Chapter Text
December 18, 2018
Their bedroom is quiet in the haze of late morning, curtains drawn so tight sunlight can’t even take a peek, the first days of true winter making the pile of blankets Nobara is currently wrapped in all the more comfortable, and the presence of the body behind her all the more warm.
Maki’s breath tickles the back of her neck, the slow rhythm of it almost drifting her back to sleep. She is content where she is, with the very old scent of mint shampoo that’s slowly becoming familiar again, and very thick arms around her, squeezing her tight enough Nobara may as well just be a stuffed animal.
She is content, yes, should fall back asleep, yes.
But she can't fucking breathe.
“Maki,” she croaks, trying to elbow her. “Jesus Christ, you're pure muscle, please have mercy and let me go a little.”
Maki mumbles something incoherent, then holds her even tighter.
“I know you're awake!”
“’m not,” Maki slurs.
But when Nobara tucks her cold foot back under the blanket and finds Maki’s leg with it, she’s suddenly awake.
“Ow, bitch.”
Maki turns her around and their knees bump and they laugh, laugh harder when Nobara tries to get her cold hands under Maki's shirt, laugh even harder as Maki, in her struggle to avoid that, ends up nearly falling off the edge of the bed.
Maki’s downright girlish giggles swell Nobara’s heart at least five sizes. It’s silly and it’s giddy and it’s wonderful, a light and fluttery feeling in her chest.
“Kiss me,” Nobara says in a dazed rush of air.
Maki is still laughing, so beautifully, her entire face transforming into something breathtaking. “This feels like old times.”
They kiss slowly, sweetly, Nobara rolling to her back and bringing Maki with her, their hands intertwining, the blankets still wrapped around them and everything is quiet, the world outside cold with winter but their bodies warm against each other.
Nobara doesn't know what to do. She wants to tell Maki that she loves her, that she loves this, but the words won't come. Fondness washes over her in a crushing way as Maki's mouth moves to her chin, her jaw, up the side of her face, her cheeks—
Where she stops.
And leans back so they can stare at each other, and she looks at a loss for words just like Nobara feels, slightly flushed, slightly breathless.
“Why are you crying?”
“It just—it just hit me,” Nobara says. “God, I just—I missed you. I missed this. Just like old times, just us laughing and stuff without worrying about who we're going to fight tomorrow or—you know—”
“I know.” Maki leans down, brushing hair out of Nobara's face, her eyes deep and golden and full of love. “I’m glad that you’re crying because you’re happy and not because of something else.” She buries her face in Nobara's neck, trailing short kisses along her skin. “You are happy, right?”
“So happy,” Nobara sighs, tangling her fingers in Maki's short hair, lightly scratching at her scalp to enjoy the way Maki turns to jelly over her. “Can we stay in bed today? Let's just watch movies and eat chocolate and do facemasks. I want to spend the day with you.”
Maki chuckles. “When you ask so sweetly, how can I say no?”
“Maki—” Nobara tugs Maki’s hair a little, and when Maki leans back she holds her face in both hands. “Are you happy?”
“Yeah,” Maki says without hesitating. “Happier than I've ever been.”
“Okay,” Nobara breathes out, thumbs brushing over Maki’s cheekbones, still reveling in getting to look into both of her eyes. She’s so beautiful, the sharp features of her face softened by the lazy morning, the dim bedroom, the love that makes her shine so bright. “Okay. Good.”
They kiss again, and that tender but wild feeling burning in Nobara's chest brings only laughter to her lips, this physical happiness overflowing her. Even Maki giggles again, her cheeks flushing even more and the sound as comforting as the pillows and the blankets around them.
Nobara's phone buzzes on the nightstand, probably Yuji asking if they want breakfast, but she blindly reaches with one hand and knocks it down, not breaking away from Maki's lips.
December 21, 2018
How Maki hates the sight and smell of this place.
