The morning sun spilled lazily through the dorm windows, painting stripes of gold across Yuji Itadori’s face. He blinked sleep from his eyes, yawning wide enough to make his jaw pop, and turned his head to the side — only to see a familiar mop of dark hair buried half under the pillow beside him. For a second, Yuji just stared, a sleepy smile spreading across his face. Megumi always looked so peaceful in the mornings, before the world woke up enough to bother him. There was something unfair about it — how someone could look that calm and beautiful without even trying.

Yuji shifted closer, careful not to wake him yet, his fingers brushing lightly through Megumi’s messy hair. It was soft. Softer than anyone would expect from someone so perpetually irritated. “You look cute when you’re asleep,” Yuji whispered under his breath, grinning a little. He could practically hear Megumi’s voice in his head — “Don’t say weird stuff like that, idiot.” But Yuji couldn’t help himself. Being subtle just wasn’t in his DNA.

Dating Megumi had been… different. Not in a bad way, but in the kind of way that made Yuji’s chest ache in the best possible sense. Megumi wasn’t the type to hold hands in public or make heart eyes in front of everyone — but Yuji made up for that enough for both of them. He wanted people to know. Wanted them to see that the quiet, brooding sorcerer was his boyfriend. And even if Megumi scolded him every time he said something too loud or kissed his cheek in front of Nobara, Yuji could always see it — the faintest tint of red creeping up Megumi’s ears, the way his lips twitched like he was fighting a smile.

He leaned on one elbow, watching Megumi breathe slowly, steady and calm, before finally deciding to poke at the inevitable. “Megumi,” he said softly, dragging out the last syllable in a sing-song tone. “Wake up. You’re gonna miss breakfast, and then you’ll get all cranky again.”

He chuckled quietly, resting his chin in his hand as he stared down at him. “C’mon, I even got up early to go grab those little melon breads you like. You can’t just sleep through that, right?”

The words were teasing, light and warm — but the way Yuji looked at him wasn’t. His gaze softened, eyes full of that unshakable affection he never tried to hide. No matter how many times Megumi rolled his eyes, Yuji would keep saying it in every way he could. He loved him.

He reached out again, tracing his thumb gently over Megumi’s cheek.