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Megumi is beginning to grow accustomed to the feeling of eyes on his back. Not that it’s so strange. Everybody feels that way starting out at a new gym. That clinging feeling of judgment. The sense that everyone present is only there to sneer and judge every little movement and every faulty form. The false notion of being perceived that clings to the skin like tacky glue.
That’s the main reason Megumi started coming so early. Or late. Two AM could swing either way, really.
Turns out the weight of eyes on his skin was far less in his head than Megumi thought.
There, turning away quickly every time Megumi glances anywhere near his vicinity, Planet Fitness’s employee of the month is always there in his compression tank fitted with a nametag labeled: Yuji :) . A six foot five pink-haired adonis with a staring problem. One time Megumi suffered through five full minutes of nonstop ogling through the mirror on the back wall because Yuji wasn’t aware that he could also be seen.
Most people would find this the opposite of a problem. They might call it a meet-cute. Boy meets his ideal type working at a gym and it’s clear beyond a doubt that he’s also interested. One of life’s little gifts. Serendipity. Megumi? Well, let’s just say Megumi has found himself snapping wide awake in the middle of the night to fantasies of getting his back blown out on the squat rack with the same dawning horror that a more well adjusted person might experience night terrors.
It’s not that Megumi doesn’t like Yuji. It’s that he likes Yuji so much it makes him feel ill. He’d rather just not deal with it at all.
Yet, he keeps coming. Coincidentally always during Yuji’s shifts.
Megumi really has become numb to the feeling of eyes on his back. After a particularly brutal leg day, it was all he could do to ignore Yuji’s offers to help him stretch and stumble into the locker room. The buzz is always nice. The weight in his limbs and feeling like standing on jello rather than two working legs. He’s grown careless with being the only one during this time of the day. Megumi stripped down to nothing and didn’t even bother with the curtain before melting underneath the spray of hot, hot water.
Unhelpfully, his mind drifts back to Yuji’s offers. From the very first day, he was terribly obvious. Hey, so, um, I haven’t seen you around before and I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Yuji and I’m actually a certified trainer so if you need– Megumi remembers cutting him off at that. I’m fine.
Usually that’s more than enough to shut people down. Megumi doesn’t intend to sound rude. It just comes out that way. The nerves just make it so much worse. He could see the definition of Yuji’s chest poking out from the thin fabric of his clingy, clingy shirt and has since only made eye contact with him through pure accident. He’s curt, short and dismissive. Yet, Yuji has caught him staring nearly as many times as Megumi has caught him.
Megumi would like to say he’s tried to discourage Yuji’s interest. Maybe to anybody else, it would work. But there’s something different in the air every time they’re stuck in the gym alone. It’s charged. Electric. No matter how hard Megumi tries to push Yuji out of his mind, it’s like his body always knows right where he’s at. Animal magnetism in every sense of the phrase. Heady. Instinctual. A bad idea.
A single reason among so many why Megumi would never take Yuji up on one of those offers. Even if it would be heaven to have those calloused hands on him. God, they’re big too. He’s seen Yuji pick up a 60 pound dumbbell and hoist it onto the rack like someone would toss a rolled up newspaper onto the counter. He’s the type of strong that has Megumi toying the lines of envy and desire. The one thing he does know for certain, is that though hands would feel good– so, so good sliding over his skin, thumbs digging into the muscle and meat of his body like he was born to be handled roughly.
Megumi sighs shakily, his hands running through his wet hair, pushing it out of his face. His daydreams keep unfolding as he tips his head back under the water. It feels hot. It’s almost easy to imagine another body in here besides him. He can almost fool himself into thinking that the heavy palm that slides over his chest is someone else’s. His fingernails dig into the skin of his pec, palm scraping his nipple. A pleasant thrill zips down his spine and curls up in the very pit of his pelvis.
Yuji. He thinks about the way that smile blinds him every time he walks through the front door. Every time, Yuji says his name. His eyes get all round and bright. Oh, Yuji . Megumi wishes he wasn’t such a failure of a human being. He’d take him up on every offer and then some. God, he could touch himself right here and now.