People come and go without noticing her, and some TV in the background blasts out a children's anime even though there are no children there to watch it.
She wrings her hands on her lap, bouncing her foot up and down, wanting nothing more than to get out of there and expel the scent of antiseptic from her nose.
There is a cursed spirit in one corner.
Tiny, harmless, babbling about not liking needles, barely a grade four.
Utahime notices her looking at it through her glasses, so she hums a short, punchy tune and the cursed spirit disappears in a small poof of smoke.
Maki exhales, leaning back in her chair, but the cursed spirit hadn't been the reason for her nerves.
This is her fourth time in this particular hospital, and she doesn’t like it any more than those first two visits when Nobara had still been unconscious and hurt and when Maki had thought she would lose her. Even last month, coming here just so Nobara could get measured for the prosthetic, Maki had not been particularly at ease.
“Stop that,” Utahime admonishes, tapping Maki's knee. “She'll be fine, everyone here is a professional.”
Against her will, Maki stops moving her leg. “I don't doubt it.”
“You know she’s not getting surgery or anything of the sort, right?”
“I do,” Maki says. “I just don’t know why they wouldn’t let me inside.”
“Sorry, Maki.” Utahime smiles, and to her credit it is quite comforting. “But don’t worry, they shouldn’t take much longer.”
“I hate this place.”
She sighs. “You and me both, I still don't know how Shoko can stand it all the time.”
Utahime must be talking about the cursed spirits that often spawn. Even now Maki can feel them scuttling about like rats, but that's not why she hates being there.
Eventually she stands and ignores Utahime's hard look, mumbling something about going to find a vending machine and Utahime lets her go with the promise of bringing back some chips.
Safe to say Maki doesn't intend to bring her chips or go to a vending machine at all, and she's frankly surprised Utahime believes her crappy excuse to leave the waiting room.
Instead Maki makes her way through the hospital corridors, careful to avoid being seen and knowing full well she's not showing on their security feeds, a marvelous detail Shoko had accidentally disclosed much to Utahime's annoyance.
Maki follows a familiar sensation, the call of Nobara's cursed energy, dormant as it is out of combat but still vast enough for Maki to find her in this maze of a place where everyone else has only trickles.
Her walk leads her to a locked consulting room, but luckily there is a tiny window at the door where she can peek through.
Inside, Nobara is primly sitting with her head tilted back and a doctor standing over her, talking quietly enough Maki can't hear, and Shoko not far away watching the whole thing with evident interest.
Maki sighs, not really wanting to disturb, just wanting to see Nobara is alive and well.
Her paranoia runs deep and she knows it's not rational whatsoever, but her body reacts in relief at the sight of her anyways.
Then Nobara's good eye slides over to the door, and she purses her lips to stop herself from smiling and quickly looks away, nodding intently to whatever the doctor is telling her.
Maki doesn't hold back her smile, but she does walk back the way she came from, hands in her pockets and more easy on her feet.
Utahime complains about her missing chips, but seems happy Maki is now able to sit on her chair without moving.
Nobara is warned by her doctor the new eye may feel sore at first, or strange, or like an invader, but the sensations would all pass in due time.
None of that happens, anyways.
She doesn't notice it at all, and when she leans over to the mirror she expects to find her face looking the same way it's looked for the past two months. Left side scarred, eye socket empty.
Except that the scars are still there, but now she's looking at the thing they just put in her and it does—look extremely like her eye. An exact replica of her color and shape.
“Holy shit,” she says, and Shoko snorts behind her. When Nobara catches her in the mirror she’s startled to see the prosthetic moving along as well, even though she was told it would happen. “Holy shit. It’s so real.”
“Of course,” says Shoko. “It’s supposed to look real.”
Nobara smiles. Of course it doesn’t shine as her real eye does and of course there is something slightly off about it, clearly revealing itself as not-a-real-eye the longer she stares at it, but it’s comforting, it brings back a sense of normalcy she didn’t even know she still craved. “I can’t wait to show Maki.”
