Archive of Our Own ^beta

Itadori takes a deep breath, letting his eyes flutter open. The sun is slanting through the window pleasantly and he feels warm and fuzzy from the inside out. He pats around sleepily until he finds Fushiguro’s chest. He smiles and shuffles over to him, resting his head on Fushiguro’s heart. His entire body turns to putty as he listens to the steady beat of his boyfriend's heart. It’s still quite early, but Itadori is happy to be awake when he feels like this. Fushiguro has been a lot better at staying the night and it makes Itadori happy in a somewhat embarrassing sort of way. He never thought love could turn him into this. Not that he’s really all that mad about it, it’s quite a nice feeling to be so comfortable around someone. To be able to be vulnerable and open. 

He hears a sleepy mumble and tilts his head to look up just as Fushiguro’s eyes flutter open. He grins and presses a gentle kiss to Fushiguro’s jaw. “Morning,” Itadori says, voice hoarse from sleep. He feels Fushiguro hum and his hand comes over to feather through Itadori’s hair. 

“You’re normally not awake before me,” Fushiguro mumbles, “did I sleep in?” Itadori shivers at the sound of Fushiguro’s morning voice. There’s something so special about getting to wake up next to him, getting to be there while there are still traces of sleep in his body. He’s so much softer like this and Itadori is sort of addicted to it. 

“No, it’s still early,” Itadori says. Fushiguro hums again and lets his eyes fall closed. Itadori is fairly certain he could stay like this forever. He looks forward to their nights together more than anything else in his life. It’s sort of ridiculous that one person can bring him this much joy and excitement. They stay like that for a while, just basking in the warmth of the early morning. Fushiguro runs his fingers absently over Itadori’s scalp, pressing a kiss to the top of his head every now and then. It’s so domestic and Itadori wants nothing more than to buy a house with Fushiguro so this can be his normal morning. 

They eventually peel themselves out of bed and into Itadori’s kitchen. Hunger is the only reason Itadori let Fushiguro pull him out of bed. He complained the entire way to the kitchen, but once he opened the fridge and saw food, all his complaints died on his tongue. He’s starving. He pulls everything out of the fridge and starts shuffling about the kitchen as Fushiguro makes them coffee. Itadori likes the little routine they’ve made for his days off. It’s nice to have something solid to look forward to. Itadori also gets an absurd amount of joy from knowing that Fushiguro knows his way around his apartment. 

As he’s scrambling the eggs, he hears soft footsteps behind him, and then warm, strong arms wrap around his middle. He sighs and leans back into Fushiguro, who presses himself against Itadori and rests his chin on his shoulder. “You look good when you cook,” Fushiguro says, pressing a kiss right under Itadori’s ear. Itadori hums, almost forgetting about the eggs for a second. 

“Don’t distract me too much if you want the food to be edible,” Itadori says. Fushiguro doesn’t say anything, he just tightens his arms and lets out a pleased breath. Itadori rolls his eyes, but there’s a dopey smile on his face. It’s quite nice that Fushiguro is such a softy on the inside. Itadori loves the hard edges and dark energy that Fushiguro can have, but he loves his soft side just as much, especially since he’s one of the very few who get to see it. It feels special to see him like this. His moment is cut off when he hears the familiar and dreadful ringtone of Fushiguro’s work phone. 

“Sorry,” Fushiguro says, letting go. Itadori shivers at the loss of contact and sighs. Most of the time he’s fine with Fushiguro’s job, finds it hot, even, but sometimes it really pisses him off that Fushiguro is always on call. He focuses on the eggs, not wanting to hear what Fushiguro is talking about. They had plans to make some paintings for Itadori’s coffee shop this afternoon, but he might have to postpone that. He really doesn’t want to do that. He sets all the prepared food on the kitchen island and sits down, waiting not so patiently for Fushiguro to come back. 

“So what did the government want from you this time?” Itadori asks. He doesn’t do too well hiding the annoyance in his tone. Fushiguro sighs and sits down across from him. 

“They need me for a job tonight. It’s a big one apparently,” Fushiguro says. 