But there’s always that feeling of being watched. The itch on the back of his neck. Megumi tilts his head out from under the spray and blinks beads of water from his eyelashes. Just as he starts to look back– just in case– there’s an enormous clattering bang from just outside his stall.
Megumi blinks, looking over his shoulder as Yuji clumsily picks a broom and dustpan off the floor.
“Oh my god, I’m sorry. I thought you left–” Yuji stammers as he fumbles with the broom handle, looking down at the ground before looking back at Megumi. His head does a strange twitch. As if he tries to look away again, but he can’t.
Megumi only stares as the Adam's apple in his throat bobs up then down. At first, Yuji keeps his eyes firmly locked with Megumi’s. A testament to his will. He holds up longer than Megumi thought he would, but soon Yuji cracks. His eyes flick down, then back to his eyes, before dropping down once again. Down the entire length of his back, over the curve of his ass and thighs. In that instant, Megumi can see the higher functioning of Yuji’s brain clicking off in real time.
The way Yuji stares, so hungry that it makes him stupid, has Megumi feeling deified. All at once, an object to be consumed and a sculpture on a pedestal. Something to be cherished and torn apart. Megumi tries to keep his breathing even so that Yuji can’t tell that his heart is racing. To keep his face blank so that he can’t see straight through him and know how good it feels to be eaten by someone else’s starving eyes.
“Can I help you?”
Yuji blinks, but even Megumi’s sharp tone does nothing to dissuade that simmering heat in his gaze. “ Yes. No. I mean…” His knuckles are white on the handle of the broomstick. “I forgot to tell you about one of our exclusive offers. Post-workout shower therapy.”
Megumi raises an eyebrow. He’d judge Yuji a little more harshly for that poor excuse of a pickup line, but his own head is racing so fast he couldn’t think of anything better if he tried.
“Since you hit legs today, I can help, uh, with the soreness.” Yuji continues. If Megumi let him go long enough, he’s pretty sure Yuji would get on his knees and start begging. “Is that something you’re… interested in trying?”
Megumi feels his nerves gnashing and clawing against the raw desire to see Yuji in all the different ways he’s been imagining nonstop for weeks. It’s like some kind of hornified fever dream. The thrill that anyone could come in at any time and catch them like this. More than that though, the prospect of Yuji finally, finally touching him. For the first time, the fear spiked nausea in his chest is overpowered by the weight of how bad he wants this.
“Uh. Okay.”
The grin Yuji flashes is nearly blinding. Megumi isn’t sure what he expected, but having a fully clothed man twice his size stepping right into the stall behind him definitely wasn’t it.
Megumi’s eyes flash open wide, stuttering out a surprised noise as Yuji draws the curtain. “Your clothes–”
“Oh don’t worry, it’s fine. It’s cool.” Yuji steps underneath the showerhead and shakes out his hair like a wet dog. Now that he’s been given the go ahead, his eyes devour every inch of Megumi like he’s been starved. “ Fuck, you are… pretty.” Yuji takes a second to refocus from staring down at Megumi. “Lean up against the wall for me.”
The tile is cool against the palms of Megumi’s hands. He turns his head a little, trying to watch Yuji out of the corner of his eyes. There’s barely the chance to prepare before a featherlight touch skims down the small of his back. Megumi closes his eyes, fingers curling into fists against the wall. Yuji’s hands ghost over his skin before fully grabbing the meat of his thigh.
“Where do you feel it most? Here?”
There’s a deep, indulgent squeeze on one of Megumi’s thighs. Instantly, his body sings in relief. The soreness inks into pleasure. Megumi nods for him and gives a shaky sigh as Yuji’s thumbs slide up the back of his thighs, digging in. He’s relentless. All that hand strength mercilessly working every inch of wet skin and the muscle beneath it. Involuntarily, his body gives a little shudder.
He keeps going, hands roaming over Megumi’s body with every ounce of skill as a seasoned physical therapist and all the ulterior motives of a horned up frat boy. Yuji keeps pressing closer until Megumi can feel the soaked through fabric stretched across muscle and body heat. It’s not fair he isn’t naked too, but Megumi can’t find himself too bothered as little wet kisses press against his shoulder blades.