“Holy shit,” Maki says, one hand under Nobara’s chin to tip her head back, her other hand brushing hair out of her face so she can fully look at her under the harsh hospital lights. Nobara holds herself still, giddy smile still on her face. “How does it feel?”
“Like nothing.”
Maki’s grin could rival the sun in how warm it makes Nobara feel. “It looks great. You look amazing.”
“Duh.” Nobara glances over Maki’s shoulder where Shoko and Utahime are staring at them with quite a bit of fondness. Utahime looks away and pretends she hadn’t been looking in the first place, but Shoko just gives Nobara a sly smile. “C’mon, let’s get out of here, there’s something I have to do.”
“Is it really necessary? You don’t even wear that thing anymore.”
“It’s symbolic.”
“It’s dramatic,” Maki argues.
Nobara tucks her hair behind her ears. “Dramatic is my middle name, darling. Now step back.”
“But there’s no way you’re going to hurt us, I’ve seen you do this precisely enough to pick locks, what’s the point of—?”
“Maki, please stop trying to sour my theatrics and step back.”
Maki does so, and Nobara comes to stand next to her in one of Jujutsu High’s courtyards. It’s a beautiful day, really, chilly as hell but the sky is clear and bright, melting off the snow before it can pile on the ground. It’s the sort of day they both enjoy, Nobara with her excuse to keep close to Maki to bask in her warmth and Maki with her excuse to let her.
A beautiful day indeed.
Nobara snaps her fingers. “Hairpin.”
It’s a small explosion this time, and Maki can’t help but marvel at it at least a little bit because she has seen Nobara tear buildings asunder, and yet now she just stands there, sheepish in the cold, as a brief flash of blue cursed energy detonates not too far from them, burning with it the black eyepatch she’d worn for weeks.
It burns for only a second, and then it crumbles to ash, and those ashes are picked up by the winter wind and easily scattered, leaving behind nothing but the slight tang of charred cloth.
“Done,” Nobara says. “It’s done.”
Maki squeezes her hand. “It’s done.”
December 24, 2018
“Keep up, princess.”
Nobara breathes out. “Please, please just—chill, for a second maybe? Like just a second?”
Maki chuckles, her sneakers crunching snow as she stops. “It gets colder if we stop moving.”
“Dear God.” She rests her hands on her knees and breathes out in thick white wisps. “Why did you force me to come in your stupid morning run?”
“You offered,” says Maki. “Since apparently you can't stand spending an hour without me.”
“I'm beginning to regret that.”
“C'mon.” Maki rubs in between Nobara's shoulders. “Just a few more miles and—”
“Miles? Plural?”
“Well we're miles, plural, away from the school.”
Nobara groans. “How come I didn't even notice?”
“Too busy staring at my ass?”
“Hey!”
“What? You thought I wouldn't notice?”
“It can’t be helped,” Nobara says. “You look really good in those leggings.”
“Which you got for me.”
“Which I got for you.” Nobara nods seriously. “But, really, they were a gift for me.”
Maki laughs a little bit more, tugging on Nobara’s beanie to fix it in place. The cold flushes her cheeks even if she’s wrapped in layers, coat and scarf and hat tastefully color-coordinated.
She’s so cute.
“C’mon,” Maki says. “I’ll just carry you the rest of the way.”
When she crouches, Nobara wastes no time in jumping onto her back with a little sigh of half-relief and half-delight.
“I can't help but feel,” Maki says, resuming her normal jog but now with Nobara’s arms and legs around her, “that this was a ploy all along so you could end up exactly here.”
“C'mon now, do you really think I would do something as elaborate as wake up with you at six in the morning, get dressed, come for a run, pretend to be tired and—”
“Yes. Yes, I think you would. All for a piggyback you could've just asked me for.”
