Work Text:
Relax. And just don’t screw it up.
Gojo has been telling himself that same phrase the past five minutes as they walk to Utahime’s block. On the outside he’s the epitome of cool and casual, but on the inside he’s practically bouncing: it’s not everyday you get to visit your girlfriend’s place for the first time.
Girlfriend. He grins at the thought. More than a decade of knowing and pining for Utahime and he somehow finally got lucky this time.
He cannot help but replay the moment that led to this: late night dinner at Utahime’s favorite sushi place, them talking about work and their respective students, and then Utahime casually inviting him over– inviting him first –to hang out at her apartment. Gojo almost choked on his soda before the teasing ensued. But he’s been on his best behavior ever since, not with Utahime warning to call it off if he won’t stop his immaturity.
Needless to say he’s been counting the days to this fateful Saturday. He insisted on meeting her at the train station, choosing to comply with the social norm of a rendezvous over just apparating in front of his girlfriend’s apartment building (he doubts Utahime would appreciate the latter). The upside of the commute was that they got to stop by a couple of shops for cake and souvenir (who knew Kyoto Central Station is vast! Some things you forget thanks to teleporting) , learn a thing or two about a park Utahime usually visits on her downtime, and just spend more time with her really.
Gojo snapped from his reverie when Utahime announced, “we’re here,” stopping by the last door at the hallway.
When they’re at the genkan, Utahime abruptly turns to him and closes the distance, making his heart skip a beat. “Gojo,” she whispers, “wait here.” “Utahime, why–,” he starts but is cut off when Utahime calls another name…
“Honey?,” she calls while walking towards the receiving area much to Gojo’s confusion.
Honey? I’m supposed to be “honey”, right?
And then he hears it: the tippy-tap of unmistakable paws running against the wooden floor. A second later a golden labrador retriever leaps to Utahime’s outstretched arms.
“Hello you good boy, did you get scared while I was away?” The dog was ecstatic to see Utahime, his tail a blur, whining and barking at the same time.
“Utahime, you have a dog?,” Gojo asks, slightly baffled.
“No, silly. He’s my brother’s, I’m just pet sitting him for the weekend,” Utahime is now on the floor, trying to accommodate the excited animal who cannot seem to decide if he wants to run around or stay within Utahime’s cuddling.
“I thought it’s our weekend?”
Utahime laughs, “It is but I’m really scheduled to look after Honey today. And since I have not missed your hints of visiting my place,” she gives Gojo a look, “I figured now would be a good time to just put two and two together” she shrugs.
“So… he was first priority and I was just a second thought?,” Gojo deadpans.
She laughs mildly. “Think of it as things falling into place: we have a weekend together and I get to be a responsible pet aunt at the same time.” Utahime reaches her arms to him and Gojo instinctively pulls her to her feet.
“Here I thought you’re a cat person. You used to feed and nurse those strays back during our school days.”
“I’m an animal person, Gojo” she smiles.
How come I never knew that , he thinks to himself.
***
Utahime is busy at the kitchen insisting on cooking something for Gojo. He eventually relented and took this as an opportunity to look around her living room.
She’s very neat and somewhat minimalist. But Gojo took note of out-of-place items she keeps: there’s that fertility miniature souvenir Mei-mei got her and Shoko as a joke, a cat figurine from Shoko, and a matryoshka doll from Nanami. She has mismatched framed photos too: there’s a family photo, a framed photo of her, Mei-mei, and Shoko at Disneyland, a group photo of her second years, and a photo of her and Honey.
If Gojo concentrates he can feel the remnants of her cursed energy around the room, see the register of energy from the items she usually touches and picks up. He closes his eyes and listens to her movements from the kitchen, and allows himself to drift and pretend they’re in a near future where this domesticated life is their normalcy…
Except there’s that dog’s–Honey’s–noise in the background too. He’s been following Utahime since they arrived home, sometimes barking to get her attention. And Utahime is all nice and friendly and familiar with him, Gojo is starting to wonder if the dog stays with her often.
“That dog is too attached to you, Utahime” Gojo remarks as he makes his way to the kitchen.
“You make it sound like it’s a bad thing,” she replies but doesn’t look up.
Gojo observes her and her busy hands slicing carrots for whatever she’s preparing for them. Her energy is around this room too and it’s bright but calm. He goes over to the fridge and sees a couple of post-it notes and a photo of the faculty at Kyoto Tech. One of the post-it notes is probably, Gojo gulps, from her brother. He cannot recognize the handwriting but it has instructions about the dog’s meds. Another post-it has Utahime’s handwriting: it’s a short grocery list for bibimbap ( So that’s what she’s preparing!) and a reminder to restock beer.
Gojo looks over at Utahime by the kitchen counter and notices that she’s done preparing appetizers, she’s already cooling biscuits covered with peanut butter. He reaches for them before Utahime stops him, “Don’t! Those are not for you, they’re for Honey” she motions with her head to the dog who’s wagging its tail waiting at the corner.
