Work Text:
コンソール
๋࣭ ⭑ ⩇⩇:⩇⩇ ⭑
๋๋࣭࣭⭑ ɪ'ʟʟ ʙᴜʏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀ ᴄᴏɴꜱᴏʟᴇ .𖥔 ݁ ˖
┄
"He's late again." Nobara winced, slumping on the table even more. Yuji nodded in agreement. "Don't worry, Gojo-san would be here soon." Ijichi tried to cheer the teen up. The first years had gathered for a mission. Ijichi had dropped them at the café where they were supposed to meet Satoru and get the mission done under his watch. But their sensei was late again.
"Missed me y'all?" Satoru finally showed up. Nobara barely managed to stop herself from snapping back at him but a scoff escaped anyway. "Seems like y'all did. So? Shall we get this done real quick?" Satoru led them out from the back entrance as they began walking in the dark alley. Satoru lovered the veil while Ijichi listed the works he was supposed to do after this mission.
"Are y'all elders really this busy?" Yuji, who was listening to the assistant, commented curiously. "Ofcourse not. The strongest gets the highest jobs. But don't be demotivated, with bigger jobs comes bigger money." Satoru attempted to make a joke but watching the almost depressed faces of his students made him question his words.
┄
"I was busy-"
"I called you twelve times."
"I'm sorry, okay? I was busy in that shitty meeting with those shitheads! Shoko! You know my schedule!"
"Whatever."
"What whatever? Ugh, I don't even want to get in any banter right now..."
He slumbed back in the chair, arms dangling to the sides. Anyone could tell how exhausted he was just by his looks. "Gojo, I think you should catch some sleep. It's past 11 pm." At her comment, he looked at her, then at the wall clock, then back at her. He sigh. "I don't even have the energy to teleport right now. Can I borrow the infirmary bed?"
"No."
"Why!?"
┄
Shoko had always been observant—it was a trait that served her well as both a doctor a jujutsu sorceress and a friend. She noticed the little things, the subtle shifts in behavior that most people overlooked. And she’d ofcourse noticed that Satoru, the seemingly untouchable, ever-energetic sorcerer, was burning out.
It wasn’t just the dark circles under his eyes that he hide behind the darkness of his blindfold, or the way his normally bright and playful eyes becomes a little duller, a little more worn, as soon as he's alone. It was in the way he moved, as if he was carrying an invisible weight that no one else could see. The way his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes whenever he's away from everyone, and how his laughter felt hollow, as if he was playing a part rather than genuinely enjoying the moment.
Shoko had noticed all this. A honesty, a vulnerability he dared to show in front of her. And she was grateful for even that. For the fact that he trust her enough to come out of his carefully crafted 'the mighty Gojo Satoru shell.' Truth be told her schedule was almost as same as him which gave them little time to see eachother.
He was always busy, always running from one mission to the next, from one meeting to another task, barely taking a moment to breathe. Every time she tried to reach out, to check in on him, he was either too occupied to pick up the phone or would dismiss her concern with a joke or a wave of his hand. But Shoko knew him too well—better than most. She could see the cracks that had formed in the façade he kept up for the world, and it worried her.
She couldn’t shake the feeling of unease that settled in her chest every time she thought of him pushing himself too far, stretching himself too thin. It made her angry—angry at him for being so stubborn, for thinking he could shoulder the world’s burdens alone. But beneath that anger was something else, something deeper: a gnawing worry that one day, he might not come back. That one day, his body might give out before his will.
And so, the frustration and concern mixed together into a tight knot in her stomach. She hated feeling helpless, hated that there wasn’t an easy fix for this. She was used to healing wounds, to mending broken bodies—but how could she heal someone who refused to admit they were hurting?
She kept laying on her bed in her dimly lit apartment. Staring at her phone after another unanswered call. Shoko’s thoughts drifted back to their high school days, when things had been simpler. When Gojo would drag her out of the dorms for their shenanigans late into the night, his laughter echoing through the halls as they bickered over silly things. Those were good times, carefree times, and she wished she could bring some of that back for him now.
She watched the ceiling till the surface started moving and swirling around. Satoru was out on a mission again. He had sent her his schedule tho. He'll be back by tomorrow evening. Shoko rubbed her eyes and crawled under her blanket. She tossed and turned but couldn't sleep. Eventually she had to grab her phone to kill time. Satoru had posted a story like three hours ago.