Nobara giggles, cold lips brushing against Maki's cheek. “It wouldn't have been as fun, though, and I wouldn't have gotten an entire hour of staring at you in those pants.”
“And here I thought you liked me for my personality.”
“Aw but I do like your personality! Even if it's the personality of a freak who wakes up at six in the morning to go for a run when it’s snowing.”
“And you're the freak that wanted to come.”
Nobara grows silent.
“Nobara?”
“You never go on runs anymore,” she says, her voice losing the playfulness from a few seconds ago. She sounds wholly serious now. “But you used to when you were anxious or nervous or when you couldn't sleep.”
This time it's Maki who grows silent, her heart squeezing in her chest. It's strange, to be known like this, even stranger to love being known like this.
“Tell me what’s wrong?” Nobara asks softly.
She's so tiny, so easy to carry. Maki has always liked that, her small girlfriend who could tear a hole in a city, who could snuff out a soul with the snap of her fingers, yet who decides to stay by Maki's side and come running with her because she's worried.
“Nothing’s wrong,” Maki says.
“But something’s going on.”
“Nothing bad,” Maki reassures her. “Actually, it’s silly.”
“Why?”
“It’s Christmas Eve.”
“Uh, yes? So?”
Maki sighs.
“Wait, Maki,” Nobara says. “You’re blushing! Oh my God, were you planning something?”
What a burden, to be known like this.
“Maybe.”
“Where are you taking me?”
“Who said anything about taking you anywhere?”
“You better be taking me somewhere, unless you have another girlfriend I don't know about, in which case I'm going to have to remind you I carry around a voodoo doll with your hair.”
“Pretty sure I’ve dealt with worse things than your little magic tricks.”
“Yeah? You want to try me, then? You’re not the only one who fought the most evil man alive, you know. In fact, I think I did most of the work back then.”
“Mhm. Just like you’re doing most of the work right now?”
“Hey! You offered to carry me!”
“You could’ve said no.”
“And miss out on this?” She leaves another kiss on Maki’s cheek, nuzzling her cold nose against her. “No way. I would never miss out on my romantic girlfriend who plans cute Christmas dates without telling me, and who gets so nervous about said dates that—”
She breaks off in a squawk as Maki lets go of her for a second, but only for a second, only enough that Nobara slides off her back a quarter of an inch before she grabs hold of her again.
“Fuck off!”
Maki laughs. “Sorry, guess I’m growing a little tired.”
“You’re actually superhuman, you don’t grow tired!” Nobara huffs. “Don’t like it when I point out you still get nervous about dates, honestly—”
“I was nervous.”
“Was?”
“Seeing that you’re being a little shit, yeah, I’m not anymore.”
“Aw c’mon, you love me anyways.” Nobara leans forward again, resting her chin right on Maki’s shoulder. “What’s there to be nervous about, anyways? We’re way past the awkward crush stage. Actually, I don’t think we even had an awkward crush stage.”
“You definitely did,” says Maki. “You used to stare at me like you wanted to eat me alive.”
“Okay? And when did that make anything awkward? Also what do you mean used to? Not to mention, you have some nerve telling me that, you of all people.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You know,” Nobara says, gesturing vaguely over Maki’s shoulder.
“I don’t.”
“Well, if you don’t know I’m not going to tell you.”
“Real mature.”
They fall silent for a bit, Nobara's cold breath against Maki's cheek, and Maki keeping a comfortable pace through the white-peppered streets. They're practically empty this early in the morning, quiet, peaceful, it makes it hard to believe that just days ago the world had been upside down.
Eventually it's Maki who breaks the silence, something that doesn't happen very often.
“It’s just our first date by ourselves, you know, since we—”
“Oh,” Nobara says quietly. “Since we agreed to go on one after the mission in Shibuya.”
“Yeah. That's why I was—why I am a little nervous. Like I said, it's silly.”
“It's not silly,” says Nobara. “Hell, if I were taking myself on a date I would be nervous too—”
“I'm going to drop you for real this time.”
