see when I wake up and the last thing I see before I go to sleep," Yuta said, leaning in to press his forehead against hers. "I want to protect you, Yumi. I want to give you a life that isn't just about curses and missions. I want a home with you."

Yumi smiled, a tear finally escaping and rolling down her cheek. She reached up, unpinning the crown from her hair and setting it on his nightstand. She didn't need the silver and jewels anymore.

"Yes," she breathed, pulling him back down into a kiss. "Yes, Yuta. I’ll move in with you."

Yuta let out a breath he seemed to have been holding for years. He pulled her closer, his arms wrapping around her small frame as if he would never let go. In the quiet of the room, with the moonlight dancing on the discarded blue silk, the princess had finally found her kingdom—and it was right there in his arms.