“I’m sorry, I know I can’t be annoyed, what you do is important,” Itadori says, “I just miss you every time you go to work.” Fushiguro smiles softly and takes Itadori’s hand over the counter. 

“If I didn’t think my job was this important, I’d quit right now to be with you,” Fushiguro says, “if I trusted Gojo to actually take care of all the cursed spirits, I guess.” Itadori chuckles and looks down at his plate. Fushiguro is doing something really important and Itadori fully supports him. He’s just also clingy and in love so he thinks he’s allowed to be somewhat bothered. 

“Promise we’ll do the paintings soon though?” Itadori says, “I want your amazing art work on my wall.” 

“I can’t believe you want my terrible painting on the wall of the coffee shop you own,” Fushiguro says, “it’s going to scare customers away.” Itadori rolls his eyes and slides his hand out of Fushiguro’s to finally eat. The mood is lighter after that and they spend breakfast playing footsies under the table. 

–

“Are you sure you have to go? It’s super cozy and warm on the couch,” Itadori says, “and I’ll play with your hair for hours without complaint.” Fushiguro smiles softly and kisses Itadori’s temple. 

“I’m sure I have to go,” Fushiguro says, “but I’ll hold you to that when you come over tonight, yeah?” Itadori sighs and drops his head against Fushiguro’s shoulder. They’re standing at the door to his apartment and Itadori won’t let go of his hands. 

“You’re evil,” Itadori says. 

“And you’re adorable,” Fushiguro says, “now, if you let me go now, the sooner I’ll be back. And I know the dogs want to see you, so you really wouldn’t want to keep them waiting.” Itadori lifts his head and smiles, pressing a quick kiss to Fushiguro’s lips before letting go of his hands. 

“Be safe and smart, okay?” Itadori says. Fushiguro nods and taps his pocket where he keeps his personal phone. 

“I’ll keep you updated,” Fushiguro says, “now go do that Lego set I got you. I know you’ve been staring at it all morning.” Itadori smiles and pushes Fushiguro out of the door before he can’t resist the urge to lock him in. He hears Fushiguro chuckle as he closes the door and his heart thumps against his chest. He is so deep in love with Fushiguro it’s insane. 

He wanders over to the living room and flops on the couch. He’s never been a huge fan of having days off. Sure, he has hobbies, but he genuinely does love running the coffee shop. The business side of things is pretty boring, but actually being a barista and helping out in the kitchen is a lot of fun. Fushiguro is trying to teach him to enjoy his time off and actually spend it doing things he loves. He looks across the room at the Lego set that Fushiguro randomly gifted him. 

It’s a Lego coffee shop and it’s damn adorable. He squints at it for a bit longer before he relents and walks over to it. He brings the box over to the kitchen and puts on some music. He’s going to enjoy this day. He’s not going to let Fushiguro’s job be a downer. He’ll see Fushiguro later. It’s selfish to expect to spend every minute of free time he has with Fushiguro, no matter how badly he wants to. He dumps everything out and starts riffling through the instructions when his phone buzzes. He picks it up at lightning speed. 

Fushi <3

Made it to the location. It’s probably going to take a while, but I promise I’ll be home before dark. 

Itadori smiles as a swell of relief flutters through him. Fushiguro’s job still scares the shit out of him. He literally kills cursed spirits for a living. And for the government too, which for some reason makes it feel more dangerous. 

Itadori

Don’t rush, do what you need to do :)
I’m doing the Lego, I’ll send a pic when I’m done

Fushiguro replies with a thumbs up and a heart. A man of few words as always. Itadori sets his phone down and starts ripping the first bag open. It’s been quite a while since he’s built anything from Lego, so he’s pretty excited. And the fact that Fushiguro bought it for him for no specific occasion makes it more special too. It’s nice to know Fushiguro is thinking of him even when he’s not around. He quickly loses himself in the Lego set, having way more fun than he expected. 

About an hour later, his phone buzzes again. He picks it up, looking at his mostly finished set with pride. 

Fushi <3

Gojo is late, so I’ve only started the easy parts of the job. I’ll still be home at a reasonable hour though. 

