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♡
Sunlight darted through the gaps in the trees overhead. You peeled off the thick fabric of your blazer and tossed it carelessly onto the grass. You stood in a white shirt, your sleeves rolled to the elbows, your skirt short and navy in colour.
You dropped to the ground, lounging on your back with your hands laced behind your head for comfort. It had been a couple of weeks since you had been injured fighting a curse; your recovery had been quick, helped by copious bottles of throat medicine.
Now all you wanted to do was indulge in the heat of summertime.
You sat at the edge of the woods around the high school. A nearby stream trickled softly. Other than that, it was quiet and isolated. Only the chitter of birdsong and the rustling of the leaves. Sunlight warmed your face.
"Bunny!"
Birds scattered. Sunlight disappeared, blocked by a looming shadow.
You forced yourself to bite your tongue between your teeth, smothering a swearword. You opened your eyes.
Gojo was leaning over you, smiling brightly. He caught sight of your glare. It made him cock his head, lifting a hand to scratch his cheek like he was confused.
"Oh, did I disturb you?"
You heaved a sigh and dipped your head back against the grass, letting your eyes close once again. You heard Gojo flop onto the ground beside you. You squinted, to see what was he doing; it was better not to let Gojo out of your sight for too long.
He was sitting, his legs drawn inward so he could rest his elbows on his knees. He saw a cluster of daisies and plucked them. He had never been able to sit still.
Gojo asked, "What are you doing out here on your own? Don't you want to come see the students from Kyoto?"
You shrugged.
"I want you to come with me."
Lazily, you lifted your hands to sign: Geto will go with you. What do you need me for?
"It's more fun when you're around."
You scrunched up your face.
"It's true!" Gojo protested. "Please, Bun."
Already you could envision what would happen if you denied him again: he would poke at your cheek for several minutes until that failed and then he would resort to sulking with his arms crossed before he would kneel in front of you and beg some more.
He had a routine. You knew it well.
You were bound to run into the Kyoto students at some point. You figured it was best to rip off the band-aid.
Fine.
Gojo grinned. "Let's go."
Right now? I'm relaxing.
"You're being lazy, Bun. Big difference."
Your eyes pinned him. Come again?
What little pink coloured his cheeks drained.
He stammered, "Not like lazy-lazy. I meant it more like a sloth, you know, since you do things at your own pace - …"
You sat upright. You had no word for a sloth, so you spelled it out letter by letter, repeating it. Your glare was venomous.
Although Gojo was a student, he was still the strongest. It afforded him a certain cockiness, an ease that others envied. He was not afraid of much.
At the sight of your expression, though, Gojo was evidently panicking.
"And there is nothing wrong with that! Sloths are so cute and cuddly, too! When I was a kid, I always wanted a sloth. Like a pet. Because I love them so much. Big fan."
Your left eyebrow rose. You have never once talked about sloths before.
"Because I wasn't allowed to have one. It broke my heart. Childhood trauma. And you're making me relive it right now. That's really inconsiderate of you."
Right.
"So, my little Bun," he wheedled, "will you get up?"
I can't.
Gojo threw his arms up dramatically. "Why not?"
Well, I could. On one condition.
Your smile unsettled him. It was teasing. It was mischievous.
He gulped.
"...Bun?"
♡
Forcing Gojo to carry you by piggyback across the campus had turned out to be a wise decision on your part. It was scorching-hot. You were able to snack on an ice-cream while he did all the work.
The ice-cream was melting on its cone, letting pinkish trickles run along your hands.
The more you thought about it, the more you realised Gojo had been right. You shared traits with sloths. You liked to doze. You ate slowly, and in big quantities that often surprised others for your size and height.
So you found yourself in agreement with Gojo.
Not that you would ever admit it to him.
Up ahead, a couple of Kyoto students were gathered. Among them, you spotted your classmates, Geto and Shoko.
"Here we are," Gojo announced. "The Gojo Express has arrived."
Gojo crouched to let you slide off his back. But you hung tight.
"Uh, Bunny?"
Because your hands were sticky and still holding an ice-cream, you couldn't sign to explain that you were still eating. Besides, he hadn't brought you fully to the group. He was expecting you to walk the last few steps, and that was not your agreement.
Gojo jostled you in an attempt to shake you off. You simply took another bite of your ice-cream.
He groaned, pretending to strain himself. But Gojo could handle your weight. He was the strongest, after all. He was also the most dramatic.
If you liked to doze and eat, then Gojo liked nothing more than to whine.
You remained on his back, legs wrapped around his waist, arm slung around his collarbone for balance.
