Work Text:
Itadori
Yuji walked behind Gojo as the moon rose over another successful exorcism.
“Sensei? Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”
“Not at all! Go ahead, Itadori-kun, ask away!”
“How long have you and Nanamin been dating?”
Gojo tilted his head at the question, confusion written across his features. “We’re not dating.”
It was Yuji’s turn to look confused. “Oh. I just...the way you act around each other I thought…”
“No, not at all!” Gojo let out a stilted, awkward laugh. “What would that even be like...dating Nanami...oh, you’ve got such an imagination, Itadori-kun! What do you want for dinner?”
As Yuji climbed into the car, Gojo paused to take a call.
“Of course we’re both fine, the curses weren’t that powerful...aww, were you worried about me? Only worried about Itadori, huh? You’re a bad liar...oh, it is my turn to pick the movie for tomorrow night, huh? What do you mean “no more horror movies?” Fine, I’m gonna pick the gooiest, smooshiest romance I can find, bye!”
“Who was that?” Yuji asked.
Gojo tucked his phone in his pocket and maneuvered himself into the passenger side of the car, pushing the seat all the way back for some semblance of leg room. “Nanamin! We have a movie night every week.”
Yuji gave him a look.
“What?”
“Nothing!” Yuji replied
That...sounds an awful lot like dating, Sensei...
---
Shoko
Shoko taped the last of the bandages in place. “You’re all set! Try not to do anything too strenuous with that arm, all right?”
“Thank you,” Nanami said as he guided his injured arm through the length of his suit sleeve. He stopped in the middle of his task and looked back up at her. “Cooking doesn’t count as strenuous, does it?”
“Why, you got a hot date?” Shoko asked as she lit her cigarette.
“No, Gojo-san and I have a movie night every week, it’s tonight and...he likes it when I cook.” He pulled the rest of the sleeve over his arm and flexed his hand to test it.
“Uh-huh,” Shoko said as a grin spread across her features. “You mean to tell me that Satoru Gojo, notorious commitment-phobe, keeps a weekly appointment with you?”
“When our schedules line up, yes. Which...it has lined up the past four out of five weeks,” Nanami replied. A crease appeared between his brows. “Is that unusual for him?”
“Uh, yeah I have to text him like, two to five business days in advance to get him to go to dinner. And then half the time I show up, he’s not ready because he forgot. It’s...interesting how much effort he puts into keeping your appointment.”
Nanami adjusted his glasses and stood to his feet. “I think he just likes my cooking, is all. And subjecting me to his terrible taste in movies, though I can’t complain too much. Every discussion we have afterwards is always different and fascinating.”
Shoko blew out smoke. “All I know is like, every girl I ever did that with, we ended up making out on the couch, amongst other things. You know, like a date. It sounds like you two are one sloppy makeout session away from dating.”
“Why would I ever want to date Gojo?” Nanami replied. “He’s just...him.”
“Dunno who you’re trying to convince pal, but I don’t think it’s me. Because I’m not convinced.”
“I really ought to get going. Thank you again, Shoko,” Nanami said as he beat a hasty exit from her office.
“Enjoy your DATE with Gojo!” she called out after him.
---
Yaga
Yaga closed the folder in front of him and set it aside.
“Good work. How’s Itadori doing?’
“He’s doing well,” Gojo said. “Progressing faster than I expected, but still able to keep Sukuna at bay.” He glanced down at his phone, tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair.
“That’s good to know. How much longer do you think he’ll be able to do so?”
Gojo shrugged. “It’s hard to tell. We’ll just need to keep an eye on him as we collect the fingers, of course.”
The rapport fell into a twitchy, awkward silence.
“...Do you need to be somewhere?” Yaga asked, well attuned to the quirks of his brightest (and...weirdest) former student.
“So...yes. Well, it’s not super important buuut there’s this bakery I want to hit up before it closes in...” He looked down at his phone. “Ten minutes.”
“Oh, they make something special you like?”
“They do in fact, their strawberry roll cake is to die for, but also...they make red bean buns. The best, or so I’ve been told.”