“Can I ask you a question?” Yuji asks under his breath, voice a little more gravelly than it was a few minutes earlier.
“Mmhm.” Megumi sets his forehead against the sweating tiles, cool against his burning skin.
“Do you like me?”
That question strikes something in his chest. An alarm bell. A gut reaction. Megumi pushes back against the wall a little in order to cast a look back at Yuji. But he wasn’t nearly prepared for the man staring back at him.
All he finds are puppy dog eyes. Sweet, big brown eyes. Loyal and devoted. So, so eager to please and so, so good for him. His hair is slicked back, off his forehead to expose just how devastating that soft look can be when paired with his thick, steepled brows. Wet, pathetic, and desperate. Just for him.
Megumi turns his face back away to hide a devastating flurry of gut-wrenching fondness. There’s something terrifying about the idea of saying yes. Even though Yuji wants it so badly. Even though it wouldn’t be a lie.
“You can’t just ask that.” Megumi mutters, frowning as Yuji’s hands pull back.
Immediately there’s a sinking feeling. The words are on the tip of Megumi’s tongue. Yes, I like you. That’s why this is so scary . He almost gets them out. Then, there’s a wet plop outside the stall, followed by a second. This time, when Yuji bridges the steam filled gap between them, there’s only skin.
“I like you.” Yuji answers. “I like that you’re kind of a weirdo.”
Megumi feels his face burn. Who the hell just says that–
“I like that you’re awkward. It’s cute. Like, so so so cute . All my coworkers kept saying that you didn’t like me, but I always had a feeling there was a chance.” Yuji continues despite the fact Megumi has completely clammed up. “And honestly, I was going to take any chance I could get.”
“You mean peeping in on me while I’m naked and defenseless with some bullshit about a massage-special?” Megumi doesn’t look back this time– the prospect is too humiliating. Great. Yuji thinks he’s awkward. And also a weirdo. Yet somehow cute. Not exactly the vibe he’s going for. He bites the inside of his mouth, staring down at where Yuji’s hand flattens against the tile beside his own. “Porn directors should take notes.”
Yuji giggles. Giggles . “Yeah, okay, sorry about that. It’s hard to think around you, okay?”
Megumi gasps as Yuji kisses the side of his neck. His hands cover Megumi’s ribcage and squeeze him as though he can shove all his affection through the strength of his hands. His kisses trail down Megumi’s entire body. Soft, reverent kisses. Like a knight kissing the hand of his king. The way a believer kisses the altar of their god. The kiss of a man and the thing he holds above all else.
“I like you a lot.” Yuji repeats as he sinks onto his knees, pressing another devout kiss to the dimple on the small of Megumi’s back. “And you’re letting me do this so you like me too, right? At least a little bit?”
Megumi swallows thickly. His face feels hot. Under the steam and the heat of Yuji’s hands he wonders just how much of his body is flushed with pink blooming embarrassment under the veil of his skin. It’s too good to be real. This kind of thing doesn’t ever just happen to someone like him. He’s not the type to go after what he wants. Even if the thing he wants is more than happy to do all the legwork. Megumi is the type to find something wrong in everything. To overthink every step, every single beating moment until life is no longer being lived but simply enacted to the point of excruciating necessity.
“I don’t really know you.” Megumi murmurs what the reasonable, rational side of his brain is telling him. How can you like someone if you don’t even know them? How can you know someone if you run away from every conversation, every glance shared and every ounce of heat held within them? How can Megumi claim to like Yuji if even now, overwhelmed by the earnesty of his words and the weight of his hands, he still wants to run?
“Right. That’s easy to fix though. My favorite color is yellow. And maybe blue. Or Red. I like a lot of colors. Um, I’m a dog and cat person.” Yuji starts listing his own trivia as his hands clench securely around Megumi’s thighs, kneading at the muscle in slow, light circles. “And I really, really want to make you like me too.”
