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Kento Nanami was no stranger to the emotional rollercoaster that was Satoru Gojo, whether it be sulking for an entire day because Nanami wouldn’t grab a coffee for him, or acting smug for days when on very rare occasions, Nanami committed some sort of mistake.
Bursting with emotions was what Nanami considered Gojo’s default mode, so when they saw each other on campus and Gojo only acknowledged him with a nod, his internal alarms went off. There were only a handful of occasions where he had seen Gojo like that and as much as he tried to convince himself that this wasn’t his problem to solve, he still found himself several kilometers away from campus, standing on a ledge overlooking an endless forest that appeared to be glowing in the light from the setting sun.
Sitting on the edge was Gojo, his blindfold off and long legs dangling into the air. Without turning around, he croaked:
“How did you find me?”
Nanami took a few steps closer and patted the phone in his pocket.
“If you don’t want to be found, I suggest that you turn off your location.”
Gojo simply mumbled in response and started fiddling with his hands. Despite his large stature, Nanami thought he resembled a lost child.
Coming to a halt next to Gojo, Nanami cleared his throat.
“Gojo, are you alright?”
Gojo twitched, then he leaned back on his hands with a nonchalant grin on his face, white strands obscuring his eyes as he cocked his head.
“Why wouldn’t I be? I’m extremely handsome, powerful, and smart. There’s no reason for me to not be okay.”
Nanami clenched his fists, feeling himself become unreasonably irritated with the blatant lie.
“Gojo, I’d rather you don’t treat me like an idiot.”
Gojo dropped the smile and turned to overlook the horizon again. Nanami took a deep breath and crouched down next to Gojo, carefully sitting down next to him.
“I’m tired, but compared to you, I’m actually allowed to rest sometimes.”
“But I’m also much stronger than you, so it only makes sense that I have the more important role,” Gojo grinned, the smile not quite reaching his eyes.
Rolling his eyes, Nanami went on:
“Do you know what I did after Haibara died?”
Gojo shook his head.
“I blamed you, Gojo. I thought that if you had taken on the mission, Haibara would've still been alive.”
“Ouch,” Gojo replied in a dead-pan voice, probably used to people telling him things like that.
“But,” Nanami continued, “I was angry and didn’t know who to blame, so I suppose I chose an easy scapegoat.”
Gojo still didn’t react, his eyes glued to the sunset. When he spoke, I was in a quiet murmur.
“Do you still blame me?”
“Of course not, you were just a child yourself back then. It often disturbs me when people fawn over your power, completely disregarding all the suffering you’ve had to go through to earn your title as the strongest. From the second you opened your eyes, a crown was forced upon your head. I don’t think you were ever allowed to be a child and I’ll forever pity you for that.”
Seeing the corner of Gojo’s mouth twitch, Nanami huffed before carrying on.
“Perhaps that’s why you’re such an insufferable adult.”
Head whipping around, Gojo put a finger up and poked hard at Nanami’s chest.
“You just had to add that last part, didn’t you?”
“Have I ever been one to sugar-coat things?”
Gojo pouted as he leaned back on his hands, sighing loudly into the air.
“No, I guess not.”
“What I’m trying to say is that you have the whole world on your shoulders with no one to share the burden with, and there’s not a single living person who can sympathize with that. The least I can do is ask if you’re alright.”
A minute passed where neither of them spoke, the air filled only by the sound of distant bird calls and small gravel shifting underneath them. Then, in a soft mumble, Gojo asked:
“Could you stay with me for a while?”
“Of course,” Nanami replied, his voice equally as quiet.
Turning his head to take off his glasses and put them away in his breast pocket, Nanami stilled when he felt Gojo’s weight press against his shoulder.
“Gojo, this wasn’t part of the deal.”
“Shut up. I’m the one responsible for the whole world, you can’t deny me this.”
“Alright, fair,” Nanami huffed as he subtly adjusted his position, trying his best to make them both comfortable while they sat in silence together, watching as the sun disappeared behind the tree tops.