Itadori frowns, but it’s what he expects from Gojo in all honesty. He’s not entirely sure how that guy functions on a daily basis without destroying everything in his path. He’s great at his job, but every day seems like his first day being a human being on earth. 

Itadori

Do you want me to head to your place and feed the dogs? I know they’d be fine but…

Fushi <3

You can head over whenever you want :) But finish the Lego first. I want to see it. 

Itadori smiles. He’s only had the key to Fushiguro’s place for a couple weeks, but he loves it. There’s something about that level of trust that makes him feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Itadori is pretty sure he’s the only person who’s actually been inside of Fushiguro’s apartment. He likes that. 

–

Itadori leaves his place just after eating dinner to head to Fushiguro’s. He hasn’t heard from Fushiguro since that afternoon, but he’s trying not to worry about it too much. Fushiguro is strong and he has Gojo with him. And probably some of his other coworkers too, it sounds like a pretty big job. Fushiguro has also been taking his safety more seriously since he and Itadori got together. Itadori is extremely grateful for that. He pulls into the parking spot Fushiguro got for him and makes the short walk to Fushiguro’s apartment. 

He can hear the dogs the second he puts the key in the lock and he grins. He really does love these damn dogs. He’s bombarded by a wall of fluffy fur and slobbery tongues. He gives them all the attention they deserve as he kicks off his shoes and hangs his jacket up. They run over to their food bowls the second he’s settled. He swears these dogs are smarter than the average human. He gives them their food and refills their water before wandering over to the living room. He plops down on the couch and takes a deep breath. 

He really likes Fushiguro’s apartment. It’s simple and clean, but everything about it still screams Fushiguro. It even smells like him, despite the lingering smell of dog on all of the furniture. It’s a lot bigger than Itadori’s apartment, which is nice for the dogs, but Fushiguro complains about it all the time. He says he likes Itadori’s apartment better because of the size. He says his apartment often feels cold and lonely. He turns on the TV and scrolls through Netflix absently. At this point, he’s just trying to distract himself. 

He doesn’t want to be a bother and text Fushiguro, but he would like to hear from him. He ignores his insistent desire to constantly know everything that’s happening to Fushiguro and picks a movie. No harm in watching Twilight for the thousandth time. The movie distracts him enough from checking his phone for a while. With a movie he’s seen this many times, he tries to spot things he’s never noticed before each time watches it. But then his mind starts to wander and he looks back at his phone. 

It’s been almost six hours since Fushiguro last texted him. That’s not entirely abnormal. Sometimes Fushiguro is too involved to get to his phone and Itadori understands that, but it’s still bothering him. Normally he would have had some sort of break by now and he always texts Itadori on his breaks. He shakes his head and turns back to the movie. He’s being ridiculous. Fushiguro is in good hands and he’s damn good at what he does. He did say this job was going to take a while, so Itadori really doesn’t need to start worrying yet. 

When the movie’s over and he’s bored of doom scrolling on his phone, he goes to Fushiguro’s contact. Both dogs are on the couch with him, their heads resting in his lap. He takes a selfie of them and goes to send that and the Lego set to him. 

Itadori 

I think they like me more than you :) 

He sets his phone down and looks at the dogs. “You guys think he’s fine?” he asks. He felt a bit crazy the first time he spoke to the dogs, but they genuinely seem to listen. He gets a huff from one and a nudge in the stomach from the other. He’ll take that as a sign to stop worrying so much. He leans back and looks up at the ceiling, trying to find patterns in the popcorn texture. He uses all the willpower he has not to look at his phone every two seconds. Fushiguro will answer him, he just has to be patient. 

His patience runs out pretty quickly and he grabs his phone. No answer. Not even read. His messages are just sitting there unseen. His heart sinks a little bit. It’s starting to get dark outside and it’s definitely not helping Itadori’s nerves. 

Itadori 

So I’m doing that overthinking thing I do, can you confirm you’re alive pls?
<3

He sighs and scratches behind the dog's ears. He really does love being in love, but this part of it sucks. The worry and fear. He’s constantly worried about Fushiguro’s wellbeing. He’s never been so scared of losing something before. The worry actually hurts his chest and sometimes it feels like his heart is going to give out on him. The dogs seem to sense his unease and they both stir. One of them sits up and puts her nose against his chin. “Sorry, I’m just easily worried.” Itadori says. She puts her snout on his shoulder and huffs. He smiles. He’s really glad he’s with the dogs right now, otherwise he might be full on freaking out. 