A dollop of ice-cream broke off and landed on his nape, sliding down his shirt.
Gojo shrieked. "Cold, cold, cold! Get off!"
You refused. He jumped forward, trying to shake out the ice-cream.
It amused you.
You lapped at the edge of the ice-cream, maintaining your grip on him. His wild movements had attracted the attention of the Kyoto students, and Geto and Shoko.
Only then did you slide off Gojo, dropping effortlessly to the ground. You were bored with your ice-cream. It was giving you brain-freeze, and making your teeth ache.
You held it out to Gojo, who took it, staring at it.
"You want me to hold this for you?"
You nodded, moving away from him to approach the other students.
"Bunny," Geto greeted. "I was wondering when you would show up."
Because of Gojo, this nickname had stuck. Even the teachers of the school called you Bunny. You had long since given up on trying to persuade them not to use it.
So you merely nodded at Geto, standing beside him.
Gojo soon joined you.
"Bunny, your ice-cream is melting," Gojo said uncertainly. "Do you want to finish it?"
"The Kyoto students will stay for a few days," Geto told you. "They want to visit some parts of Tokyo."
"Bunny?"
"Probably Harajuku," Geto continued. "Or Roppongi. They can't decide."
"Bunny!" Gojo wailed loudly. "It's dripping everywhere!"
You glanced at him. He was holding out your ice-cream cone; the ice-cream now leaked over his hand and wrist. You rolled your eyes. You motioned behind him.
His head swivelled around, following your line of sight to a nearby trashcan.
He ran off, still mewling about the stickiness like he was suffering from a terrible wound.
When he returned, he grumbled, "You were never planning on taking that back, were you?"
Your smile was brief and well-hidden behind your hand as you feigned pushing a strand of hair from your face.
He grumbled, "After I gave you a piggyback..."
Sloths spend their time hanging from trees, you signed. It seemed appropriate to use you as my tree. Don't tell me you hated carrying me. You always ask to carry me.
"Yeah, well, I was thinking of a very different position."
Your cheeks blazed. He always found a way to catch you off-guard.
"Gojo!" A female Kyoto student hurried over to him. "How have you been?"
Soon enough, he was lost to the crowd. Given your cursed-speech, you could not join in conversations so easily. You were usually forced to stand at the edge of groups, listening, watching.
No-one ever really intended to ignore you. Still, it happened.
Even Gojo had a habit of forgetting to include you, because he lavished the attention he almost always received in group settings.
Geto had been drawn into the debate about which district to visit.
Gojo had become distracted by two first-year Kyoto students, fawning over him.
So that was it. You were slowly spat out of the huddle, drifting on the outskirts.
It used to sting when you were younger.
Nowadays, it was more like a dull pinch.
Gojo looked so lively. Geto had that easy smile on his face.
You stared. You lingered. It was awkward. You should have stayed hidden in the woods.
"Bunny?"
You turned toward this new voice.
A tall, brown-haired boy was approaching you.
You sifted through a long list of Kyoto students in an effort to remember him. It struck you suddenly: this was Adachi Hikari, the soft-spoken and timid Kyoto student with whom you were often paired in group activities between the schools.
But Adachi had been small and reedy, when last you saw him. Now he was broad and looming tall over you.
It was his eyes. He had warm brown eyes. It reminded you of a labrador.
Better to be called that than a sloth, you reasoned.
Those eyes were what told you it was Adachi in front of you.
"I was hoping to see you here," Adachi said, smiling. "My favourite Tokyo student."
He had grown in height and confidence. You gestured from his boots to his head to question his sudden growth-spurt. His cheeks grew red. While his body had been transformed, his shyness was not totally lost. He even fiddled with his hands.
"Been trying to become stronger," he explained. "Guess it made me taller, too. Or you're just a whole lot shorter than I remember."
You rolled your eyes.
"You know," Adachi continued, "I was wondering if you're joining us. The group, I mean."
You nodded.
"Great." Adachi smiled even more. "I missed hanging around with you."
An arm looped around your shoulder. Gojo wrangled you into his side.
Bluntly, he asked Adachi, "Who are you?"
"Adachi Hikari. We met already. Last year. Remember?"
Gojo sniffed, scrutinising him. "Hm. Nope. Doesn't ring a bell."
You wiggled out of his hold.
What are you doing?
"You think so? Thank you."
Confusion at his response made you scrunch your brows at him.
Adachi looked between you both. "What is it?"
"Oh, nothing," Gojo waved him off, his tone light-hearted. "Bunny was just telling me she thinks I look really handsome today. That's all."
You blanched. What?!