“Kidding!” She laughs. “But still, it’s cute. You don’t have to worry about any of that, though, we’re going to have so much fun and it’s going to be wonderful, you don’t need to be nervous.”
Maki hums, knowing exactly where this is going.
“Sooo—” Nobara says. “Where are you taking me?”
“Always so curious,” says Maki with a smile. “Don't worry, it's a nice restaurant you'll like.”
“Dinner or lunch?”
“Dinner.” She narrows her eyes. “Why?”
“Ha, I knew it! You love dressing up nice, seeing me in dresses—”
“Taking off your dresses—”
Nobara chuckles. “Yeah, yeah, that too. But I'm glad it's dinner, that means we still have time to go on the date I planned.”
“You planned something?” asks Maki, now running up the stairs towards the school, careful not to slip on the snow-ridden steps, welcomed by the familiar scent of fresh soil and wood.
“Maki,” Nobara says evenly. “It's Christmas Eve, of course I planned something.”
“What is it then?”
Nobara tuts. “Always so curious.”
“Oh, you guys are back! Good news, Nobara, I managed to buy the tickets for the skiing place after all!”
“Yuji shut the fuck up!”
“Skiing, huh?” Maki asks.
Nobara hops down from her back and comes to stand in front of her, not without shooting Yuji a glare so deadly he immediately turns on his heels and hurries inside.
Nobara turns to Maki again, clearing her throat. “I thought it’d be fun? You like sports, and you’re competitive, and you’ll probably get a kick out of seeing me miserably fall hundreds of times. And we can be back in time for dinner!”
Maki laughs, immediately injected with Nobara’s enthusiasm. “Alright, it does sound fun. Is everyone else going, too?”
“Ew, no, Maki, this is a date. Just you and me. I mean, Yuji and Megumi are going to the same place but they’re going to be doing their own thing—I think Megumi’s gonna summon the Divine Dog to pull a sled for Yuji, but I’m not sure.” She gives herself a shake. “Anyways, whatever. You’re up for it, right?”
“With you?” Maki smiles, finding Nobara’s hand and intertwining their fingers. “I’m up for anything.”
December 31, 2018
Despite the pitiful state the country has been left in at the tail end of not only the Shibuya incident but also the culling games, the lives of non-sorcerers go on and their celebrations continue. Maki comments on how odd it is, but Nobara, having spent most of her life surrounded by them, knows just how stubborn people can be when you try to take away their parties and traditions even in the face of adversity— especially in the face of adversity.
Joy needs to continue, and joy can be found aplenty right after difficult periods as people desperately search for something to take their minds off the tragedy.
So it is tonight the streets of Yokohama are the liveliest they’ve ever been, music only drowned by the voices of pedestrians making their way through colorfully illuminated roads, chattering away and taking pictures of themselves with the massive ferris wheel at the center of Cosmoworld, the amusement park by the bay, at their backs.
It does make for a nice backdrop, as Nobara playfully notes after snapping some pictures herself, mainly with Maki of course, but also with Megumi and Yuji and Tsumiki, and even with the rest of their—admittedly odd group.
“This is boring!” Gojo exclaims, hands on hips as all of them huddle near the docks, waiting as the massive clock in the glowing ferris wheel slowly inches closer and closer to the new year. “Oh, I know! I just had a wonderful idea!”
“Whenever you say that,” Megumi grumbles, “it’s usually something illegal.”
“That’s correct, Megumi! This will be highly illegal, so gather around!”
“Oh God,” Maki also grumbles, in a cadence so similar it makes it extremely obvious they're related. “Usually 'gather around' just means teleporting.”
Nobara and Yuji immediately turn to look at each other. “Teleporting!?” they say at the same time, conveying glee also in the same cadence. Of course Nobara knows Gojo can teleport and take people with him if he so wishes, but he's never offered to take her anywhere.