Yuji kisses the side of Megumi’s hip, turning him slowly as he continues mouthing at the skin of his pelvis and the top of his thighs before Megumi is fully facing him. Megumi doesn’t know where to put his hands. He’s not sure where to look, and even if he did, his eyes wouldn’t be able to pull away from Yuji regardless. The expression on his face is… starved. Yuji’s dark eyes are blown wide, swallowing the image of Megumi laid bare as if it’s a special phenomenon he may never get the privilege of laying eyes upon ever again. A solar eclipse. A meteor shower. Megumi’s painfully hard dick just an inch from his parted lips.
“Can I…” Yuji’s voice comes out crackly, so he swallows and tries again as his misty gaze lifts up to look at Megumi through his lashes. “Can I, um, give it a try?”
Megumi can hardly hear him over the hammering of his heart. As if determined to give him away, his dick twitches at the softness in Yuji’s voice. Or maybe it’s the way his eyes bore hot, black holes straight through him. “Try what? To make me like you or sucking my dick?”
Yuji flashes a cheeky smile. “Both?”
Unable to answer in actual words, Megumi fails to swallow down a lust-shaped lump in his throat and only offers him a curt nod. That’s all Yuji needs.
Yuji’s fingers wrap around the base of his dick, calluses slick from the shower-spray. He looks good like that. Down on his knees with his bare skin glistening under dew and mist caught in shafts of fluorescent light. Megumi won’t ever be able to push the sight from his mind. He’s going to leave this gym one way or another, but this– the way Yuji looks up at him for praise with his fist around his dick– this he will take with him everywhere.
“You have such a nice dick.” Yuji sighs fondly, stroking him with long, languid movements that have Megumi leaning back against the tiles for stability. “I could tell when you wore certain shorts. Those little black Nike ones. Mmm. Like, I knew it was decent but this is…”
Yuji’s gaze lingers as the pad of his thumb brushes away a bead of precum, smearing it across the head of his cock. Megumi draws a sharp breath, and exhales with a tremor. Yuji raises his gaze slowly. His eyes look black in the lowlight. Pupils eclipsing the hazy stare as he licks his lips and leans in without blinking.
A jolt of electric heat shoots up Megumi’s spine as Yuji licks one long strip up the shaft of his cock. His breath catches completely, Yuji watching all the while. Then, a conspiratorial little smirk curls at the corner of his lips, as if Yuji knows exactly how bad he’s affecting Megumi, before his lips close down around the head of his dick and sink down.
“ Yuji!” Megumi gasps his name and scrambles for a hold of Yuji’s hair, fingers tangling in the blushing curls.
A shiver of pleasure flutters across his skin as hot, slick heat envelops him completely. Megumi pants, watching in sheer wonder as Yuji’s cheek’s hollow around him, outlining the bulge of his dick through the fat of his freckled cheek. This time, when Yuji looks up at him, his eyes are completely glazed over. Sweet, syrupy brown drowning in a solitary hunger to please him. Megumi can’t help the whimper that unwinds from his throat.
Then, Yuji starts to move. He pins Megumi’s hips to the cool tile with one broad palm against the lowest part of his pelvis, right over the skin where all the heat of arousal has begun to churn. His other hand snakes between Megumi’s legs. Blunt fingertips graze over his rim, adding fuel to the blaze under his skin. Megumi can only grunt in an attempt to keep far more embarrassing noises from slipping out. Yuji doesn’t give him any time to adjust however, before he begins bobbing up and down on his cock like he’s been training for this exact moment.
“Holy fuck – Yuji, what are you–?” That line of questioning is choked off by a yelp as one thick finger finally pushes past Megumi’s slick rim and sinks up into his body in tandem with the throat that closes in around him.
It makes his vision blur. The sensation of fullness. The aching, the stretch, the all-consuming physicality of it. As if Yuji has firmly kicked him out of his own head and forced him to live like an animal instead. A creature that can only think in terms of instinct; of running from pain and chasing after pleasure. Right now, Megumi can only exist within the buzz of his singing nerves and the burning lust in his chest that claws for more, more, more.
