Chapter Text
He hated those eyes. The way they bore into him—poking hole after hole in his mind. Seeing every thought, feeling, and weakness. When the blindfold fell, so did his defenses. It made Itadori's body want to curl in on itself. To hide all of its shameful parts. Gojou was by no means a mind reader, and yet he could guess your thoughts with scary accuracy. (That or Itadori wore his heart on his sleeve.)
And it just so happened one day, while training in the woods near the school, Gojou did exactly that. They were flying around, exchanging blows, using the trees as cover, and trying to advance on each other. Itadori was practicing Divergent Fist. While he would aim for Gojou, his delayed cursed energy always missed, hitting the trees. Gojou was simply too fast. Itadori gritted his teeth in frustration. They'd been going at it for hours. His breathing was ragged, and his body was exhausted from trying to put all his weight into punches that always missed. The sun was casting a yellow glow as it descended lower and lower past the horizon.
"What's the matter, Yuuji? Feeling tired?" Gojou teased, his smile mocking. Itadori wiped the sweat from his brow, he tried to hide his heavy breathing. He didn't want Gojou to see how worn out he was—wouldn't let him have the satisfaction. He clenched his fists, and after catching his breath, Itadori rushed at Gojou, violently sucking in air. Gojou was caught off guard at the sudden frontal attack, and Itadori's fist slammed into Gojou's jaw.
Or at least, he thought it did. When the dust settled, he looked up and he saw that his fist was caught in Gojou's hand. Gojou smirked, appearing to be unfazed. Itadori didn't actually hit him at all. Gojou let go of Itadori's fist and inspected his hand, whistling.
"Wow! Good job, Yuuji." Gojou said brightly, facing his palm towards Itadori, "I've got callouses on my hands now."
Itadori fell backwards on the ground, finally admitting defeat. Gojou was too strong. Why did he even bother training when Gojou was literally untouchable? And even if he didn't use infinity, he was too fast to manage a hit on.
Gojou, seemed to read Itadori's mind said, "Don't feel so bad, Yuuji. You're doing great. Just because I'm stronger doesn't mean that you aren't strong at all." He was trying to be comforting, but somehow it made Itadori feel worse.
"Sensei..." Itadori groaned, "Can we call it a day? I don't think I'm getting anywhere right now."
Gojou tilted his head and hummed. Was he actually considering it? "If you want to stop early, you're going to have to earn it."
Itadori's eyebrows furrow, "Huh? Earn it? What does that mean?"
Gojou smiled and leaned over Itadori, "Don't worry, Yuuji. We're not going to fight. If you want to end today's lesson early, you just have to take my blindfold off."
Itadori's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Gojou gave him a shit-eating grin in return. That would be impossible.
"Sensei! That's completely unfair. I can't even hit you, but you expect me to be able to take your blindfold off?"
Gojou tutted and wagged a finger, "Don't be like that Yuuji. I'll make it fair. I'll keep my hands in my pocket, and I won't try to stop you from reaching me. So, that means no infinity either. I'll only be able to dodge."
Itadori turned the idea over in his head. He wasn't an idiot. Obviously, Gojou was just prolonging his training. He might save a few minutes, or completely waste the rest of the day. Was there even the slightest possibility he could do it? The odds were stacked against him and the reward was nominal. It was pretty obvious what he should do. He looked up at his teacher, still hovering over him waiting expectantly.
"Okay. Let's do this." Itadori jumped to his feet, digging his heel into the ground. He clenched and unclenched his fists, fingers buzzing with excitement.
Gojou clapped, "Great! Then let me just..." he backed up a little—there was about two meters separating them now—and placed his hands in his pockets. "Whenever you're ready, Yuuji. As I said, I won't–"
Itadori didn't allow Gojou to finish and instead lunged towards him at full speed. He figured he might be able to tackle Gojou to the ground and pull the blindfold off him. That was the plan initially, at least. Unsurprisingly, Itadori grabbed at air, and he stumbled. Behind him, Gojou leaned over his shoulder.
"Oh? That wasn't very fair of you, Yuuji." Gojou was so close, Itadori could feel his breath on his skin. Spinning and squatting to the ground, Itadori swept his leg in a circle. Gojou leaped back, gracefully landing a few meters away. Itadori could feel his determination dying by the second.
