Work Text:
Her mood now soured from the prior conversations with the elder sorcerers ("Will of the Gojo clan*", this and all that fucking nonsense! They were acting like Gojo Satoru was all but a dead man and that alone was upsetting enough) and that nausea curdled once more from the depths of her too-heavy belly from the memory of those sneers on those wrinkled faces. Kagome blew the fringes out of her face and marched down the long hallway. The thud-thud-thud of her footsteps resonated throughout the hollowed space, and for that brief moment, she felt empty. Lonely.
She was so, so lonely.
The days passed quickly since Satoru's sudden imprisonment and the devastating tragedy of Shibuya, and it took everything in Kagome to remain steadfast. She had to, for their unborn children. With every kick she felt hitting her from inside her body, Kagome imagined the warmth of their father's hands spreading on her hard stomach—to greet the rambunctious boys back.
Or perhaps he'd scold them for being abusive to their poor mother, Satoru might've joked, that fond laugh bubbling up from deep within his chest. He'd rest his head on her stomach, absently counting each heartbeat he could hear and every little hit he could feel from the boys' attempts to punch his face through Kagome's womb. She'd complain that they were sitting on her bladder too, before playfully kicking Satoru off so she could rush to the bathroom once again.
Satoru would cry and whine about how mean she was, for tending to her bodily needs first—but always with an amused grin on his face.
Kagome felt her breath hitching and her eyes grew hot.
She halted, and the thunderous sounds of her feet ended with a slow rise of her sobs.
Fuck.
Had it only been two months? Everyone she knew and loved had slowly disappeared, one by one—from Nanami Kento (she could still remember that awkward farewell they bid to each other, with her promising him a nice lunch crafted by hers truly), Fushiguro Megumi (she gave him a proper noogie before he left in a rush), to finally, that poor unlucky boy Itadori Yuji.
That heartbreaking wretched expression of his and his asking her if everything was his fault—
Kagome held her face, to steady herself and halt herself from drowning in that pit of despair. But everything came to a screeching halt upon a single realization.
It felt like mere seconds to her, yet an eternity since she last saw her cherished moron.
A keening wail escaped her lips.
No matter how much she wiped away the fat tears from her eyes, they wouldn't stop coming.
Pikpikpik, grew a puddle on the waxed floor.
Kagome hadn't remembered bowing her body on the floor, her knees feeling cold from the icy ground, but she saw only the black curtain of her hair and the trembling hands on her face. But, everything was misty and thick with the salts of her regrets. Her heart screamed in despair and all she could think of was that,
her boys won't get to know their amazing, idiotic father.
For a moment, her lungs felt thick with a familiar cologne.
What a joke, Kagome thought through her weeping. She missed him so much that she was reimagining that stupid perfume Satoru insisted on using. As if that buffoon had just rubbed himself all over her like a cat and then ran away cackling at her mock offended shrieking. But it brought some comfort, allowing her to slow her hectic breathing down and wrap her arms around herself in a tight embrace.
She imagined that it was Satoru hugging her too—
Kagome thudded her forehead down to the floor, oblivious to the wetness of her tears dampening her hair, and inhaled a deep, much-needed breath. O...kay, let's...count backward from 100, she convinced herself, rallying each number that jumped through her mind.
Someone would find her soon enough, to drag her away from this public place and comfort her, but Kagome hadn't felt any desire to be comforted by someone right then. With so many people clamoring for her attention, she wanted to be alone, to dwell in her grief, just for a minute or two—
She blinked.
Something prodded from the very back of her mind. The babies in her womb livened, sobered by their mother's sudden need to grieve, and Kagome wondered again. What was that?
That 'something' prodded again, but stronger. Almost as if it was a gentle voice beckoning her to leave her sorrows behind.
Electricity surged through her veins, but all Kagome felt was confusion.
It was familiar. Almost nostalgic.
But as Kagome knitted her brows, it couldn't be possible. The last time she felt such energy was when Satoru—
"Now, why is my pretty mama laying on the floor all alone?" that deep voice had Kagome jerking at attention, her eyes wide at the very picture of the man she missed so, so much—and the man she desperately wanted to throttle.
"S-Satoru?" Kagome rasped, reluctantly accepting the thick arms hooking under her weight. As her fingers tangled through his snow-white hair and her eyes met his piercing blue filled with remorse and guilt, she knew. His energy coursed through her fingertips, warming her taut nerves, and Kagome collapsed into the crook of his neck, chanting his name like a fulfilled prayer. "Satoru!"
