written for ItaFushi Week Day 3 - Soulmate AU
telepathic thoughts are italicized. enjoy!
Ever since his grandpa sat him on his knee at eight-years-old to tell him that, someday, he'd meet a person especially for him who would cherish him for who he is, and that he could get to know them until their paths crossed by exchanging thoughts, Yuuji has eagerly awaited the day he turns eighteen so he can finally experience his soul bond. Hearing your soulmate's thoughts, being able to communicate telepathically even from thousands of miles away, seems like exactly the kind of intimate relationship he's always dreamed of sharing with someone. How can you be lonely when the best person for you is just a thought away? It's a magical, intimate experience and he'd dreamed of it for ten long years.
What they don't really cover in school, during any of the long, drawn out explanations of how soul bonds came to be and how they operate, is how distracting it can be. And it never even occurred to Yuuji his soulmate might be the most exasperated person on the planet. Don't get him wrong, a lot of the time they're hilarious, dry and snarky, and sometimes they let their sweet side slip (especially if dogs are involved, they're an avid dog lover; Yuuji's seen enough hazy images of two dogs, one white and one black, linked with fond thoughts that he's pretty sure his soulmate owns them) but they're quick to a subtle sort of annoyance. There seems to be one person in particular, someone they refer to as "Gojo", that exacerbates their irritability tenfold which is equal parts amusing and concerning. Like now.
I swear to every god listening, if Gojo doesn't stop popping into my lectures for the sole purpose of embarrassing me I'm going to—
Normally this kind of murderous tone might make him laugh—he's heard some rendition of this thought probably over a hundred times in the last year—but he's in class at the moment and with an exam coming up in another week he kind of needs to concentrate.
Hey, sorry you're having a hard time right now but uh, could you tone down the homicidal thoughts? I'm in class.
Shit, sorry. There's an extended pause where all Yuuji can sense are his own general thoughts on the lecture before the familiar neck tingle returns with his soulmate's contrite, Good luck with your exam.
Smiling, Yuuji projects his warm feelings of gratitude before closing the mental door he'd crafted at the beginning of their bond to give the both of them some privacy so they can concentrate. Of course, if he or his soulmate have strong enough thoughts, they can still be sensed as a kind of muffled background noise but they're pretty good at controlling it. He's heard that especially strong thoughts might slip through that barrier if soulmates are in close proximity but usually he only hears their thoughts, or projects his, if they purposefully open the channel between them.
Once his lecture is finished, Yuuji heads for the campus coffee shop to refuel for the study session he knows he needs if he wants to pass the upcoming exam. It's fairly empty at this time of day, since most students are still in class, save for a couple of people in line before him and two other patrons sitting at the tables.
He's musing over the menu, trying to decide how many shots of espresso his studying is going to require, when his neck tingles.
Damn, his ass looks incredible in those jeans.
And maybe, if Yuuji had met his soulmate already, this kind of thought might have sparked something like jealousy or amusement depending on the situation. But seeing as Yuuji has yet to meet them the only thing he feels is shock when the familiar image of his ass, in his faded jeans, comes into focus in his mind's eye. He can even see the watercolor-like background of the barista counter in front of him and the very distinct color of his pastel hair peeking out from beneath the snapback he's currently wearing.
He whips around without thinking, rapidly surveying the sparsely populated café for who has to be his soulmate. His eyes land first on a girl in the corner but he dismisses her based on the angle and the obvious way she's engrossed in her schoolwork, headphones on to block out the world. His gaze is drawn to the only other person here—a dark-haired boy sitting directly behind him who jerks his gaze up from where it had quite obviously been focused below Yuuji's belt. His eyes widen as a pretty flush creeps over his cheeks before he ducks his head.
Fuck, did he see me staring?
An electric, giddy feeling rushes through Yuuji's limbs and it's all he can do not to run over to the guy immediately. Taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart, he makes sure to keep his thoughts to himself as he steps up to the counter and orders two coffees; one red eye and one cavity-inducing monstrosity with extra caramel sauce. Then, both coffees in hand and his heart in his throat, he walks decisively towards the boy.
"Hey," he greets with a friendly smile. He waits for the guy to look up again, eyebrow raised at the drink he's being offered, before asking brazenly, "Is that really what you think about my ass?"
The flush that overtakes the boy's face is so deep he practically sizzles with it; it almost makes Yuuji feel bad for leading with that but it makes him even prettier so he can't really find it in himself to regret it.
"Oh my god you heard that," is the horrified whisper, one hand coming up to cover his mouth. Then he pauses, brows drawn low in confusion for a second before shooting up again in shock. He meets Yuuji's gaze head-on now, voice slightly louder as he gasps, "Wait, you heard that."
Laughing, Yuuji offers the diabetes-in-a-cup to him again, pleased when it's accepted, and gestures to the empty chair across from him.
"I'm Itadori Yuuji. Mind if I sit?"
"Fushiguro Megumi." He lowers his hand as his blush begins to fade to reveal a somewhat shy smile. "Sure. And, yes."
Yuuji tilts his head at the non sequitur as he takes a seat. "Yes?"
His smile evolves into a more confident smirk as Megumi rests his chin in his hand, pretty sea-glass eyes trained on Yuuji's as he sips his coffee and repeats soundlessly, "Yes, I really do think your ass looks great in those jeans."
thanks for reading! i hope you enjoyed! (´｡• ᵕ •｡`)❤
(if you're wondering why yuuji bought the sweetest drink on the menu for megumi, it's bc i low-key hc megumi as drinking black coffee to appear more mature but in reality he loves frappuccino lol so at some point yuuji picked up on that through their bond)
meanwhile, i'm always working on my current baby love's only demand is that we fall which you can find excerpts of on my Tumblr (sawamura-daichis-thighs) if you're interested :3 i'm also on the bird app at ms_refreshing if you prefer it there!