Yaga frowned. “But you hate red bean buns, they’re never sweet enough for you.”
“They’re not for me. They’re for Nanami! It was kind of a game there, for a little while, I’d bring him one from some bakery or another, and the ones from that bakery ended up being his favorite. So I go and get him some when he’s least expecting it. It makes his face light up like a kid every time, and I never get tired of it.”
“Ah, I see. Well, that’s everything I needed from you. You’d better get going before they close.” Yaga dismissed him with a wave of his hand.
“Thanks Yaga-sensei!” Gojo disappeared in a flash.
“In a lot of ways, you’re still kind of a dumb kid, aren’t you?” Yaga said to the empty air. “The most powerful sorcerer in existence, head over heels for the guy and you can’t see it. I suppose even someone like you is allowed to be a bit dense.”
---
Nobara and Maki
Nobara grabbed Maki and pulled her around the corner and away from the candy section.
“I haven’t picked the three I want yet,” Maki said.
“Shh! Look around the corner to the left and don’t be weird about it.”
Maki sighed, but did as Nobara asked.
“Is that Gojo-sensei and Nanami-san?” She said as she turned back to Nobara.
“How many other lanky white-haired weirdos do you know besides Sensei? And like...are he and Nanami...a thing?” Nobara said the last word as though something hairy coated her tongue.
Maki shook her head. “Panda and Megumi said they aren’t, and if anyone knew, it would definitely be those two.”
“So weird,” Nobara muttered. “I mean, look at them together. They’re so…” She moved her hand in a circle.
“Domestic?” Maki offered.
“Yeah! Domestic! They’re even sharing a basket, for crying out loud! Also…” Nobara grabbed her chin and smirked as though she’d uncovered a juicy secret. “Nanami is absolutely in love with that clown we call Sensei.”
“How can you tell?” Maki asked, as she reached around the corner for a chocolate bar. “Nanami-san’s not exactly...expressive.”
“Have you ever seen Nanami-san let anyone into his space like that?”
“Come to think of it, no...where’d Gojo-sensei go?”
"Ooo, I love those, they're one of my favorites," Gojo said, pointing to the chocolate bar in Maki's hand. "What're you two up to on this fine evening?"
Nobara stood up and dusted herself off. "Same as you and Nanami-san, getting some snacks for date night."
"See, that's where you're wrong, Nanami and I aren't dating, we're just here to pick up some stuff for dinner...and snacks...for movie night."
Nobara gave him a look and crossed her arms. “Whatever. Good to see you I guess, have fuuuun.” She gave him a wave as she hooked her arm around Maki’s.
---
Nanami and Gojo
As the movie ended, Nanami looked over at Gojo and saw tears in his eyes.
"I thought you'd seen this movie before," Nanami said.
"I have, but I still cry every time because it's so sad! They just wanted to be together but then she died from consumption. I don't even know what that is!" Gojo blew his nose in a tissue.
"They tell you she dies at the beginning of the movie," Nanami replied, adjusting his glasses.
Gojo sniffled and narrowed his teary eyes at Nanami. "Waaaait a minute...you're crying too!"
"Allergies," Nanami said, trying to play it off. "I don't cry at movies, especially not ridiculous musicals."
"Leave the lying to me, Nanamin. I'm much better at it," Gojo said as he patted Nanami's knee and moved closer, across the couch. He slid an arm around Nanami's shoulders and to his surprise, Nanami didn't pull away.
"Look at us, two hardened sorcerers, crying at Moulin Rouge on a Friday night. What would everyone think, if they could see us?"
"Funny enough," Nanami said as he wiped his eyes with a handkerchief. "Shoko seems to think we're dating."
"Ha! So do Yuji, Nobara and Maki! That is...that is funny…"
The two men level hard stares at the coffee table, both reaching the same conclusion in very different ways.
"Perhaps...we should give dating...a try," Nanami said. "Maybe everyone else sees what we've been blind to this whole time."
Gojo let out an attempt at a carefree laugh. "I guess if you insist, we can continue what we've been doing and call it dating...maybe throw in some kissing?"
---