His voice took on a shaky edge, tightening the tiny woman to his chest, and he shuddered at Kagome's sobs. "Y, yeah, it's me—I'm so, so sorry for leaving you all alone here in this shitty place. L-let's get you somewhere safer…" Satoru rolled to his feet, carrying his pregnant partner with ease, and nestled his face into her hair with a deep breath of the scent of her floral soap.
Satoru's hair felt dense against her palms, waxy with the built-up oils and sweat, and his body both felt thinner yet harder, showing his time in whatever hell the impostor (the elders kept insisting it was Suguru Geto but Kagome knew in her heart it was not him—Satoru would've never lied to her) sealed him to. But, it was truly him. Kagome could feel it in her soul that it was her moronic buffoon.
Her energy entwined with his, curling the tendrils together as if they were holding hands. And the floating six eyes that hovered above Satoru's head like a flaming, blinking crown, were impossible to miss or mimic. It was him. The very same Gojo Satoru in the flesh.
Hanging on his neck, Kagome whimpered and nuzzled into the sensation of his racing heartbeats. She faintly felt a sudden surge of his power again, knowing that Satoru had merely teleported them both away from the threshold of the old men who had lost their wisdom to greed and cowardice. But she cared for none of those details, only that her Satoru had returned home to her.
His hands gripped her body hard, as if he too couldn't believe his eyes to see her again. Satoru had to feel her skin and hear her breathe again, just as Kagome needed to hold him in her arms. The past two months of watching lives unravel and be lost had been pure hell for her—and Kagome could only imagine what it would have been like for him, trapped in an inescapable realm.
Inescapable…
Kagome knew of the prison realm.
She had her rank in this play-pretend society, so she wasn't ignorant of its existence—or its capabilities to seal a godlike figure like Gojo Satoru.
"...How did you get out?" Kagome rasped against his ear, raking her nails against the back of Satoru's neck, and disregarded the even stride of his footsteps as he carried her to a destination unknown to her. "They said it would've been impossible—"
"I made it my bitch," Satoru admitted quickly, causing Kagome to choke on air—and finally grinned when she broke into a baffled giggle.
"W, what?" Kagome pulled away to look at his face, trying to discern if he was merely cracking a bad joke.
But despite the widening grin on his lips, there was foreign exhaustion in his gaze and it unsettled Kagome. It was a stark contrast to the man who found joy in spreading cheer with ill-placed pranks and bad puns. Her laughter died quickly.
"What do you mean?"
At her concerned question, Satoru paused and closed his mouth, reconsidering what he had said. But seeing upon Kagome's slightly puffy eyes gazing back with that silver gleam of her stubbornness he missed so much, he sighed. Averting his attention from the strongest woman who had his heart in her clutches, Satoru resumed his walk and slowly found his words.
"For a short while, I was fine staying in that damn thing. I thought the others would've gotten me out, but," Satoru gave a weak shrug, though there was no hint of disappointment. Kagome sensed only sorrow and exhaustion settling deep in his tone as he continued, "days passed. Weeks passed. Then a month. I never forgot about you and the promise I made to you and our boys. I was getting antsy."
Satoru grew quiet and Kagome absently registered the aged design of some corridor they were inside. She did not recognize the place, but she didn't think twice about it. All she cared about was being in this idiot's arms. Perhaps, Kagome thought for a second, that she should've asked.
But she was too tired of being sad and alone.
"Then…when I stretched out my perception to look for you, to see how you were doing, I heard you crying." Satoru's voice grew brisk, almost soundless. Kagome only heard the movement of his tongue toward the last word. "I had never been so angry before. Even with…"
Toji. Riko. Suguru. Of course, Kagome knew.
Satoru hadn't bothered to mention it, knowing she'd never need to hear the details to understand, and exhaled a long breath. He softened to a murmur, "I couldn't stand the thought of being the one breaking your heart. So, I raged on for so long, tearing through the abominations nonstop. Constantly. Endlessly."
"But it still should've held you anyway…?" Kagome lowered her head to his jawline, combing through his greasy hair. This poor bastard needed a proper shower and, with a slight touch on her aching eyes, she could use a nice hot bath herself.
"In theory, yes," Satoru admitted, briefly readjusting his hold on his Kagome to unlock a door (even though he could've easily phased through it). Upon retracting his hand, he absently rubbed a circle on her back, as he used to do when Kagome had trouble sleeping through their twins' nightly somersaults, and resigned to continue, "but I think I might've absorbed a portion of your power."
