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Oblivious

Summary:

“You did not ‘like’ me. You pestered me every day and wouldn’t leave me alone, you poked, prodded, and made snarky comments on everything about me,” Nanami said.

He was slightly defensive now. Gojo’s wide, evil smile didn’t help.

“I said I had a crush on you, I didn’t say I was mature about it.”

“You expect me to believe you annoyed the living shit out of me for four years because you liked me,” Nanami stared at Gojo in disbelief as the other sorcerer nodded his head and laughed.

 

Alternate Summary: Gojo and Nanami make some new revelations about the past while discussing Megumi and Itadori's more-than-friendship.

Day #1 of Nanago Week 2021 Prompt: Mutual Pining

Notes:

Welcome to Nanago Week 2021! This will run June 29-July 5 and I am so excited! Make sure you go check out other people's Nanago week submissions in the "NanaGo Week 2021" Collection here on Ao3!

Today's prompt was "Mutual Pining". I know this immediately brings up angsty thoughts but does it have to? I took a semi-different and light-hearted approach to this prompt. This is mostly dialogue. Please enjoy!

 

Freaky's Nanago Week Series and submissions would not be possible without my beta @ethotchipandlie on Twitter! ❤️

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Gojo and Nanami were sat on the couch in their most comfortable clothes. Gojo was grading papers and homework from the first years. He was rolling the cap of his red pen between his teeth while circling errors and making doodles and notes.

Nanami was actually relaxing. He was laid back with his head propped on Gojo’s thigh and holding his newest novel above his head. Gojo was creating a pile of graded work to return to the students on Nanami’s stomach.

The only sound was the turning of paper and the small clock on the wall counting the minutes of their evening. Gojo’s phone buzzed on the coffee table. He recapped the pen and tucked it behind one ear before reaching for the device.

He hummed at the message on the screen and then Nanami could hear the small clicks of the phone's keyboard as Gojo typed out a reply with his thumbs.

“Who was it?” Nanami asked after Gojo put the phone back with a small thud. He licked one of his fingers and used it to turn his page.

“Megumi-chan. He and Yuuji-kun are going off-campus. Told them to bring back snacks.”

“Without Nobara? We don’t need any snacks,” Nanami replied with distant interest.

“What do you think of them?” Gojo avoided the snack comment entirely.

“Who? Megumi and Yuuji?” Nanami asked and looked up over the top of his book and into Gojo’s face for a second.

“Yeah. Do you think they know and are just trying to be private or are they as clueless as they seem? With Megumi-chan it’s hard to tell,” Gojo put a finger up to his chin in thought.

Nanami sighed and laid the open book against his chest. He couldn’t follow the story and discuss the love life of Gojo’s adopted son and students at the same time.

“I think Megumi-kun knows about his own feelings, I think he just doesn’t see the way Itadori-kun stares when he isn’t looking.”

Gojo was silent for a second as he considered Nanami’s words.

“Oh, I’ve got it. We should follow them around with a camera and water balloons. Then we will -”

“No,” Nanami said with an edge of finality. He lifted his book back up and tried to ignore Gojo’s exasperated sigh.

“Ugh, maybe you’re right. We should just tell them,” Gojo leaned his head back against the back of the couch.

“That is not what I said. At all.”

“Nanamiiiii, if we don’t tell Megumi then he could end up like you. I mean it worked out in the end but it took years,” Gojo rambled slightly as he reflected without Nanami.

“What are you even talking about?” Nanami gave up. He grabbed the bookmark he had rested on Gojo’s knee and slotted it into his book. Gojo would leave him no peace and Nanami could never resist taking the bait from Gojo. “What took years?”

“For you to notice that I was staring at you when you weren’t looking, obviously. You and Megumi-chan are both a bit oblivious.” Gojo shrugged like it was common knowledge.

“Excuse me?”

“Nanami, what’s with that sour face? You know I liked you in high school.”

“No, you did not.”

Gojo laughed and snorted a little bit and put a hand into Nanami’s hair lightly pulling on the short strands with his fingertips. “Hell yeah, I did. Shoko made fun of me constantly. Sure your hair was a crime but it was the 2000s and you were cute. Especially with the sneer you used to give me. The one that creased your glabella.”

Gojo explained as he pressed a finger into the space between Nanami’s furrowed eyebrows. Nanami scoffed lightly and sat up and away from Gojo’s hands to readjust to face Gojo. He placed the stack of homework that had been on his stomach onto the floor.

“You did not ‘like’ me. You pestered me every day and wouldn’t leave me alone, you poked, prodded, and made snarky comments on everything about me,” Nanami said.

He was slightly defensive now. Gojo’s wide, evil smile didn’t help.

“I said I had a crush on you, I didn’t say I was mature about it.”

“You expect me to believe you annoyed the living shit out of me for four years because you liked me,” Nanami stared at Gojo in disbelief as the other sorcerer nodded his head and laughed.

“Nanami, you were a very difficult kouhai to love. You never spoke to me and you had a permanent scowl. So driving you a little crazy was the most effective way to get you to react. Wasn’t I just so good at it?” Gojo looked almost proud of himself.

Nanami sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. Gojo was good at it and it felt like he got better at driving Nanami mad every day.