One in which his half face is visible with a random kid behind him who accidentally dropped his chips packet and was holding his head in horror. Shoko couldn't hold back her chuckle. She liked the story and sent a good night message to him before putting the phone down and forcing herself to sleep.
┄
He was tired after the mission. The little nap he took in car while Ijichi drove him from the airport to his apartment was good for nothing. He couldn't even stretch properly. Instead of some relief, he got even more discomfort as he tried to loose up his muscles with a few exercises. Ijichi wished him goodnight and drove away.
With a sigh he forced himself to get into the elevator. First neck, then fingers, wrist, knees, back. His bones cracked like popcorns in heat at each stretch. Reaching the apartment door he found it locked from inside. Probably Shoko or Megumi had came over. But at this hour?
He opened the door, locked it from inside and removed his shoes. As he walked further into the apartment he recognised the cursed energy surrounding the space. Shoko. She's here at this hour? Is everything okay? Was she attacked by thugs? Did she came to find his secret stash of snacks?! Or is she finally here to collect that lunch he owe her from last month?
Pushing the thoughts aside, he opened his room door and found her kneeling on the floor while she rummages through his lower cabinets. Her head and shoulders hidden inside the cabinet. All the other stuff looks intact. Or, is Shoko so skilled in her work that she didn't left any trail behind?
"Breaking into my place in the middle of the night... Didn’t know you missed me that much, Shoko."
"Good to see you too."
"Now, what are you up to?"
"Wait- Guess I found it. Yup, got it."
She finally came out pulling a box along with her. Satoru scanned the contents and immediately recognised the stuff. Memories flooded his mind.
┄
It was August. The peak of summer heat. Satoru was laying in the garden beneath a dense tree. Shoko was busy in another of her classes and Suguru was on a mission with the first years, Nanami and Haibara.
He could feel the sweat drenching his back. Gross. Lucky them, those three had went on a mission to Norway. They'll be wearing warm clothes, swimming and enjoying the cool weather while he's getting fried under the sun.
Shoko who had returned from her classes joined him. She sat beside him and touched his cheek with the cold can of beer she brought. Satoru flinched at the sudden coldness. He rubbed his cheek and gave her a glare while she laughed at his reaction. "I see you're back. How was the classes?"
"Boring. I skipped the last fifteen minutes and escaped."
"Shoko~ I'm bored. Let's play something atleast."
"I don't have a console and I'm definitely not walking through the city for any cyber café in this heat."
"I'll buy you one!"
"Haha, sure you will. I'll play with you then."
Shoko had said that sarcastically. But when Satoru joined her in her dorm room with the new gaming consoles, Shoko choked on her drink. "You actually brought them?" After that, it became there habit of having gaming sessions whenever the other go out or they're alone.
┄
"Hey! I saw that first."
Shoko smacked his head when Satoru took the weapon first. In response he just chuckled. They had settled down to play the video game. Satoru on the floor while Shoko made herself comfortable on his bed. A few snacks beside them.
"Everything is fare in love and war, Shoko. And this is a WAR!"
"Is that so?"
"Hey- This is cheating!"
Satoru yelled when Shoko swung her legs around his shoulders in an attempt to disturb his focus so she could kill the monster herself and win the game.
"I'd still win."
"Oh come on!"
She groaned. Despite her attempts to distract him, he was still in lead and would probably win. He looked up to see her focused on the game with a frown. He chuckled and intentionally let the monster kill his character so Shoko could take the lead. "I won!" She yelled and hugged his neck out of excitement. "You played well." Satoru complemented.
With a sigh, he rest his head on her thigh that was still on his shoulder. Shoko let her fingers run through his soft snow-white hairs. She eventually removed her legs from his shoulders, replacing them with her hands as she applied pressure to massage his shoulders.
"If you keep this up I'll sleep, Shoko."
"Then sleep."
He climbed on bed and stretched contentedly before laying his head on her lap. It just took him few more minutes and soft strokes of her fingers in his hairs to succumb to a deep sleep. Shoko remained by his side, staring at his peaceful face for god knows how long. She eventually got up, convered him with the blanket and began cleaning the mess they had created while gaming.
Guess it's the simple things that matter the most, after all.
ᯓ ᡣ𐭩