"Shorts? Sure, Honey-Bunny, I could wear shorts tomorrow," Gojo said. "I know how much you love looking at my legs."
Your mouth fell wide open in shock. You hadn't even thought it possible for him to make up anything worse than 'Bun-Bun'. But he had done it.
Adachi cleared his throat. "Do you think you could teach me some words in sign language, Bun?"
Gojo bared his teeth in what was supposed to be a smile.
No-one ever called you Bun except for him.
You saw how much it grated on him, and found pleasure in it.
It was his fault you had such a childish nickname in the first place.
You were willing to let Adachi call you Bun all day long if it riled up Gojo this much.
It was rare that anything bothered him.
You offered Adachi a thumbs-up.
Adachi smiled. "Anything more difficult?"
"I can show you a good one," Gojo said. "How about -..."
His middle finger twitched.
You swiftly caught hold of his hand and lowered it.
"Adachi!"
One of the Kyoto students distracted him, calling him over. He looked at you, his brown eyes so warm in this summer light. His smile had never fully left.
"Just a moment, Bunny. I'll be right back."
Gojo deflated as he watched Adachi walk off.
"Are we sure that's really Adachi? It could be an impostor. I mean, the guy's huge. Adachi was always a little pipsqueak."
You rounded on him, signing madly: So you do remember him?
"It was a sudden bout of amnesia. I'm fine now. Thanks for asking."
Why are you being so rude to him?
"Rude? What part of that conversation was rude?"
All of it. From your side.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Honest. Cross my heart and hope to die."
If you keep lying to him about what I'm signing, you won't need to hope.
He laughed. "You can't kill me. I'm the strongest. Besides, you could never bring yourself to hurt me."
You showed no change in expression.
Less confidently, he prompted, "Right, Bun?"
Again, your face was fixed in its severity.
He nudged your shoulder. He did it twice more. "Right?"
Adachi summoned you by shouting out your name. You headed toward him.
Behind you, Gojo cried out, "Right?!"
♡
Evening spilled into night. The streets were bright with artificial lighting from all the stores and restaurants. You were reminded of the night Gojo had sought you out after that fight with a curse. You glanced down alleyways, recalling the dampness of the ground and the stench of dumpsters.
You might not have made it if Gojo had not come searching for you.
Here, on this street, you looked for him.
Gojo had always been a leader, even without trying. He was guiding this small pack of students, seemingly without a solid destination in mind. He was only a student himself, but you could see the impact he had on others.
You spotted his hands waving around as he animatedly described something to a Kyoto student.
You heard his laughter ringing out.
His hair absorbed the colour of the neon lights around him.
It was oddly mesmerising. He was mesmerising.
Even you could admit that.
Adachi walked alongside you.
You pointed at a store and showed him the gesture Gojo had invented for it.
Adachi copied you. He had a clumsiness that soon smoothed itself out, making his movements more fluid.
He asked, "You made this up all by yourself?"
You shook your head and pointed at Gojo.
"Huh." Adachi stared at Gojo. "Why did he give you that nickname?"
You pushed back your hair and tugged on your ears. Then you squeezed at your cheeks.
Adachi paused. "I don't get it."
"Cute."
Gojo slotted himself between you and Adachi so suddenly that you jumped. He had just been at the front of the group. But Gojo was fast. He was also incredibly persistent.
"She's signing the word for cute," he clarified. "Because she's cute like a bunny."
You repeated the tug on your ears more firmly.
Gojo winced.
"And I might have told her that her ears are too big for her face when we first met," he added. "But that's cute, too. Everyone likes big ears. And bunnies. So, really, I was giving her a compliment."
You huffed.
"He's right," Adachi said. "About the bunnies, I mean. You are pretty cute."
Gojo teased you so often that you had become used to it. You still blushed, every once in a while.
But Adachi Hikari had always been tame and polite, so much so that you had never anticipated a compliment from him. It caused a deep blush to swamp your face, flooding your throat and chest, too.
You ducked your head to hide it.
"Oh, look," Gojo ground out. "Geto's found somewhere for us to eat."
"Great!" Adachi beamed. "I'm starving."
"If only," Gojo said frankly.
You smacked his arm. You signed: be nicer to him.
"What did you sign, Bunny?" Adachi asked. "I didn't catch it all."
"She says she wants to sit beside me," Gojo lied. "And share a pizza with me. Only me."
Your eyes were wide. You could have strangled him.
"Really? I thought I saw the sign for 'nice' in there," Adachi said doubtfully.
"No," Gojo intoned flatly. "You didn't. I guess you're not very good at this after all. You should probably just give up."
You hid your face behind your hands.