At that, Kagome's brows shot up high, and she pulled back to look at Satoru incredulously, "…When did I—?"
She certainly didn't remember ever giving him any blessing—not when Gojo Satoru was not a man in any need of one.
"Look for it," Satoru insisted, pausing long enough for Kagome to concentrate—with her progressing pregnancy, his movement would've only made it harder. "Take it back if you want though—"
Kagome shook her head, releasing her concentration and relaxing her head on his shoulder, "No. I found it," she let out a soft laugh as if it were that difficult of a task, "but keep it. I just don't know how it got there is all." Playing with his hair, not caring about the greasy residues on her fingers, she pondered aloud, "Are you saying I'm the reason you got out?"
"Yes." he confirmed, his grin stretching wider once again at the next thing that came out of his mouth, "You might've given it to me the last time we fu—"
"Satoru!" Kagome slapped a hand over his lips with an exasperated groan. The red blush rose on her cheeks at his impish chuckle and the bouncing chest beneath her palm. She cursed at the way his very presence soothed her senses—her emotional fatigue had all but evaporated with her peals of giggling. "Don't go there. We can speculate later. How," Kagome grew quiet, the seriousness lacing her tone as she repeated her question, "did you get out?"
With a slight slump of his broad shoulders, Satoru resumed with a kick of his foot to open a door—and closed it immediately when he passed through. He took a moment to recall the exact details he had endured and hummed, "It took a bit for me to notice anything foreign in my system. I guess at some point it was all instinctive, that I harnessed everything I had—and the abominations eventually stopped…respawning."
Kagome barely stopped herself from snorting, realizing it was one of the video game terms Satoru liked to use—often to confuse her, if not to leave her peeved.
Satoru continued, oblivious to his choice of words, his face turning dazed as if he was finding himself back in that hellscape again. "I guess, and they were left in piles of ashes. When I found myself, I realized that I've never once turned anything into ashes like that before."
He finally faced her, the brilliant blue of his eyes dimmed to a deep, solemn shade. It unnerved Kagome to see such an uncharacteristic look on Satoru, but she relaxed when he nuzzled his face into her frizzled hair and pressed a kiss on her forehead. Against her skin, Satoru murmured, "The only times I've seen that was from you, when you purified the curses. That was one thing I knew I could never do, even if I bugged you so much to teach me—yet I did it. I turned everything in that place into nothing but ashes. Now—
"There was nothing left standing in my way. I blinked and found myself staring back at that…" Satoru's voice hitched at the following memory.
Kagome cupped a hand on his face, murmuring with a calming lilt in her words, "Did you fight him?"
"It was the hardest decision I've ever made in a split second, but I knew Suguru would've wanted me to do the right thing by him and put his body to rest," Satoru admitted, slowing his stride to a somber one. "Whatever that foul creature was, it never had a chance to react. If it had been anyone else, I would've savored that fucking expression it wore upon seeing me again."
"Satoru…"
"He's at peace now. Nothing will violate his memory ever again," Satoru affirmed, squeezing his eyes shut and sighing at the faint sensation of Kagome brushing away the few tears clinging to his ivory-white lashes. A warm, lingering kiss was placed on his jawline and he nuzzled back into her soft, worn palms on his cheeks, her gentle touches soothing his frayed nerves.
Steadying the rhythm of his breathing, Satoru managed with a calmer, resigned note, "Then I was finally home—to you. I don't think anyone but you knew I was back just yet. I didn't want to chance being found out in my current state, so I took you and myself out of there to this old dusty place my family used to own while suppressing myself the best I could."
"The prison realm—?" Kagome started.
"I've got it. I'm going to resurrect it and use it on that four-eyed freak."
Kagome's mouth dropped open at Satoru's crass commentary, "But Yuuji-kun is still the vessel—?"
"I know," Satoru strolled over to some furniture Kagome hadn't yet seen, and knelt to deposit the expecting mother onto the bed. Pressing his face against her hard belly and caressing his calloused hands over it, he pressed kisses through her dress and murmured, "How are the boys? Your belly got so much bigger—"
"They're doing very good," Kagome answered absently. She blinked and then pivoted back to the prior subject with her brows knitted with discomfort, "But Yuuji-kun never asked for any of this, Satoru…!"
"I know." Satoru met her anxiety-riddled gaze, feeling his throat tighten at the puffiness around her eyes. He didn't miss the rising shine either, indicating she was going to cry again—but for another reason entirely. He swallowed thickly. "He won't be staying a vessel, Kagome. That thing," Satoru nearly spat with searing venom, wrinkling her thin dress in his fists—and relaxed upon hearing the softness in Kagome's voice. He caught her hands in his and brought each one for a kiss on her knuckles, smoothing the angry creases in his face.