Another jagged, broken mewl rips from his throat as Yuji’s finger crooks just so slightly and sends shivers of sensation racing right through him. Almost , but not quite. His nails dig into Yuji’s scalp as he fists his hair in tight, painful knots. Even so, Yuji doesn’t budge an inch. There’s an undeniable strength in the way he stays so still and pliant before him. Just taking Megumi’s ironclad grip and bearing his marks like he was born for it. It makes him wonder just how much Yuji can take.
Megumi readjusts his grip on Yuji’s hair. Shakily, he runs his fingers through it, over the scalp with tender light touches. There’s a rebellious curl that sweeps in front of his eyes that he gingerly tucks aside. At the touch, Yuji looks up at him once more, slowly pulling off his cock in order to lave and twist his tongue over the head, as if treating him to a special show for that little touch.
“Don’t be afraid to fuck my face.” Yuji pants in between open mouthed kisses down the side of his cock. “I was kind of hoping you would actually.”
His lips are already bright red and puffy from being rubbed raw. Yet there’s this lovely little smile that clings to his lips. A dreamy, content sort of expression. Something tells Megumi that Yuji would be more than happy to go at it until the water ran cold. To worship his dick until some other force came to tear them apart– be it nosy customer or the end of the world.
“Does this feel good?” Yuji asks, brows steepled together as he strokes Megumi’s pulsing dick with one hand and thrusts his finger into him with slow, coaxing strokes.
Megumi answers with a fluttering gaze and stilted nod. The angle isn’t quite where he needs it, but a lovely buzz begins building under his skin regardless. Just the sensation of someone else’s hands on you. Inside you. Pulling you apart from the inside out, while also filling you up. Megumi’s eyes blink slowly, sealing close for a moment as he sinks into the feeling. The steam on his skin and the slick caress of hot water treading down the curve of his spine. It’s like they’ve carved out a slice of the world where there’s nothing but Yuji and the pleasure of his mouth.
“Yeah,” Megumi manages, fingers still fumbling through the damp curls that paste themselves in pastel loops to his freckled forehead. He adjusts his footing, spreading his legs wider as Yuji’s fingers curl up inside his body. “ Fuck– you’re right there. Just a little deeper I– fuck!”
Yuji follows his command and strokes the blunt pad of his middle finger right across the bumpy bundle of nerves with an exploratory thrust. Like magic, Megumi sees stars. A gasp rips from his throat as his hands fist in his hair. Deep, intense pleasure sparks up his skin, blooming in his bloodstream. Suddenly the stall feels far, far too hot. All too quickly, Megumi can feel himself coming undone. Like a shark in bloody waters, Yuji smiles around his dick like he can tell .
All too quickly, Yuji starts fucking up into his body, punching each breath from his lungs, as his fingertips drag over his prostrate at a feverish pace. Megumi hardly registers the noises he’s making. Humiliation is the farthest thing from his mind as he’s pinned between two wonderful and terrible sources of pleasure. He jerks his hips forward to run from the assault on his prostate, making Yuji gag as the tip of his cock hits the back of his throat. Intense, white-hot suction seems to close in around him. Yuji moans with his mouth stuffed full, staring up at Megumi with watering eyes at the sudden force.
The sight is too much. Megumi’s mind blanks as his grip on Yuji’s head goes tight, pulling his hair taut until Yuji winces with red rimming his big, brown eyes. Then, he starts fucking Yuji’s face just as he asked so nicely, chasing after that precipice of feeling that broils deep, deep in his body.
The lonely Planet Fitness locker room becomes the perfect stage for a symphony of debauchery. Over the steady drum of the showerfall, intermingles the slick gagging sounds and Megumi’s soft moans. The prospect of getting caught by another gym-goer and being banned for life– or god forbid fired – has long vanished from any part of their minds. All that is left is wet bodies slick against the other, chasing pleasure until Megumi’s hips stutter and a litany of pleas to a higher power come spilling from his open mouth.
His vision blanks and so does his head, but he at least has the courtesy to pull out just before he comes. Only Yuji scrambles to grab his hips before he can do so, pinning him in place so he has no choice but to climax on his tongue as his flushed cheeks hollow. Yuji’s eyes close, adam’s apple bobbing as he tries his best to swallow Megumi entirely, before it spills over his lips and spurts across his face. Yuji’s nose scrunches at the sudden assault. Creamy splotches of cum paint his lips and chin, dripping from his chiseled jaw onto his collarbone.