“It's not as exciting as it sounds,” says Yuta.
“Salmon.”
“I for once wouldn't mind teleporting away,” says Panda. “I'm tired of people staring and saying ‘Oh it’s such a realistic costume.’ Like, that’s very rude!”
“Alright, alright, just gather!” Gojo chirps. “And close your eyes—don't want you staring off into the abyss and going insane and whatnot.”
Yuji's smile considerably dims. “What?”
“Don't listen,” says Maki. “He always makes that stuff up.”
Still, whether Gojo is lying or not Nobara wraps herself around Maki's arm, and closes her eyes tightly.
They leave behind the salty scent of Yokohama's bay and trade it for a more sophisticated aroma Nobara can only describe as businesslike.
She opens her eyes and recognizes where they are immediately, not because she'd ever been in this place but because what kind of person wouldn't recognize the view from inside Yokohama's Landmark Tower?
“Woah,” she says, or that may be Yuji speaking.
What a view it is.
The floor where Gojo deposits them has to be the top one or near the top, and it's mostly empty save for a few sofas facing the massive panoramic windows that go around the room.
Nobara immediately tugs Maki towards them, her eyes wide as she hungrily takes in the sight of the city. A kaleidoscope of light brings Yokohama to life, white and yellow brilliance outlining buildings and highways, reflecting off the bay, water shimmering under the dark sky.
And to the side is Cosmoworld, the ferris wheel its own rainbow of luminescence, the clock at its center signaling off just ten minutes until midnight.
The sight is breathtaking.
“What are we doing here?” Megumi asks because of course he hates nice things. “This place is closed for a reason, we can't just—”
“Relax!” says Gojo. “Whole place is shut down due to 'safety concerns' but that doesn't mean we aren't allowed in.”
“That is exactly what that means.”
“Why do you have to be such a party pooper, Megumi-chan!?”
“What did you call me?”
Nobara tunes them out—an ability completely essential when spending five days a week stuck in a classroom with them—as she focuses on the view in front of her. She feels strangely small, and strangely touched.
As a sorcerer she knows she's seen way more things than the average sixteen-year-old girl, but most of those things are horrifying, and she's never seen something quite like this before, has never even been this high before,
Now, in one of the tallest buildings in the entire country, she glances up at the windows and all she can see is the darkness above, the glass in front of her so clear it’s almost as if she could simply reach for the sky and touch it.
“Hey, country bumpkin, is it really that impressive?”
“It is!” Nobara says. “You don't like it?”
“There are nicer things to look at.”
And Nobara, of course, can't avoid the blush that rushes to her face at record speed. She turns to Maki and finds her eyes focused solely on her as if making a point, the angles of her face cast in the city lights.
“Prettier things,” Maki says, tucking a strand of Nobara's hair back inside her beanie. “I mean you, by the—”
“Oh I know you mean me!” Nobara huffs, grateful for the observation room being lit only by the outside shimmer, though she knows Maki can perfectly see how red her cheeks are even in the half-darkness. Screw her, honestly, making her blush in front of everyone like this.
Although it doesn't look like anyone is paying attention to them. Yuta, Toge, and Panda have made themselves more than comfortable on the couches and are excitedly listening as Tsumiki points at the city below, meanwhile Yuji finally succeeded in cutting off Megumi and Gojo's argument on the premise Gojo should go get them some snacks—and Gojo can't resist the idea of getting sugar on his system, so he's gone in a blink.
Nobara watches the place where he'd just been, a little concerned. He'd been the one to suggest leaving Tokyo for New Year's Eve and though he claimed it was because Yokohama was always beautiful this time of the year, Nobara can't help but notice there is a slight edge to her former teacher, a slight—desperation.
“Satoru will be alright,” Maki tells her. “The holidays always make him a little gloomy, but he's already doing better than last year. Well—considering last year's holidays were ruined by us almost getting murdered on Christmas Eve, I'm not surprised.”
