Work Text:
Gojo usually works alone. It’s not like he exactly needs a partner, with his abilities. But still, humans are social creatures, and sorcery is stressful work, so Nanami insisted on pairing up with him at least once a week so his partner’s mental health could have a fighting chance. Right now, however, he is dearly regretting it, as they’re sitting in the car on the way home. Poor Ijichi doesn’t dare even glance at the rearview mirror with how tense the energy in the backseat is.
“You need to be more careful,” Nanami scolds Gojo, for probably the millionth time. He’s sure he’ll hit a billion by retirement. As strong and intimidating as Gojo is, he’s cowering in the corner, looking every bit the little brat who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar that he is.
“I know, I already told you I’m sorry,” Gojo whines. He may have a massive ego, but he is decidedly not above begging for forgiveness, if it’s for Nanami. And especially if his partner’s wrath is well and truly earned.
Nanami doesn’t even look at the other man, just desperately trying to get his glasses clean of curse innards. It isn’t very effective, when the shirt he’s trying to wipe the glasses with is also mostly covered in disgusting purple goo. He sighs, the kind of exhausted, irritated sigh that only Gojo can seem to draw out of him.
“I know you’re used to working alone. I know you don’t have to worry about the mess because of your technique. I know you’re used to leaving the cleanup for less important people to handle. But that is absolutely no excuse,” Nanami chastises Gojo. The perfectly clean pale man shrinks in on himself even more.
“I know. I’m sorry. I was just having fun, I didn’t think,” Gojo pouts. Surely it can’t be a crime for him to enjoy himself a little when he gets to finally work with someone, with his fiance, no less. Is it really his fault if he gets a bit overly enthusiastic and blows the curse up without considering the fact that someone else is in the splash zone?
“You never do,” Nanami sighs. There’s no real bite to the words, but there is exhaustion. This wasn’t exactly an easy mission, and it’s Friday afternoon. The week’s already drained him, and now he feels disgusting and has to spend half the evening trying to salvage his clothes and get all the slime out of his hair. As much as he loves Gojo, and understands the kind of chaos he signed up for when he agreed to go out with the man, Nanami’s still only human. He still gets tired.
The rest of the car ride is silent. Ijichi usually drops them off on campus, and they get home by themselves after delivering their reports, but today he pulls the car up at their house without so much as a question. Yaga can wait until Monday to get his report. Nanami nods politely towards Ijichi and thanks him for the ride, as always, even his demeanor towards his partner is less than warm. Ijichi gives back a polite nod and drives off as soon as the sorcerers have left the vehicle, visibly anxious. It’s never easy on his heart when two of some of the most intimidating, powerful men he knows are fighting.
The silence between Gojo and Nanami continues all the way into their apartment. Nanami beelines for the bathroom. For better or for worse, most of the curse guts have dried up on his clothes, so at least he isn’t leaving much mess behind him. The silence is worse than the lectures, for Gojo. It somehow makes him feel even more guilty to be left to his own devices than to be scolded.
Gojo follows his partner like a lost puppy. Even if Nanami’s not talking, his exhaustion and irritation are clear in his every action. It makes Gojo feel terribly guilty, even if he hadn’t intended to cause anything like this. It’s just easy to forget these simple practicalities when you don’t work with anyone else for years. Nanami scowls at his coat, putting it in a vat to be pre-washed before even attempting to put it through a machine wash. Most of the rest of his clothes end up there, too. He goes to start scrubbing the clothes when he’s interrupted.
“I can take care of that later. Let’s get you cleaned up first,” Gojo says softly. Honestly, ‘taking care of that’ probably means just giving up on the clothes and buying Nanami new ones, instead of being smart and responsible and at least trying to wash them first like his partner would. But they don’t need to discuss that right now.
Right now, Nanami needs to get clean and relax, and Gojo’s not going to rest until both goals have been achieved. Even if Nanami knows that giving in here will likely result in finding his dirty suit in the trash in the morning, he can’t quite find it in himself to fight it. Honestly, the curse guts are pretty much dried onto the fabric anyways. There’s probably nothing salvageable left. He’s also more than exhausted, and the thought of letting Gojo wash his hair and pamper him and wrap him up in blankets and hugs is sounding pretty appealing right about now.
Nanami sighs once more and nods, his shoulders slumping. Now that he’s accepted his fate of letting Gojo take care of him, the tension in his body is very quickly turning into pure exhaustion. Gojo smiles at him, still looking apologetic, and guides him into the bathtub. It’s not long until he’s shed off his own uniform as well and he’s scrubbing Nanami’s hair clean. It’s a pretty time-consuming process, since curse innards can be pretty sticky, but that’s okay. Nanami’s enjoying the head massage, and Gojo wants nothing more than to make his partner feel better right now.
It takes almost an hour until they’re both clean and dry. Gojo orders them food and forces Nanami into the couch corner, the softest blanket in the house draped over his shoulders and a warm cup of tea in his hands. By the end of the evening, Nanami feels soft, clean and loved. The irritation has long since faded away.
As thoughtless as Gojo can be, he really can be very nice and thoughtful when he tries to. Maybe Nanami doesn’t mind his mistakes as much when they lead to this sort of treatment. And maybe it does make him feel a bit warm inside that Gojo enjoyed working with him enough to actually let loose and forget about himself for a bit, even if the end result wasn't the most pleasant for Nanami.