He pressed Kagome's palms to her round stomach and cupped his hands over hers, his gaze growing determined as he resumed where he left off. "gave me the idea that it is possible to transfer a soul to another body. I have to trick that reprehensible egomaniac into jumping from Yuuji-kun to some poor sucker, and then shove him into the cube of doom. I…just need to iron out the finer details—but that's for the future me to deal with."
Kagome inhaled deeply, guiding his hands to where she felt the boys were resting, and exhaled. She had no will to disagree, and her poor Satoru—she'd never seen him so exhausted before. With a jerky nod, Kagome thumbed over his roughened knuckles and murmured, "I believe in you—but now, you need to rest. You look dead on your feet…and are in dire need of a long shower."
"I could really use one—and a nice nap," Satoru groaned, resting his chin on the top of Kagome's stomach and wrapping his thick arms around his future wife's waist in a loose embrace.
"Maybe we can cuddle in the bath first?" Kagome suggested cheekily, kneading his tense shoulders and feeling countless knots and a few soft spots she sensed were bruises. It was jarring, knowing that an untouchable man like Gojo Satoru, could be battered and bruised.
Even killed. But Kagome refused to let herself dwell any further.
Satoru moaned at the thought, "That's the best damn idea I've ever heard. Might actually fall asleep in the tub with ya."
"We're going to get all prune-y." she giggled.
"Worth it! I'll keep the water hot though. And then a long ass nap in the bed—Ack!" Something punched him in the throat in an overdue greeting.
"Ah, seems like you upset one of our boys," Kagome teased, gently moving her stomach away from Satoru, unable to contain another bout of laughter at the sight of him rubbing his neck with an offended grumble.
Satoru lowered his chin back onto the firm stomach and huffed a soft, exaggerated grumble. "You're growing two spoiled brats, Kagome—" Despite his complaint though, he lost his mock annoyance to a beaming smile in delight as two fluttering kicks responded to his touch. Unable to resist gushing over the unborn twins, he cooed nonsensical noises.
A bright twinkle glistened in his gaze, erasing the loneliness and suffering he'd endured. The constant emotional burden of being among the most powerful figures in the world was nowhere in sight. To Kagome, Gojo Satoru was just a man deserving of happiness and love like anyone else in the world. And, he was hers.
Her heart swelled at the sight of the sheer joy in his azure eyes. Kagome couldn't stop herself from curling her hands around his jaw, eagerly pulling him in to meet his lips.
Satoru returned the kiss without hesitation, holding her tenderly and savoring every second with Kagome. He had missed her so, so, so much. Being apart from her was like a nightmare, a deep pit of impenetrable darkness without her light. To endure without ever hearing her lilting voice, seeing her glittering eyes, tasting her flawless skin, smelling her soft scent—
He shuddered. Satoru missed her—his Kagome. The strongest woman he was honored to know. To have her in his arms again, to be kissed by her, and to kiss her back.
It had been months since he last held her in his embrace and heard those sweet words Kagome rarely spared.
She pulled away slowly, resting her forehead against his. Soft breaths puffed on his lips as he listened to the steady rhythm of Kagome's heartbeat. His sweet Kagome. His strength, his purpose, his future.
"Kagome," Satoru began, tangling his fingers in her loose hair.
"I missed you," Kagome interrupted with a whisper, tracing her fingers across the contours of his face. Tears glistened in her eyes, and a choked sob rose from her throat. Her next words came out as a croak, "I really did miss you."
Satoru fluttered his eyes shut, swallowing down the rising tide of emotions from his quivering chest. He nodded, nuzzling into her hands, "I missed you too, more than you could've possibly known."
A wobbly, watery smile spread across her face as Kagome pressed a kiss to his trailing thumb. She relished the warmth of Satoru's larger hands and mumbled instead, "I love you. So much. P, please don't leave me alone again."
The pressure in her nose grew with each stammered breath and it hurt. When Kagome looked at Satoru again, a grimace masked her grief from enduring those two long months without him.
She blinked through her running tears and a sob rasped from her dry lips at the tenderhearted way Satoru gathered her into his strong arms. Feeling his lips feathering on her own and those thick fingers on her back, soothing away her insecurity with the way he breathed her name on her shivering lips. "Kagome. I love you too. So very much that it hurts when we were apart—but we are together now, that I have you and you have me."