Nobara grimaces. It's just them and Gojo tonight, Shoko and Utahime apparently having gone on a “much needed romantic escapade,” whatever the hell that meant, and everyone else spending time with their families—except for—
Her phone and Maki's ping simultaneously and rapidly, but Nobara just lets Maki pull out hers because she knows they got the exact same message.
Yuki: HI GIRLS!!!! I know it's not midnight over there yet but it's 7 in the morning here and I have to go to sleep otherwise I'm going to collapse!!!! I was out all night!! Happy new year!!!!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🥳🥳🥳🥳🤡 🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆
Yuki: Ignore the clown my finger slipped!!!!!!!
And of course there is a picture of her in sunglasses in front of the United States White House. Nobara never asks what she does on her journeys because honestly she's scared to know.
“Ugh, she's so embarrassing,” Nobara mutters, taking the phone out of Maki's hand and typing out a response, of course attaching some of the pictures they’d taken together earlier tonight.
There is one person unaccounted for, that's true, but it's not like they can just ask Gojo about him—not without making things extremely awkward, because that man can't behave himself whenever Suguru is brought up.
Nobara instead had asked Shoko, and Shoko just told her not to worry about it because Suguru was “being kept busy,” whatever the hell that meant. Vacations had really turned Shoko into someone very cryptic.
So tonight it's just them, the perpetually small classes of Tokyo Jujutsu High, their perpetually good-humored teacher, and Tsumiki who always just looks happy to be around.
Nobara hands Maki her phone back and smiles at her as radiantly as she can, and that is enough for Maki to nearly fumble putting her phone in her pocket. Heh, payback.
In the distance, the Cosmo Clock signals five minutes before the new year, bright lines of light ticking off on the side of the ferris wheel. Nobara had always wanted to see it in person, and ride it of course, but it’s always closed on New Year’s Eve—perhaps she and Maki can make the trip to Yokohama again at some point.
It’s a heartening thought, and it makes her very happy that nowadays she can have these silly thoughts of going places with her girlfriend and knowing that the only thing that could possibly stop them is not impending doom but rather something mundane like, the weather or whatever.
Three minutes until midnight.
Gojo returns in a flurry of passing cups of coffee and hot chocolate and, of course, as many sweets as he can possibly carry in his noodle arms. Nobara makes the attempt to join them, especially as laughter starts filling the otherwise empty room, but Maki tugs at her hand to keep her in place by the windows.
“Wait,” Maki says.
“Oho, want to keep me here until new years?”
“Yeah.” Her bare fingers are, like always, incredibly warm, so much so that Nobara takes off her gloves and puts them in the pocket of her coat just so she can feel the heat of Maki's skin against hers, little coals in the palm of her hand.
But when she leans up to give her a kiss, a finger on her nose stops her, and the mischief in Maki's smile is almost palpable.
Nobara chuckles. “No kissing until midnight?”
“Yep,” says Maki. “Just two more minutes. You can wait, right?”
“Ugh, I guess.” Nobara leans against her, standing together in view of the city.
“It is a nice view,” Maki says softly, her voice only for Nobara's ears. “But it just makes me want to get away for a little while.”
“Away?”
Maki hums. “It's just loud.” And as if the very universe agreed on the timing to prove her point, Gojo starts yelling about Panda stealing his chocolate bars.
“They’re gourmet!”
“Don’t lie, you got these from a 7-Eleven! That’s the only place that’s open!”
Nobara chuckles under her breath, especially because Maki has a face that suggests tuning out those voices is also a completely essential ability.
It is nice to be together like this with everyone, and there are cases where it’s needed, when Nobara’s days get better just because she gets to talk to Yuji and Megumi anytime she wants, when Gojo’s chattering becomes routine again and seeing Maki so at ease with them becomes comforting.
