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It was already 2 am when Yuuji looked at the alarm on his nightstand.
Turning around in his bed again, pulling the comforter over his head, pushing it down after it got too hot, turning on his other side again. Nothing stopped his thoughts ruining his sleep.
Worst case scenarios played in his mind everytime he closed his eyes, but keeping them open was too draining and Yuuji was already exhausted to his bones.
Executing curses non-stop in the last days with a minimum of sleep was no good to his body. His calves and hands were constantly shaking, his heart pounding with anxiety, his legs and arms were wobbly and weak.
His head didn't make things easier. Things that already have happened plaguing his mind, making him see what mistake he had made and will never be able to change. Or his thoughts wandering to deeper cases, telling him his friends would be better off without him.
Yuuji whimpered at the pain in his head, burying it deeper into his pillow with a desperate sob. Why couldn't these thoughts just stop? He only wanted to sleep.
But with seeing nothing but darkness, another scenario popped up right in front of his eyes, shocking the boy all over again.
Blood. Too much blood around him.
Yuuji's heart hurt when he thought back at the feeling of not feeling his heart anymore. The cold seeping through the hole in his body, the warm liquid running down his chest while he himself felt frozen.
A breathless caught squeezed itself out of Yuuji's mouth and the boy immediately sat up, his body shaking violently. He felt nauseous and his skin was overdrawn in cold sweat.
Getting up only felt right because he didn't want to be alone in his room anymore. But waking up Megumi, whose room was right next door, Yuuji didn't want to do.
So Yuuji made his way to the communal kitchen with shaky legs, holding onto the wall the whole time because he felt like his legs would give out under him at any moment.
He didn't know what he expected, but it wasn't his teacher sitting on the table with a kikufuku in one of his hands and his phone in the other.
Chomping down the sweet in one piece, Gojo turned around and faced Yuuji, looking slightly shocked for a whole second before his old-known grin settled down on his lips.
Due to his six-eyes, the teacher already knew his student was still awake but he didn't expect Yuuji to be in such a bad state.
The boy's face was pale and his whole body was trembling, eyes were red, adorned with dark circles and his skin glistered faintly in the dim light of the kitchen. Overall, Yuuji just looked sick.
Said boy huffed tiredly, then shuffled over to the same table Gojo was sitting at and dropped into one of the empty chairs.
Gojo broke the silence first. His grin was no longer on display, instead was an expression full of worry. "Are you alright?"
Yuuji laid his head on the table, still looking at his teacher but not having the strength to hold his heavy and throbbing head upright. "Just tired."
"Maybe you should go to bed then?" The white head moved around the table to get to the boy and laid his hand on Yuuji's forehead to look if the boy had a fever.
"I tried but I can't fall asleep.", Yuuji whined at the little comfort, wanting more.
Gojo was silent, running his hand through Yuuji's hair, while thinking about what would plague his poor student‘s mind to keep him awake.
"Anyway, why are you even awake? Isn't it like 3 in the morning?", Yuuji asked. The silence was driving him crazy because he feared his thoughts coming back and he didn't want to throw a scene in front of his sensei.
"I just came back from a mission and wanted to eat something. Too bad, I've already eaten all the mochis, otherwise I would have given you one too." Gojo pulled his hand out of Yuuji's hair, leaving a mess of little curls.
"Don't worry, I'm not hungry anyway." Said the boy who eats everything all the time.
If this wasn't a case to be worried about, Gojo would eat a broom.
"That doesn't sound like you at all. Did something happened on your last mission?" Gojo was concerned. His otherwise so cheerful student sat in front of him with such empty eyes and simply looked drained.
Yuuji shook his head, looking away from his teacher the first time since he entered the room. "Everything was the same as always."
Gojo was at a loss. It was obvious his student wasn't feeling well, but he just didn't know why and didn't want to push the boy further than his own good.
But he couldn't let the boy have another sleepless night. "Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"
Yuuji flinched at the question, not expecting anyone to care. His heart pounded faster because someone was willing to listen to him. But as fast as his excitement came, it left. Probably his sensei just pitied him and couldn't afford his student to be weak. "I don't want to bother you."
Gojo sighed dramatically. "Yuuji Itadori. Don't you dare take everything on your own shoulders. You are not alone. I took it upon myself to take care of you. Not only in teaching you things or caring about your physical health. Your mental health is also important to me. Please, Yuuji, tell me what your burdens are."
And while Gojo was always there for the people he loves, he himself had no one to talk to since Getou left him.
Yuuji looked up at Gojo with wide eyes, far too grateful that someone was there for him to hold back the tears slipping down his cheeks.
Gojo panicked. Had he said something wrong?? Why was Yuuji crying now??
Before he could ask, the pink head already sobbed an apology.
"Sorry, I'm just so happy. It's the first time someone actually cares for me. Not even my gramps asked me if I can cope with being left alone at home.", Yuuji cried, casually hiding his tears behind his sleeves.
Letting out a relieved sigh because Yuuji wasn't hurt by what he said, the teacher ruffled through the boy's hair, ignoring for now how much of a shitty life Yuuji had. "I'm always here for you. Not only now. Stop that crying and we can talk it out while I make us a nice hot chocolate, alright?"
Yuuji sniffled before wiping his tears away. "Yeah, I would like that.", he agreed.
And that's how Yuuji ended up talking about his nightmares and thoughts, his memories and ugly feelings while his sensei listened patiently, rubbing Yuuji's back when the boy was close to tears again.
"Unfortunately, I don't know what exactly we can do about it either. But I can promise you right now that I will do everything in my power to protect you guys. You can trust me, I'm the strongest." Gojo grinned widely at the hopeful shining in Yuuji's eyes when he said that.
It was almost 5 am when Yuuji's eyes kept falling shut. He was even more tired than before but still scared of nightmares.
Gojo saw how much Yuuji was having trouble staying awake and decided to get the boy to bed. "Yuuji? It's almost morning and you really should try to sleep at least a bit."
Yuuji shook his head. "I don't want to be alone.", he mumbled.
The teacher smiled slightly when the boy yawned. "How about I stay with you?"
"You would do that?!" The unbelievable tone in Yuuji's excitedly voice was almost offending to Gojo.
"Of course I would!", Gojo pouted before smiling again and ruffling the boy's hair.
And indeed, falling asleep and staying asleep was much easier for Yuuji when his teacher was with him.