Megumi can only stare and pant hard with his back flush to the wall. It’s like his bones have been replaced by cardboard and his blood has been carbonated. Hell, it feels like his entire body was just soda-streamed. All jumbled up and fizzy. Lighter than he’s ever been. All because of the very, very dedicated Planet Fitness employee currently wiping jizz off his chin.
“Damn,” Yuji laughs, breathless and sounding in desperate need of a cough drop, “Pent up huh?”
Megumi knocks his head back against the tiles, still spinning in the stars. Oddly enough, he finds himself laughing a little too. This really can’t be real.
“Shut up,” He gives Yuji a light shove to the forehead, “Sorry for uh, the misfire.”
Yuji grins. It’s simply not right. Somehow, after giving the most diabolical head Megumi has ever experienced, Yuji still manages to look so cute . His round eyes crinkle around his toothy smile, before licking off a stray trail of cum on the side of his hand.
“No need for apologies. I liked it. I was trying to make a point after all.”
Megumi swallows. The afterglow begins to fade and suddenly his nerves edge their way back in. Yuji is still watching him, expectant, so he quickly shifts his gaze away. “Right. Um. And that point being I should give you a chance because you’re willing to suck a stranger’s dick at your place of employment?”
Yuji stands up with a faint pout. His knees are a little red. Megumi wants to apologize, but all thought vanishes as two thick arms pin to the wall besides his head, locking him in to some incredibly intense eye contact. The shower rains down his body, beading his skin and making it shine in the humid heat.
“Megumi…” All at once, his voice is gravelly, deep and sultry, with the slightest hint of a whine. “Are you calling me a slut?”
Megumi swallows hard, trying to find some way to escape the molten heat of his eyes. His gaze dips to the hollow of Yuji’s wet throat. Then down to his freckled pecs taut with well-defined muscle. Over the swell of his deltoids, then biceps, and the veiny length of his forearms. It’s all in vain. There isn’t one part of Yuji that doesn’t make him want to throw up from nerves.
“I mean, I wasn’t calling you a slut. More just pointing out the thing you just did. Which in retrospect was a little bit slutty.”
His eyes betray him once again as they flicker back to Yuji’s face. He’s pretty in a way that needs to be studied. How can nothing but a face make a fully functioning brain melt into complete mush? How can the simple alignment of features shared by every human being on the green earth do this to his heart? It thuds in his chest. Hard. Fast. As if there’s a hammer pounding into his ribcage, sounding a bell; an alarm, to say Look! Look at this idiot who thinks they’re immune to Itadori Yuji, the single sexiest man who has ever worked at this failure of a gym franchise!
There’s a little bit of a twitch at the corner of Yuji’s lips. He knocks their foreheads together, exhaling against his wet lips. “I meant it when I said I liked you. I like you a lot, Megumi.” His eyes flutter shut, closing the inches of space between them. “So stop pretending you don’t like me too, and wake up .”
Megumi closes his eyes and leans in. His lips never meet Yuji’s though. They don’t meet anything at all actually.
It’s a brutal jerk back into reality. His eyes snap open to the sight of the concrete floor rapidly approaching as he falls forward off the locker room bench. His arms are too slow to break the fall but it doesn’t matter. A broad hand flattens against his chest, halting his descent as a sharp oof is squeezed from his lungs. Megumi blinks rapidly as his brain catches up to the sudden shift in reality as he’s helped back onto the bench to lean against the wall behind him.
Megumi grabs the hand that holds him steady, head jerking to look at its owner. And who else could it be but him?
Yuji smiles. Completely dressed. Not a drop of cum on his face. Normal, friendly, happy-to-help-Yuji. “Feeling a little more rested?”
Megumi shoves his arm off and scrambles to his feet. He can feel his face flushing with heat. Not from shower-steam or stimulation, but from plain ol’ humiliation. What kind of loser falls asleep in a gym locker room? And what kind of pervert dreams about one of the employees while they’re at it?