When Fushiguro still doesn’t answer, Itadori cracks. He gets up from the couch, despite the protest from the dogs and practically stomps over to the door. He needs to see with his own eyes that Fushiguro is okay. He doesn’t know exactly where the job is, but Fushiguro gave him the general idea. He’s going to find him. As he’s bundling himself up, he tries calling Fushiguro, but he gets no answer. He’s out of the door in a second, mumbling apologies to the dogs. At least they’re fed and warm in the apartment. 

The second he’s in the car, he pulls up a map on his phone. He pulls out of the parking lot a little too quickly, but he’s too determined to care. Fushiguro is out there somewhere and whatever is happening is keeping him from his phone. Itadori tries not to picture the worst possibilities, but it’s hard. Itadori knows what the cursed spirits are capable of. There have been many nights of Itadori comforting Fushiguro when he’s nearly in tears talking about the things he’s seen. Things no human should ever have to see. He can’t even begin to imagine what he would do if he found Fushiguro like that. 

He feels nauseous as all the possibilities move through his mind erratically. He pushes them away the best he can, focusing first on finding Fushiguro. He knows he should be somewhere in this cluster of abandoned buildings. But there are eight buildings in this small area and all of them have at least four floors. He parks on a random patch of grass and steps outside. He can feel the bad energy surrounding the area and it makes him shiver. Near the back of the plot of land, he spots something which looks somewhat like Fushiguro’s work car. He starts running before he can even think about it. 

He passes all the buildings without really paying them mind. He won’t know Fushiguro’s in there unless he goes inside anyways, it’s better to start near his car. When he gets closer, he sees that there are three cars parked there. He takes a deep breath and pushes into the building. It smells horrible and Itadori is nearly sick when the air hits him. He pushes through it and lets his eyes adjust to the dark. The place is a mess and there’s broken glass everywhere. He disregards being careful and runs through the first floor. He doesn’t see anything, so he goes to the next. 

By the time he’s on the third floor, his chest is heaving and his vision is slightly spotty. In the last room, he sees something and his heart drops. He sprints over to Fushiguro with the last bit of energy he has and collapses next to him. 

Fushiguro is sprawled on the floor awkwardly. He’s covered in blood and his left arm looks broken in multiple places. Itadori brings a hand to his cheek, the other going to the pulse point on his neck. He still has a pulse. He puts his cheek next to Fushiguro’s mouth and feels soft puffs of air against his skin. He only lets himself settle into the relief for a second before he jumps into action. Fushiguro is bleeding out quickly and Itadori isn’t going to let him go that easily. He feels around Fushiguro’s pocket and finds his work phone. He opens it and goes through it to find the program Fushiguro showed him. He calls the emergency number and drops the phone on Fushiguro’s chest. 

“Help is coming,” Itadori says. Only then does he notice that he didn’t see anyone else. Sure, the cars were there, but there was no sign of any of Fushiguro’s coworkers. He suddenly feels anger pierce through him. There is no reason Fushiguro should ever be alone on this job. Itadori feels his temper starting to break, so he presses his hands against Fushiguro’s chest. The feeling of his heartbeat is enough to calm Itadori down slightly. He doesn’t dare move Fushiguro in case he makes anything worse, so he just kneels next to him, hand on his heart and eyes spilling the occasional tear. 

Finally, he hears the distinct sound of a car pulling up, then feet pounding up the stairs. Itadori freezes when the government medical team runs over to him. He lets himself be pushed out of the way as they do their job. He sits back and watches as they put him on some sort of stretcher and wrap things around his wounds. He hardly registers someone in front of him until they put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re bleeding too,” the person says, “are you new or just… here?” Itadori tries to smile, but he feels exhausted. 

