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The earth is swaying.
Is it an earthquake?
No, it's not an earthquake. An earthquake won't make the tree in front of him suddenly become twins.
Is it a curse? No, he can't trace any remnant of it. There is absolutely no curse within the radius.
In his confusion, he doesn't clearly see the path ahead of him. His shoes, practical yet expensive, hit quite a large rock. The impact makes him limp forward. That’s something that would never happen if his six eyes had worked normally.
He wants to curse out, but his throat is dry and itchy.
And then it hits him. The last time he ever felt this was so far long ago.
A fever. A bad case, at that.
To think that Gojo Satoru, the strongest sorcerer, can still have a fever. If there is a stand up comedy show in the jujutsu world, this would be one of the joke materials.
Maybe I should make one.
Not acknowledging that probably no one wants to watch such a show, Satoru keeps walking. His mind recites a routine he remembers from a time gone by like a cog.
Swallow some pills. Drink water. Sleep under layers of thick blankets. Rinse and repeat until the fever is down.
Rinse and repeat.
Rinse and repeat.
He finally reaches the bed. His head can't hold it anymore.
Oh well. The pills can wait.
"Sensei?"
Within the haziness, Satoru can hear a very familiar voice. To his joy, it is certainly from a very close distance.
Ah. What a nice dream. I want to hear Yuuji's voice forever like this.
"Sensei, wake up."
His voice is dripping with worry. Like urgent worry.
"Gojo-sensei!"
The last bit pulls Satoru out of his sleep. Even without opening his eyes, his six eyes can see the actual Yuuji beside him.
Why? How??
"Nngh... Yuuji? Why are you here?"
"This is my room, Sensei. Why are you here?"
It takes 3 seconds before Satoru's eyes snap wide open. Or as wide as he can right now.
Satoru is lying down on his side. Yuuji is beside him, half propped up using his arm, clearly having just woken up himself. Sky blue eyes wander to Yuuji's face, to his well-worn t-shirt, then to the poster that, even in darkness, is clearly of a bikini-cladded woman.
There is no doubt. He is in Yuuji's room.
Gojo Satoru gets a fever so bad he mistakes the room of his ultra cute, adorable student whom he has a huge fat crush on for his own.
That is comedy gold right there.
I must have been so confused that it went like this.
"Yep, I think so, too."
....
Wait. Why was there a response? As far as Satoru knows, Yuuji doesn't have the ability to read minds. Probably not Sukuna, either.
"Did I… speak it out loud?"
"...Yeah, you did." Yuuji half frowns, half snorts.
No longer trusting himself to even think of a word, Satoru just sighs. Who would have thought that his defense would be so lowered when he gets a fever?
Or maybe, it is lowered to such an extent because he is in front of someone he is head over heels with.
"Sorry for barging in, Yuuji. I'll, ah, go to my actual room."
"By the way, why is it so hot?"
Before Satoru can move, Yuuji moves his hand to the older's forehead.
"Shit, sensei! You're burning up!"
The heat burns so hot that any sleepiness flies out of Yuuji. The pink-haired boy immediately rises up from his bed.
"Wait here! I'll grab some medicine and a thermometer."
"No need, Yuuji. I'll just rest in my room."
"No way, you can just sleep here. I'll take care of you."
If only the fever doesn't put his mind into a spiral so deeply, Satoru would have quite literally leapt in joy at that.
"Okay, if Yuuji says so."
"39.1°C. That's pretty high."
Yuuji sets the thermometer aside and begins to take out some medicine. In his haze, Satoru recognizes the brand from pharmaceutical shelves in the convenience stores.
"This is my go-to because it's effective and easy to find anywhere. I don't know if Gojo-sensei has other preferences, but for the time being, this is fine, right?"
"It's fine. I don't usually get a fever anyway."
In the first place, what does he usually take whenever he gets a fever? Even Satoru doesn't remember. Perhaps he just goes to Shoko. Or maybe he swipes his black card to get access to professionally-prescribed, patented medicine.
Unlike Yuuji, he doesn't have a go-to medicine. By default, Gojo Satoru doesn't get sick.
"Okay. You just have to drink this for now. Let's get up for a sec, okay?"
Without further ado, Yuuji slips his arm between Satoru's torso and the bed. Slowly, he helps his teacher to rise up and sit on the bed. There is no awkwardness or hesitation in his moves. Even when he feels Satoru's larger body leaning on him, he just lets him. He is more busy with the pil and the glass of water.
"Here, sensei. Open your mouth."
Satoru obediently opens his jaw, allowing Yuuji to put the pill on his burning mouth. Then, Yuuji holds the glass to Satoru's lips, so that the latter can slowly drink the water.
In reality, the white-haired sorcerer is not really so out of it that he can't rise up and take the medicine by himself. But Yuuji didn't ask and took the initiative to assist him. And there is no way in heaven and hell that Satoru is going to refuse the opportunity of being spoiled by his sweet favorite. He is not a saint, never been one, and will never be one.
So yes, even though the fever and the headache suck, and mistaking the room was embarrassing, Gojo Satoru is ultimately enjoying this.
After being laid down back to bed, Satoru lets out a slight hum.
"Yuuji-kun is good at caring for sick people."
"Well, I had to take care of my grandpa for a while. Although he was always acting tough and never letting me help him so often."
