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When Satoru returned from a mission, Yuuji was right where he had left him. At the sound of the door opening, Yuuji looked up from his movie, grinning once he saw his teacher.
“Welcome back, sensei!”
“I’m home~” Satoru replied cheerfully, waving at Yuuji. Being greeted by a cute boy after coming home from a gruelling mission felt pretty good. Well, it hadn't been a difficult mission, just an annoying one. How many cursed spirits had there been...? They were all low grades, but Satoru had been brought in due to the insane number of them. A few hundreds? Enough to cover his entire uniform in blood, at least.
There were two large piles of movie disc covers, one for movies Yuuji had already watched, and another for the ones he had yet to watch. The done pile was growing larger and larger every day. Satoru wished he could stick around and watch them with Yuuji.
Satoru whined as he hung up his Jacket. "Yuuji-kun~ I had a hard day at work. I wonder when I can get a vacation?"
"Ah, thank you for your hard work, sensei! I'll be able to help you soon!"
Yuuji sounded distracted. The lack of attention made Satoru pout.
With long strides, Satoru walked up to the sofa, stopping behind it. He glanced at the movie Yuuji was watching— a romantic movie. Yuuji was totally engrossed, his pupils blown wide, mouth slightly agape. With a smirk, Satoru devised a prank.
“Yuuji, say ‘aah’~”
“Aah~”
Yuuji opened his mouth obediently without even looking, assuming Satoru was about to feed him some snacks again. He bit down hard on something that didn’t break or crunch. The shape of it was strange. Yuuji swiped his tongue around it and found it slightly salty. This texture... He looked down, cross-eyed, to see Satoru’s hand, a finger in his mouth—
Alarmed, Yuuji drew back immediately. Bite marks and saliva were clear around Satoru’s index finger.
“Wha— sensei! Why did you do that?” Yuuji huffed, looking annoyed and apologetic and embarrassed all at once. It was a funny look on him, and it never failed to crack Satoru up. Yuuji’s face was so expressive, it was interesting to look at. He wanted to push Yuuji more, to see more of his expressions.
Satoru snickered. He pinched Yuuji’s squishy cheek and cooed, “Adorable~ It’s like I’m raising a naughty hamster.”
Yuuji growled theatrically and mimed a biting motion, making Satoru laugh again.
There was a moment of companionable silence as they watched the movie together. Satoru crossed his arms and leaned on the back of the sofa, while Yuuji stayed curled up against the side of the sofa, hugging the doll in his lap. As an intense kiss scene played, Yuuji asked, “What kind of woman do you like, sensei?”
“Hmm, let’s see,” Satoru hummed, tapping his cheek. When he thought of his answer, he snapped his fingers together. “I like people who don’t die easily.”
Yuuji tilted his head. Those were some strange requirements. He expected Satoru to say something about looks, or maybe personality. Did he mean a strong woman, then? Or maybe, someone who was full of vitality?
“Ah!” Satoru laughed lightly, clapping his hands together. With a mischievous grin, he leaned in close to Yuuji and said, hot breath fanning across his face, “I’ll include people who can come back from the dead.”
“Woah, like zombies?”
Somehow, to Yuuji’s great confusion, Satoru burst out into a loud guffaw, holding his stomach. Yuuji blinked his wide eyes and tilted his head contemplatively. Coming back from the dead...
“If not zombies, then like Jesus?”
Satoru laughed even louder. He was laughing so hard he started slapping his thighs and wheezing, unable to breathe properly. Yuuji pouted in annoyance, crossing his arms as he waited for his teacher to stop laughing.
Ah, when was the last time Satoru laughed this hard? Yuuji truly was his happy pill. Satoru found himself wiping away his tears of laughter beneath the cloth covering his eyes. “I never really understood stupid-cute, until now. You’re hilarious, Yuuji-kun. Never change.”
“I don’t get it,” Yuuji whined, pouting and hugging the doll close to his chest as he turned back to his movie. He dug his chin into its head, squishing the doll. “Is that a compliment?”
Satoru snickered and ruffled his newest student’s hair fondly. “Of course! It’s one of your charms.”
For a quiet moment, Satoru watched Yuuji. The lights from the TV screen cast light and shadows on his student’s face as Yuuji reacted to each scene. Yuuji had always been so visibly expressive; so animated and alive. It was more fun to watch him than whatever movie was showing on the screen. He watched the way Yuuji curled up on the sofa, squeezing the dozing doll in his lap. It made Yuuji look smaller than he was. Satoru felt a little bad about how he often left Yuuji here alone, too busy with missions to be with him much.
“Are you lonely without the other first years?”
Yuuji looked up with Satoru’s question. To Satoru’s surprise, Yuuji grinned, eyes curving up into crescents. “Nah, I’ll be meeting them next month anyways! I like how it is now. I get to monopolize you! I gotta make the most of our one-on-one lessons.”
“... You’re such a natural flirt, Yuuji-kun,” Satoru sighed with a helpless smile, pinching Yuuji’s soft cheek. “What do you want for dinner?”
At the sound of dinner, Yuuji perked up, eyes sparkling. “Oh! I want pasta! Wait, steak! Agh, it’s so hard to decide! Anything sensei cooks is delicious… I’ll eat anything you cook, sensei!”
Satoru held a hand to his chest dramatically. “Yuuji… you’re such a good boy. I’ll cook for you your whole life!”
Praises always had a way of making Yuuji glow. Even more determined to be a good boy, Yuuji jumped up from the sofa to cling onto Satoru. “I’ll help you cook, Gojo-sensei!”
Helplessly endeared, Satoru nodded with a grin. He couldn’t ever say no to his precious student.