"When it comes to you, Gojou sensei, I have to take every opportunity I can get."
Even if I have to play a bit dirty. Itadori thought to himself.
Standing up slowly, Itadori kept his eyes trained on Gojou's blindfold. He focused on his breathing. Gojou began whistling, and absentmindedly kicked a nearby rock. He was taunting him.
Narrowing his eyes, Itadori lurched forward. Gojou didn't move, and once he was within spitting distance of Gojou, he outstretched out his hands.
Gojou flashed him a wild smile and began to lean back, but was caught off guard when Itadori—instead of reaching up towards his face, dived down towards his legs—wrapped himself around Gojou, planting him place. Gojou lost his balance, and with his legs practically chained to the ground, fell over.
With Gojou now effectively immobilized, Itadori scrambled up towards his face, making sure to keep him pinned down, he (almost too gleefully) slipped the blindfold off of Gojou's face.
Itadori cheered, air punching and waving the blindfold around. (Later, he would feel embarrassed for getting so excited since it would become quite clear to him that Gojou wasn't trying that hard.)
"Haha! Gotcha!"
Itadori looked back down at Gojou, taking in his face. His blue eyes were partially hidden under silver bangs. They glimmered like stars, staring up at Itadori in mild surprise.
Itadori could feel the way Gojou's chest rose and fell, catching his breath. Gojou watched Itadori with an explicable expression, like he was in a trance. Itadori suddenly felt overly conscious of the way he was straddling Gojou and not moving to get off of him. He felt his heart beat in his ears and his adrenaline rush left him shaking like a leaf. Below him, Gojou looked up at Itadori, weirdly silent. Itadori quirked an eyebrow.
Unsure of what to say, Itadori joked, "What is it, sensei? Are you a sore loser? Cat got your—"
Gojou reached up, long fingers ran through Itadori's hair before gently tugging him down closer.
Itadori felt Gojou's soft lips against his.
Itadori was too stunned to move at first. He blinked in surprise, staring down in shock at Gojou whose eyes were also open looking up at him. They remained like that for a long while until Itadori pulled away.
He started to speak, "What are you—"
Gojou didn't even let Itadori finish as he reached up again kissed Itadori again. This time, although Itadori's mind was racing with confusion, he didn't pull away again. He allowed Gojou to kiss him. It was a gentle, but frantic kiss. Like Gojou simply couldn't help himself. Itadori shuddered as he felt Gojou's hot tongue slip into his mouth. The taste of Gojou shocked Itadori enough that he began to return the kiss in earnest. He didn't even think as he moved his hands up to cup Gojou's face, twisting their head this way and that to allow for a better angle.
He wanted more.
Itadori couldn't help it as he continually opened and closed his eyes. Sometimes Gojou would be looking back at him, and other times not—they both desperately wanted to catch glimpses of each other. Their breaths were hot against their faces despite the chilly October air. Gojou ran his fingers through Itadori's hair. Soft and fluffy. His hands glided from Itadori's head, to his neck, down his spine, finally settling on his hips. Itadori broke the kiss briefly and tried to speak, but instead shouted in surprise as Gojou rolled them over. Itadori looked up at Gojou with wide eyes. Those blue eyes narrowed, lips red, eyebrows furrowed. Itadori's voice caught in his throat and he swallowed hard.
Gojou leaned back down, but only planted a quick kiss on Itadori's lips before moving to his jaw. Lightly biting and kissing, traveling farther down. Itadori tensed underneath Gojou. He was equal parts excited and panicked. He wanted to wrap his arms around Gojou's neck and pull him even closer (if that were even possible.)
Gojou sucked on Itadori's neck, no doubt leaving visible marks. Thankfully the school uniform had high collars. Like a ghost, Gojou unbuttoned Itadori's hood off, fully exposing his neck. The frigid air skated against Itadori's hot skin. He shivered against the cold.
Gojou abruptly froze, eyes wide as saucers as he stared hard down at Itadori.
"Sensei..."
"You're cold," Gojou whispered. His voice was barely audible over the rustling trees and wind.
Itadori shook his head emphatically.
"No, I'm fine," Itadori reached up towards Gojou, intending to pull him down again for a kiss but felt a force push back on his hand. Itadori looked back up at Gojou taken aback.