"Hmm. You are a good kid."
Yuuji just lets out a laugh. "But maybe I'm not so good anymore if you know what I'm thinking right now."
Intrigued, Satoru raises one of his eyebrows, urging Yuuji to talk more.
"I'm actually a bit relieved that sensei gets sick and comes to me. I got the front row to witness the super Gojo Satoru as a normal human being who is clingy when having a fever."
The pink-haired youngster scratches his cheek sheepishly, as if admitting a foolish, embarrassing, petty deed. But in that one moment, Satoru feels like he just saw the warm sun smiling down on him.
Yuuji is someone from the other side of the world that Satoru has always known. He wouldn't have known just how normal—given—it is to revere Gojo Satoru as something like a deity. The holder of six eyes, the once in a millennia talent, even his natural appearance. His clansmen and the jujutsu world would gather those up as evidence that Satoru is a supreme being capable of feats unthinkable for even elite sorcerers. They place Satoru far above the others and trust upon him expectations far beyond what normal people can do in their lifetime.
In other words, he is not thought of as a human being
And then there comes this young man who happily drags him down the high, ugly throne and tells him that he's just a normal human.
Gojo Satoru is not a saint. Neither is Itadori Yuuji. However—
Perhaps the thought is taking a bit longer in his head. While Satoru is silently looking at Yuuji, the latter starts to fidget.
"... Sensei, are you angry?"
"Nonsense. I won't be angry over something like that. I'm actually happy you think so. Yuuji is the only one who thinks of me like that."
—For Gojo Satoru, Itadori Yuuji is just like a saint. No, a god of mercy.
Relieved but slightly wondering, Yuuji flashes him a smile. "You must be delirious. You should sleep, sensei. I'll check your temperature again in a few hours. Then I'll make you some congee."
"Yes, doctor." Satoru grins while giving him a weak thumbs up, sleepiness starting to overcome him.
"Haha! Just call me if you need anything. I'll be right here."
"Anything?"
"Anything."
"Give me a good night kiss, then."
Yeah. Gojo Satoru is definitely not a saint.
He has just meant it as a flirty joke. He actually expects Yuuji to laugh it off or, if he's naive enough, give him a friendly kiss on the forehead or something.
Instead, he feels a soft sensation on his lips. Cooler than his own burning ones. Fleeting, but definitely there.
"Yuuji-"
"Goodnight, sensei. Get well soon."
Even amidst his sleepiness and pain in the head, Satoru recognizes it. First kiss. With Yuuji.
I didn't want our first kiss to be like this....
"Haha, you can always make it up later. For now you should sleep."
Ah, I slipped out again.
But this time, his body is already shutting down. He can only let out a weak 'hmm' before total darkness covers his eyes.
Yeah, right. He should focus on getting better now.
When he gets better, he's going to redo that first kiss.
Then he will take Yuuji on a date. Maybe go watch a movie at the cinema. Or maybe get a cake on that new cafe. Or stroll around the neighborhood.
Whatever you want, Yuuji. I will do anything you want.
There is still so much to do. So much to clean up and fix and secure, just so I will be able to hold Yuuji's warm hands forever.
But for tonight, that doesn't matter.
For now, just get better quickly.
And after that....
His thought stops at that point.
At dawn, the fever has come down quite significantly. Although it's still above the normal temperature. Yuuji makes Satoru the promised congee, and he spoon-feeds the unashamed teacher.
After the meal is over, Yuuji is about to stand up when Satoru grabs his hand and pulls him to bed.
"S-sensei?"
"Yuuji-kun~ Do you remember what you said to me just before I fell asleep last night?"
Sweating, Yuuji tries to play dumb. "U-uh, you should get better?"
"I'm a LOT better now, thanks to you. So, ready to redo?"
"You still have a fever."
"Are you afraid of a little fever?"
"I'm worried about sensei!"
"Hehe, I'll let Yuuji-kun do the worry. Anyway, I've always imagined what our first kiss would be like. Sometimes I thought it'd be romantic. Sometimes it'd be messy. Never thought it'd be pathetic like being bedridden because of a fever."
"I thought it was cute, though."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Yeah, Yuuji is the only one who would think of me like that." Satoru sighs, half exasperated, half happy. “So no redo?”
“You can’t redo what has happened, sensei.”
“But do you want to find out my version now?"
Sky blue staring straight as Yuuji, giving him undivided attention and no more leeway.
"Absolutely.”
As the sun is rising, they don’t redo their first kiss. They resume it. Though which version it is that comes into reality, it remains their little secret.
BONUS
Megumi: "So I heard Gojo-sensei got a fever yesterday?"
Yuuji: "Yeah, but it came down completely in one night."
Satoru, running out from Ijichi's car to reach Yuuji: "Yuuji!!! Let's have a date!!"
Nobara: "And how is it that you guys are now in a relationship?"
Yuuji: "Well, stuff happened."
Megumi: "Should I call the authorities?"
Yuuji: "Fushiguro-san, scary! It's not like that!”
Satoru: "Excuse me! I have a super important date with Yuuji! Centipede Men 2 is coming out, so I booked the premiere for us both! Here's a souvenir for you two." *takes Yuuji's hand* Adios~"
Nobara: "Gosh, he's really down bad."