Gojo pulled out the pen from his ear and tossed it next to the pile of graded papers. He smiled in his signature, devious way as he crawled across the couch, closing the distance between him and Nanami.

He pushed on Nanami’s chest which gave under the touch and Gojo pushed all the way until Nanami was on his back, propped up slightly by the arm of the couch. Gojo laid down and pushed his face into Nanami’s chest dramatically.

“Plus, when you started dating Haibara in your first year I couldn’t help being just a touch jealous but once I started with the teasing your reactions were just too good.”

“Now I’m certain you’re insane or at least making this up. I was never dating Haibara.”

Gojo stopped moving. He stopped moving his hands across Nanami’s shoulders and rubbing his big toe on Nanami’s ankle.

“What did you just say?” Gojo lifted his head to stare at Nanami. Nanami in response frowned and pinched his eyebrows again. “Of course you did.”

“No, we were just friends.”

“Fuck off. The kid practically orbited you. You went everywhere together and I know for a fact you wore his shirt once.”

“It’s disturbing that you know that. I spilled coffee on mine and Haibara had a spare, it wasn’t from messing around or anything that juvenile,” Nanami rolled his eyes.

Gojo pinched the skin of Nanami’s pectoral.

“Ow, why the hell did you do that?” Nanami smacked at Gojo’s hand before rubbing the tender skin on his chest with gentle fingers.

“You never dated Haibara!”

“Is that a crime?”

“Why did you never scowl at him? You never sneered at him the way you did to me! He was all over you and so damn happy all the time! Why did you like him but hated me?!”

“First of all, Haibara was, I don’t know, not a complete ass. His personality was extremely cheery but it was genuine and I respected him. You, our obnoxious senpai, had made it your life’s mission to give me an ulcer before the age of twenty.”

Gojo clicked his tongue and rested his chin back down onto Nanami’s pectoral, “Is there a second?”

“Secondly, the reason why I wouldn’t talk to you and looked at you like that was because it was embarrassing.”

Gojo pulled off his dark glasses and squinted at Nanami intensely. He didn’t blink for almost a solid minute.

“What? Don’t stare at me like that. You are creepy,” Nanami rubbed a hand up Gojo’s back. He wasn’t sure who he was reassuring that they were together. That they were allowed to touch like that.

“What was embarrassing?” Gojo finally blinked but his eyes stayed white and blue slits.

“Maybe Megumi and I aren’t the only oblivious ones,” Nanami said quietly and smirked.

“Na-na-mi,” Gojo said his name slowly with an edge of suspicion. “Tell me.”

Nanami closed his eyes and pretended to be trying to relax.

“Tell me or I will poke you in the stomach. I will do it, you know I will.”

Nanami grunted out his displeasure at the idea. Gojo lifted one finger and rested it against Nanami’s side. Nanami grabbed his wrist and brought the hand back to his chest.

Nanami closed his eyes again and just felt Gojo’s heart rate against his stomach and under one of his hands.

“It was embarrassing having a crush on my senpai who was from one of the major clans, a special grade, and someone everyone else was in love with too. It was embarrassing being attracted to someone so far outside of my physical, social and jujutsu league who I thought until ten minutes ago only wanted to antagonize me.”

Gojo held his mouth open wide, his eyes were even wider. Nanami opened his eyes and watched as Gojo opened and closed his mouth a few times like a fish.

Gojo frowned deep and pouted his mouth. He clearly had something to say.

“What?”

“You have no grounds to judge my approach when yours was so much worse! You looked physically pained every time I opened my mouth!”

“Then I must have looked awful 24/7.”

“You angsty little jerk! Why did you do that?”

“You were awful, Gojo! I didn’t want to like you, especially when you started being extra crazy, now I know why. I didn’t want to be into someone who only wanted to mess up my hair or tug on my clothes. Not to mention I was embarrassed for liking you and not being able to actually tell you to stop.”

“You’re telling me that we both liked each other, remained single throughout high school, and were completely emotionally brain dead when we could have been together for the last decade?”

“Life is a little too messy to say that but it is a bit moronic in retrospect.”

“What the fuck was wrong with us?”

“We were fifteen. Gojo, it’s not worth regretting the years we spent in that misunderstanding.”

Gojo flopped his head to the side and blinked in a silent request for elaboration. “If we had been together then, we may not have exactly what we have now. We may not even be together now at all. I wouldn’t exchange what we have experienced for what we could have been then.”

Gojo smiled before gasping theatrically, “Oh, Nanami I knew you loved me! That was so beautiful! I think I might cry!” Gojo pretended to wipe away a fake tear before laughing against Nanami’s chest.

Nanami rolled his eyes and pushed on Gojo’s back. He got the message and Gojo leaned up Nanami’s body to meet his lips. Nanami moved one hand into Gojo’s soft white hair and the other to lightly cup his ass. Gojo smiled into the kiss and wrapped both hands around Nanami’s neck and jaw.

Gojo’s phone buzzed again on the coffee table and they broke off the sloppy kiss with a small wet sound. Gojo checked his device and smiled with half his mouth.

“The loverboys got the snacks!”

“Gojo, we don’t need any more cheap snacks.”

Notes:

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