“Boyfriend,” Itadori says, “a very worried one at that.” The person nods and he sees a smile for a fraction of a second. It’s nice to know the government employees are still humans. The guy helps him up and he follows behind the stretcher. When they get to the unmarked ambulance, Itadori pushes his way into the back and sits next to Fushiguro’s head. He doesn’t get much protest. The people in the back start working on Fushiguro, putting IV’s into him and prodding at his broken arm. One of them also attends to Itadori, but he hardly pays any mind to the IV they put in his arm. 

“How did you find him,” the person whispers. Itadori shrugs, not taking his eyes off of Fushiguro. 

“I knew he was on this side of town and abandoned buildings are always a good guess for cursed spirits,” Itadori says. He’s not entirely sure he should be letting the medical staff know that he knows everything, but he signed the NDA so he feels confident enough. He gets a nod in response and a pat on the shoulder. 

“It’s a damn good thing you found him,” the person says, “he’s banged up pretty bad.” Itadori nods. He could start yelling about how no one should be alone on a job, but he doesn’t want to start something right now. Right now, he just needs Fushiguro to be okay. He puts his hand on Fushiguro’s and takes a deep breath. He just has to believe that everything will be okay. 

–

When they get to the hospital, Itadori already feels a million times better. Fushiguro is safely in a hospital bed with all the right fluids being put into his system. His wounds are dressed and his arm is in a splint. He’s a mess, but the heart rate monitor is steady and his good hand is warm. Itadori is having trouble keeping his eyes open, but he wants to be there when Fushiguro wakes up. A nurse comes into the room with a sheepish smile on her face. “I need to address your wounds on your feet,” she says, “I can do it here if you prefer.” He nods and she walks over with a tray full of medical tools. 

When he was running through the building, he stepped on quite a few pieces of glass his shoes couldn’t protect him from. He’s going to be cursing himself in the morning when he has to walk on a bunch of stitches and scabs, but he can’t find it in himself to regret it. He puts his feet on a small stool and she carefully pulls the wrapping off of his feet. He refused to let anyone touch him until Fushiguro was stable and safe, so his socks are soaked with blood. He’s glad they gave him a wheelchair to get around, otherwise he would have continued walking on shards of glass. 

The nurse grimaces and starts opening the tools. She numbs the area first, not that Itadori really cares. He’s pretty sure he can’t feel pain right now, there’s still a huge amount of adrenaline running through him. He feels her pull pieces of glass out and cringes. He’s sort of embarrassed, but he wasn’t exactly thinking straight. The only thing on his mind was Fushiguro. When she’s done, she tells him he miraculously won’t need any stitches, but that he should avoid walking too much for a while. She wraps his feet back up and leaves him alone with Fushiguro again. 

Anger starts to rise in his chest again. He hasn’t heard a word about what actually happened. He has no idea why Fushiguro was alone. He wants to yell at anyone who’ll listen. He just can’t take it. He can’t imagine Fushiguro dying alone in an abandoned building. He feels tears prickle at his eyes, just at the thought of it. He wants to murder Gojo with his bare hands. He wants to tell the government to eat shit. He hates that Fushiguro was left alone. He can’t stop thinking about it. Suddenly feeling like he needs some air, Itadori kisses Fushiguro’s hand and wheels himself out of the room. 

He goes down the hall to the waiting room to get some water. His anger is still seething, but he’s not going to cause a scene. No one here did anything and the last thing he wants to do is misplace his anger. But then he sees familiar, long black hair and whips the wheelchair around. Geto sees the anger on his face immediately and stands up. “Itadori? What happened to you?” Itadori scowls and wheels over to Geto, stopping right in front of him. 

“I’m going to strangle your boyfriend with my bare hands,” Itadori scowls. Geto’s eyes open wide. “Fushiguro could have- he was alone. He should never…” his voice breaks and he takes a sip of water to calm himself slightly. 

“What are you talking about?” Geto asks. 

“Don’t you get it? Fushiguro basically died out there because your boyfriend didn’t do his damn-” Itadori cuts himself off. He suddenly remembers where he is. If Geto is here, that probably means… “oh shit, I really shouldn’t be yelling at you.” Geto smiles softly and shifts slightly on his feet. 