“Not really. Um. Just feeling stupid.” Megumi fumbles with his workout bag in order to avoid meeting Yuji’s eye. He doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to look at him again actually. “Jesus, how long was I sleeping?”
“Uh, maybe half an hour? I thought I’d just let you get some rest. Nobody’s come in yet anyways.” Yuji shrugs, hands shoved into the pockets of his cut-off hoodie. God, what a fucking ugly piece of clothing. Unfortunately, it shows off his biceps so Megumi finds himself staring anyway.
“God. Great.” Megumi blinks and looks away once he catches himself. “Sorry. I doubt waking up losers with shit sleep schedules isn’t a part of your job description.”
At that, Yuji laughs. It always hits Megumi with the strangest sense of wonder. The fact he did that. His stomach squirms. His heartbeat spikes. It’s like he’s suddenly found himself in the spotlight with an acute case of terminal stage fright. Yet it’s almost sort of wonderful. That laugh. The pure joy and warmth and all the things that make Megumi want to run.
“I don’t mind. Like seriously. It was actually pretty cute. You had like a little drool going on and–”
Megumi snaps his neck to look back at Yuji, face pale. “ Please shut up.”
Yuji laughs again, harder this time. Megumi feels like a green penny circling the drain. When he manages to taper off his laughter, Yuji’s eyes stay crinkled as they watch him. “I’m kidding. You sleep very, um, properly. Like a gentleman or something.” God, someone kill him. “Can I get you a coffee?”
Megumi furrows his brow at the question, then looks away thoughtfully. “Huh, um. Don’t worry about it, I’m fine. No offense but the coffee maker in your lobby is absolute ass.”
Yuji smiles faintly, a flicker of confusion crossing his face. “No, Megumi, I meant like,” He scratches his neck, looking away as Megumi raises an eyebrow at him, “Like, I’m not on the clock anymore…”
A pause. “Okay?”
“So…” Yuji can only spare the briefest glances in his direction. “So, can I get you like, an actual coffee? There’s a nice cafe down the street. They have, like, the best huevos rancheros in town. Just fucking loaded up with hella egg and avocado and all the good shit. I like to drown that shit in Tapatío and get some extra cheese on the side and their coffee is also really good, but usually I get something sweeter– do you like stuff sweet? I feel like you wouldn’t. You give, like, bitter tea and black coffee vibes– But in a good way! Like, in a cool way. It’s, like, an old man in a really cute guy's body. That’s actually kind of you in a lot of ways, haha. You’re always grumpy and giving people the side eye when they try to work out next to you, but it’s just cute because you’re cute, so it doesn’t really work–”
Abruptly, Yuji snaps his mouth shut. His face seems redder than before. His lips press together tightly as he searches Megumi’s face. Which is undoubtedly just as red as his own.
“Sorry, uh, I kind of ramble when I’m nervous.”
Megumi stands completely still. Even as his heart combusts. “I’m making you nervous?”
Yuji nods.
It makes him want to laugh. Or maybe cry. All this time, here he was, tying himself in knots and wringing himself out like a wet rag over everything to do with Yuji and here they are. Here Yuji is. Nervous . Because of him.
“So,” Yuji smiles again, but this time Megumi can see past it. The twitch at the curl of his lip and the anxious dart of his eyes. “Can I get you coffee?”
Megumi bites the inside of his mouth to keep from smiling back. Even if it’s stupid and his head is screaming. He’s sort of grateful that Yuji isn’t the kind of guy who would give a stranger head in a public shower. There’s something almost freeing about realizing that Yuji is nervous too.
He throws his bag over his shoulder, meeting Yuji’s sweet, expectant eyes once again. “Sure.”
Yuji’s immediate grin lingers on his face until they leave the building, and through the entire walk down the block. It makes Megumi smile at his feet. Conversation is easier somehow. The anxiety that broils somewhere in his chest at all times has lifted a little. A constant buzz, but bearable. As if he just needed to be pushed.
“So,” Yuji’s dark eyes twinkle over his mug of spiced apple cider, dusted with nutmeg and topped with a stick of cinnamon that spears through the whipped cream, “What were you dreaming about?”