“Huh, okay. Anything I can help you with instead.. please?” he quips. He wants to spend time with her, but she insists on doing the preparation on her own. “Do you want me to slice those for you or maybe get the stove started. Or I can try baking something else for the dog?” he offers.
“How about you play with Honey?” she replies with a smile. “He’s a little restless. I think he needs a walk to spend some of his energy. And really, he’s been following me non-stop. I might not finish this prep in time,” she looks at the clock on the wall, “for the game that starts in 40 minutes.”
There’s a slight panic in her tone that Gojo obliges.
***
“Hey, you, how long have you known Utahime?,” Gojo asks the dog.
Honey just looks at him and tilts his head. He barks at Gojo as a reply and starts running towards the direction of a fire hydrant. “Yeah, yeah, keep walking you say” Gojo mutters. “Do you stay with her often? Because she has never mentioned you up to this day, just so you know.”
Gojo thinks it’s stupid and futile talking to this dog but he cannot help but continue.
“Meanwhile, I have known her for more than a decade. And yet.. it seems it’s not enough,” he continues. “I’ve seen her growth, her pain, her genuine kindness. But being in her home for the first time, seeing her other side, it feels like I’ve missed some part of her.”
The dog just looks at him with his tongue out. He has finished his business and is now just waiting, listening, on Gojo’s soliloquy.
“You have no idea what I’m saying, huh?,” Gojo mutters and Honey just barks in reply, wagging his tail. He stands and starts to walk, pulling them in the direction of Utahime’s apartment building.
“Okay, let’s head back. I miss her already too. And it’s supposed to be our weekend with her after all, right bud?”
***
“Gojo… what is it? You've been awfully quiet and.. it’s making me jittery.” She places her bowl on the coffee table and faces Gojo. They’re sitting side-by-side on the couch with the baseball game playing in the background. “Do you–did they call you for a mission now?” Utahime almost whispers that last question.
“No, no. I’m just taking all this in, feeling the surroundings, observing you,” Gojo answers with a little smile. “And I would have put them on voicemail if they dare to call right now.”
“If I’m being honest, Utahime,” he sighs, “everything here is so nice and in order that I feel somehow out of place. Like a foreign entity infiltrating the zen of your life.”
“What? Gojo, that’s not true,” she replies.
“Your life seems to be in order. We’ve known each other for the past 10 years but it seems I have not left a mark yet. I have no tangible history here. We only have our shared memories – and, dammit, because they’re mostly due to our work.” He sighs. “Granted there are those times I went out of my way to check on you,” he smirks at that last bit.
Utahime is silent.
“I want us and more, Hime.” Gojo faces her. “It’s selfish but I want to be a part of your everyday life. I want to be a note in your refrigerator, a reminder on your calendar, a photo on your coffee table. I want to visit the places you’ve been to, I want to listen to songs that make you happy, to songs that make you sad.”
Gojo moves his hands and slowly cups Utahime’s face, “I want to fill the gaps I’ve missed, Utahime.”
“Gojo,” she smiles and begins caressing the back of Gojo’s left hand, “we have time.”
“Yes, that we do,” he replies while placing a small kiss on the tip of her nose. “And I want another date with just the two of us,” Gojo turns and looks at the dog who’s looking at both him and Utahime.
Utahime laughs, “of course. I promise. Although you have to do the talking with my brother in case he sends Honey over here again.”
Gojo groans while Utahime continues to laugh.
“Hey, wait here. I’ll go get something.” Utahime slowly stands and makes her way to her bedroom. Gojo’s eyes follow her and he gets a peak of her room from where he’s seated. His heart skipped a beat for the second time that day. Definitely not today, but soon … he smiles to himself.
It did not take long for Utahime to head back to the living room. She is walking towards him holding a photo frame in her hands.
“I have this on my bedside table, that’s why you might have missed it during your investigation earlier today,” she says while seating herself in front of Gojo again.
She hands it to Gojo and it’s a photo of them together. He remembers that day: it was spring but he somehow successfully convinced Utahime to go get ice cream. He had a rather bad day then, same old crap with the higher ups, so he went to Kyoto Tech because he missed her. He remembers how she relented to give her class free period so they could meet.
“You took this photo using my phone,” Utahime says, “and it’s our first picture as a couple so I wanted to have it framed.” She’s blushing at her confession. “I remember feeling guilty about missing lessons, but you sounded tired on the phone that day that I wanted to be certain you’re okay. And I must say, skipping class to meet you instead was worth it.”
Utahime's smile makes his heart swell. “Utahime, I..,” Gojo mutters
“It’s not much,” she continues, “the photo does not even show your breathtaking eyes, but I like that it’s one of the things I see first thing in the morning.”
“I don’t know what to say, Utahime,” Gojo finally confides.
“It’s alright you being this gentle and shy says it all, darling. Where were you hiding this persona all this time?” Utahime looks at him and smiles, brushing her thumb on his cheek, feeling his face go warm. “How about we all go for a walk after the game? But we have to include Honey, is that okay?” Utahime asks.
He kisses her forehead before answering, “I’d like that.”
Gojo knows for certain that this person– his Utahime –is his everything and more.
***