“Gojo is in that room there,” Geto says, “he’s stable and awake. They kicked me out to do some tests.” Itadori sighs and slumps in his chair. “What the hell happened to you? Gojo said Fushiguro was fine?” 

“He’s not,” Itadori says, still a little bit angry, “I had to save him. He was bleeding out.” Geto frowns. 

“I’m sorry,” Geto says, “I had no idea anyone other than Gojo got hurt.” 

“What happened?” Itadori asks. Geto shrugs, a slight frown pulling at his lips. 

“I’m not sure. All I got from Gojo is that Fushiguro called for help then left to keep fighting,” Geto says. Itadori nods and downs the rest of his water. 

“Sorry for yelling at you, it’s been a long night,” Itadori says. 

“It’s okay, I’ll leave you to go see him,” Geto says. Itadori nods and turns around. He wastes no time getting back to Fushiguro’s room. Almost all of the anger has seeped out of him. All that’s left is some anger towards Fushiguro for going to fight on his own. He won’t let himself truly be angry until he hears the full story though. When gets back to the room, Fushiguro is still unconscious. Itadori grabs his hand and rests his head against his arms. His heavy eyelids fall closed and he falls asleep before he can stop himself. 

…

He wakes up to something squeezing his hand. He rubs his eyes with his free hand, then gasps when he remembers where he is. He looks up and sees Fushiguro looking at him. His heart stops for a second, and then relief like he’s never felt before washes over him. “Fushi,” he says. Fushiguro smiles and squeezes his hand again. 

“Why are you in a wheelchair?” Fushiguro asks. Itadori lets out a breathless laugh. He feels so much lighter hearing Fushiguro talk. 

“Long story,” Itadori says, “how are you feeling?” Fushiguro hums and looks down at himself. 

“Like they have me on morphine or something,” Fushiguro says. He pauses and squeezes Itadori’s hand extra hard, “m’ sorry.” 

“Hey, no, you have nothing to apologize for,” Itadori says, “well, right now you don’t. I might change my mind once you tell me what happened.” Fushiguro smiles and blinks slowly a couple times. 

“You first, I need a second,” Fushiguro says, “my brain is still a little sleepy.” Itadori nods. He feels almost overwhelmed with fuzzy warmth, looking at Fushiguro’s very much awake form. Before he can explain, a nurse comes in. 

“Sorry, but I need to do some tests now that he’s awake,” he says, “it shouldn’t take long, but we do need the room.” Itadori nods and reluctantly lets go of Fushiguro’s hand. 

“Be nice to the nurse, yeah?” Itadori teases. Fushiguro rolls his eyes and waves at him dismissively with his good hand. Itadori leaves the room feeling a million times lighter than he did before. Geto is no longer in the waiting room, so Itadori goes down the hall to find Gojo’s room. He should go see how he’s doing and maybe apologize to Geto again for being an ass. 

He knocks on the door softly and after a couple seconds, Geto opens it with a smile. “Is Fushiguro awake?” he asks. Itadori nods and follows him into the room. 

“Itadori!” Gojo says. He sounds like his normal obnoxious self and Itadori is immediately relieved, “you know, your precious Fushi saved me.” Itadori rolls his eyes. 

“It’s weird when you call him Fushi,” Itadori says. 

“Why are you in a wheelchair?” Gojo asks, glaring at the chair like it personally offends him. Itadori sighs. 

“I ran all over the glass in the building to get to Fushiguro,” Itadori says, “I wasn’t exactly thinking straight.” Gojo grins. 

“You two are so hopelessly in love,” Gojo says, “I’m glad Fushiguro has you.” 

“Don’t be sappy, it’s weird,” Itadori says. 

“He’s a sap at heart, it can’t be helped,” Geto says fondly, “it really is beautiful though.” Itadori feels himself flush and looks pointedly at the floor. 

“Just wanted to see how you were doing,” Itadori says, “and I’m sorry again for being an ass.” He looks at Geto who just shrugs. 

“You should have seen me when I got here, I yelled a poor receptionist's ear off cause they didn’t have Gojo’s room number,” Geto says, “don’t sweat it.” He stays and chats with them for a bit before he gets too antsy and has to go back to Fushiguro. Now, more than ever, he wants to be right next to him. The thought of not being able to reach out and touch him is scarier than ever. When he goes back into the room, Fushiguro reaches out to him and his heart stutters. 

