Love

The Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College was rarely quiet, but the library was a sanctuary of dust motes and heavy shadows. It was the one place where the frantic energy of jujutsu sorcery seemed to settle into something resembling peace.

Yumi sat at one of the mahogany tables near the back, her legs swinging rhythmically beneath her chair. She was humming a tune that didn't quite have a melody, her eyes scanning a thick tome on historical barrier techniques. To anyone else, she looked like a diligent student. In reality, she was currently trying to see how many gummy bears she could balance on the edge of her pencil case without them toppling over.

"Three... four... come on, little guy," she whispered, her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth in intense concentration.

A few aisles over, the soft *thud* of a book being pulled from a shelf echoed through the silence. Yumi didn't need to look up to know who it was. The cursed energy was familiar—vast, oceanic, and currently humming with a gentle, protective warmth.

Yuta Okkotsu was somewhere behind the tall oak shelves, hunting down a specific reference book she had mentioned wanting to see. They had been "officially" dating for three months, but "official" was a relative term. In the world of sorcerers, where secrets were currency and gossip spread faster than a Grade 1 curse, they had decided to keep their relationship a private treasure.

It was nice, Yumi thought. No teasing from Panda, no suggestive eyebrow-waggling from Maki, and certainly no "dating advice" from Gojo-sensei, which would undoubtedly involve something expensive and incredibly embarrassing.

The heavy library doors creaked open.

Yumi didn't look up, assuming it was a librarian or perhaps Toge looking for a quiet place to nap. The footsteps were heavy and deliberate, stopping right in front of her table.

"Yumi."

She blinked, her last gummy bear falling off the pencil case and bouncing onto the floor. She looked up and saw Megumi Fushiguro. He looked as stoic as ever, his dark hair messy in that way that suggested he’d just come from training, but there was a slight tension in his shoulders that wasn't usually there.

"Oh! Hey, Megumi," Yumi said, giving him a bright, slightly crooked grin. "Are you here to study too? I have gummy bears. Well, I have most of them. One is currently a sacrifice to the floor gods."

Megumi didn't smile. He looked down at the table, then back at her, his expression uncharacteristically hesitant. "I wasn't looking for a book. I was looking for you."

Yumi tilted her head, her pigtails shifting with the movement. "For me? Did Gojo-sensei do something stupid again? If he’s stuck in a tree or bought another hundred boxes of sweets on the school credit card, tell him I’m busy."

"It’s not about Gojo-sensei," Megumi said. He took a breath, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. "I've been thinking about this for a while. Usually, I don't like to waste time on things that aren't related to missions, but... this has been distracting me."

Behind the shelf just three feet away, the sound of flipping pages stopped abruptly. Yumi’s heart gave a little skip. She knew Yuta was right there. He was tucked in the narrow gap between 'Cursed Tools of the Edo Period' and 'Advanced Shikigami Summons.' He could hear everything.

"Distracting you?" Yumi asked, her voice hitching slightly. "Like a curse? Do you have a headache? I have aspirin in my bag, right next to the stickers."

Megumi stepped closer, closing the distance between them. He looked her straight in the eyes, his gaze intense and sincere. "No, Yumi. You. You're the distraction."

Yumi froze. "I... I am? I try to be quiet! Mostly."

"That’s not what I mean," Megumi said, his voice dropping an octave. "I like you. I’ve liked you for a long time. You’re... you’re funny, and you don’t take this world too seriously, even when things are falling apart. I’d like to take you out. Somewhere that isn't a training ground or a morgue."

The silence that followed was deafening. Yumi felt like she was suspended in mid-air. Megumi Fushiguro, the most serious, level-headed person in her year, was confessing to her. Under any other circumstances, she would have been flattered—maybe even flustered. But right now, all she could think about was the Special Grade sorcerer standing behind the bookshelf, who was currently her boyfriend.

She felt a bead of sweat roll down her temple. She looked past Megumi’s shoulder, her eyes pleadingly searching the gaps between the books.

*Yuta, help,* she thought desperately. *Do something! Use a domain expansion! Throw a book! Anything!*

Megumi, misinterpreting her silence as shock or perhaps shyness, took another step forward. "You don't have to answer right away. I know it's a lot. But I wanted to be honest with you."

Yumi let out a nervous, high-pitched giggle that sounded like a tea kettle reaching its boiling point. "Honesty! Honesty is great. I love honesty. It’s the best policy. Right after 'don't eat blue moldy bread.' Um, Megumi, you’re so sweet. Really. Like, Grade-A maple syrup sweet."

"But?" Megumi prompted, his brow furrowing slightly.

"But!" Yumi squeaked. She looked at the shelf again. She could see the edge of a white sleeve. Yuta was just standing there. She could practically feel his hesitation—he didn't want to embarrass Megumi, but he also wasn't the type to let someone else ask out his girlfriend.

She looked back at Megumi, her hands fluttering nervously. "The thing is, the library is very crowded today. Don't you think? So many people. Just... people everywhere. Hiding. In the shadows. Behind the books."

Megumi glanced around the empty library. "It's just us, Yumi."

"Is it?" she asked, her voice cracking. "Is it really?"

Finally, the sound of footsteps emerged from behind the shelf. Yuta stepped into the light, holding a small, weathered book in his hand. He looked remarkably calm, though there was a strange, unreadable glint in his eyes—not anger, but a sort of quiet, firm territorialism.