♡
Gojo made sure that you and Adachi were separated by a wide margin once your group settled down for some pizza. He ordered your favourite toppings, though that did nothing to soothe your temper. Whenever he attempted to take a slice, you were quick to swat away his hand.
He was pouting openly.
"Geto, let me have some of yours," he moaned. "Bunny won't share."
Geto stared at him blankly. "No."
"What?" Gojo's mouth was hanging open. "Why not?"
"I don't want to."
Gojo sank in his seat, practically slithering under the table. "But I'm so hungry!"
"Go order some of your own," Shoko said.
"But the counter is so far away!"
"It's right there," Geto sighed. "Ten steps, maximum."
"Ten," Gojo gasped out. "I'd wither away to nothing before I made it."
You shot him a glare. If only.
"Bunny!"
♡
Outside of the restaurant, you stood with Shoko while the other students were still inside, paying for their pizzas or messing around on the arcade-games tucked on the inside of the entrance.
Through the glass doors, you could hear the blistering pop and fizzle of music playing from the machines, alongside the jerk of a joystick being roughly yanked up and down.
Shoko took out a packet of cigarettes. She had taken up smoking, and it seemed like she would never quit.
She glanced over at you as she lit a cigarette. It burned brightly in the night.
"You know what his problem is, right?"
You shrugged.
"He's jealous," she said plainly. "He's not used to it. So he's acting out."
Gojo always acted out. That was the problem.
But you wondered if she still had a point.
Shoko could not fully understand your sign language either. So you made it simple: you pointed at yourself and then you pointed at Gojo through the glass doors. You made a gesture of breaking something between your hands.
"Not together, huh? Is that what you mean?" Shoko asked, a smirk on her face.
You nodded. You tried to explain more.
You pointed at Gojo before you tapped at your mouth while shaking your head.
"He never asked," Shoko guessed.
You nodded enthusiastically.
"You know why that is, right?"
A plume of smoke washed over you.
"Because Gojo Satoru thinks it's a given," she told you. "You and him. It's nature. It's the sun rising and it's the sun setting. That's how it works. In his world, anyway."
She inhaled. The tip of her cigarette sizzled.
"So he never asked. He assumed. You and him. Always, forever."
You struggled to find a sign that she might understand. You held your right palm over your heart and scrunched it tight.
"Love?"
You tried again.
"Oh. Does he mean what he says? Is he sincere?"
You nodded.
"Since Gojo is never serious," Shoko said, tapping ash from her cigarette. "And he flirts shamelessly, and everything is one big joke to him. I get it."
Yes.
"Well, he's never laid down beside me when I was injured," she mused. "Or given me a nickname. Or made up an entire language so I could communicate with him."
Another greyish froth of smoke washed over you.
"Gojo's never serious," she finished. "But it doesn't mean he never takes anything seriously."
You tapped your temple.
Her grin turned wicked. "I know," she said. "I'm smart."
You sighed and reached for the handle of the restaurant, heading back inside.
♡
It had taken you a couple of minutes to catch up with the group. You were trying to be careful with the box in your hands, hoping not to jostle it around too much.
Gojo walked at the front again, his hands in his pockets, his posture slouched.
For once, he was not the one talking. It was Geto who spoke. Gojo was just listening. At least, partially. You had been around him long enough to recognise when he was distracted.
You reached Gojo and practically shoved the box into his hands.
"What's this, Bun?"
As soon as he looked down at it, Gojo had his answer. Its cardboard was marked in splotches of grease; its cover had been decorated with a cartoonish slice of pizza, a smile plastered on its melted-cheese face.
Since Gojo had taken the box from you, you could use your hands.
For you.
"For me," he repeated. "You bought some pizza. For me."
Yes.
"I'm keeping this box forever," he whispered. "I'll frame it. I'll cherish it."
You crooked your finger for him to lean forward.
Rather than hesitate, like you might have done had you been in his place, Gojo did what you asked without question.
You tugged up his blindfold for a brief glimpse of his eyes. Then you pecked your lips against the side of his mouth.
It was the most affection you had ever shown him of your own volition. Sincere affection.
Then you pulled down his blindfold to shield his eyes.
Only you, you signed. Do you understand?
He nodded mutely.
Good. Now let's go.
He nodded again. But he remained solidly in place. So you looped your arm with his own and gently hauled him forward. Even when he was walking on his own, you made no attempt to untangle yourself from him.
Somewhere close to the school, he said, "Bun?"
You looked up at him.
"I meant it, you know. Your ears really are cute."
You smiled.
"Big," he said. "But really cute."
You pinched his arm.
Stop talking.
♡