He couldn't promise the words she wanted to hear—not when the king of curses was threatening their future.
But, all Kagome ever needed to ask him was for him to resign his title as the strongest and Satoru would've left the entire sorcerer world to burn in hell. He made his mistakes with the first love of his life; he was not willing to repeat this with her and their unborn boys.
With Kagome, Satoru found the strength to be human again, to allow himself to open his heart to others, to find joy and laughter within himself that would have never been obtained without her. He permitted himself to make mistakes as a father figure toward Megumi and Tsumiki and to be better. Kagome was the one who helped him piece his broken self back together after losing Suguru Geto, the person he loved the most, before everything came crashing down upon them both and changed the world they thought they knew.
Kagome. Kagome. Kagome.
She was the only being on this entire planet who could traverse his infinity and make him question his entire understanding of who he was. Her power was foreign, yet it drew him in like a moth to a flame. Satoru was addicted, hooked, and obsessed—he was inevitably in love with her. She was an endless wonder he'd forever pursue.
"Satoru—" Kagome's voice quivered.
Satoru inhaled deeply, willing himself to ignore the way his chest ached. There was a weight there, overfilled and heavy, ready to implode within. He hated seeing his Kagome so hurt, even if they were reunited.
She knew he suffered—and hurt so terribly for him.
"Hey, why don't we get the bath started?" Satoru suggested, tapping his finger on her nose.
Kagome blinked, staring cross-eyed at where he poked her, and was startled at the way Satoru lost himself in a burst of laughter. It was contagious, leading her to a hysteric giggling in confusion, "W, what?"
"Right," Satoru's voice sobered enough to bring his snigger to a tame. With a whoosh, he pressed a quick peck on her lips and whispered softly, "there we go. No more tears, alright?"
It might have been a lot to ask from a heavily pregnant woman suffering from a severe case of mood swings, Satoru knew, but he had to try. Wiping away a few remaining drops on her flushed face and drawing Kagome closer into his loving hug, he softly proposed, "Now…let me take a shower, and then we'll have our bath-time cuddle. How does that sound?"
With some hiccups, Kagome settled into a tentative nod. "That sounds pretty good right now."
"...We'll be okay," Satoru promised, carrying his future wife to the nearby bathroom tucked within the same master bedroom.
A brief moment led Kagome to shed her clothes with Satoru's help, absently noting the background noises of running water from the bath. Satoru hadn't once stopped his reassurances, to ease her worries and guilt. He was fine.
He was home.
Kagome blinked and found herself tucked against Satoru's still-clothed chest. With a slight grunt, he tested the water's temperature, then he carefully dipped Kagome inside the heated bathtub. "Relax. You're fine. Our boys are fine. I'm here now, sweetheart."
He was attentive, stroking her face. "Let me just wash this filth off me real quick and then we'll sit here for a while."
Kagome sniffled and nodded.
More clothes were added to the messy piles on the floor, and Satoru nearly rushed off to the shower stall.
But as her eyes raked down his toned back, Kagome felt sick at what she saw.
Bruises and evidence of healed wounds.
Kagome tore away, squeezing her eyes shut. No more tears. He's home now. Safe. Alive. She should be grateful.
Fuck her pregnancy hormones. She wasn't about to keep him from his much-needed shower with another round of her damn crying fit!
Another minute passed when Kagome heard the shower suddenly ending. Then the water in the bathtub rose high enough, splashing with unexpected movement and spilling over the white rim.
Kagome whirled around, whipping away stray droplets clinging to her hair, to the sight of Satoru settling inside behind her. It was a bit of a tight squeeze for his tall and lean frame—but for Kagome, it was comfortable.
Stretching out his long legs, Satoru released a long relaxed sigh and threw his head backward to appreciate the hot steam permeating his skin. Absently, he dragged Kagome to his chest and sat her between his raised knees, spooning her close as he reclined backward.
Exhaustion swept over him, and Satoru forced his heavy lids to stay open to gaze upon the quiet Kagome. She was counting his fingers and humming a wordless lullaby under her breath, as if she was trying to reassure herself that he was here. That he was safe.
A lump formed in his throat at the realization and Satoru curled himself around his pregnant woman. Gently, he said, "I'm here."
Kagome finally broke after a long minute and nodded, leaning deeper into his arms. "You are," she whispered, her lips curling into a smile as she met his blue eyes. "Welcome home."
He buried his face in her wet hair, and after what felt like an eternity, Satoru finally allowed himself to close his eyes and found a brief moment of peace.
—end