“Clingy much?” Itadori teases, taking his hand. 

“Right, I’m the clingy one,” Fushiguro says, “now tell me what happened to your damn feet.” 

“I- well… you weren’t answering my messages and I started to freak out a little bit,” Itadori says, “and then something took over me and I just… I had to find you.” Fushiguro squeezes his hand and looks down at him earnestly. “You were- I found you on the ground all alone and bleeding and I didn’t even think about what I was doing-” 

“Hey, hey, calm down,” Fushiguro says softly, “I’m okay.” Itadori nods, takes a deep breath and laughs slightly at himself. 

“I stomped all over the broken glass and it sliced through my shoes,” Itadori says. Fushiguro looks at him softly and tears start to gather in his eyes, “Fushig-” 

“Sorry, I just- I love you,” Fushiguro says, “so much.” Itadori leans forward and presses a gentle kiss to Fushiguro’s hand. “You literally ran on glass to save me.” He takes a deep breath, willing the tears away, “wait, how did you know where I was?” 

“Tell me what happened first, yeah?” Itadori says. Fushiguro nods and takes a pensive breath. 

“The job was completely normal at first, the type of spirits I’d expect at a big set of buildings like that,” Fushiguro says, “then the four of us there split into teams of two to get through the buildings faster since the threat wasn’t too big. Gojo and I ran into a really strong spirit.” Itadori’s breath hitches and Fushiguro rubs gentle circles on his hand with his thumb. “It seemed to get stronger the more we fought it and then- well it got Gojo when he wasn’t ready. I didn’t know what to do, so I pressed the panic button on Gojo’s phone and led the spirit away.” Itadori swallows the lump in his throat. 

“You should-” Itadori starts. 

“I know, I shouldn’t have been fighting it alone, but all I was thinking about was keeping everyone safe,” Fushiguro says, “Gojo wasn’t conscious when they got to him, so he couldn’t tell them I was in trouble too. They didn’t know where I was. They probably assumed I had escaped with the others.” Itadori can feel himself tearing up and he hates it. He hates that someone he loves is constantly in danger. 

“You selfless idiot,” Itadori mumbles, “I was so scared.” Fushiguro nods solemnly. 

“I know and I’m sorry,” Fushiguro says, “I know I need to be more careful. But I didn’t know what to do. I told you I’d be home and I knew the only option was to get rid of the spirit.” 

“Did you? There was nothing insane going on when I got there,” Itadori says. 

“I think so,” Fushiguro says, “I think I remember seeing it dissipate before I blacked out.” Itadori leans forward and rests his forehead on their connected hands. He’s avoided bringing this up time and time again, scared of moving too fast, scared of putting pressure on Fushiguro, but he doesn’t want to wait anymore. 

“Live with me,” Itadori says. Fushiguro seems to freeze for a second, so Itadori looks up. 

“Live with you?” Fushiguro repeats. Itadori swallows the lump in his throat. Maybe this isn’t the right time. Maybe he is rushing things. 

“Yeah. Like I move into your apartment? Or I guess we could move into mine, but it’s smaller and the dogs-” 

“Yes,” Fushiguro says, “move in with me. Please.” Itadori lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. 

“Thank God,” Itadori says, “you don’t know how long I’ve wanted to ask you that.” Fushiguro looks at him with soft, wide eyes. 

“Really?” Fushiguro asks, “I figured you liked living so close to the coffee shop and wouldn’t want to uproot that.” 

“I have a car, don’t I?” Itadori asks. Fushiguro smiles and squeezes his hand. Itadori wishes he could stand up and kiss him properly, but his feet hurt enough as it is. 

“We’re going to be roommates,” Fushiguro says with a small laugh. 

“I like to think we’re more than that,” Itadori says. Fushiguro rolls his eyes. Itadori feels happier than he has in a while despite his sore feet. He’s not even too mad he’ll have to take time off for his feet, since Fushiguro will be right there beside him with all of his wounds.