"Actually, Fushiguro," Yuta said, his voice soft but carrying across the room. "She's not alone."

Megumi spun around, his hand instinctively moving toward his shadows before he realized who it was. "Okkotsu-senpai? I didn't see you there."

Yuta walked over to the table, moving with a grace that belied the immense power he carried. He stood next to Yumi, and before she could say a word, he placed a hand gently on her shoulder. The touch was light, but the message was unmistakable.

"I couldn't help but overhear," Yuta said, looking at Megumi with a sympathetic but steady expression. "I appreciate your honesty, Megumi. Truly. You’re a great sorcerer and a good friend."

Megumi looked from Yuta’s hand on Yumi’s shoulder to Yumi’s face, which was currently the color of a very ripe tomato. The realization hit him like a physical blow. His eyes widened, and for the first time since Yumi had known him, he looked completely floored.

"Oh," Megumi said. The word was small and hollow.

"Yeah," Yumi whispered, giving a weak little wave. "Surprise?"

Yuta leaned in slightly, his presence shielding Yumi in a way that felt both comforting and final. "We should have probably told everyone sooner, but we enjoyed the peace. I’m sorry you had to find out this way."

Megumi stood frozen for a moment, his brain clearly rewiring itself to process this new information. He looked at Yuta—the strongest student at the school, a man who had faced down an army of curses—and then at Yumi, who was currently trying to hide her face behind her historical barrier book.

"I see," Megumi said. He regained his composure with impressive speed, though his ears were still tinged with pink. "I didn't know. My apologies, Senpai. I didn't mean to... interfere."

"You didn't know," Yuta reassured him, offering a kind smile. "There's nothing to apologize for."

Megumi nodded stiffly. He looked at Yumi one last time, a flicker of something—disappointment, perhaps, or just the sting of rejection—crossing his face before vanishing behind his usual mask of indifference. "I’ll leave you to your studies, then."

He turned on his heel and walked toward the exit. His pace was a little faster than usual, his back perfectly straight.

As soon as the library doors swung shut, Yumi let out a breath so long it sounded like a deflating balloon. She slumped forward, her forehead hitting the table with a dull *thud*.

"Oh my god," she groaned into the wood. "That was the most awkward thing that has ever happened in the history of the world. I want to dissolve into a puddle. Yuta, turn me into a puddle."

Yuta chuckled softly, pulling out the chair next to her and sitting down. He reached over, ruffling her hair affectionately. "A puddle? I don't think I have a technique for that. Besides, I like you better in this shape."

Yumi lifted her head, pouting. "You took forever! I was giving you the eyes! I was sending you psychic signals! I thought I was going to have to fake a fainting spell or start reciting the alphabet backward to distract him."

"I wanted to give him a chance to finish," Yuta said, his expression softening. "It took a lot of courage for him to say that. I didn't want to jump out and humiliate him immediately."

Yumi sighed, leaning her head against Yuta’s shoulder. He smelled like ozone and old paper. "He’s going to hate me now, isn't he? Or he’s going to be weird around me. Everything is going to be weird."

"Megumi is a professional," Yuta said, resting his chin on top of her head. "He’ll be fine. He might avoid the library for a week, but he’ll be fine. If anything, he’ll probably just be annoyed at Gojo-sensei for not telling him."

Yumi snorted. "To be fair, Gojo-sensei doesn't know either. If he did, he would have made us a banner or forced us to go on a double date with him and a mountain of parfaits."

Yuta laughed, the sound low and warm in his chest. "That’s true. Maybe we should keep it a secret from him a little longer."

"A little longer?" Yumi looked up at him, her eyes bright. "Yuta, the cat is out of the bag. Megumi knows. And Megumi is friends with Itadori. And Itadori has the impulse control of a golden retriever on espresso. By dinner time, the whole school will know."

Yuta considered this for a moment, then shrugged. "Well, if everyone is going to know anyway..."

He leaned down and kissed her forehead, then her nose, and finally her lips. It was a slow, lingering kiss that made the rest of the world—the curses, the training, the awkwardness of the last ten minutes—fade into the background.

When he pulled away, Yumi was smiling, her cheeks still flushed but her nerves finally settling.

"You did that on purpose," she accused, though there was no heat in it. "You’re using your Special Grade charms to distract me."

"Is it working?" Yuta asked, reaching into his pocket.

"Maybe," she said, eyeing him suspiciously.

He pulled out a fresh, unopened bag of premium gummy bears and set them on the table. "How about now?"

Yumi’s eyes widened. She snatched the bag and hugged it to her chest. "Okay, fine. You’re forgiven. But you’re telling Maki. I’m not brave enough to face her when she finds out I’ve been keeping secrets."

Yuta laughed, pulling her closer. "Deal. I’ll handle Maki. You just focus on your barrier techniques."

"And the gummy bears," Yumi added, already tearing the bag open with her teeth. "Priorities, Yuta. Priorities."

The library returned to its usual silence, but the air felt lighter. In the corner, under the watchful eyes of hidden sorcerers and ancient books, two people sat together, sharing sweets and a quiet, hard-won peace. It wasn't a perfect world, and the shadows were always waiting, but for now, in the stillness of the stacks, it was enough.