it was one time.

three.

Megumi

Present

On the second day of detention, Denji slams an empty Polaroid photo book and a camera on the desk I sit at. I sigh and close my eyes, "What's this?"

"This is gonna be a book for us. We're gonna be seniors next year, right? We should fill them with cool memories." Denji flips through the empty pages of the book. What has gotten into him?

"Denji, why are we talking?" I scoot my chair back, and Denji visibly looks upset. "I want to." That is all he says.

Denji and I had a complicated relationship. We hadn't talked like this in a while, but after talking for the first time yesterday in months, he suddenly felt comfortable talking to me like we used to.

"So, what? You wanna make a bucket list of things to do before senior year?" I raise a brow. Denji nods. "Why should we do this anyway?" I sigh, leaning back and crossing my arms.

For a moment, Denji's lips press together. "I just want to cherish high school memories with you is all." He says.

I don't reply. Instead, I watch him pull out a piece of paper with 10 things on them. "This is what I've come up with." He flattens the paper on my desk and sits closer to me so he can peer over my shoulder.

I read through the list. "You really wanna do this?" I side-eye him. He nods, smiling angelically. I scoff, "When do we start?"

"Tomorrow!"

"Okay. Tomorrow."

Denji

2 years ago

I bury my nose into Megumi's neck, hugging him closer. He rubs his hands up and down my back and I sigh into his warmth. "Class is soon." He mumbles. I hum in response.

We'd been sitting like this for a few minutes in a stall of the school bathroom.

I just wanted to have him near me.

Megumi doesn't usually talk to me when others are watching.

I lift my head to see his face, and I'm met with an instant kiss on the lips. Megumi pecks my lips and moves his hand up to comb them through my hair on the back of my head. My cheeks redden and I release him. "We...should go," I suggest, opening the stall door and walking out. Megumi follows.

We walked side by side to my class. I can feel our shoulders brush every few seconds, and our hands so close together they almost touch.

I can feel the heat radiating from his body as I tell him a funny story about Power and Aki's argument this morning.

He doesn't laugh, but I swear I see him crack a small smile.

"Bye, Megumi." I say, turning to face him once we arrive at my class. "See you after school." He says, his pointer finger gently touching the back of my hand. I smile, nodding once at him.

After school, I ran to our spot. "I'm applying for a job today." That is the first thing Megumi tells me. I grab his face with a hand and make his lips pout, squeezing his cheeks. "That's awesome, Megs!" I say, kissing the corner of his mouth.

Megumi's eyes widen, and he wipes the kiss off as his eyes glance around the open area. "Denji-"

"I- I know. I'm sorry." I say, taking a step back. Megumi closes his eyes. "It's fine." He sucks in a breath. "Wanna come to my place instead?" He offers. I nod at that

The bike ride to Megumi's home was short. He lives pretty close to the school in a very nice house.

"My dad's home." He says, sighing as he parks his bike. He turns to me after he gets off. "Just...Be logical, I guess. Don't say anything stupid." He tells me carefully.

I salute him.

"Don't do that."

I put a thumbs up.

"Don't do that either."

I roll my eyes, "Just take me inside the damn house."

The sound of chaos engulfs the room around us as we enter. Pots and pans clash together and a yelp comes from the room. "Gumi, is that out? Could you help me with these damn-" Bright, blue eyes widen at the sight of me. "Who is thi-"

"Gojo, this is Denji." Megumi interrupts. "Nice to know Megumi has friends." Gojo grins. "Oh, we're-" I start, but Megumi clears his throat loudly, grabs my wrist, and drags me up the stairs.

I'm found with the familiarity of his bedroom. He takes a seat on his gaming chair and pats his lap. I take no further time in climbing onto him and hugging him, facing the wall as he faces his screen.

I bury my face into his neck, where I feel most comfortable.

He slips his headset on and begins playing his game. I hear him mutter every few seconds. Either getting frustrated at the game or the people he's playing with.

I've never played video games before. The same way I've never felt like this about anyone else. I fit my head to look at Megumi, and as always, he presses a quick peck to my lips. He frees one of his hands to slowly rub my back. I smile and rest against his neck once more.

"Are we boyfriends?" I suddenly ask. I feel Megumi swallow.

"Where'd you get that question from?" He replies quietly. I look at the floor, peering over his shoulder as I do so, "I just...If I can have a girlfriend, I can have a boyfriend too, right?"

I feel Megumi nod, "Yeah."

"So...are we boyfriends?" I ask again. This time, I lean back and look at his face. His brows are slightly furrowed, and his eyes stare at me intensely. He parts his lips. "I- I don't know." He stutters, glancing away from me.

I frown.

"We can try, can't we?" I say, tilting my head at him. "You're the only person in my whole life that I've ever kissed or hung out with like this." I say. "I know, Denji, me too." Megumi mutters, closing his eyes for a long moment.

"Then make me your boyfriend." I huff.

"It's not that simple."

"How?"

"It's a lot of responsibility..."

I sigh and move to get up but Megumi's palms find my sides, and he holds me still. "Do you like me or not?" I say, finally frustrated.

"Yes." Megumi says. I blink at him. There's a pause before Megumi says, "I like you, Denji."

"I like you too, Megumi."

A small smile breaks across his face, "I know."

I glare at him, and the smile drops slightly. "Please, let me be your boyfriend." I sigh, leaning forward into him and wrapping my arms over his shoulders. I feel Megumi take a breath. "Denji," He starts, "Be my-"

"YES! I will."

[AUTHORS NOTE]

sorry for the late update fans 😓 i was rly busy yesterday so i tried to get this up as early as i could 😭 LOVE U GUYS 🤩💛 art by me btw 😓