But a lot happens everyday, and Nobara means a lot. There is always someone around the corner, or even in the kitchen in the middle of the night. You would think their perpetually small classes would mean the school feels empty most of the time, but that is not the case at all. Nobara doesn’t mind it much, and it’s not something she noticed before everything happened, but she can see Maki getting annoyed sometimes at the lack of solitude, grumpy as she puts on her shoes and goes out on her own.
There’s also the worry.
Everyone worries about them, and again Nobara doesn’t mind but she wishes Gojo wouldn’t ask so many questions about her wellbeing, it’s hard for him to believe that she’s fine the way she is, not taking any more missions because she’s frankly tired of facing untold horrors, thank you very much.
Leaving that behind while staying in Jujutsu High is clearly not ideal, but there aren’t many things they can do about that.
Well, one thing.
“Don’t worry,” Nobara says, hugging Maki’s arm close to her chest. “I have a plan to get away at least for a little while.”
“Copying Shoko-san’s little romantic escapade?”
“I’m not sure how romantic it’s going to be,” Nobara admits. “But it’s going to be quieter, that’s for sure.”
“Bonito flakes! Tuna! Tuna!”
“Christ, I’m not sure who’s going to pay for that—”
Maki laughs. “Honestly I’ll take it no matter where it is.”
One minute.
Nobara stares into the dark skies broken by neon lights, the warmth of Maki’s body next to hers, her cold fingers slowly regaining feeling intertwined with Maki’s, and she’s momentarily overwhelmed with possibilities.
Places to see, time to spend, a life to live. How interesting, despite clamoring her way out of the countryside and into the city this is the first time she really feels like her girlish fancies of glamour and fun are within reach.
The clock ticks, and ticks.
Then the fireworks.
January 1, 2019
Colors and shapes burst forth in front of Nobara’s eyes, the quick pop pop pop reaching all the way inside, dazzling yellow and blue and red painting the sky in whirling spirals, sparking paths upwards then downwards. Someone in the room cheers loudly, and other voices soon join, but Nobara can barely hear.
She stands on her tiptoes to kiss Maki, bringing her down with a hand on the back of her neck, the short strands of her hair soft under her fingertips, her lips even softer against hers, her smile the lovely flavor of bliss.
Maki embraces her easily, her arms slipping around Nobara’s slender frame and the real fireworks, the real sparks, are the ones exploding into life behind Nobara’s eyelids when Maki hums pleasantly against her mouth.
Everything else simply fades away, the voices and the loud bursts and even the lights, the colors, there is only them alone in this room so far above the ground, them alone surrounded by nothing but the night and the promise of what’s to come, nothing else but this tender moment.
“Happy new year,” Maki says.
Nobara breathes out, can’t help but smile, enthralled by the patterns of distant fireworks dancing on Maki’s face. “Happy new year.”
“Okay now!” Gojo calls from his place on the couches with everyone else. “You got your midnight kiss! Now stop being lovey-dovey and come join us!”
Nobara laughs, despite the annoyed way in which Maki rolls her eyes. A quick scan reveals that Gojo not only brought snacks but also stupid little hats and glasses he’s made everyone wear, but there are two very notable people missing.
“Wait,” Nobara says. “So we have to join you people but Yuji and Megumi are allowed to just disappear? That seems targeted!”
“Hush, you two have been together for longer! No excuses!”
“You’re just a bitter, lonely, smelly, and jealous old man,” Nobara says with a huff, slipping her hand down Maki’s arm until they can lace their fingers together again.
“Now that’s a little harsh.”
“No, no,” Yuta says. “She’s right.”
“Smelly!?”
“Totally right,” Tsumiki agrees.
“Yup,” says Panda.
“Salmon.”
“Guys! Why is insulting me the first thing you do in the new year!?”
“Now that’s my kind of celebration,” Maki says, tugging Nobara by the hand so they can join their little oddball group, not without giving her a knowing smile over her shoulder.
It speaks of the future.