Gojou was using his cursed technique to stop Itadori from touching him.
Why? You kissed me first.
Itadori was upset, and it likely showed on his face. Gojou stared down at Itadori, concealing his expression. Gojou had barely spoken three words since they ended up on the ground, and now all Itadori wanted was for Gojou to say something.
"What..." Itadori wasn't sure what he wanted to ask. Why was Gojou stopping him now? Why wouldn't he let Itadori touch him even though it was Gojou who had kissed him first? What on earth was he thinking? Gojou closed his eyes and the resistance against Itadori's hand disappeared, but Itadori didn't know what to do. Instead he just held his hand up, close enough so that Gojou's hair brushed past his fingers. It felt like silk.
Finally, Itadori placed his hand against Gojou's cheek which was cold. He wondered if perhaps his hand was too warm. Hesitatingly, Itadori guided Gojou down towards his lips once again. This kiss was slower and deeper than before. He was confused. So terribly confused. What did this kiss mean? Itadori felt Gojou's long lashes tickle his cheek. He closed his eyes, straining to listen to the sounds around him.
Gojou was... So quiet. The rustle of clothing. The soft—almost inaudible—sighs that escaped his lips.
Needing to breathe, Itadori broke the kiss, gasping for air.
Itadori wrapped his arms around Gojou's shoulders and breathed into his ear, "Gojou sensei, what was..." his voice died in his throat. He actually wasn't sure what he wanted to ask. But he knew exactly what he wanted in that moment.
He wanted it to never end. Itadori squeezed his eyes shut. He wanted to be held tightly, barely being able to breathe. He wanted to cling to Gojou. He wanted to stay like this for as long as possible. Where no one knew he was alive. Where no one could see them. Where no one could peer into his mind or hear his rapidly beating heart. No one except....
Gojou's piercing gaze brought Itadori back to the present. He tapped Itadori's forehead with a finger.
"You're thinking too much."
Itadori stared wide-eyed back at Gojou. There it was. Those eyes. Raw, filled with something Itadori will never know, and seemingly looking straight through him. Looking into the darkest parts of him, parts he denies. Parts he shoves down. Parts he pretends to not acknowledge.
It left him vulnerable. Yet somehow, Gojou seemed completely unperturbed. Why should Itadori feel so defenseless while Gojou could wall up his thoughts like that? He couldn't stand it any longer. Itadori cleared his throat a bit too loudly.
"You let me grab your blindfold on purpose, didn't you?" Itadori asked. Gojou was silent. Itadori tried to read his expression, but Gojou gave nothing away. All Itadori knew was that Gojou looked uncharacteristically serious right now.
In a desperate attempt to lighten the mood, Itadori asked, "Does this mean training is over?"
Gojou, startled by the sudden shift in mood, nodded mutely. He slowly made to get up, and Itadori felt his heart sink.
Does he think I'm pushing him away? That's not it at all, sensei.
Gojou stood, extending a hand towards Itadori. Itadori took it, trying to tense his muscles to hide the very obvious tremble in his arms.
They stood there for a moment, neither letting go of the other's hand. Itadori awkwardly held out Gojou's blindfold, and Gojou took it, releasing his hand in the process. Itadori re-buttoned his hoodie as Gojou slipped his blindfold back on.
As if nothing happened.
Another tense moment passed before Itadori grabbed Gojou's elbow. Safe and not too close to his hand or shoulder.
"Are you hungry, sensei? Let's go get some food," Itadori began to tug Gojou back towards the school.
Not missing a beat, Gojou said, "What are you craving? It'll be my treat!"
Itadori noted the drastic change in demeanor. He wasn't sure if he liked that—pretending like the last few minutes never happened. Sweeping it all under the rug. But Itadori would be damned if he was going to say anything about it now. He liked his teacher—Gojou Satoru. And while he would likely obsess over what happened today for the next several weeks, he wouldn't destroy their relationship over it. He would let sleeping dogs lie.
"Huh? I can't let you do that, sensei. I can pay. Let's go to that noodle shop downtown."
"What? There's no way I'm going to let my student pay for me."
They continued to bicker as they made their way back. Whatever happened, whatever was said (or rather, not said), whatever they were thinking—all of that could wait another day. Itadori could wait. He would wait for as long as Gojou needed.